THE KITE RUNNER Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 1

THE KITE RUNNER
Play Guide
Arizona Theatre Company Guide 1

THE KITE RUNNER
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CONTENTS SPONSORS
3 WHO WE ARE
4 INTRODUCTION TO THE PLAY
4 THE CHARACTERS
5 SYNOPSIS
6 KHALED HOSSEINI
7 MATTHEW SPANGLER
8 AFGHANISTAN
10 KABUL
13 WHO ARE THE TALIBAN
15 ETHNICITIES IN AFGHANISTAN
17 PASHTUNWALI
19 AFGHAN COOKING
21 ISLAM
22 HISTORY OF KITE FLYING
25 ROSTAM AND SOHRAB
26 GLOSSARY OF FOREIGN TERMS
29 UNDERSTANDING AFGHANISTAN
33 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES
It is Arizona Theatre Company’s goal to share the enriching experience of live theatre. This play
guide is intended to help you prepare for your visit to Arizona Theatre Company. Should you
have comments or suggestions regarding the play guide, or if you need more information about
scheduling trips to see an ATC production, please feel free to contact us:
Tucson: Alison C. Terry
Education Manager
(520)884-8210
(520)628-9129 fax
Phoenix: Cale Epps
Education Associate
(602)256-6899
(602)256-7399 fax
The Kite Runner Play Guide compiled and written by Jennifer Bazzell, Literary Manager and
Laura Farrell-Wortman, Dramaturgical Intern. Discussion Question, and Activities prepared by
Sara Bernstein, Phoenix Education Manager, Alison C. Terry, Tucson Education Manager and
Cale Epps, Phoenix Education Associate. Layout by Gabriel Armijo.
Support for ATC’s Education and Community Programming has been provided by:
APS
Arizona Commission on the Arts
Arizona Community Foundation
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona
City Of Glendale
City Of Peoria
Community Foundation for Southern Arizona
Cox Charities
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold
Foundation
Linda and Fred A. Nachman
Mr. and Mrs. Tyrone Clark
Mr. Marc Sandroff
Ms. Penny Buckley
National Bank of Arizona
National Endowment for the Arts
Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture
PICOR Charitable Foundation
Raul Leon
Robert and Nancy Clark
Scottsdale League for the Arts
Shirley Allen
Target
The Boeing Company
The Marshall Foundation
The David C. and Lura M. Lovell Foundation
The Donald Pitt Family Foundation
The Hearst Foundation, Inc.
The Maurice and Meta Gross Foundation
The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation
The Stocker Foundation
The Stonewall Foundation
Tucson Electric Power Company
Tucson Pima Arts Council
Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 2

THE KITE RUNNER
ARIZONA THEATRE COMPANY: WHO WE ARE
Thousands of people make our work at ATC possible!
WHO WE ARE
Arizona Theatre Company is a professional, not-for-profit theatre company.
This means all of our artists, administrators and production staff are paid
professionals, and the income we receive from ticket sales and contributions
goes right back into our budget to create our work, rather than to any particular
person as a profit.
Each season, ATC employs hundreds of actors,
directors and designers from all over the country
to create the work you see on stage. In addition,
ATC currently employs about 100 staff members
in our production shops and administrative offices
in Tucson and Phoenix during our season. Among
these people are carpenters, painters, marketing
professionals, fundraisers, stage directors, computer
specialists, sound and light board operators, tailors,
costume designers, box office agents, stage crew
-the list is endless- representing an amazing range
of talents and skills.
Herberger Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona
We are also supported by a Board of Trustees, a
group of business and community leaders who
volunteer their time and expertise to assist the
theatre in financial and legal matters, advise in
marketing and fundraising, and help represent
the theatre in our community.
Roughly 150,000 people attend our
shows every year, and several thousands
of those people support us with charitable
contributions in addition to purchasing
their tickets. Businesses large and small,
private foundations and the city and
state governments also support our
work financially.
All of this is in support of our mission: to
create professional theatre that continually
strives to reach new levels of artistic
Temple of Music and Art in Tucson, Arizona
excellence and that resonates locally, in the state of Arizona and throughout the
nation. In order to fulfill its mission, the theatre produces a broad repertoire ranging
from classics to new works, engages artists of the highest caliber, and is committed to
assuring access to the broadest spectrum of citizens.
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THE KITE RUNNER
INTRODUCTION TO THE PLAY
INTRO CHARACTERS
“Come see me, Amir, there is a way to be good again…”
A cry for help from an old friend in a distant land lies at
the heart of this powerful story of friendship, betrayal and
redemption newly adapted from the international bestselling
novel. Based on one of the most beloved books of
the last decade, The Kite Runner is told through the lives
of two boys, Amir and Hassan, growing up in Afghanistan
in the same household, but in two starkly different
worlds. When the innocence of the boys’ childhood is
confronted with the brutality of prejudice and hate, Amir
begins a journey of self discovery and enlightenment
that will take him far from his home and the demons of
his youth. But fate, global politics and historical tragedy
threaten his ability to make amends for his past. A bracing
look at the modern world, The Kite Runner shows us the
human face beneath the headline news.
THE CHARACTERS
Costume Design Sketch for Young Amir
by designer Kish Finnegan
AMIR: Thirty-eight. Afghan ethnic Pashtun.
BABA: Forties in Act I. Fifties in Act II. Afghan ethnic
Pashtun. Amir’s father.
RAHIM KHAN: Baba’s business partner. Late thirties to
early forties in Act I, mid to late sixties
in Act II. Afghan ethnic Pashtun.
HASSAN: Young Amir’s servant
and best friend. Eleven years old.
Afghan ethnic Hazara.
YOUNG AMIR: Hassan’s best friend. Twelve years old. Afghan ethnic
Pashtun.
ALI: Hassan’s father and Baba’s servant. Forties. Afghan ethnic Hazara.
ASSEF: Twelve years old in Act I, thirty-eight in Act II. Afghan ethnic
Pashtun.
Craig Piaget and Lowell Abellon in
The Kite Runner. Photo by Kevin Berne
Costume Design Sketch
in Hassan by Kish Finnegan
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CHARACTERS
WALI: Twelve years old. Afghan ethnic Pashtun.
KAMAL: Twelve years old. Afghan ethnic Pashtun
MRS. NGUYEN: Mid fifties. Vietnamese shop owner.
GENERAL TAHERI: Mid fifties. Afghan ethnic Pashtun.
WALI: Twelve years old.
Afghan ethnic Pashtun.
Did you know
ATC’s production of
The Kite Runner has:
451 individual costume pieces total
90 pairs shoes
22 pieces facial hair/ wigs
SORAYA: Amir’s wife. Early twenties when they first meet and late thirties by the end of the
play. Afghan ethnic Pashtun.
DR. SCHNEIDER: American oncologist of Russian parents.
FARID: Thirties to fifties Afghan ethnic Tajik.
ZAMAN: Thirties to fifties. Afghan ethnic Pashtun.
SOHRAB: Hassan’s son. Ten years old. Afghan ethnic Hazara.
OMAR FAISAL: Pakistani/American immigration attorney.
RAYMOND ANDREWS: Early forties to late fifties. American Embassy Official in Pakistan.
PAKISTANI DOCTOR: Surgeon in a Pakistani hospital.
A TABLA PLAYER: Musician who accompanies the action.
The ensemble also plays KITE RUNNERS and FLYERS, REFUGEES , RUSSIAN SOLDIERS,
TALIBAN SOLDIERS, GUARDS and all other roles.
SYNOPSIS
SYNOPSIS
Barzin Akhavan and Gregor Paslawsky in The
Kite Runner. Photo by Kevin Berne.
Amir, an Afghan-American living in San Jose, CA,
gets a phone call one day which pulls him back
into his past in an instant. Growing up a member
of the privileged ethnic Pashtun class in Kabul,
Afghanistan, Amir lived a life of privilege made
possible by his father’s money and his servants’
work. His childhood was spent playing side-byside
with a servant boy named Hassan, a member
of the ethnic Hazara people who are looked down
upon in Afghanistan. In a fateful moment, Amir
betrayed his friend and servant, Hassan, and made
a decision that haunted him for years to come,
long after he and his father left Afghanistan behind.
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Years later, the phone call reminds the adult Amir that he cannot outrun his past. He must
return to the land of his childhood to try to make amends for what he did so many years
ago. But time and politics have drastically changed the Afghanistan of his childhood into a
country he barely recognizes. He finds himself up against the same prejudice and evil from
which he ran the first time. Will Amir be able to atone for his past The Kite Runner is a
beautiful and moving story of the love between friends that reminds us that it’s never to late
to try to do the right thing.
HOSSEINI
KHALED HOSSEINI
Khaled Hosseini was born on March 4, 1965
in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, as the
oldest of five children. His father worked for
the Afghan Foreign Ministry as a diplomat, and
his mother was a high school teacher of Farsi
and history. When he was five years old, his
family moved from Kabul to Tehran, Iran. They
returned to Kabul in the historic year of 1973,
when Afghanistan became a republic. In 1976,
his family followed his father to Paris. After
the PDPA (the People’s Democratic Party of
Afghanistan) seized control of the government
in 1978 and the Soviets occupied Afghanistan
shortly thereafter, the Hosseini family decided
to seek political asylum in the United States
instead of returning to Kabul. They moved to San
Jose, California, where Hosseini graduated from
Independence High School. He attended Santa
Clara University and earned a degree in biology.
