BIRDS IN THE HAND : Origami Symbolizes Life After the Bomb in ‘One Thousand Cranes’

Think of a crane, and you may picture a stately bird standing by the water’s edge or rising toward the clouds with powerful, measured wing strokes.

In many cultures, the crane represents much more. For example, according to “Man, Myth & Magic: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mythology, Religion and the Unknown,” Irish legends once ascribed supernatural qualities to the bird, and some early Greek and Roman writers considered the crane to be a symbol of supreme vigilance.

In Colin Thomas’ “One Thousand Cranes,” the crane is also held up as a symbol, only in this case, the bird is made of paper. Based in part on the true story of a young Japanese girl afflicted with radiation-induced leukemia nine years after the bombing of Hiroshima, this drama for young audiences finds the central character, Sadako Sasaki, folding 1,000 origami cranes to symbolize her wish for health and a long life. At the end of the play, audience members are invited to continue the job that Sadako could not complete (the child died in 1954), and through that, voice their own concerns for world peace.

South Coast Repertory’s Young Conservatory Players present “One Thousand Cranes” Saturday through June 19 on SCR’s Second Stage in Costa Mesa. After the hourlong performance, the 11-year-old actress who plays Sadako (Kristy Wu) will return to the stage to encourage audience members to fold their own cranes and send them to the children’s monument in the Hiroshima Peace Park in Japan, where thousands of origami cranes are left by visitors as a symbol for their desire for peace. (Origami paper, folding instructions and the park’s mailing address will be included with the show programs.)

“One Thousand Cranes” premiered in Vancouver’s Green Thumb Theatre for Young People in 1983; it was performed by a Japanese theater company in Tokyo in 1985.

American audiences had their first look at “One Thousand Cranes” in 1986 when it was toured through the Mark Taper Forum’s Improvisational Theatre Project (now called PLAY, or Performing for Los Angeles Youth). In 1988 and ‘89, the Taper took it to three international arts festivals, including the International Assn. of Theater for Children and Youth Festival in the then Soviet Union. The show, which addresses children’s concerns about nuclear war, was also performed at the Kennedy Center Theater Lab.

YCP director Diane Doyle said that to her knowledge, the Young Conservatory Players’ staging of the show is the first ever attempted by young actors. Instead of four adults handling multiple roles, Doyle uses eight children, most of them students in SCR’s Young Conservatory theater training program. Four of the children act as storytellers, helping young audiences keep pace with the tale through its 16 scenes (the transitions are further aided by original music by Michael Silversher and Dwight Richard Odle’s inventive, three-level set, she said). Two adults from the theater’s Adult Conservatory also appear in the show.

“One Thousand Cranes” is actually two stories with a common theme, said Doyle. The first, set in 1950s Hiroshima, follows Sadako, her mother and her best friend as they come to terms with the girl’s illness and impending death. Sadako’s leukemia was linked to radiation exposure she suffered as a toddler in Hiroshima, where the first atomic bomb dropped on a populated area devastated the city Aug. 6, 1945.

Despite this, Doyle says that the play is not political in nature.

“There’s no discussion of who was responsible for dropping the bomb,” she said. “It’s more, ‘This is what a bomb can do.’ ”

Running parallel to this is the story of Buddy, a 1980s toy gun-toting “G.I. Joe freak” (played by 11-year-old Morgan Johnston). Set “somewhere in the U.S.,” Buddy’s scenes focus on his transition from an obsession with war games to a growing awareness of and concern about real nuclear war. By the end of the show, Buddy has become an advocate for peace and is rallying his schoolmates to do the same.

There is no connection between the two characters, said Doyle, but together they deliver a pertinent message about the hazards of war and suggest viable ways children can work toward world harmony.

The play addresses serious subjects, but there are humorous moments as well, said Doyle. She adds that children as young as 5 or 6 will be able to grasp the hopeful message the show imparts.

“Death and war are topics that kids worry about, but I don’t think (the play) is too scary at all.

“When you do a play like this, you have to say, ‘Here’s the problem . . . and here’s an alternative, here’s what to do.’ There’s a hopefulness to it, big time. You leave the play feeling good.”

What: SCR’s Young Conservatory Players in “One Thousand Cranes.”

When: June 11, 12 and 19 at 2 and 4 p.m.; June 17 at 7:30 p.m. and June 18 at 4 and 7:30 p.m.

Where: South Coast Repertory Second Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa.

Whereabouts: From the San Diego (405) Freeway, exit at Bristol Street and drive north. Turn right on Town Center Drive.

Wherewithal: Tickets: $8 to $10. Parking: $6.

Where to call: (714) 957-4033.