FOUR CHILDREN

by Mark Edelman

Drama, Short Play with Music

Four teenagers who lived thru genocides in Armenia, Cambodia, Sarajevo and the Holocaust tell their stories in the diaries they kept, curated to to convey the tragic similarities between them. Diary entries are read by the actors, accompanied by solo cello.

Adapted from When Broken Glass Floats by Chanrithy Him (Cambodia), The Diary of Dawid Sierakowiak (Poland), My Childhood Under Fire: A Sarajevo Diary by Nadja Halilbegovich (Sarajevo) and To the Desert: Pages from My Diary by Vahram Dadrian (Armenia).

Production Information

4 Actors

Cast of Characters
(4 Actors, 1 Cellist)
ACTOR 1 — Reading excerpts from Vahram Dadrian
ACTOR 2 — Reading excerpts from Dawid Serakowiak
ACTOR 3 — Reading excerpts from Chanrity Him
ACTOR 4 — Reading excerpts from Nadja Halilbegovic
CELLIST — Playing all transitional and underscoring music.*
*If you are unable to utilize a live CELLIST, approved performance tracks of the cello music are available from TRW. You are also approved to pre-record your own cello pieces using the approved sheet music provided.

Casting Note
Though not required, Actors One and Two are male,
and Actors Three and Four are female.
Setting
Four black stools are arranged across the proscenium opening, each with a black music stand in front of it. Upstage center is another music stand with chair, music, and cello.

Note on Music and Materials
Required sheet music, performance tracks, and projection content are available and provided digitally by TRW with all fully executed licenses to perform Four Children. These are the only approved musical arrangements to be used in performing Four Children.

Author

Mark Edelman

Mark Edelman, founded and was long-time president of Theater League,Inc, a Kansas City, Missouri based contributor to the performing arts. [FULL BIO]