The Kite Runner author Khaled Hosseini
After college, Hosseini decided to become a physician. He attended the University of
California-San Diego’s School of Medicine, where he completed his M.D. in 1993. He
served his medical residency at the well-respected Cedars-Sinai hospital of Los Angeles
and became an internist. Hosseini started writing The Kite Runner in 2001 while he was a
practicing physician. Hosseini published The Kite Runner in 2003 to critical acclaim. Parts
of the novel are based on Hosseini’s childhood in the Kabul neighborhood of Wazir Akbar
Khan. While some events in the story echo those in this life, the novel is fictional. By May
2007, it had been published in thirty-eight countries but not Afghanistan.
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HOSSEINI SPANGLER
Costume Design Sketch for Amir
by designer Kish Finnegan
MATTHEW SPANGLER
In 2003, while The Kite Runner was gaining a vast following,
Hosseini returned to Afghanistan for the first time in twentyseven
years. He was disturbed to discover just how terrible the
situation there had become, even though he had already written
a very graphic fictional account of it. Hosseini has stated that
a combination of luck and material privilege saved him and
his family from suffering under the Soviets and the Taliban,
much like his protagonist, Amir. He told Time Magazine that he
struggled with his freedom: "I felt ashamed, like I should have
suffered more." Hosseini felt estranged from the devastation
in Afghanistan, but his separation from his homeland and his
"Western sensibility" combined in his fiction to bring America's,
and the world's, attention to the faces of Afghanistan.
Hosseini published his second novel, A Thousand Splendid
Suns, in May 2007. Unlike The Kite Runner, which centers
around relationships between men, A Thousand Splendid
Suns focuses on those between women. Since its release, the
novel has garnered a plethora of positive reviews. Hosseini's
devotion to Afghanistan can be seen not only in his writing
but also in his activism. He has been a goodwill envoy to the
United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, since 2006, and his
personal website contains links to many aid organizations that
are helping Afghanistan. Interviewers describe Hosseini as a
smart, handsome man with a calming air, and Time Magazine
called him "almost certainly the most famous Afghan in the
world." Khaled Hosseini lives with his wife and two children in
Northern California.
-from The Kite Runner: A Study Guide reprinted with permission from San Jose Repertory Theatre
I absolutely loved The Kite
Runner from the moment I f
irst read it … I knew right
away that the book had the
potential to make a powerful
play. –Matthew Spangler,
Playwright, The Kite Runner
The Kite Runner playwright
Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide
Matthew Spangler
7

THE KITE RUNNER
HANSBERRY
Matthew Spangler, the playwright of The Kite Runner, is an Assistant Professor of
Performance Studies at San Jose State University where he teaches in the Departments of
Communication Studies and Television, Radio, Film and Theatre. His plays, which have been
produced throughout the U.S., U.K., Ireland and France, include A Paradise It Seems, an
adaptation of John Cheever’s short stories; a one-person show of James Joyce’s Dubliners; an
adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s short stories; and Mozart!, a musical-theatre adaptation
of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s letters. His directing credits include The Lieutenant of
Inishmore, The Lonesome West and Glengarry Glen Ross (San Jose Stage Company). Mr.
Spangler holds a BA in Performance Studies from Northwestern University, an M.Phil in
Theatre from Trinity College Dublin, and a PhD in Performance Studies from University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America and
Theatre Bay Area.
After I read the book, in 2005, I contacted Khaled and I asked him what he would think
of a stage production that would cover the entire narrative of The Kite Runner. He
lives in San Jose and I’m a professor at San Jose State University, where I teach
courses in adapting material for the stage. Our proximity was convenient because
we were able to meet for the fi rst time at a local Starbucks. He liked the idea of a
play, and I guess, you might say, the rest is history.
– Matthew Spangler, Playwright, The Kite Runner
AFGHANISTAN
The Kite Runner deals with the country of
Afghanistan from the 1970s to the year 2002.
Like all places, Afghanistan has a long and
complicated history, but it came to international
attention only after the coup of 1973. The King
of Afghanistan was deposed and replaced by
the first president of Afghanistan. The nation
is located in Central Asia and is made up of
thirty-four provinces. The country’s capital is
Kabul, which is also the capital of the northeast
province of the same name. Afghanistan
means “Land of Afghan,” Afghan being a name
the ethnic Pashtun majority used to describe
themselves starting before the year 1000.
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AFGHANISTAN
Afghan fi ghters on a downed helicopter
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY
Following the assassination of the
president in 1978, the socialist
state of the Democratic Republic
of Afghanistan was declared by the
PDPA (People’s Democratic Party
of Afghanistan). They instituted
many political and social reforms
in Afghanistan, including abolishing
religious and traditional customs.
These reforms incensed groups of
Afghans who believed in adherence
to traditional and religious laws.
These factions began to challenge the
government so rigorously that in 1979,
the Soviet Army entered Afghanistan
to assist the socialist government, beginning an
occupation that would last a decade. This time
is the historical point in The Kite Runner when
Baba and Amir leave Afghanistan. Throughout
the ten years of Soviet occupation, internal
Muslim forces put up a resistance. Farid and his
father are examples in The Kite Runner of these
Mujahideens, or men engaged in war on the
side of Islam. The United States was among the
countries that supported the resistance, because
Total Area:
250,000 sq mi (647,500 sq km)
Population (2008 est.):
32,738,376 (growth rate: 2.6%); birth rate: 45.8/1000;
infant mortality rate: 154.6/1000; life expectancy: 44.2;
density per sq mi: 128
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Kabul, 2,206,300
Other large cities:
Kandahar, 349,300; Mazar-i-Sharif, 246,900; Charikar,
202,600; Herat, 171,500
AFGHANISTAN
Monetary unit:
Afghani
Languages:
Dari Persian, Pashtu (both offi cial), other Turkic
and minor languages
Ethnicity/race:
Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 9%,
Aimak 4%, Turkmen 3%, Baloch 2%, other 4%
Religion:
Sunni Muslim 80%, Shia Muslim 19%, other 1%
National Holiday: Independence Day, August 19
Literacy rate: 28.1% (2000 est.)
Soviet troops withdrawing from Afghanistan
of its own anti-Soviet policies. When the Soviet
Troops finally withdrew in 1989, Afghanistan
remained under the PDPA for three more years. Then in 1992, in the wake of the collapse
of the Soviet Union and therefore Soviet support for the government, the mujahideen finally
won Afghanistan and converted it to an Islamic State.
Then in 1996, the Taliban took control of Kabul. After so many years of insecurity and
violence, the people welcomed the takeover. In the years following Soviet withdrawal,
there was a great deal of infighting among rival militias, making everyday life in
Afghanistan unsafe. The Taliban were a group of ethnic Pashtun supremacists who
banded together and took almost complete control of the country. Despite their warm
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THE KITE RUNNER
AFGHANISTAN KABUL
Hamid Karzai, President
of Afghanistan
initial reception, they soon made life in Afghanistan dangerous
again. Being Sunni fundamentalists and supremacists, they
systematically massacred Shittes, including the Hazara people.
They also enacted fundamentalist laws, most famously those
banning music and dance, and those severely restricting women’s
rights. In The Kite Runner, we see how the Taliban used fear and
violence to control the people of Afghanistan, for example at the
frequent executions in Ghazi Stadium.
After the events of September 11, 2001, the United States, who had
long maintained a presence in Afghanistan, stepped up their efforts
and overthrew the Taliban. The end of The Kite Runner occurs in
2002, when a provisional government was in place. It was not until
2004 that the current president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, was elected. Today, there are
countless Afghan refugees living in other parts of the world, just like Amir and his family. For
those Afghans living in Afghanistan, life is still dangerous. In the South, conflict continues to
rage and the Taliban have managed to reemerge. According to Amnesty International’s 2007
report, violence and human rights abuses are still a common reality in Afghanistan due to
weak governance. National ections took place on August 20, 2009 but threats from the
Taliban to inflict violence on those Afghan citizens who exercised their voting rights and
continuing violence created a low turnout of voters.
- http://www.gradesaver.com/the-kite-runner/ (reprinted with permission from San Jose Rep from The Kite Runner: A Study Guide)
KABUL
Afghanistan’s capital city Kabul has for centuries
been the epicenter of the nation’s triumphs and its
tragedies. It is a diverse place, inhabited by many
different ethnicities, nationalities and religions.
Sadly, it has also become famous as the site of
fierce territorialism amongst the many and varied
factions who have sought to control Afghanistan’s
fate, including the Taliban, the Soviet Union and
the United States.
