“WARRIOR”
April 2015
Teacher Packet
Dear Educator,
Thank you so much for bringing your youth to Destiny Arts Center’s original dance/theater production,
Warrior, written and created by the Destiny Arts Youth Performance company directors in collaboration
with its youth members. It has been ten years since we introduced the field trip matinee performances and
we have been extremely pleased with the outcome. The matinees are what our youth performers look
forward to all year long, because their message is extremely personal and they know that other young
people can relate to it and possibly find hope and inspiration from it.
Whether it is the first or the 22nd Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company show that you have attended,
I hope that you, as well as your students, enjoy the production and see it as more than just a show, but as
an educational opportunity. In this packet you will find some of the poetry, monologues and scenes from
the show, resources that we used to create the script material and some discussion questions, group
exercises, theater games and class project ideas.
Because of the range of ages of the youth that attend the performance, we will not be able to cater this
packet to specific age groups. Instead we hope that you will be able to modify what you find here to fit
your students' grade level and needs.
We hope that you will find this material helpful and would greatly appreciate any feedback that you may
have. Thank you and we look forward to seeing you at many more Destiny Arts Center events.
Sincerely,
Sarah Crowell
Artistic Director, Destiny Arts Center
Co-Artistic Director, Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company
sarah@destinyarts.org
CONTENTS
About Destiny Arts Center
5
3
About the Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company &
The Destiny Junior Company
About the Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company Directors
6
7
Pre Performance
8
Post Performance
9-11
Excerpts from the Warrior script
11-35
Resource Guide
36
Destiny Arts Center’s Warrior’s Code
Destiny Arts Center’s Five Fingers of Violence Prevention
37
38
4
ABOUT DESTINY ARTS CENTER
Destiny Arts Center is an Oakland-based nonprofit violence prevention and arts education organization
that has been serving youth for over 26 years, through after-school, weekend and summer programs in
dance, theater, martial arts, conflict resolution, self-defense, performance and youth leadership at our
Oakland center and in up to 45 East Bay public schools.
MISSION
Destiny exists to end isolation, prejudice and violence in the lives of young people.
We Accomplish Our Mission By…
 Offering skills training to youth, ages 3-18, in after-school, weekend and summer programs in
performing and martial arts, youth leadership, and violence prevention at our main site, and in
outreach programs at local schools and community centers.
 Providing youth with caring adult mentors.
 Supporting youth in developing an individualized sense of artistic expression.
 Giving youth opportunities to share a message of peace and empowerment through performances,
events, and workshops.
 Nurturing the physical, emotional and spiritual development of young people.
VISION
When Destiny has succeeded in its work, young people will value themselves and others - ever mindful of
the ways their words, actions, and attitudes affect their communities, as well as the world. They will:
respond rather than react to situations; teach and practice love rather than violence; honor people from
different backgrounds and experiences equally; and, be connected to, and active participants in, the life of
their communities.
VALUES & BELIEFS
We value…
 the principles of love, respect, care, responsibility, honor, and peace as embodied in Destiny’s
Warrior’s Code.
 building and sustaining a diverse and inclusive community.
 being able to provide services to youth, regardless of their families’ ability to pay.
We believe...
 that youth are inherently good.
 that based on the social and political climate of today, young people experience isolation, violence
and/or prejudice in their lives.
 that youth respond favorably to love and positive reinforcement.
 that everyone has a unique voice, and they are equally important.
 that when communities take active responsibility for the struggles, as well as the successes of all
its young people, youth and thus communities are more likely to thrive.
ABOUT THE DESTINY ARTS YOUTH PERFORMANCE COMPANY
& THE DESTINY JUNIOR COMPANY
The Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company (DAYPC) is a multicultural group of teens who create
5
original performance art pieces, in collaboration with professional artists, that combine hip hop, modern,
and aerial dance, theater, martial arts, song and rap. The productions are a dynamic, creative forum for the
young people to express their fears, hopes and strategies for confronting challenging personal and social
issues. The company has performed locally and nationally since 1993, for over 20,000 audience members
annually.
The company was the subject of a documentary film (2000) called "A Place Named Destiny" that was
shown nationally at film festivals. The company is also the subject of a new documentary film (2014)
called “F*R*E*E,” produced by Studio B Films, an academy award nominated film company under the
direction of David Collier and Suzanne LaFetra. A 171-page curriculum guide called Youth On The
Move: A Teacher's Guide to Co-Creating Original Movement/Theater Performances with Teens was
created in 2002 (funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts) to chronicle the process of
the group's creation of original productions.
The Destiny Junior Company (DJC) is modeled after the teen company and gives the 9-12 year old
members opportunities to develop dance and theater skills and perform at an intermediate level.
6
ABOUT THE COMPANY DIRECTORS
SARAH CROWELL has taught dance, theater and violence prevention to youth and adults for over 25 years. She has run
programs at Destiny Arts Center since 1990. She has served as dance teacher, workshop facilitator, program director and
executive director. She currently serves as the organization's artistic director.
Sarah co-founded the Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company in 1993, a troupe for teens to co-create original
movement/theater productions based on their own experiences. The company now performs for over 20,000 audience members
a year at conferences, festivals and other community events. Sarah received 9 California Arts Council Artist in Residency
grants for her work at Destiny and a National Endowment for the Arts grant to author a curriculum guide for artists working
with teens called Youth on the Move: A Teacher’s Guidebook To Co-Creating Original Movement/Theater Performances With
Teens. Sarah is the recipient of the 2007 KPFA Radio Peace Award, the 2006 Purple Moon Dream Speakers Award, the 2011
KQED Women’s History Month Community Leader Award, and the 2013 Bay Area Dancer’s Choice Award. Between 1984
and 2000, Sarah performed and toured nationally with modern, jazz and dance/theater companies based in Boston and the Bay
Area, including Impulse Jazz Dance Company and the Dance Brigade. She also directed and performed with the dance/theater
company i am! Productions between 1994 and 2002, which featured a two-woman show called Portrait of a Girl from
Nowhere... an urban fairy tale. The piece explored issues of bi-racial identity through modern and hip-hop dance, theater,
poetry and song.
RASHIDI OMARI came to the stage through his passion for all forms of dance. Hip Hop, B-Boying, Popping, Locking and
House, modern and jazz dance are integral parts of his extensive repertoire. He has been performing professionally since 1998
and has been teaching dance since 2000. He has performed with DREAM Dance Company, Avatar Flux Dance Company,
Adia Whittaker Dance Company, among others and is an MC for Hip Hop crew Company of Prophets as well as live bands
Loco Bloco and The Unsmokables.
