The Shepherd's play is one of three plays performed first in 1919 by the original faculty at the first Waldorf school as a Christmas gift to the children. The plays include the Paradise Play, The Shepherd's Play, and The Three Kings Play. The plays have their roots in the rural Austrian region of Oberufer and are known as The Oberufer Mystery plays and they continue to be performed at Waldorf schools all over the world. These plays are meant to engender a reverence for spirituality and foster the child's soul development.  Because The Shepherd's play is both a performance and an act of devotion, we also want to take this time to talk about some expectations for the Shepherd's play. It is appropriate for the youngest children, but it is a long play lasting one hour, performed in Medieval language.  This may be their first opportunity to practice proper theater etiquette. We ask that you keep a few things in mind and help our children to understand that etiquette is a part of any theater experience. The children at City Garden know that they are expected be quiet and respectful when they watch puppet plays and listen to stories at school. All children who attend the play are expected to sit with their parents for the duration of the play. Since the faculty will be performing in the play, there is simply not enough staff to mind all the children during the performance. The performers may even go out into the audience, so make sure to keep aisles clear. Please remember to silence cell phones or other devices, and refrain from taking pictures during the play. Please also be sure to eat either before or after the play as there is no food allowed in the auditorium during the performance. Again, the performance will last an hour. Finally, if your child is upset or crying, we ask that you step out of the performance space with your child so as not to disturb the performance or the audience. We thank you very much for your cooperation during the Shepherd's play in helping to make it a good experience for everyone.