I spent my
entire childhood playing with
Hassan on the grounds of my
father’s estate. My Baba was one of
the richest merchants in all of Kabul,
and everyone agreed he had built
the most beautiful house in the Wazir
Akbar Khan, the city’s most affl uent
neighborhood. – Amir, The Kite Runner
Situated in the valley between the Hindu Kush
Mountains and the Kabul River, Kabul is over
3,000 years old, having been established between
2000 BCE and 1500 BCE. Islam was brought
by Muslim Arabs to the city, and the nation, in 674 CE, and was firmly entrenched as the
majority religion by the 9th century CE. In the 1500s it was annexed by the Mughals (who
controlled the Indian subcontinent), and it remained under their control until 1738, when it
was captured by Nadir Shah, the leader of Persia (now Iran). In 1878, Kabul was invaded by
British forces, who would play a significant role in Afghanistan as colonizers. King Amanullah
Khan until he declared the country’s independence from all foreign powers in 1919. The
Afghans forced the British out that same year, but to this day the presence of British military
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forces in Afghanistan is a contentious issue.
KABUL
The mid-1900s were a comparatively prosperous era for
Kabul. The king encouraged modernizations, such as paved
roads and electricity. He was also a supporter of education
for women. Kabul University opened in 1930. By the 1960s,
Kabul was a cosmopolitan city. However, Soviet influence
was beginning to creep in, and in 1979, the Soviet Union
invaded Afghanistan. On December 24 of that year, the
Soviet army occupied Kabul and used it as a base in their
war against the Mujahideen for the next ten years.
In 1989, anti-communist Mujahideen, supplied and
trained by the United States, forced the Soviets out of
Kabul. During the Cold War, the United States supplied
and funded many anti-communist dictators and militia
forces throughout the world. The Mujahideen were no
exception, and when the Soviet Union fell and the specter
of communism was no longer a threat to US interests, the
United States left Afghanistan and Kabul to the whims
of this now-powerful, radicalized element. During this
period, Kabul suffered enormously. By 1993, there was no
longer electricity or running water in the city. The city was
factionalized amongst many militia groups. Millions were
killed or forced into refugee camps. The vacuum left by
the United States’ military and economic support allowed
for the rise of the Taliban and other extremist militias such
as Al Qaeda. On September 26, 1996, the city was finally
captured by the Taliban and major fighting between rival
militias ceased. The United Nations estimates that during
the 1990s, 90% of the buildings in Kabul were destroyed.
For a brief period, the Taliban moved the Afghan capital to
Kandahar.
We stayed huddled that way
throughout the night. The
shootings and explosions were
foreign sounds to us then. The
generation of Afghan children
who would know nothing but
the sounds of bombs and
gunfi re was not yet born.
– Amir, The Kite Runner
Craig Piaget, Thomas Fiscella, James Saba
and Lowell Abellon in The Kite Runner.
Photo by Kevin Berne.
Kabul during the 1990s, during the Afghan civil war
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KABUL
The infi ghting between the factions
was fi erce and no one knew if they
would live to see the end of the day.
Our ears became accustomed to the
rumble of gunfi re, our eyes familiar
with the sight of men digging bodies
out of piles of rubble. Kabul in those
days ...was as close as you could get
to that proverbial hell on earth.
– Rahim Khan, The Kite Runner
The attacks of September 11, 2001 would once again
directly draw the United States back into Afghanistan,
as it was widely reported that the Taliban was providing
safe haven to Osama bin Ladin. In October 2001, the
United States invaded Afghanistan, forcing the Taliban
to flee Kabul. The city was put under the security of the
Afghan National Police, and the authority of US-backed
interim president Hamid Karzai. Kabul is once again
the capital of Afghanistan. However, the conservative
influence of hardline Taliban rule has left its mark on
Kabul; for instance, although women can travel more
freely in Kabul than in other regions of Afghanistan,
most women still wear Islamic garb for both religious
and security reasons.
Symbols of Islamic faith such as the hijab
(head covering) can be found throughout
this majority-Muslim city. However, Kabul’s
population is diverse, comprised primarily
of Sunni ethnic Tajiks, with sizable groups
of Shiite ethnic Hazaras and Sunni ethnic
Pashtuns. Afghan Sikhs and Afghan Hindus
are also represented here. The city’s climate
is moderate, with a mild autumn and
summer, but a harsh, snowy winter lasting
from December to March. The air quality
is terrible; traffic pollution, widespread
use of electric generators and continual
atmospheric dust mix to create what locals
call the “Kabul Cough.” The city is primarily
made up of narrow, winding streets. Bazaars
(or marketplaces) dot the city and have
made a comeback since the American
invasion of 2001 brought increased
security to Kabul’s neighborhoods. Foreign
The population of Kabul has perhaps been
singled out as needing particular corrective
action. The Taliban have their power based in
the rural areas and in the more conservative
south of Afghanistan and have viewed
Kabul as a center of liberalism, at best, and
decadence, at worst. It is also seen as the
source of both the socialist and Islamist
movements which, they feel, have brought
ruin on Afghanistan, and is believed to have
been tainted by the secular attitudes brought
in by Soviet advisers. Part of the Taliban’s
mission to cleanse is aimed at ensuring
that the population of Kabul abandons all
vestiges of alien cultures and ideologies.
However, since the more liberal and affl uent
elements of Kabul society left during the
period of Soviet occupation or following
the establishment of the Mujahideen
government, the Taliban are seeking
to impose their vision on the relatively
uneducated and impoverished population
that remains.
The Taliban in Kabul
(From The Taliban: War, Religion and the New
Order in Afghanistan by Peter Marsden, 1998)
An Afghan bazaar populated by American soldiers
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KABUL TALIBAN
investment and aid have allowed for new possibilities, and new buildings and infrastructure
are being developed at a rapid pace. In general, the standard of living in Kabul is higher than
that of the rural regions of Afghanistan. However, the attempt to return Kabul to the state of a
modern city belies the difficult and fractious experience of POETRY
its people during the 20th century.
Many more people have access to electricity and running water than in the 1980s and 1990s,
although infrastructure is still being redeveloped after the destruction wrought by decades of
war and invasion.
-written by Laura Farrell-Wortman, dramaturgical intern
WHO ARE THE TALIBAN
The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from
1996 until 2001. The name means
“students” in Pashto and many of the
original members of the Taliban studied
at Islamic schools called madrassas
in Pakistan. Afghanistan has been a
Muslim country since the seventh
century and the vast majority of the
people are followers of Islam. The
separation of church and state does
not exist in such a country. When
the Soviet-backed government fell to
Mujahideen fighters at the end of the
A member of the Taliban’s police force
beating a woman
Cold War, factional fighting between groups occurred over who would control the
country. As often happens when a country is in crisis, a call emerged from a group
that the country’s problems would be solved if they returned to the basic principles
from which the country has somehow “gone astray.” The Taliban was the group
calling for this return to fundamentalist Islam in the case of Afghanistan. The Taliban
presented themselves to the people as a reform group that would help Afghanistan’s
government regain a proper respect for Islamic law. Therefore, by the time the
Taliban took control, the people were so disillusioned from the years of fighting that
they welcomed the Taliban as heroes. The Taliban’s popularity was high amongst
Afghans who hoped their strict adherence to Islamic law would prevent much of the
corruption they had seen with previous factional leaders.
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TALIBAN
The Taliban immediately put into effect a very strict version
of Sharia (Islamic) law. Any activities seen as “frivolous” or
influenced by the West were immediately outlawed. The
Taliban believed the only way to help Afghanistan was to
weed out anything that took the focus from adherence to
Islam. Examples of their restrictions included outlawing
television, music, the internet and even kite flying
because these activities did not fit in with their hard-line
We all celebrated in 1996 when the
Taliban rolled in and put an end to the
daily fi ghting. – Rahim Khan, The Kite
Runner
interpretation of Islamic law. A man without a beard could be beaten and a woman wearing
fingernail polish could have her fingertips chopped off as punishment. Prior to the Taliban
taking control of Afghanistan, women had been allowed to receive an education and, while
modest dress was important, extreme strictures were not in place. Following the takeover of
the Taliban, women’s education was outlawed and the all-covering burqa became a mandatory
part of life for women when they left their homes (which was
only legal if they were supervised by a male relative). Beatings,
executions, stonings and ethnic and religious-based cleansing
were all instituted by the Taliban in order to keep Afghanistan
on a “proper religious track.” As the Taliban is comprised
predominantly of ethnic Pashtun who are mostly Sunni Muslims,
they particularly focused on the Shiite Hazara population for
persecution. The most famous of these systematic massacres
took place at Mazar-e-Sharif in 1998, but there were many other
instances where the Taliban ordered the execution of ethnic
Hazaras en masse.
Afghan women in burqas
being provided a safe haven in their country. U.S.-
led coalition forces drove out the Taliban and
killed many members. However, Taliban members
are known for being fierce fighters, very willing
to go to their deaths as “martyrs” for their cause.
The Taliban forces have continued to regroup and
threaten, harass and murder their fellow Afghans.
Using remote lands in Pakistan as a base, the Taliban
have continued to work to destabilize the elected
government in Afghanistan. Suicide bombings have
become much more frequent in both Afghanistan
and in neighboring Pakistan.