In addition to dance, Rashidi teaches workshops in lyricism, Hip Hop history, violence prevention and conflict resolution as a
way to teach confidence, violence prevention skills and community building among youth. Rashidi has been working with
Destiny since 1999 and has been the co-artistic director of the Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company since 2009. His
Destiny directorial collaboration with the Balinese music and dance group Gamelan Sekar Jaya, to create the show Tjak Box,
garnered critical acclaim.
MIKA LEMOINE, born and raised in Oakland, CA, studied dance and martial arts at Destiny Arts Center for 8 years and was
part of the Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company for 4 years. She graduated from UCLA’s departent of World Arts and
Cultures in 2006 with a B.A. in Dance and a minor in Latin American Studies. She has toured and performed internationally
with Contra Tiempo Urban Latin Dance Theater and in Los Angeles with Versa-Style Dance Company. Currently she dances
with three Bay Area dance companies: Bodirock Culture, Mix’d Ingrdnts and Embodiment Project. She teaches Hip Hop dance
to youth after school at Destiny Arts Center, in the Oakland Public Schools, and at Roco Dance & Fitness in addition to her day
job as an English/Spanish interpreter for the State Labor Commission. Mika finds her voice and her inspiration through
movement. She believes that art and expression are necessary for human survival and that they can change minds and make the
world a better place.
PRE PERFORMANCE
Introduction: About Warrior
Warrior features 50 young people between the ages of 9 and 24. The story that they tell in the show was
created out of their own experiences. The teen company co-writes the entire script in collaboration with
their directors over a period of six months of intensive scriptwriting sessions, rehearsals and a company
7
retreat, where the group brainstorms important personal and political themes and possible characters and
storylines, all based on the experiences, feelings and passions of the company members.
This year’s show takes place in a virtual video game where, in the first half, the Warriors are pitted
against their Enemies and given the task to defeat them. The Warriors are personified representations of
Destiny’s Warriors Code Principals (see page 37 for Warrior’s Code) of love, respect, care, responsibility,
honor and peace. The Enemies are their polar opposites – hate, disrespect, neglect, apathy, shame and
violence. Initially the Warriors give up their integrity to defeat the Enemies and thus they don’t actually
defeat them.
The show explores the impact that our thoughts and actions have on each other, our communities and our
world.
Discussion Suggestions








Have you seen a Destiny show before? If so, what were your general thoughts and feelings
about the show(s)? If not, what are you expecting?
How would you define love, respect, care, honor, responsibility, honor and peace? How do
these principals or values connect to the way you live?
How would you define hate, disrespect, neglect, apathy, shame and violence? How do these
aspects of ourselves affect our lives? How do they affect our communities?
What communities are you a part of? (family, school, neighborhood, faith communities etc.)
What do you love about your communities?
What is challenging for you in and about your communities?
What would you like to change about your communities?
How are you responsible for making those changes?
Writing Prompts/Ideas


Write about your favorite video game as if it was a story and you were the main character.
Write about the other characters and the challenges that you face in your journey. What is the
goal of the game?
Write about one thing you could do today or tomorrow that would make a positive difference
in your own life or someone else’s life.
POST PERFORMANCE
1. Discussion Suggestions: Gather general, initial reactions
The following discussion questions can be used as a basis for general discussion after watching the
performance or as free-writes. Discussing these issues with the class can help the students
understand the show on a deeper level as well as help them process the information that they
received. Many of the scenes and monologues from the show are included in this packet so feel
free to review them with the students before discussing them.



What stood out in the show for you?
Do you believe the playwrights intended the audience to walk away with a particular message
or idea? If so, what do you think is the main message?
How does this performance impact its audience? What are you left with at the end of the
performance?
8








Why do you think the show’s title is WARRIOR? What do you think it means as it pertains to
the show content?
Can you relate to any of the characters’ challenges? If so, which ones and how?
Write a critique of the play, commenting on acting values, dance choreography and technique,
style, genre, design, and theme.
What did you think about the combination of the different types of dance and theater together?
Do you think it was an effective way to speak about the issues that the show brought up?
Define, study and discuss the elements of racism that were brought up in the play: bias,
privilege, internalized racism, the role of power and economics.
Define, study and discuss the definition of binaries, specifically around gender identity and
expression.
Define, study and discuss the presence and implications of cyber bullying. How has it affected
the students’ lives?
Watch the Story of Stuff video(s), available online, and create written and discussion projects.
2. Exercises: Getting to Know Each Other
These following group exercises are used in the process of creating Destiny Arts Youth
Performance Company scripts.
What’s In A Name?
LENGTH OF ACTIVITY: 15-20 minutes
EQUIPMENT NEEDED: None
SET-UP: Students get into partners with someone they don’t know or don’t know well. They sit
cross-legged facing their partners, knee to knee. The atmosphere is quiet.
DESCRIPTION: Each
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
student needs their partner the following questions:
What is your full given name?
What do you like to be called?
Are you named after somebody?
What does your name mean?
Do you know why you were given this name?
What is its origin/history?
Do you like your name? Why or why not?
Do you have any nicknames? Where did they come from?
If you had a child what would you name him/her? Why?
After everyone has asked and answered the questions, they get into a circle and present his/her
partner to the group, using the information they have just learned about him/her.
NOTE: Be aware that this may be a sensitive topic to some people. If some group members
prefer not to be introduced with a great deal of detail, that’s okay.
Follow-up/Discussion Questions: Did you learn anything about yourself or your peers from
this activity? Why are our names important? What do names mean to us? Do you know
anyone that may have changed his/her name? Why do you think he/she did it? Do you think
that pronouncing a name correctly is important? Why or why not?
If You Really Knew Me
LENGTH OF ACTIVITY: 5-10 minutes
9
None
SET-UP: Students are sitting cross-legged in a circle with their knees touching or almost
touching.
EQUIPMENT NEEDED:
DESCRIPTION: The
instructor begins this exercise by giving an example of a completion of the
sentence “If you really knew me you would know that…”. For example: “If you really knew
me, you would know that I graduated from Northern Hills High School.” Each person in turn
finishes the sentence. In the second round, the instructor invites students to go a little deeper
in the information that they share. The instructor models this by saying something like: “If
you really know me you would know that my father is Caucasian and my mother is African
American.” Each person finishes the sentence again in turn. This can go for two or three
more rounds. Each time, the instructor role models the type of information he/she wants to
get from the students, and models attentive listening as the group goes around again.
NOTE: It is especially important in the first few weeks of the program to keep this exercise
light. This game has a tendency to get really intimate really quickly. Students do not need to
give too much information right away or they end up feeling shy and vulnerable with each
other. This exercise is good to do when the students are new to the group and then to repeat
after the students know each other better. If the atmosphere feels safe to the students, they are
likely to share intimate pieces of information. Be sure that you remind the students about the
importance of confidentiality.
