Additional information
by Cheryl Melody Baskin (Author)
FOR AGES 8 - 108!
Thank you so much for your interest. I wrote Peace Begins with You and Me because of my own experiences and wounds from childhood bullying and prejudice, and it has been my life's work as an educator, musician and author to use the creative arts as a tool towards transformation and hope.
Peace Begins with You and Me is a user-friendly and flexible three-act play containing life-changing messages that can affect the trajectory of a child's life. Its content is dedicated to schools and organizations that work towards inspiring our youth to make good decisions, and the storyline serves as a catalyst towards positive values, communication and change. The play can be performed as a classroom or full theater experience, read from the script or memorized, modified and edited without my permission, and the script is appropriate for a wide variety of ages.
It is a creative and educational teaching and counseling resource focusing on the difficult issues that some children face each day. Topics can be edited, added to or deleted, and the content includes purposeful and compassionate dialogue on bullying, cyberbullying, friendships, school shootings, drugs, childhood suicide, isolation, peer pressure, family dysfunction, prejudice, inclusion, understanding emotions, earth preservation, changing patterns of behavior, teamwork, tolerance, using social media for positive change, and the healing power of friendship, hope, kindness, acceptance and caring.
School Curriculum: The concepts in Peace Begins with You and Me can easily be woven into your school curriculum and include creative writing, music, introspective thinking, positive communication, reading, literature, art, creating Peace Promises, and group discussion.
Music: Although familiar songs can be sung by your "Earth Chorus," I also offer original easy-to-learn songs containing lyrics with character-building themes (for example, "The No Bully Rap-Song" by Cheryl Melody). Directions on where to find, listen and download each song and album online is provided in the script.
Storyline: Peace Begins with You and Me unfolds into an inspiring story about children from many backgrounds who learn how to respect themselves and each other. As they become more aware of the positive power of their words, actions, feelings and thoughts, they create innovative ideas for bringing a unified vision of "being peace" into every school, home and neighborhood throughout the whole world.
- Character-building values include dialogue on the prevention of bullying, empathy, self-esteem, respect, friendship, anti-bias, inclusion, nonviolent conflict-resolution, effective communication and diversity celebration
- Encourages mindfulness and raises awareness about the power of our words, actions, feelings and thoughts
- Flexible script can be adjusted for small or large groups
- Small classroom or full theater experience
- If there are time restrictions or the cast is younger, the first act can stand alone
- Ideal for adolescents and upper elementary school-age children
- No licensing or royalty fees required
- Script can be edited without permission
- Script includes director's guide, song lyrics and sheet music
- Easy printing of pages: Link to website and QR code to download PDF's included