The Taliban was ousted from power following the September
11th attacks in 2001. The Taliban refused to cooperate with
western countries to capture Osama bin Laden when he was
Press conference with the Taliban
following the September 11th attacks
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THE KITE RUNNER
ETHNICITIES
ETHNICITIES IN AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan is comprised of over 8 different ethnic groups and with over 70 different
languages. The three most populous ethnicities are Pashtun, Tajik and Hazara. Amir and
his father are Pashtun, as are his father’s business associates and the children who bully
Hassan and Amir. Hassan and Ali are Hazara, and work as servants as many Hazaras did
during the 1970s.
Pashtun
The Pashtun (or Pakhthun) people are the largest
ethnic group in Afghanistan. The Pashtuns exert a
strong influence on the culture and politics
Tof most of Afghanistan. They are also the largest
ethnic minority in Pakistan. Pashtuns speak a
distinct language called Pashto, broken into the
regional dialects Kandahari Pashto and Peshawari
Ali, was my father’s servant. They had
been together for over forty years. If it
wasn’t for the fact that my father was
Pashtun and Ali was Hazara, you’d
think they were brothers.
– Amir, The Kite Runner
Pashto. Although Pashtuns are typically referred to as a single group, there are still many
tribal divisions within the Pashtun ethnicity that are still deeply felt to this day.
Before the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union, Pashtuns comprised about
51% of the country’s population. The invasion, however, caused a huge number of
Pashtuns to flee to Pakistan, India, or the west – a full 85% of the refugees of the Soviet
invasion were estimated to be Pashtun. Today, the percentage of Pashtuns in Afghanistan
is about 45%. Most Afghan-Americans are of
Pashtun descent due to the large migration
out of Afghanistan in the late 1970s and
early 1980s.
Thomas Fiscella and Craig Piaget in
The Kite Runner. Photo by Kevin Berne.
In general, the Pashtun observe Islam
strictly. Pashtuns are Sunni Muslims.
Many Pashtun women observe purdah,
meaning they wear veils and are generally
secluded in their homes unless accompanied
by a male family member. Rural women are
most likely to follow purdah, while urban
Pashtun women enjoy a relatively greater
level of personal freedom.
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THE KITE RUNNER
Tajiks
ETHNICITIES
The Tajiks are the second largest ethnic group in
Afghanistan, thought to comprise about 25%-33% of
the Afghan population. They are mainly Sunni Muslims.
Although they live throughout the country, larger
populations are concentrated in areas including Herat
Province (along with the border with Iran) and in Kabul.
In Kabul, Tajiks comprise a large percentage of the
middle and upper middle classes, are well-represented in
government and business jobs and tend to make up the
bulk of the educated and wealthy classes in Afghanistan.
In rural areas, the Tajik people tend to be herders in more
mountainous regions. Tajiks also have their own state
north of Afghanistan, called Tajikistan.
Although Tajiks have some tribal divisions, they are not
as pronounced as the divisions within Pashtun society.
The word “Tajik” itself is of Turkish origin, meaning “non-
Turk,” and was used for many centuries to simply denote
any Persian-speaking people in Central Asia. Some Tajiks
will define themselves by their regional affiliation, but
most tend to view all Tajiks as a fairly cohesive group.
Most speak Persian or a dialect of Dari (an Iranian
language). Some non-Tajik Afghans have a tendency to
classify any Dari speaker as Tajik.
Costume Design Sketch for Young
Amir by designer Kish Finnegan
Hazara
The Hazara are the third largest ethnic group in Afghanistan.
They comprise about 20% of the population. They are
also arguably the most widely oppressed ethnic minority
in Afghanistan. Much of this oppression is a result of their
affiliation as Shiite Muslims, in contrast to the more populous
Sunni Muslims throughout the country. As the Pashtuns
expanded their influence during the 18th and 19th centuries
(and thus expanded the dominance of Sunni Islam), the
Hazaras were pushed further into the margins of Afghan
society, both figuratively and literally. They can now generally
be found in the agriculturally barren Hazarajat region of
Afghanistan.
Lowell Abellon in The Kite
Runner. Photo by Kevin Berne.
The Hazarajat is located in central Afghanistan and is home
to the largest concentration of Hazara people in the nation.
There are no major cities in the Hazarajat; the main forms of
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THE KITE RUNNER
ETHNICITIES
economy are farming and herding. In general the Hazarajat
is a very neglected area. There is little infrastructure or
basic services available to the Hazara people of this region.
Because of the difficulties of life in the Hazarajat and the
lack of economic opportunity there, many Hazaras have
migrated to cities such as Mazar I. Sharif and Kabul. In
the 1960s, an estimated 30 to 50 percent of Hazara men
migrated from the Hazarajat to the cities. There they were
(and still are) generally employed in low-wage jobs and tend
to occupy the lowest socioeconomic classes.
The Hazaras have not passively accepted their oppressed
status, however. In the 1960s and 1970s, many Hazaras
united in an attempt to organize for greater rights and
opportunities. During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan,
the Hazaras battled the Communist government for control
of the Hazarajat, and maintained a greater level of selfdetermination
than many other areas of Afghanistan under
Soviet rule. In the 1980s, an agreement was reached
between the Afghan government and the Hazaras that they
would live independently within Afghanistan in exchange
for a peaceful relationship with government forces. However,
the Taliban were ruthless in their persecution of the Hazaras,
most notably perpetrating a massacre in the city of Mazar I.
Sharif in 1998 that killed over 8,000 people, of whom the
overwhelming majority were Hazaras targeted because of
their religion.
-written by Laura Farrell-Wortman, dramaturgical intern
PASHTUNWALI
Pashtunwali literally means the way of the
Pashtuns. It is the rules, regulations, laws and
moral code of the Pashtun tribes which have
protected the world’s largest tribal society for
over 2000 years. Pashtunwali is evident in The
Kite Runner through Baba’s protection of Ali and
Hassan and through the hospitality of Farid’s
family, who fed Amir as their guest, even though
the family could not afford to feed themselves.
Costume Design Sketch for
Ali by designer Kish Finnegan
Pashtuns are generally Sunni Muslims and are
organized by tribal society along family, clan,
sectional, and tribal lines. Each section has its own
Rinabeth Apostol, Barzin Akhavan and
the company of The Kite Runner.
Photo by Kevin Berne.
chief, or malik, and the most powerful clan often provides the chief of the tribe. Although
the tribal system has undergone changes, traditionally chiefs have to be successful
Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 17

THE KITE RUNNER
PASHTUNWALI
leaders and exemplify Pashtun values; that is, they have to be generous and brave. They
are not absolute rulers of their fellow tribesmen, but rather, each clan decides matters
of its welfare by council, the jirga, who also arbitrate disputes. Pashtuns adhere to
their traditional code of behavior, the Pashtunwali, which guides the jirgas in resolving
disputes. It contains sets of values pertaining to honor (namus), solidarity (nang),
hospitality, mutual support, mediation, protection, self-respect and retaliation which
determines social order and individual responsibility. The defense of namus, even unto
death, is obligatory for every Pashtun. Violation of the Pashtun code will bring dishonor
and shame, not just to an individual, but to the entire tribe or community. The process
of detribalization has led to a weakening of the practice of Pashtunwali, although urban
Pashtuns still have a direct or emotional link to their tribes.
What does Pashtunwali require
Pashtunwali can be summarized under the terms of
nanawati, mediation or protection; badal, retaliation;
and melmastia, hospitality.
Nanawati is the obligation to give protection to
anyone seeking asylum, even at the risk of the
protector’s life, and to mediate for the weaker party
seeking peace with someone he has injured.
There is no act more wretched than
stealing. A man who takes what’s
not his to take, be it a life or a loaf of
naan, I spit on such a man.
– Baba, The Kite Runner
Badal is required for personal insults, damage
to property, or blood feuds, until a jirga of elders
succeeds in mediating a solution. Each injury
has a price: at the turn of the century, 180 to 300
rupees had to be paid for a life; the loss of an eye,
ear, arm or leg carried certain value.
Melmastia is considered the sacred duty of
hospitality. Each village has a guest house or
uses its mosque as a shelter for visitors. A guest’s
person and property are protected, and a Pashtun
is proud to offer the guest or stranger what he
cannot even afford for himself.
Costume Design Sketch for Rahim
Khan by designer Kish Finnegan
-from The Kite Runner: A Study Guide reprinted with permission from
San Jose Repertory Theatre
Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 18

THE KITE RUNNER
COOKING
AFGHAN COOKING
In Afghan culture, hospitality is crucial. A major factor in treating guests well is
feeding them well. Below are some Afghan recipes that hosts might share with their
guests.
Salaata (Afghan Salad)
Ingredients: Tomatoes, Yellow Onion, Cilantro, Lemon,
Cucumbers, Radishes, Salt
Instructions:
• Chop 2 whole tomatoes, 1 medium yellow onion,
and 1 bunch of washed cilantro. Mix these together
in a bowl. Juice one lemon and pour the juice over
the top of the tomato, onion, and cilantro. You can
also add sliced cucumbers, as well as radishes.
Sprinkle with salt (to taste) a good pinch and toss the
salad. Cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to
allow all the juices to mix together.