It’s always a little tricky when you do “If you really knew me…” early in the year with
a group. You want them to get to know each other and begin sharing deeper information about
themselves, but you don’t want them to go too far. When I start this exercise I begin by saying
something like, “If you really knew me, you would know that blue is my favorite color.” On
the second round I will say something like, “If you really knew me, you would know I’m
biracial,” to model revealing somewhat deeper information. One year a student revealed in the
first session that she had been anorexic the year before. The group was touched by her honesty
and responded by giving very intimate details about themselves. By the third round of the
exercise everyone was crying. At the time the group was willing to go to that level, but
because the safety of the group hadn’t been established yet, they were left feeling vulnerable
and shy with each other for many weeks afterward. I now take the exercise much more slowly
and repeat it throughout the year, getting to deeper information each time. This enhances,
rather than compromises, the safety of the group.
NOTE:
3. Discussion Suggestions: Violence Prevention
This topic is also very broad and at Destiny Arts Center youth spend many hours discussing the
issues of violence and violence prevention and practicing ways to prevent violence in different
ways. The following questions are the beginning of deeper study, discussion and practice.
Discussion and/or Writing Questions
Read Destiny Arts Center’s Warrior’s Code on page 37. Discuss examples of ways that you live
each of these values in your daily life.
Read the Five Fingers of Violence Prevention on page 38.
What is violence?
In what ways have you witnessed violence?
In what ways have you experienced violence?
In what ways have you perpetrated violence?
How do you prevent violence in your life?
10
How do you think the Five Fingers of Violence Prevention could be useful to you?
4. Project Ideas: Creative Writing Ideas
Found Poetry/Borrowed Text
 Have students choose a line from the play, such as the first line of a poem, and then
continue writing; or have students highlight powerful words from the play and turn them
into a “found” poem, where they right a poem from the play’s words in their own words.
Writing A Monologue
 Read over the monologues in the excerpts from the show section below. To warm up you
can begin by having the students write a short monologue about themselves, sort of like an
introduction. They can then choose a topic that they want to write about and a character
from whose perspective to write. The character does not have to be human. Just make sure
that the monologues have a clear beginning, middle and end.
5. Project Ideas: Researching Show-Related Material
Take a look at the resource guide on page 36 that gives information about show-related material.
Get your students to research and write about the issues themselves.
11
Excerpts from WARRIOR
FIRST ACT: THE BATTLES
MONOLOGUE: The Master of the Game
Welcome to Warrior
The game that takes you on a journey, the journey of life
I am the master of the game
I am the one who can either show you the way or put an obstacle in your path
Can you transcend it?
Either way, the game will push you beyond your limits
Warriors, in order to win the game you must be brave, be humble
You must defeat your opposite, your enemy
No easy task
Your first challenge is to find your opposite
Because sometimes you need to know who you’re not
To find out who you truly are
To make things more interesting, you will all be wearing masks
Can you see beyond the mask into the eyes of your enemy?
SCENE: Love vs. Hate (AKA MisEducation)
Love: How could you do this to me? Why would you do this to me? I told you from jump that if you
were down for me, I’d be down for you
I told you I loved you and you even said it back
And now I find out this relationship all lies
I shoulda never let my guard down with you
I thought we had something real, something true, something special
But I guess I was wrong
MisEducation: Aww, poor thing
She’s all broken hearted, vulnerable, stuck
Lost in a game, thinks she’s down on her luck
Doesn’t she understand that it’s all situational?
She wants to love openly but love is conditional
One day her “boo” says…
baby you’re hot
But the next day…
hm, maybe not
You may be wondering who I am to say
What do I know about love anyway?
They call me the enemy, the enemy of love
But if you could only see what I see from above
12
Bird’s eye view, I watch the whole thing
And love is pain, that’s all it will bring
Love will take you up high and crash you down low
And leave you there crying on the bathroom flo’
They say that I’m evil, bent on destruction
With approved tyranny, that’s how I function
But, my job is to keep everyone “sane”
So don’t hate the hater, hate the game.
I’ll tell you some lies, but they’re for their own good
I’m in every heart, every mind, every hood
But the Love Warrior, she’s no good for my story
When she claims who she is, she steals all the glory
Let me see if I can keep her all locked in a room
Oblivious of her truth, convinced of her doom
Oh Love, over here, listen up I can save you
From all of your heartbreak, that’s what I can do
Love: You? You’re my enemy. You can’t save me! We have to fight.
MisEducation: Oh no! You can win this game without a fight if you let me help you.
Love: Sounds too good to be true. What’s in it for you?
MisEducation: If we work together we can both win.
Love: Yeah right. How does that happen?
MisEducation: I have the cheat codes to this game.
Love: I can’t take cheat codes. Cheating isn’t right.
MisEducation: He cheated on you!
Love: Yes he did.
MisEducation: And besides, if you agree to this deal, at the end of the game I’ll give you the code for the
perfect man – a man who will never lie to you, never cheat. He’ll always think you’re the cat’s meow.
Love: Okay. I give up. I’ll take the cheat codes. I want the perfect man. I want the perfect life.
MisEducation: You made the right decision. Who needs all that vulnerability anyway?
Love: Not me!
MisEducation: Here’s your first cheat code. It’s called the invincibility code. No more pain. No more
heartache. You won’t feel a thing. Your heart will never be heavy or broken again.
Love: Sounds good to me!
MisEducation: Now you get to move to the next level in this game.
13
Love: Just like that?
MisEducation: Just like that!
SOUND: Voiceover: In the battle of Love vs. Hate, Love wins for now. Move to the next round.
SCENE: Respect vs. Disrespect
911 Operator: (From backstage mic): 911. What’s your emergency?
Disrespect: There’s a suspicious looking person standing outside my house in front of the bus stop. I’m
worried he’s about to do something bad.
911 Operator: Okay sir. Can you describe what he looks like?
Disrespect: Yes. He’s a young, tall African American male wearing a black hoodie. His hands are in his
pockets. Whatever he has in his pocket it looks like he’s about to take it out. Please send someone now.
911 Operator: Where are you? Do you feel threatened?
Disrespect: I’m in my house. He’s right outside my house. I absolutely feel threatened. Please just send
someone now.
