Things You'll Need:
- Cowherd costume
- Seven fairy costumes
- Loom
- Ox costume with removable hide
- Woven baskets on pole
- Two dolls
- Magpie costumes (black tights or shirt/pants are sufficient)
- Assorted animal costumes
- Goddess of Heaven/Jade Emperor of Heaven costumes
- Narrator
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Step 1
Choose one of the festival's names for the play's title. The Night of Sevens also is known as The Night of Skills or the Festival to Plead for Skills, as well as the Seventh Sister's Birthday or simply the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.
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Step 2
Decide what version of the legend you want to tell. Usually, Niulang (the Cowherd) is a mortal whose ox was a being cast out of Heaven, while Zhinu (the Weaver Girl) is the seventh daughter of the ruler of Heaven, either its Goddess or its Jade Emperor. In some versions, both Niulang and Zhinu are sprites who get in trouble because their love makes them neglect their duties. Both variations explain rainfall as the lovers' happy tears on reuniting.
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Step 3
Determine whether the actors have speaking parts or only mime their roles while the narrator speaks. Also decide whether the narrator is to speak as a person outside the story or as one of the characters telling it from his perspective. If the latter, the best role for the narrator is as either the Goddess of Heaven or the Jade Emperor. (If the children are very young, the narrator can be an adult.)
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Step 4
Draft a script and cast children for the parts.
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Step 1
Study Chinese and/or Japanese clothing for ideas for Niulang's, the fairies' and the Goddess of Heaven or Jade Emperor's costumes.
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Step 2
Design the set so it can be separated into two parts, representing the creation of the Milky Way as a barrier between the lovers.
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Step 3
Decorate according to either the Chinese or Japanese festivals. The Chinese decorate with various handcrafts, including flower-festooned ox horns and carved melons. The Japanese decorate with paper strips (good handwriting and studies), paper kimonos (good sewing, no accidents), paper cranes (healthy families and long life), purses (good business), nets (abundant food), trash bags (cleanliness) and streamers (the Weaver Girl's threads). You also can combine the two motifs.
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Step 4
Include other traditions in the backdrop, such as the image of the Temple of the Matchmaker, which Chinese lovers and singles visit during the festival to be blessed. Also include representations of the Milky Way and the constellations Lyra and Aquila, in which the stars Vega (the Weaver's Star) and Altair (the Cowherd Star) are found.
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Step 1
Start with the ox befriending Niulang and telling him how to find a wife by approaching the seven daughters of the Jade Emperor while taking a bath and stealing the clothes of the one he loves. If you are using the version of the story where the lovers become lazy after meeting, begin instead with Niulang meeting Zhinu and her sisters.
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Step 2
Have Niulang steal a token item from Zhinu, such as a sash or belt, that he does not return until she promises to marry him. (In the actual story, he steals all of her clothing, but this is not appropriate for a school play.)
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Step 3
Depict Niulang and Zhinu's early married life, including the births of their two children.
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Step 4
Bring in Zhinu's father, mother or grandmother to take Zhinu back to Heaven, while Niulang takes the ox's hide to disguise himself and his children as he sets out to be reunited with her. Separate the set halves to show the couple's separation.
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Step 5
End with the magpies coming in to bridge the gap between the halves of the sets and show Niulang reunited with Zhinu when he crosses the bridge.