Salaata
Dogh (Yogurt Drink)
Ingredients: Yogurt, Cold water, Cucumber, Salt,
Dried mint
Dogh
Instructions
• Put 16 ounces of plain yogurt (homemade or
store bought) into a large pitcher, and add 4 cups
of cold water. Take 1/2 of a cucumber, peel it and
cut it into rounds. Take as much or as little of it as
you like and finely chop it into small pieces and
add it to the mixture. Add about 1/2 teaspoon of
salt to the pitcher. Take a pinch of dried mint and
rub it between your hands to release some of the
essence and sprinkle it over the top of the liquid.
Mix well and keep very cold. You can add ice
cubes but it will dilute the mix, so I recommend
just putting it in the refrigerator.
Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 19

THE KITE RUNNER
COOKING
Sabzi Challow (A traditional dish made with Lamb, Rice & Spinach)
Lamb: Ingredients: 1/4 cup olive oil, 8 lamb shanks, 3 onions, thinly sliced, 1 1/2
teaspoons turmeric, 5 cups baby spinach, stems removed (large leaves must be chopped),
3 cups cilantro leaves, 1 cup Italian parsley, stems removed, 16 to 18 scallions, whole,
outermost layer and tough upper green removed, 3 tablespoons minced garlic, 3 - 5 cups
beef stock (homemade is preferable), 5 tablespoons fresh lime juice, Salt and pepper to
taste
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof Dutch oven and brown the
lamb shanks on all sides. Remove the lamb and set aside. Add the onions to the pot
and saute until soft and lightly browned. Stir in the turmeric. Add the spinach, cilantro,
parsley, and scallions. Saute for 20 minutes, stirring constantly (add more oil if needed).
The aroma of the herbs should rise—it is very important for the taste of the stew that
this stage be completed. Add the garlic and saute briefly.
• Return the lamb to the Dutch oven. Add enough beef stock to barely cover the shanks.
Bring to a boil, then cover, transfer to oven, and cook for 2 - 2 1/2 hours.
• When the meat is tender, remove from oven. Stir in lime juice and season to taste with
salt and pepper. Serve over challow.
Challow: Ingredients: 4 cups uncooked basmati rice, 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons salt,
A cup olive oil (Note: For saffron rice, soak 1 teaspoon saffron threads in 1/4 cup boiling
water for 5 minutes. Remove saffron and discard. Use this water in place of the final 1/4
cup water in third step.)
• Rinse and drain the rice three times in tepid water. Place the rice in a large bowl and
add 8 cups of water and 1 tablespoon salt. Soak the rice for 2 - 3 hours.
• Fill a medium-size pot halfway with water. Add 2 teaspoons of salt and bring to a rapid
boil. Drain the rice well and add to the boiling water. Return to a boil and cook for 5
minutes. Test the rice—it should soft on the outside and still firm, but not brittle, inside.
Strain the rice and rinse with tepid water. Drain well.
• Rinse out the pot with water and add the oil. Place over medium-high heat. When oil
is hot, add the rice, 1/4 cup water, and a pinch of salt. With the handle of a wooden
spoon, poke five holes through the rice, one in the center. Cook for 1 or 2, minutes—
do not stir. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cover with a lid wrapped in a kitchen
towel. Steam the rice for 20 to 30 minutes (do not remove lid to check the rice during
this time). The bottom should be crisp.
- recipes from http://www.afghan-web.com/culture/cooking/, and http://www.foodreference.com/html/brittas-sabzi-challow.html
Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 20

THE KITE RUNNER
ISLAM
ISLAM
Islam is a monotheistic religion which embraces
over one billion people of many races and cultures
worldwide. It is the religion of virtually all Afghans.
The word Islam is Arabic and means submission.
The followers of Islam, called Muslims, believe in
God—in Arabic, Allah—and that Muhammad is
His Prophet. The Prophet Muhammad was born
in 570 CE in the town of Mecca, which is located
in present day Saudi Arabia. At the age of 40,
Muhammad began to receive the first of a series of
revelations from God, transmitted to him through
the angel Gabriel over a period of 22 years.
These revelations are contained in the Quran, or
Koran, meaning recitation, regarded as the sacred
scripture of Islam.*
Sunni and Shia: What’s the Difference
The difference between Sunni and Shiite Muslims
dates to immediately following the death of
Muhammad, the Messenger and Prophet of Islam.
A divide emerged regarding who should lead
the religion. Many followers believed that a man
should be chosen from Mohammed’s inner circle
of followers to lead the religion. He would not be
considered equal with the Prophet, but instead
would be called the Caliph and would be the
religious leader of the Muslim religion. A close
friend of Mohammed named Abu Bakr was elected
to this position and he began to lead the religion.
However, there was a portion of the Muslims at the
time who believed that the only appropriate way
for a successor to be chosen was by selecting a
blood relative of the prophet, as, in their minds, a
choice of blood ensured that Allah’s will was being
done. The Shiite Muslims did not, and still do not,
recognize any leader of the Muslim faith that has
come down through elections. Therefore, they don’t
recognize many of the decisions and laws regarding
the Islamic faith that have been determined by
Assef wasn’t the only one to
call Hassan “fl at-nose.” It was a
common slur. And for years, that’s
all I knew about Hazaras. Then
one day, I found a history book in
Baba’s study. It said that my people,
the Pashtuns, had persecuted the
Hazaras in the nineteenth century.
They drove the Hazaras from their
land and burned their homes because
Pashtuns were Sunni Muslims,
whereas Hazaras were Shia. Although
I spent the fi rst twelve years of my
life playing with Hassan, I never really
thought of him as a friend. History and
religion aren’t easy to overcome. In the
end, I was Pashtun, he was Hazara; I was
Sunni, he was Shia. Nothing was ever
going to change that. But we were kids
who had learned to crawl together, and
nothing was going to change that
either. – Amir, The Kite Runner
A mosque in Afghanistan
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THE KITE RUNNER
ISLAM
leaders the majority of Muslims recognize.
Over the years this difference in belief has
caused a major schism between the two
groups. While both would acknowledge
that their primary identity as “Muslim” the
two factions have engaged in fierce fighting
and persecution throughout their history.
It is estimated that 85-90% of Muslims
Wahab Shayek, Lani Carissa Wong Craig Piaget and
(including most of those living in the United
Lowell Abellon in The Kite Runner. Photo by Kevin Berne.
States) are Sunni Muslims. There are pockets
of concentration of Shiite Muslims in specific
countries including Iraq and Iran where Shias out number Sunnis by a large majority.
-* from The Kite Runner: A Study Guide reprinted with permission from San Jose Repertory Theatre
HISTORY OF KITE FLYING
Afghanistan: Artistry In The Air -- Kite Flying Is Taken To New Heights
November 15, 2002
By Grant Podelco
Kite flying is more than a pastime in Afghanistan -- it is a national obsession. The streets of
the capital, Kabul, are filled with shops selling kite-flying equipment, and the skies above
the city are decorated each day with hundreds of colorful kites fluttering in the wind.
Banned by the Taliban as un-Islamic, kite flying has now hit new heights of popularity in
the country.
The Company of The Kite Runner.
Photo by Kevin Berne.
It is a sunny day in Kabul, and the fighting is fierce. This
is a battle for control of the skies above the old city -- not
between flying machines made of metal and rivets, but
between delicate airborne art constructed from paper and
string. Afghans have elevated kite flying – or "gudiparan
bazi" -- to an art form, and one of its chief attractions is
kite fighting. To the first-time visitor, the skies above Kabul
appear to be filled with fluttering birds or pieces of paper
caught in the wind. A closer look reveals hundreds of
brightly colored kites soaring high into the air.
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THE KITE RUNNER
KITE FLYING
The Taliban regime banned hobbies such as kite flying and bird keeping, in the belief that such
pastimes were un-Islamic. Karim is twelve years old and is helping his friend Muhasel fly a
kite. He recalls what the Taliban would do if they caught someone flying a kite. "During the
Taliban, kite flying was not allowed. If you flew a kite, [the Taliban] would beat you and would
break the spool and tear the kite up. Even if you had a pigeon in your hand, or any other birds,
they would beat you and make it go free." The fall of the Taliban in the capital one year ago
(13 November), however, meant that Afghans could again fly kites without fear of punishment.
Many Afghans have returned to the pastime with a vengeance. Kite flying is a two-person
affair. One person, the "charkh gir," holds the wooden spool around which the wire, or "tar," is
wound. The second person -- called the "gudiparan baz," or kite flyer -- actually controls the
movement of the kite in the air. In Afghanistan, wherever there are kites, there is kite fighting.
During the fight, or "jang," two kites are flown close to one another, often at great heights. The
object is to use the wire of your kite to cut the wire of your opponent's kite and set it free.