911 Operator: Okay sir. Tell me your location. I’ll send a car out to you right away.
SOUND: sirens/freeze/gunshots INTO Voiceover - In the battle of Respect vs. Disrespect, Respect is
down. One life lost. Prepare to replay round. Respect, Power Up for new round format – The Dance
Battle
Disrespect: Ladies and gentlemen. Get ready for the dance battle of the century or perhaps the battle of
all time. Respect vs. Racism. I am your announcer, judge, big cheese, head honcho, basically the one in
charge. My name is Power and Money, but you can call me Disrespect. This is not your normal battle,
folks. It’s not your one on one. It’s not even your one on two, four, six or eight. It’s your one on
fourteen, because life just isn’t fair. Dance battlers enter super hyped Respect already lost one life. Let’s
see if he can stay alive in this massive round. Are you ready, kid?
Respect: Yeah I’m ready. Let’s do this!
Disrespect: Your first set of opponents will be The Bias Buddies. They know their opinions are
unreasonably hostile towards particular social groups, but they stick to their ideas. I can respect that.
Now drop that beat!
DANCE BATTLE #1: Respect vs. The Bias Buddies Performers
(with Powerpoint Image: Bias: Unreasonably hostile feelings or opinions about a social group;
privilege.)
Disrespect: Good job Bias Buddies, but Respect takes the battle.
14
Respect: I’m just warming up. Who’s next?
Disrespect: Your next set of opponents will be The Privilege Brothers. They have a special advantage so
they’ll be harder to beat. They didn’t create racism, but they benefit from it! Let me flip a coin this time
to see who goes first. Respect, heads or tails.
Respect: Tails.
Disrespect: (flips coin) Heads. The Privilege Brothers go first… of course. Play that music!
DANCE BATTLE #2: Respect vs. The Privilege Brothers
(with Powerpoint Image: Privilege: a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a
particular person or group of people. White privilege is the unfair advantage that white people are
granted at all levels of society: housing, education, media, and the justice system.)
Disrespect: Wow, I didn’t think Respect could beat the brothers, but he did it. He beat the odds! This is
getting hot, people. Put your hands together for Respect! That was a tough battle. You ready for the next
round?
Respect: Yeah, I got this. Who’s next?
Disrespect: It’s time for you to face your own demons. The ones so deeply imbedded in your mind that
you don’t even know they’re there - the Internalized Racism Crew. They have the power to make you
accept your own defeat. Beat them if you can. Music!
DANCE BATTLE #3: Respect vs. The Internalized Racism Crew
(with Powerpoint Image: Internalized Racism: The process by which a member of an oppressed group
comes to accept and live out the inaccurate myths and stereotypes applied to the group. This often leads
to self-devaluation, worthlessness and hopelessness.)
Disrespect: Oh my God people he did it! Respect actually beat the Internalized Racism Crew. So few
have ever defeated them! Give him a special round of applause!! (to Respect) Alright man. You won
those rounds fair and square. Good for you. You got my respect. But now you have to battle…. me.
Respect: No problem. I’m ready!
Disrespect: Don’t think it’s gonna be that easy. I’m the master of all the ones you already battled. So in
essence, you haven’t really won anything at all.
Respect: What?
Disrespect: You think you can beat me?
Respect: Yeah, I’ll do whatever it takes.
Disrespect: That’s what I thought you would say. So much spirit! Relax, this isn’t even a dance battle.
The way to beat this round is to get on my team.
Group: Power, money, power, money!
15
Respect: I don’t understand.
Disrespect: All you have to do is sell your soul.
Respect: Sell my soul?
Group: Dooo it! Dooo it! Dooo it!
Disrespect: Here, put this on. (Disrespect hands a gold chain with a money sign to Respect). You wanna
win, right?
Respect: I guess. But…
Group: Dooo it!
Respect: Yeah, sure… (grabs chain and puts it on)
Disrespect: That a boy! Now you’re on top of the game!
VICTORY DANCE
SOUND: Voiceover: In the battle of Respect vs. Disrespect, Respect wins. Move to the next round.
SCENE: Care vs. Neglect
Care: (stopping abruptly) Wait. This doesn’t need to be a fight.
Neglect: But it does, you can’t win the game without defeating me. And you’ll never defeat me. Walls,
enter!
DANCE: The Maze Part 1 (maze walls enter)
Neglect: Let’s just get this over with.
Care: It doesn’t have to be like this. What is there to fight about anyway?
Neglect: Everything.
Care: But I don’t want to fight you. I want to help you.
Neglect: That’s what they all say. Walls, create impossible maze formation.
Care: What? No! Not the impossible maze formation!
Neglect: Now!
DANCE: The Maze Part 2 (forming the maze)
Neglect: You have three minutes to make it through the maze, if you care! Your time starts now.
DANCE: The Maze Part 3 (Care getting through the maze)
16
Care: There! I made it through your maze.
Neglect: So! I don’t care. Let’s fight!
The Maze Dancers (circle around Care & Neglect): Fight, fight, fight, fight!
Care: But you do care.
Neglect: I don’t care. I don’t care. No! no! no, no no (freaks out then slowly calms back down)
disregard, omit, ignore, turn away, you’ll go, you’ll leave.
Care: I would never leave.
Neglect: You’ll leave. (maze characters switch partners) You’ll float away like a flip flop in a windy
ocean and leave me thrashing outside my comfort zone… alone
Care: What are you talking about?
Neglect: You just care about winning. (Turns away)
Care: Look, I’m tired of this! I made it through your stupid maze! And now you’re just going to turn
away?! I’m trying to help you, I’m doing the best I can, but you won’t let me.
Neglect: Just leave me alone!
Care: Okay, if you won’t let me help you, then I’ll protect you. This is for your own good. Maze, form
walls of impenetrability. Now!
Neglect: What? No! Not the walls of impenetrability!
DANCE: The Maze: Part 4 (Neglect captured)
Care uses super powers to force the maze dancers into a scary enclosure around Neglect – the maze
dancers lift Neglect up and she looks scared and trapped. Care stands triumphant.
SOUND: Voiceover: In the battle of Care vs. Neglect, Care wins. Move to the next round.
MisEducation:
So the battles are raging, all part of the game
Love, Respect and Care, I’ll call them by name
They won their levels, they’re on their way
They did what they had to, to live another day
Love took the cheat codes, Respect battled cruel
Care showed Neglect she wouldn’t play the fool
See, life is dangerous, who can you trust?
Nobody, honey, suspicion’s a must
If you let yourself run and fetch like dog Rover
Then everything’s done, game over
Master of the Game:
17
Is the game really ever over? Do you ever win or lose? It certainly seems that way. But remember I am
the Master of the Game and I hold all the secrets. If you pay close attention, you too can know the
secrets. So, back to the game. Three down, three to go. I’m on the edge of my seat. How about you?
SCENE: Responsibility vs. Apathy
Master of the Game: Responsibility and Apathy, welcome to the arena of People Power. You two will
now face an exciting challenge: can you use your power to influence others? Responsibility, your task is
to get people to do the responsible thing. Apathy, you will use your skills to keep people lethargic and
indifferent. Whoever scores more points will be the winner. Consumers, enter.
