Lysistrata's Children

Name of event: Lysistrata’s Children
Organizer and location of event: Theater for the New City
Amount of hours of event: 1 hour

Lysistrata’s Children is a production that is greatly influenced by the voices of the young children. It is the result of active research on the part of the actors pertaining to the history of war in the United States. The play begins with, what seems to be, an endless parade of the United States history of war. Through the use of over-sized, symbolic representations of presidents, weapons, and much more, the audience is bombarded with a series of wars that have taken place – World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, war in Afghanistan, etc. The central focus of the play explores the controversial question: Is war necessary and if so, when? War is perceived as taking root in the government, not the people. Upon the conclusion of this ‘parade’ a group of children come to the conclusion that too many lives are being lost and thus war is not the way to go. The struggle that these children endure is that of convincing their parents to sign the oath for victory over violence which declares their support for “settling differences through dialogue and mediation only and never through violence or warfare.” One aspect of the play I found interesting was the way in which opinions of parents were juxtaposed to the opinions of their children. To the question why do people like war? – one parent responded, “Because God made people that way.” Parents supplied a stream of responses that did not readily justify the need for war. By denying their parents the pleasure of being a parent (by not expressing love), the children ultimately succeeded through peaceful demonstrations portrayed in the media.

With respect to social studies education, it is often the case that teachers teach facts and students take in these facts without truly digesting, questioning, and understanding the impact that it has on history and how things are today. (This was, at least, my experience). As a future educator, Lysistrata’s Children helped me realize that students are capable of critically analyzing the happenings of the past if provided with the opportunity to do so (i.e. whether or not war is necessary). It also emphasizes the importance of and need for being able to take a critical stance instead of simply taking in the facts.