Twenty-five-year-old Muhasel stands on the
shaky roof of his small videocassette shop in
southeastern Kabul, engaged in a kite fight
with an unseen opponent elsewhere in the
neighborhood. He explains what appeals to
him about gudiparan bazi. "I enjoy [flying
kites] because I'm interested in it. When I
see people are flying kites, then I buy a kite
to fly and fight with the other kites. I enjoy it
very much if my kite can cut off the other kite
Afghans fly kites again after the fall of the Taliban
and make it go free. But if my kite gets cut
free, then I buy another to fight with. If, for
example, during the kite fighting I'm running out of wire, then there is nothing else to do but to
cut the wire off the spool and let it go free in order to beat my opponent. And he, too, has to let
his wire go until his kite goes free."
Winter used to be my favorite
season in Kabul because it
was the time of the kite-fi ghting
tournament. Hassan and I built
our own kites. We’d spend hours
shaving bamboo for the center and
cross spars, and cutting the tissue
paper. And then, we made our own
string—the glasscoated cutting line,
the bullet in the chamber, ready to
strike. Amir, The Kite Runner
Everything in Afghan kite fighting depends on
the quality of the wire and how it is prepared.
First, glass is finely ground and combined with
an adhesive mixture to make a thick paste. The
wire is then coated with this paste to make
it strong and sharp. After it is dry, the wire is
wound around the spool. Kite fighters often
wrap a piece of leather around their fingers to
protect themselves from the taut wire, which
can cut to the bone. When an opponent's kite
is cut free, it flutters like a colorful, dying bird
into the far reaches of the city. Such kites are
said to be "azadi rawest," or "free and legal,"
and can be retrieved by neighborhood children
to fly another day. Each neighborhood crowns
its own "sharti," or kite-fighting champion.
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THE KITE RUNNER
KITE FLYING
Kabul is filled with shops selling all manner of
kite paraphernalia. Twenty-six-year-old Jawid runs
such a shop in the Shur Bazaar, the kite-selling
market in old Kabul. "People have been flying
kites [in Afghanistan] for more than 100 years. It
was banned during the Taliban. They would say
that kite flying was illegal. We sell and buy from
500 to 2,000 kites every day in our shop. The
Taliban banned this and used to beat children
when they flew kites. Long ago, kite flying was Lowell Abellon and Barzin Akhavan in
part of our national games, and my father won a The Kite Runner. Photo by Kevin Berne.
trophy 25 years ago during (former Afghan President
Mohammad) Daoud Khan's time." Jawid gives a tour of his shop, pointing out the
spools, the various lengths of wire, and the bright kites themselves, in many different
sizes, or "parcha." "This is a spool. Those are smaller ones for kids -- about 100 to
500 meters in length. Those are 4,000- to 5,000-meter spools that are used by adults.
These are for kids. These are different kites. For example, this is four parcha (having
four parts). There is five parcha. And that is seven parcha. That is half parcha (one of
the smallest). That is farfara, which is made of plastic. And that is eight parcha (the
largest)." The kites cost from 2,000 afghanis -- just a few cents -- for tiny children's kites
no bigger than a magazine, to 100,000 afghanis -- just over $2 -- for large kites usually
handled only by the most experienced flyers.
The streets were fi lled
with kite fi ghters, squinting
up at the sky, trying to gain
position to cut an opponent’s
line. The lucky kite fi ghters
had an assistant—in my case,
Hassan—who held the spool
and fed the line. But the real fun
began when a kite was cut. That
was where the runners came in.
They chased the falling kite through
streets until it came spiraling down in
a field, or someone’s yard, on a tree, or
a rooftop. And the most coveted prize
was the last fallen kite of the tournament.
For this, fights broke out. But Hassan was
by far the greatest kite runner I’d ever seen.
–Amir, The Kite Runner
Jawid says he still sold kites during the days of
the Taliban, but that everywhere it was done in
secret. "During the Taliban, we were doing our
business here, but if they found out, they would
come and destroy our kites, spools, and other
stuff, as they did many times. They burned our
kites and other stuff, asking who the owner was.
But we could not say anything, because if they
knew, they would imprison us in Amribelmaroof
(prison)." Winter is one of the most popular
times for kite flying in Afghanistan. The winds
are strong, and schools are closed because of
the cold weather. While it brings mostly smiles,
kite flying is also dangerous. Many people are
injured when they fall from roofs chasing free
kites or when they lose concentration during a
heated battle. Thirty-six-year-old Sharif is flying a
kite beside the dry, trash-filled bed of the Kabul
River in central Kabul. He says he's been flying
kites for about 20 years, always on Fridays.
Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 24

THE KITE RUNNER
ROSTAM AND SOHRAB
Sharif recalls the glory days of kite flying in Kabul, before the Taliban. "Before the Taliban,
people used to fly kites in a place called Chaman-i-Babrak [in northern Kabul], and kite
flying competitions were held there. Kids, young people, and older people from all over
Afghanistan and Kabul City would gather there. They used to lay wagers on fighting kites."
Sharif smiles. He wants to get back to his kite flying. There is a battle to be won.
- from http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1101400.html (from The Kite Runner: A Study Guide reprinted with
permission from San Jose Repertory Theatre)
ROSTAM AND SOHRAB
The great Rostam was unaware that he had a son, Sohrab,
by the princess Tahmineh. After years without any real
knowledge of one another, Rostam and Sohrab faced each
other in battle, fighting on opposing sides. Never having
met each other face to face, Sohrab had suspicions that the
man he fought may be his father. The truth was kept from
father and son and, in order to protect himself, Rostam
continually denied his identity to Sohrab.
They fought in single combat and Rostam wrestled Sohrab
to the ground, stabbing him fatally. As he lay dying, Sohrab
recalled how his love for his father—the mighty Rostam—
was what brought him
there in the first place.
Rostam, to his horror,
The story of Rostam and
Sohrab is one of the most
famous tales from the Iranian
epic The Shanameh, an epic
poem written by Ferdowsi
around 1000 CE. The poem is
a masterpiece of the Persian
language, and a source of great
national pride for Iranians. The
tale of Rostam and Sohrab is the
favorite story of Hassan, Amir’s
friend and his servant’s son.
realized the truth. He saw his own jewel on the arm of
Sohrab, which he had given to Tahmineh many years
before and which Tahmineh had given to Sohrab before
the battle, in the hope that it might protect him. But he
realized the truth too late:
“I that am old have killed my son. I that am strong have
uprooted this mighty boy. I have torn the heart of my
child, I have laid low the head of a Pehliva...My heart
is sick unto death.”
-from The Kite Runner: A Study Guide reprinted with permission from San Jose Repertory Theatre
Artist’s rendering of the story of Rostam and Sohrab
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THE KITE RUNNER
The Shahnameh or The Epic of Kings is one of the defi nite classics of the world. It tells hero tales of ancient Persia. The
contents and the poet’s style in describing the events takes the reader back to the ancient times and makes him or her
sense and feel the events. The Shahnameh was written by the famous Iranian poet, Ferdowsi, who worked for thirty
years to fi nish this masterpiece. Ferdowsi is considered to be one the
greatest Persian poets. The Shahnameh is considered to be the Persian
national epic, to which he gave its fi nal and enduring form, although he
based his poem mainly on an earlier prose version. For nearly a thousand
years Persians have continued to read and listen to recitations from this
masterwork. It is the history of Iran’s past, preserved in a majestic verse.
The Shahnameh was written approximately 1,000 years ago, and is a
record of pre-Islamic infl uence Iran.
-from The Kite Runner: A Study Guide reprinted with permission from San Jose Repertory Theatre
The Shahnameh
GLOSSARY OF FOREIGN TERMS
GLOSSARY
Agha: Great lord; nobleman; commander; Mister.
Ahesta Boro: Walk slowly. Literally, Ahesta means “slow”
and Boro means “go.” It is a musical composition played
to welcome the bride and groom’s entrance to the wedding
hall in Persian weddings in Afghanistan, Iran and Tajikistan.
Usually, the accompanied couple is walked slowly under the
sanction of the Quran as the attending guests rise in honor
of the holy book. This anthem is a very strong tradition in
marriage ceremonies, originally written by Sarban, who had
his inspiration from Tajik folklore.
Allah-u-akbar: God(is) greatest, omnipotent; (Arabic) Akbar
means great and Allah means God.
Babalu: Boogeyman.
Bachem: Word meaning “my child” or “my baby.”
Balay: Yes.
Barzin Akhavan and Craig Piaget in
The Kite Runner. Photo by Kevin Berne.
Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 26

THE KITE RUNNER
GLOSSARY
Bas: Enough
Chapan: A traditional coat for men popular among the Turkic population of northern
Afghanistan, but worn also by other Afghans. It is a long, buttonless caftan with kneelength
sleeves which, in warm weather, is worn open with a sleeve thrown over a
shoulder. In cold weather, fur-lined or quilted chapans are worn, tied around the waist
with a cummerbund. It comes in various colors, often striped, and is fashioned of cotton or
silk.
Dostet darum: I love you.
Farsi / Dari: Official language of Afghanistan.
Inshallah: Word meaning “God willing.”
Jan: Word of endearment; dear (formal). Joon is the informal form of it that literally means
“life.”
Khala: Maternal aunt (Ameh is a paternal aunt). Calling an unrelated woman khala
indicates that she is very close to the family or to the child.