Consumers: Let’s go shopping!
Master: Players begin!
Responsibility: Ok consumers, first of all, it’s important that you take the bus, BART or bike to the store!
Fossil fuels are the leading cause of climate change. We have to make a difference now!
Apathy: Seriously? You guys really think you can change the world by riding the bus? Puh-leez. It’s not
our job to take care of this stuff. That’s what governments are for...
Master: Consumers, choose your side. Consumers choose their sides
Master: One point for Apathy. Players continue!
Responsibility: Ok, so you’re buying detergent. Look for ECO-FRIENDLY on the label. Energy Saver.
Non-toxic. Fragrance free. We don’t want those nasty chemicals getting into our rivers, streams and
waterways!
Apathy: Oh no. Buy from the bottom shelf! 2 for the price of 1! Plus, you deserve to smell so fresh and
so clean, not like a bunch of lavender or… nothing. You’re wasting your money on that expensive, fancy
stuff.
Master: Consumers, choose your side. Consumers choose their sides
Master: One point for Apathy. Players continue!
Responsibility: Be the change! You can make a difference right now for centuries to come. Steer clear of
that cheap meat: buy local, grass-fed, sustainable, compassionately-killed beef...
Apathy: Hey, meat is meat. That’s why animals are made of it. If they could, animals would devour you
in a second. It’s the food chain, dummy: survival of the fittest.
Master: Consumers, choose your side. Consumers choose their sides
Master: One Point for Apathy. Okay Responsibility, Apathy is winning so far. Now it’s all or nothing.
Whoever has the most people at the end of this round, wins. Players begin.
18
Responsibility: (More flustered) Ok, people, come on now... YOU get to decide. Are you going to trash
this planet with junk? Leaving it a mess for generations to come? Well, are you? You can start by, um...
bringing your own mug for your latte!
Apathy: (scoffing) Seriously? You think a little personal coffee cup is going to do something? Come on!
Venti double triple low fat extra whip with 18 pumps of sugar to go and an extra cup! What? I do what I
want...
Master: Consumers, choose your side. Consumers choose their sides
Responsibility: The future is in your hands. YOU are killing this planet. Is that what you want to do?
Consumers choose Responsibility’s side No, I didn’t think so.
Apathy: What happened live and let live? Freedom of choice?
Responsibility: Only YOU can prevent global destruction. So get out there and... recycle that can. Buy
eco-friendly toilet cleaner!
Apathy: Nothing makes a difference.
Responsibility: Cruelty-free make up!
Apathy: I woke up like this.
Responsibility: No more plastic bags! There’s an island of plastic the size of Texas in the ocean. Do you
want to add to that?
Apathy: Or what? Who remembers to take their reusable bag to the store anyway?
Responsibility: Please... YOU are wrecking the planet. YOU can fix it. YOU can make ethical choices
when you shop. YOU can vote and change the world.
Apathy: Vote? Ha! Voting doesn’t make a difference. All politicians are the same anyway.
Responsibility: Take responsibility for what YOU buy and how YOU live. You need to get on my level
or the world will all go to hell. You don’t want to me responsible for that, do you?
Consumers: No…
Responsibility: Then make your choice. The world is watching.
Consumers all walk over to Responsibility guiltily.
Apathy: Wow... Whatever.
Master: Responsibility, you just won the Round. The people are with you....
Responsibility: Arrogantly Thank you. I did it all... for The Planet.
SOUND: Voiceover - In the battle of Responsibility vs. Apathy, Responsibility wins. Move to the next
round.
19
SCENE: Honor vs. Shame
Shame: Wanna play a game?
Honor: What?
Shame: Wanna play a game?
Honor: Who is this?
Shame: It’ll be fun…
Honor: But I don’t know who this is.
Shame: Come on!
Honor: Fine. What’s the game?
Shame: You. You’re the game.
Honor: Wait! What?!?
Demetri: OMG! I had no idea!
Grace: What does it say?!?
Diamond: Girl it’s so bad I can’t even say it out loud… Check ya phone.
Crowd: Ooooooo…
Shame: I heard the whole squad got a little something.
Lael: I knew she was a THOT.
Ruby: 200 trillion text messages are received in America every day.
Leslie: More than 80% of teens regularly use cell phones, making them the most common medium for
cyber bullying.
Alexis: 52% of young people report being cyber bullied.
Tatiana: I coulda told you she was like that!
Demetri: Why does he even like her?
Grace: I heard he cheated on her.
Diamond: (sarcastically) But that’s none of my business!
Lael: It’s your business now!
20
Crowd: L.O.L.
Ruby: 25% of teenagers report that they experienced repeated bullying via their cell phone or on the
Internet.
Shame: Check this picture out!!!
Diamond: Her eyebrows are on fleek.
Tatiana: Yeah, her mouth is too!
Crowd: Ha ha!
Shame: And look at this picture.
Honor: Where’d you get that from?
Tatiana: If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have believed it!
Leslie: Embarrassing or damaging photographs taken without the knowledge or consent of the subject has
been reported by 11% of adolescents and teens.
Honor: Wait, who is this?
Shame: Don’t even worry about it.
Demetri: It doesn’t matter.
Shame: But say something back and I’ll make sure you get beat up!
Honor: What?
Tatiana: You know what they say, snitches get stitches…
Crowd: Ooo!!!
Alexis: 33% of young people who report cyber bullying say that their bullies issued online threats.
Shame: She’s hella gay.
Grace: She does dress like a lesbo.
Lael: She’s just ugly!
Demetri: And fat!
Diamond: Smells like chili cheese Fritos and rotten milk!
Crowd: Nasty!
21
Ruby: The most common types of cyber bullying tactics reported are mean, hurtful comments as well as
the spreading of rumors.
Repeated negative comments in unison – surrounding Honor
Honor:
Closing my eyes seems to be the only thing I am able to do correctly anymore
It’s the moments in the complete darkness where I find peace
Because I live in a world where no matter where I look I will see my people transfixed by the screen in
their two palms rather than shocked by the chaos they are surrounded by
See
Our brains are full of scattered papers listed of memories we are supposed to keep
But the one memory I cannot let go of… is the memory of who we are unfortunately becoming
Damaged by the blood stream we swim through on our way to school and work in the morning
Steeped in a system rooted in judgment and hatred and fear
A system that is slowly dividing itself into pieces we cannot fit together again
Our minds have become immune to the sting of words posted at midnight
Our tongues now roll incomplete apologies from our mouths
Our ears no longer hear the scream of our sister down the street begging for her voice to be heard
And our hearts
Our hearts now beat to the pit-pat of our thumbs on touch screens rather than the boom-bap of the drums
that birthed our existence
So tell me now how I'm supposed to open my eyes
They have been glued shut because I cannot stand the glare of what is truly happening
Leslie: An astounding 95% of teens who witness bullying on social media report that others, like them,
have ignored the behavior.
Alexis: Only one out of every six parents of adolescents and teens are even aware of the scope and
intensity involved with cyber bullying.
Ruby: Victims of cyber bullying are more likely to suffer from low self-esteem and to consider suicide as
a result.
Leslie: Sometimes victims of cyber bullying, in an attempt to fight back, can shift roles, becoming the
aggressor.
Honor: Wait! I know who this is. It’s time for this to STOP!!
Everyone freezes and MisEducation and Master of the Game enter
MisEducation: Honor, remember, you can fight back. Take this Power Up. It’s a picture of your enemy
in a compromising position. I’ll send it to you right now. Use it against her.
Honor is the only one that gets the text. She looks at it and then looks up smiling. She goes to press send
and freezes.
Master of the game: Is it the right decision to fight fire with fire?
22
Honor presses send on her phone in slow motion with an evil look on her face. She then steps aside and
the group turns on Shame by circling her, pointing at her and laughing.
SOUND: Voiceover - In the battle of Honor vs. Shame, Honor wins. Move to the next round.
MisEducation:
There’s nothing wrong with revenge, Honor needed those fires
Sometimes you burn bridges to prove that they’re liars
In the battle with Shame, Honor won fair and square
Now Shame gets to hide, don’t feel bad, do we care?
Enough about Honor & Shame, let’s talk about Love
That pesky Warrior, I’ve got her like a caged dove
No flying for her and let’s keep it that way
Keep the cheat codes coming, her integrity at bay
Over here little Warrior I have a new lie
The code of denial, don’t lose your high
Chyna: What did you say?
MisEducation: Are you ready for your next cheat code?
Chyna: I don’t know. It just doesn’t seem right that all the other Warriors are fighting and I don’t have
to.
MisEducation: Ah, let them do it without you. You don’t need all that.
Chyna: But…
MisEducation: Come on! Take the next cheat code and avoid all the fighting. It’s called the “warp
code.” It helps you skip all the way to the last level.
Chyna: I don’t know.
MisEducation: If you take this cheat code, you’re one step closer to the perfect man, the perfect life.
Chyna: The perfect life…. (looks into the distance dreamily)
Chyna: Okay. I’ll take it!
MisEducation: Good job. Now run along. I’ll see you at the last level.
That’s a relief; Love’s lost in the game
Nowhere to be found, she’s forgotten her name
She has her cheat codes and I’ll win after all
Hate will stand strong and Love… will fall
Master of the Game: Will Love fall? Or will she finally find her true self? Respect, Care Responsibility
and Honor have passed their rounds. But have they really won? Only time will tell. Up next is Peace.
Violence is her enemy. Hmmm. How will this round play out?
SCENE: Peace vs. Violence
23
Diamond: More than 30,000 people are killed by firearms each year in this country.
Morgan: When is it enough?
Tatiana: The other day a boy at my school was shot and killed. He was 14.
Lael: It should have only taken one bullet…
Grace: …but they emptied the entire clip on him.
Diamond: More than 30 people are shot and murdered each day. 1/2 of them are between the ages of 18
and 35. 1/3 of them are under the age of 20.
Morgan: When is it enough? It’s time to fight back.
Kyziah: The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it
seeks to destroy.
Tatiana: I feel like I could explode like the bullets that put holes in the fence that stood behind his body
on the hard cold cement of reality.
Lael: There were so many bullets in the street that night.
Grace: Was the one that hit him first not enough?
Diamond: Homicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-24 year-olds, and the primary cause
of death among African Americans of that age group.
Morgan: When is it enough? It’s time to fight back.
Kyziah: Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie. Through violence you
may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate.
Tatiana: Windows and walls are too thin to stop the sounds of the reality I live in.
Lael: I put in my headphones.
Grace: Then I realize nothing can block out reality.
Tatiana: The heavy bass makes my heart beat like the time my neighbor got shot across the street.
Lael: Violence breaks down communities. But, often, these communities are already broken down by
poverty, unemployment, and inequality.
Morgan: When is it enough? It’s time to fight back.
Kyziah: Returning violence for violence multiplies violence.
Tatiana: I feel like I am in a dream, but I know this feeling too well, a feeling of confusion. That feeling
you get when something happens that makes you question everything you know.
24
Grace: Then I ask myself why?
Morgan: Then I ask YOU why?
Tatiana: Why?
Grace: Why?
Lael: Why?
Diamond: Why?
Morgan: Why do you sit there and do nothing when the bullets fly through the air shedding the blood of
innocent brothers and sisters? You need to fight back.
Group: Fight back!
Morgan: They didn’t deserve to die. Not like that.
Kyziah: No they didn’t.
Group: Fight back!
Kyziah: Returning violence for violence multiplies violence.
Morgan: But you can’t just sit by and watch innocent lives lost.
Kyziah: No… I can’t.
Group: Fight back!
Kyziah: Fight back!
Kyziah takes the lead as the group faces the audience and repeats “Fight Back!”
The Master of the Game: So, Warriors, you’ve been on a journey, a journey of life
You’ve faced your challenges in the best way you knew how
You passed the Masquerade level where you saw into the eyes of your enemy
You fought your enemy in all six rounds of the Battles level
Have you actually defeated your opposite?
Or are they still controlling the game?
Find out when you move to the next level of Warrior.
SECOND ACT: BEYOND THE BATTLES
AERIAL DANCE
VIDEO Voiceover with scrolling words: The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending
spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through
violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence
you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it
25
goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already
devoid of stars.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
SCENE: Purple!
Master of the Game: Welcome back, Warriors. SO, what do you think? Have you defeated your
Enemies? In the game of life, is your goal to find your opposites and conquer them? Is everything that
simple? Pauses and looks around for an answer Perhaps you need some help answering my questions.
Luckily, I have some magical beings who just might have the answers. I present to you… A fairy and
their very fluid friends. Hermes motions with his cane as if it is a wand.
MisEducation:
Cutting him off No no no, don’t bring that kind of magic Hermes freezes
That wouldn’t be right, that would be tragic
Children: Why not? We love magic!
MisEducation:
Of course you do!
But, the kind of magic he means will confuse you
You want the magic that was made to amuse you
Like Santa Claus, believe in him
He’ll bring you fun gifts, with your slightest whim
The magic he means makes anything possible
We know that’s not true, it’s simply not plausible
Children: Whatever you say.