Khan: Title of tribal chiefs, landed proprietors, and heads of communities. Now, Khan is
used like “mister” when placed after the name of a person.
The tabla is a popular Indian
percussion instrument used in
the classical, popular and religious
music of the Indian subcontinent and
in Hindustani classical music. The
instrument consists of a pair of hand
drums of contrasting sizes and timbres.
The term tabla is derived from an Arabic
word, tabl,
which simply
means “drum.”
What is the Tabla
Playing technique involves extensive
use of the fingers and palms in various
confi gurations to create a wide variety of
different sounds, reflected in the mnemonic
syllables (bol). The heel of the hand is used to
apply pressure or in a sliding motion on the
larger drum so that the pitch is changed during
the sound's decay. - from www.wikipedia.com
Khastegari: A suitor’s official visitation
to a prospective mate’s family— usually
accompanied by his mother, sister, or khala—
to propose marriage.
Khoda hafez: Good-bye. (Farsi) Literally,
Khod means “God” and hafez means “safe,”
so this construction means “God keep
you safe.”
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THE KITE RUNNER
GLOSSARY
Mashallah: Praise God. Typically said when seeing someone beautiful or smart—
anything that one wants to praise.
Mazar-i-Sharif: A large city in Afghanistan famous for its Blue Mosque. The Taliban
massacred the ethnic Hazara population there in 1998.
Mujahideen: A term used to describe a group of Muslims engaged in a war or conflict.
In The Kite Runner, it describes the Afghanistan Mujahideen Freedom Fighters Front,
which challenged the Soviet forces and later lost against the PDPA (People’s Democratic
Party of Afghanistan) government.
Namaz: Prayers, those especially prescribed by law (which are repeated five times a
day).
Namoos: Reputation; fame; renown; esteem; honor; dignity.
Nang: Honor; reputation; estimation.
Quran/Koran: Religious text of Islam. Muslims believe the Quran to be the book of
divine guidance and direction for mankind, and consider the original Arabic text to be
the final revelation of God.
Rafiq: Comrade.
Sahib: A friend; a courtesy title like “sir.”
Salaam: Hello.
Salaam alaykum: Hello to you.
Shahnamah: “The Book of Kings” is an
enormous poetic opus written by the Persian
poet Ferdowsi around 1000 AD and is the
national epic of Iran. The Shahnamah tells
the mythical and historical past of Greater
Iran from the creation of the world up until
the Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century.
Shorawi: The Farsi term for the Soviets, who invaded Afghanistan in 1979 and occupied
the country for a decade.
Tashakor: Thank you.
Wah wah: Bravo! Admirable!
Wazir Akbar Khan: A wealthy suburb of Kabul. The neighborhood is named after
the Akbar Khan, son of the anti-Shuja Shah Durrani king, Dost Mohammad, and is a
common place for foreign workers to live. The streets are laid out on a grid with Western,
two-story houses that date back to the 60s and 70s.
--from The Kite Runner: A Study Guide reprinted with permission from San Jose Repertory Theatre
The Company of The Kite Runner. Photo by Kevin Berne.
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GHILZAI
UNDERSTANDING AFGHANISTAN:
A Conversation with the Cultural Consultant
Literary Manager Jenny Bazzell recently spoke with Humaira Ghilzai, who serves as
the Cultural Consultant on ATC’s upcoming production of The Kite Runner. Ms. Ghilzai
served in the same capacity for the play’s world premiere production last season at San
Jose Repertory Theatre. Read on to find out Humaira’s perceptions of working on The
Kite Runner as well as her views on what Afghan-Americans immigrants face in their
transition to life in the United States.
Jenny Bazzell: Tell me about your role in the production. What does a cultural
consultant do
Rinabeth Apostol and Barzin Akhavan in
The Kite Runner. Photo by Kevin Berne.
Humaira Ghilzai: The role of the
cultural consultant is a very fluid one.
Not many directors and playwrights
get to work with one so together we
determined what should be covered.
My main focus was to make sure
that the Afghan culture, traditions,
language (which is called Dari) as
well as the historical perspective of
the play is being correctly portrayed
and reflected. I had the pleasure
of working with so many different
components and phases of the play.
For instance, I worked with Matthew
Spangler, the playwright, on rewriting
a couple of scenes, with David Ira Goldstein, the director, with Kish Finnegan on the
costumes and with the actors. Specifically, there is a wedding scene that I was very
involved in. David even let me produce that part of the play so I told him that I want full
credit for that [laughs]. And I also worked along with the marketing and outreach team
when I was working with San Jose Rep in promoting the play. So I think that my main
role was to make sure the Afghan culture and traditions were presented in a positive and
rich way in the production.
JB: What is the greatest challenge in presenting Afghan culture to an American audience
HG: I think the biggest challenge is breaking a lot of the perceptions that not only just
Americans, but the West has of Afghans. They’ve only seen what is shown in the media,
which are the Taliban and the Afghan children and families in villages, which always
makes for a nice caption on a photograph. But there was and is still a very rich culture
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GHILZAI
in Afghanistan that not many people know about. We have beautiful traditions and
beautiful clothes and food and language and poetry and art that nobody associates with
Afghanistan. So my role is to bring out all those things in the play which I think Khaled,
the author, has done such a beautiful job with in the book.
JB: Why do you feel that The Kite Runner was such an enormously popular book in the
United States
HG: The book is popular the world over. I was in Europe last year and went to a few
countries and everywhere I turned there was a copy of The Kite Runner in a different
language. I think it’s a story of human beings and it’s a story of a relationship between a
father and son. Also, there is so much power in the story of these two young men who
end up growing up and the difficulties that they face. And, finally, it’s mainly a story of
redemption – we all have done something in our childhood that we feel badly about no
matter what culture we’re from and we wish we could change that. It’s a story that has
elements that we can all relate to, but it just happens to be set in Afghanistan.
JB: So you feel like it’s a popular story worldwide because the thematic elements are so
universal
HG: Absolutely. I think that if this was a traditional Afghan story the protagonist would
have some problems but there would be love and a happy ending. But this is a story of
people with real challenges that has run the common thread through the world. And that’s
what’s so amazing about this global world we live in. We’re all getting to realize that
we’re very much all the same at the core of things.
JB: Tell me about the Afghan community in America. What is the American experience
like for Afghan newcomers and for first-generation Afghan-Americans
HG: There is a large Afghan population in the United States. In the San Francisco Bay Area
actually there are over 50,000 Afghans. There are other large communities in Virginia and
in Queens, New York. So there are places where the populations are concentrated but
there’s a spattering in the middle of the country and also
in Los Angeles and San Diego. It is very fitting that the
book was set in the Fremont area in the East Bay Area,
which is the center of the Afghan community and social
structure. Fremont became that way because there were
some Afghans living there prior to the Russian invasion
(in 1979), and then when the Russians invaded more
people started coming into the United States. It’s natural
for immigrants to want to go somewhere where they know
somebody. So the few families that were there either
became sponsors of people or they just invited people
Little Kabul in Fremont, CA
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GHILZAI
to come into the Fremont area. Most Afghans, including myself and my family, were
immigrants who escaped Afghanistan through Pakistan with smugglers. My family then
lived in Germany for nine months in refugee camps until we came to the United States. I
can tell you first hand that the transition was very difficult for the immigrant families who
were established [in their home country]. My father was a diplomat and my mother was
a stay-at-home mom. We were an upper class family [in Afghanistan] and then we come
here and we have nothing. We have lost our home and we have no worldly goods except
what’s on our back. So, like us, most Afghans had to re-establish themselves. My father
became a security guard. My mom would take odd jobs, sewing and things like that. All
my siblings who were over sixteen picked up odd jobs such as working in restaurants and
such. I was eleven years old at that time so I didn’t necessarily face that but we all lived in
one small house and basically helped each other get back on our feet. We had to learn a
new language.
JB: Did you speak any English or did your family speak any English before arriving in the
United States
HG: My father did speak English because he had his bachelors and masters from San
Francisco State University when we arrived here. He had studied here in the fifties. My
mother didn’t speak any English. My siblings did speak some English but I didn’t speak any
English and neither did my younger brother. Most immigrants basically have to make a
new life for themselves. For some Afghans, when they came in their forties and they didn’t
speak the language, they had to find jobs that were not fitting of their skills. Some people
who came were doctors, lawyers and educators and they were only able to find blue
collar jobs if they even found jobs. There are many, many challenges when they first arrive.
But over time the other challenge that they face is assimilation into the United States. For
example, when the kids start becoming more Americanized and wanting the freedoms
that the American kids have and the parents are still trying to live a traditional Afghan life.
And you see some of that in the book. I think Khaled has done a wonderful job. One of
the things when I read the book that really resonated with me was that he told the Afghan-
American refugee story so accurately: the challenges they faced and the things that they
had to do to survive. Khaled so beautifully captured the new communities that the Afghan
immigrants built within their new homes in the United States. Reading the book, I felt like,
finally, my story is being told.
JB: That’s true, we hear a lot of Ellis Island immigrant stories, but not as many from
countries like Afghanistan.