The Master of the Game: (Unfreezes) Oh MisEducation, how could you lie to the children?
Children: You’re lying?
MisEducation: If I lie, it’s for your own good.
Children: What?!
The Master of the Game: You know that lying is never good! And remember, I am the Master of the
Game. I am the one who can show you the way. And now… I present to you the amazing, the
incredible…Fairy Godmother/father and their band of Fluid folks.
Fairy Godmother/father: Hello children!
Children: Hi!
MisEducation:
Not Fairy Godmother/father and the Fluid Folks
They’re the ones who challenge the things I love the most
26
Fairy Godmother/father: Listen to me. MisEducation is misguided and misinformed. She’s misleading
you all.
Children: No!
MisEducation:
Don’t listen to them, cover your ears
If you don’t, darlings, they’ll have you in tears
Fairy Godmother/father: No need to cover your ears. I am your Fairy Godmother/father here to remind
you that things aren’t as simple and separate as you think. MisEducation would tell you that everything
lives in it’s own box.
MisEducation: Well everything does.
Fairy Godmother/father: That everything lives in binaries.
Children: Binaries?
Fairy Godmother/father: Yes. Like right and wrong, white and black, rich and poor, good and evil,
straight and gay, male and female. But the world isn’t a box. It’s round!
Children: Everybody knows that!
Fairy Godmother/father: Magic happens when you let your minds expand and flow past the boxes. Are
you ready to expand and flow?
Children: Yes!
MisEducation: Flow? That’s what the ocean’s for!
Fairy Godmother/father: I’ll start by talking about gender. Are you ready for some magic?
Children: Yes!
MisEducation: Nooo! There’s nothing magical or fluid about gender. You’re either a little blue boy or a
little pink girl.
Fairy Godmother/father: We’ll see about that. Fluid folks, tell them what you know.
Nataya:
You told me my gender had to be either blue or pink
And those colors were imprinted since day one of my life
Children: You’re either a little blue boy or a little pink girl
Nataya:
You told me there was no in between!
But I was a little purple girl
Not pink, I was purple.
27
Children: You’re either a little blue boy or a little pink girl
Demetri:
My gender looks like a person who likes to be comfortable.
My gender feels like a song that you know by heart.
My gender moves like a stream in the woods.
It’s all peaceful.
Children: You’re either a little blue boy or a little pink girl
Jose:
My gender feels hopeful, expressive, like art
My gender looks… Androgynous-ish
My gender moves like waves, push, pull
Changing every day
Becoming more of whatever I embody, whatever I feel.
My gender says for me what I can’t say
Children: You’re either a little blue boy or a little pink girl?
Diamond:
My gender feels fluctuating.
My gender speaks volumes.
My gender moves like a turtle in a race against time.
We are pushing our hardest to keep up and make ourselves known.
Demetri: I’m not a gender, I’m not a pronoun. I’m Demetri!
Jose: I’m Jose!
Diamond: I’m Diamond!
Nataya: I’m Nataya!
All: Not pink, not blue.
Children: PURPLE!
Fairy Godmother/father: That’s right!
MisEducation: Purple? Who likes the color purple?
Fairy Godmother/father: Good job, children. You let yourself expand past the idea of binaries. And
when you do that, you create something new – new ideas, new possibilities.
MisEducation: Boring!
Fairy Godmother/father: The binaries exist to help us learn. But once we move beyond them, a wild
spectrum is revealed to us.
28
MisEducation: I bet you that isn’t even a word. Spectrum.
Fairy Godmother/father: Fluid folks, tell them what a spectrum is.
Nataya: A spectrum is a condition…
Diamond: …that is not limited to a specific set of values...
Demetri: …but can vary infinitely…
Jose: …between one extreme and the other.
Fairy Godmother/father: Noticing the spectrum allows for creativity and we need that to create a new
world together.
MisEducation: A new world? Who wants a new world?
Children & the Fluid Folks: We do! EXIT
MisEducation: Wait, children wait!
Fairy Godmother/father: The Warriors want a new world too. (Warriors ENTER) That’s why they
started their journey in the first place. But their battles were only part of the journey. It’s time for them to
understand that, and to help create the new world that they know is possible.
SOUND: “Poof” Fairy Godmother/father EXITS
Master of the Game: Yes. Now it’s time for our Warriors to face their so-called Enemies again (Enemies
ENTER and they end up facing the Warriors) and this time realize they don’t need to defeat them or
change them. When they are not defined by them the Warriors get to choose. When they integrate the
lessons that the battles have taught them, they become true Warriors.
MisEducation: Yes, you get to choose. Love, choose the right thing. Take the last cheat code. You’ve
made it this far. Now you can have perfect love.
Love: Perfect love? A relationship where you feel no pain, where you skip the heartache?
MisEducation: Exactly. You deserve someone...
Love: (cutting her off) You’ve been defining me, defining love as something that’s just in relationship to
another person. That is part of it. But love is bigger than that. I’m bigger than that. And I’m ready to do
what it takes to find out how big it is. It’s time, time to open our hearts, be still, and listen to love's true
voice. My true voice. If we listen clearly, if I listen clearly, our genuine truth will be revealed. So no, I
will not take your cheat code.
DANCE: I Wanna Be Ready
Love and MisEducation walk through the center of the lines and exit.
SOUND: Video Game SFX
Respect & Disrespect:
29
Disrespect: Freeze.
Respect: No. I can’t breath. Takes off money chain and gives it on Kevin
Disrespect: Click clack.
Respect: Boom! Don’t shoot. Kevin takes the chain.
My skin color doesn’t mean you have to run and hide
My skin color doesn’t mean that I’m a threat to you
My skin color doesn’t need to dictate how you see me
I matter because I am
And I am precious beyond measure
I say no to the system of racism thick in our society, in my body
I say yes to understanding that system and creating something new
We can build a future where we are not well adjusted to injustice and well adapted to indifference
Where we break down this broken system and bring around bright ideas that brandish a reality where you
see the real me.
Warrior forever!
Respect and Disrespect walk through the center of the lines and exit.
SOUND: Video Game SFX
Care & Neglect
Care: I was wrong to lock you up. That wasn’t caring for you.
Neglect: Whatever. Walls enter!
Dancers enter in two walls
Neglect: People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered;
Care: Forgive them anyway.
Neglect: If you are kind, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Care: Be kind anyway.
Neglect: The good you do today, people will forget tomorrow;
Care: Do good anyway.
Neglect: Give the world the best you have, and it will never be enough;
Care: Give the world the best you’ve got anyway. You see, in the end, it’s between me and my own
choices; it was never really between you and me.
Care and Neglect walk through the center of the lines and everyone forms 2 lines behind Responsibility,
Apathy and Master of the Game
SOUND: Video Game SFX
Responsibility & Apathy
Hermes: Responsibility and Apathy. Here you are again. Responsibility, you won over the people, but
did you do it in a way that would get them to really make a difference?
Responsibility: I guilt tripped the people to win them over. I see that now. I can’t change the world that
way.
Hermes: Apathy, what is your response?
Apathy: What is this about changing the world? Take care of yourself! Survival of the fittest, like I said
before.
Responsibility: When we take care of each other and our planet we can ALL survive.
Hermes: Now you’re beginning to understand.
Apathy: But we can’t do that by voting or recycling. That’s not enough anyway.
30
Responsibility: You’re right. It’s not enough. We also need to galvanize our communities in positive
ways to come up with game changing solutions to the overwhelming challenges we face. That’s the only
way we will save this planet - together!
Hermes: Ah, the game needs to change. Exactly. When we move power from the hands of few to the
hands of many, the game will change.
Responsibility, Apathy and Master of the Game walk back to join the group.
SOUND: Video Game SFX
Honor:
Who have I turned into?
My eyes have been glued to the glow on my screen distracting me from myself
I must learn to accept every part of who I am instead of trying to hide it
The only way I will ever be honored is if I honor myself
If I learn to see myself as a warrior
I will learn to see others in the same light
We are all the same beings within
So when did we forget what it meant to respect ourselves enough to respect others?
When did we forget the warmth of open hearts?
When did we forget to treat our bodies as holy?
When did I forget?
Tell me
How can I live like this anymore?
How can we live like this anymore?
We simply cannot live like this anymore
Honor and Shame walk back to join the group.
SOUND: Video Game SFX
Peace & Violence
Violence: That’s right. We can’t live like this anymore.
Peace: I cannot allow myself to be violent in response to the violence and chaos surrounding me.
Violence: Then how will you change the reality you live in?
Peace: In Tibetan, "warrior" means one who is brave, brave enough to never use aggression and fear to
accomplish their ends. I now commit to becoming a peaceful warrior. That’s how things change.
All the Warriors make a line at the front of the stage, everyone else lines up behind them.
SOUND: Video Game SFX
True Warriors
Love: A movement has erupted
Respect: Our system is corrupt and
All: The ocean of our voices
Care: is sweeping the stream of blood out of the streets we ride on
Responsibility: So as we lay our
All: Beating Broken Bodies
Peace: along the cemented earth we must remember to hold our two palms to the sky and begin to slowly
rise
Honor: Because this storm has finally arrived
Love: These grey clouds are not collections of droplets of water but rather
31
All: the vibration of our people’s voices
Respect: And when our thunder roars
Care: It is not the rapid expansion of lighting
Responsibility: But rather the cries of our ancestors
All: begging for the struggle to end
Honor: Begging for my generation to find its voice
Peace: Begging for our pain to seep through the microphones we speak into
Love: like the blood that seeps through the drains in
All: OUR streets
Care: Begging for us to realize that the only enemy that truly exists
All: is the one that lies within
Responsibility: We must not destroy our external environment
Respect: destroy the path we are supposed to follow
Peace: but use the beat of this organ we feel inside to break down a system built with bricks of hate
Love: Love must be our only weapon
Honor: We must open our chests…
All: broadly…
Responsibility: so we can breathe
All: We must be what we want to see
Respect: It was moments in the complete darkness
Peace: where I found peace, but if
All: together …
Care: we can turn on the lights
All: We will be able to truly live.
DANCE: Glory
SCENE: Our Deepest Fear
Isha: Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us
We ask ourselves who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, fabulous, talented?
Actually, who are you not to be?
Your playing small does not serve the world
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure
around you
We are all meant to shine
We were born to make manifest the glory of love that is within us
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same
As we are liberated from our own fear our presence automatically liberates others
MONOLOGUE: Hopi Elder’s Prophecy
Master of the Game:
There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They
will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart and will suffer greatly. Know the
river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river,
keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water. Banish the word ’struggle’ from your attitude and
your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.
32
DANCE: Come to the River
FINALE DANCES
Resource Guide

World Trust: Social Impact Through Film & Dialogue
http://world-trust.org/

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
http://amptoons.com/blog/files/mcintosh.html

Statistics on Cyber Bullying
http://nobullying.com/cyber-bullying-statistics-2014/

Statistics on Cell Phones
http://griffintechnology.com/blog/fun/mind-blowing-cellphone-statistics/

The Story of Stuff
http://storyofstuff.org/

Gun Violence
http://www.nij.gov/topics/crime/gunviolence/Pages/welcome.aspx
https://oaklandnorth.net/2012/12/17/analyzing-gun-violence-in-oakland/
http://blogs.plos.org/publichealth/2013/07/25/the-gun-violence-epidemic/

Gender Identity
http://www.county.allegheny.pa.us/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=39660
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_identity
33
THE WARRIOR’S CODE
LOVE
A Warrior is skilled in body and kind in heart.
RESPECT
A Warrior respects oneself and all living things.
CARE
A Warrior believes that caring for oneself means caring for our world.
RESPONSIBILITY
A Warrior takes responsibility for one’s own actions and makes a superior effort in every
situation.
HONOR
A Warrior uses fighting skills honorably only to protect self and loved ones. A Warrior
never raises a fist in anger.
PEACE
A True Warrior lives by this code and firmly believes that the greatest warrior of all is the
one that stands for peace.
THE FIVE FINGERS OF VIOLENCE PREVENTION
34
1. USE YOUR HEAD
Students learn to…
 Identify their natural senses
 Understand what awareness means
 Develop keen observation skills
 Understand the concept of intuition as a way to receive information
 Understand how to breath and relax
2. USE YOUR MOUTH
Students learn to…
 Develop their voice as a powerful tool for communication
 Understand nonverbal communication
 Understand boundary setting
 Differentiate between passive, aggressive and assertive behavior
 Develop positive communication and problem solving strategies
 Develop the capacity to use the 7 Steps to Conflict Resolution in conflict situations
3. USE YOUR FEET
Students learn to…
 Understand the concept of safe spaces
 Develop decision-making skills
 Practice physical agility in escape techniques
 Understand the social pressures related to walking away from conflicts or using
verbal skills to resolve differences
4. USE YOUR FIGHTING SKILLS, BUT ONLY IF YOU HAVE TO
Students learn…
 Basic self-defense skills and an understanding of the difference between an “anger
situation” and a “danger situation”
5. TELL SOMEBODY WHAT HAPPENED
Students learn to…
 Identify a trusted adult to whom they can report tough situations or any time they
had to employ any of the first four fingers
35