HG: I feel like Khaled did a beautiful job telling our story. Prior to this book, I hardly ever
talked about my immigrant experience because I didn’t think anybody could comprehend
what I was saying. Because the story was such a traumatic one but also such a big story –
the story was so complex and outrageous I never really talked to my friends about it. But
then when The Kite Runner came out, which was many years after I’d been living here,
I started getting calls from people who wanted me to speak at their book club about my
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GHILZAI
experiences. It sort of validated my experience, allowed me to speak about it. And because
a lot of people had read the book they could comprehend what I was saying, whereas I
think prior to that it was so outlandish that I felt, in a way, awed talking about what it was
like to be an immigrant – how we got here and the challenges that we faced. So I feel that
it’s opened up the world for a lot of us immigrants where it’s allowing us to tell our stories
and share our experiences. And it’s part of history and I think that’s how people learn and
hopefully prevent these things in the future.
JB: It’s such a great point about the story about how really unique and special it is in that
regard and how it’s changed a lot of people’s experiences around the country and around
the world.
HG: I was actually really good friends with his [Khaled’s] sister when I was young and
then we lost touch. When I read the book I sent him an email telling him thank you for
telling my story. It’s funny because for many people that’s not a component of the story
that resonates with them. But for me, as an Afghan immigrant, that was such a big part of
the book. So he [Khaled] and I reconnected and have stayed in touch since then.
JB: You bring up something so interesting about the book is that it is so specific in telling
the Afghan-American immigrant story that hadn’t really been told before and then at the
same time, it manages to be incredibly universal. The book does something that so few
novels are able to do and that’s a really wonderful thing. My last question for you is what
was most important for you to impart to the audience, actors and design team about
Afghan culture
HG: I wanted people to see the richness of the Afghan culture. I feel that the play really
captures that through showing the progression of one family from where they are in Kabul
and what happens to them. It really does an amazing job of telling the Afghan story in a
very culturally respectful way. The costumes are beautiful and just
gorgeously done. Kish and I worked very hard to make sure that,
not only are they culturally accurate, but they’re time sensitive. I
feel like sometimes in some things done on Afghanistan they slap
somebody with a traditional outfit but it’s not fitting of what is
happening. The set design is very simple but just beautifully done
and I feel that it really captures the essence of Kabul. And the one
other person who really brings the true essence of our culture
and the culture’s love of music is the tabla player, Salar Nader.
He infuses this amazing energy into the play that takes you back
to Kabul – it takes you around the world. Music has been a very
big part of the Afghan culture for a long time and unfortunately it
was muted during the time of the Taliban. So having the live tabla
player really captures the richness and the diversity of the Afghan
culture and the country.
- Questions created by Laura Farrell-Wortman, dramaturgical intern
Salar Nader in The Kite Runner.
Photo by Kevin Berne.
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DISCUSSION
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
AND ACTIVITIES
1. The play begins with the line “I became what I am today at the age of twelve.” To
what is Amir referring Is his assertion entirely true What other factors have helped
form his character How would you describe Amir
2. Even though countless events occur in the play, the title refers to kite fighting and
kite running. What do these activities represent in the play and why are they so
important To whom or what does the title, The Kite Runner, refer
3. Were you surprised to learn about the ethnic and social class tensions between the
ethnic Pashtuns and ethnic Hazaras in Afghanistan Can you think of any culture in
the world without a history of oppression Why do you think minority groups are
oppressed so often
4. In addition to racial and social class prejudice, The Kite Runner deals with extreme
religious prejudice among Sunni and Shiite Muslims. Amir is ethnic Pashtun (Sunni)
and Hassan is ethnic Hazara (Shia). Can you think of other world religions in which
this kind of prejudice exists between different sects of the same religious tradition
(e.g., Islam) Why do you think this happens
5. How did learning that Hassan was Baba's son change your understanding of Baba
Of Hassan
6. It is Amir’s dearest wish to please his father. To what extent does he succeed in
doing so and at what cost What kind of man is Baba How would you describe his
relationship with Amir, and with Hassan How does that relationship change and
what prompts those changes
7. American troops still occupy Afghanistan. Our troops remain at war there. How
does seeing this play affect your feelings about that fact Explain your position
using specific moments from the show that affected you in a visceral way… In an
intellectual way… Use specific examples from the play to elucidate your position.
8. What does Assef mean when, in the second act, he says to the adult Amir that, “I’m
in my element” Would you agree with him Why or why not Can you think of
any other regimes or political systems within the last century where men like Assef
were given free reign to explore the darker shades of human nature What has been
the outcome of those regimes or political systems How have they affected their
neighbor nations or the world at large
9. Amir essentially grew up in a world without women. How do you think this affects
the way in which he pursues Soraya Do you think that his involvement with her
changes him
10. General Taheri, Soraya’s father, says “People [in America] marry for love. But we are
Afghans.” Do you think that Amir and Soraya marry for love What does Amir have
to do in order to be able to marry Soraya How are the circumstances surrounding
their engagement different than those of at typical American engagement Do you
think that the same things about the marriage are important to Soraya and Amir as are
important to Baba and General Taheri Why or why not
11. Consider the differences in social class exemplified in The Kite Runner. Why is it
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THE KITE RUNNER
DISCUSSION
a big deal to the Taliban that an ethnic Hazara family are living alone in Baba and
Amir’s house in Kabul How does this reflect the differences between the ethnic
Pashtun and ethnic Hazara seen earlier in the play Do you think social class matters
in the United States Why or why not How is this similar to or different from the
issues of social class found in The Kite Runner
12. Given the discussion about the importance of blood relationship and adoption that
takes place in the play, how do you think that General Taheri felt about Amir and
Soraya’s adoption of Sohrab
13. Based on the ending of the play, do you think that Sohrab and Amir will mend
their relationship Do you think that Sohrab adjusts to life in the United States and
overcomes the horrible things that happened to him in Afghanistan and Pakistan
Use examples from the play to support your position.
Related Assignments for Post-Performance
(Based on the Language Arts State Standards)
Compare and contrast the social structures of Amir’s life in Afghanistan vs. those he
encounters in America. The play depicts Afghanistan, both the privileged world of Amir’s
childhood and the stricken country under the Taliban. How does it differ from ideas that
you may already have had about Afghanistan What cultural differences become evident
in the American passages of the novel How easy do the Afghans find it to settle in the
U.S.
Could the story of The Kite Runner exist without the social class difference between Amir
and Hassan Make a case, using specific plot points found in the play and historical facts
to ground your argument.
Explore the way in which courage is portrayed in the novel. What constitutes true
bravery What are the key moments when characters are brave and who is the bravest
character, if any Use specific examples from the text to support your argument.
Examine what it means to be American in the play. Compare how different characters
see America. Is there one perspective that comes across most definitively Some
characters you may want to consider: Amir, Baba, General Taheri, Omar Faisal, Farid.
Make a list of instances in the story where someone is forgiven. What constitutes true
forgiveness Why is forgiveness so important You may want to consider moments
between Hassan and Amir, Baba and Hassan, Amir and Sohrab, General Taheri and
Soraya, and Amir and himself.
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THE KITE RUNNER
DISCUSSION
Imagine you are the character Hassan. Write a brief journal entry describing a typical
day, before the tragedy of your attack. Focus on the relationship you have with Amir.
Now, still imagining you are Hassan, write a brief journal entry describing your day
after you have left Amir’s home. Continue to focus on that relationship. Use what
you observed about Hassan’s behavior in the play as the basis for your writings. Some
things to consider: Are there differences in Hassan’s feelings about Amir How do you
think Hassan felt about Amir’s change in behavior What are the variety and mixture of
feelings one would have in his situation
Write an expository essay comparing and contrasting the life Amir led in Afghanistan
and the life he found in the United States. Consider both the sensory differences (i.e.,
the differences in terrain, the differences in quality of life) as well as the differences of
thought and attitude.
Draw a simple diagram of a kite. Be sure that there are four sections to the kite. Pick
three characters from the play. Pick a section in the kite for each character and write
their name next to that section. Often, those things that we cling to are the very things
that prevent us from being able to fly, like your kite. In each section, decide what you
think most impeded each character from reaching his or her full potential, that thing that
they held onto and couldn’t release. Write this into their section of the kite. Save the
fourth section for yourself. After you have completed this, write a brief description of
flying the kite that you created, with a close friend. Be sure to end your description with
letting the kite go.
Write a research paper about contemporary Islam in Afghanistan. Why are there
different sects of Islam How did that come about What are the major differences
between the Sunnis and the Shias What are the similarities How does this major world
religion impact social class in Afghanistan today Use specific examples.
Related Assignments for Post-Performance
(Based on the Theatre Arts and Language Arts State Standards)
Group Improvisation based on The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
• Groups improvise scenes from the book that are not in the play
o Students divide into groups and choose a scene that is in the book but is not in the play.
o Students discuss how they will plan the script for the scene, which dialogue to use, and
how to organize their action.
o Students will first perform their scenes silently with an outside narrator telling the story
o The groups discuss what could have been more clear in telling the scene
o Re-perform the scenes still using the narrator but also adding in character dialogue
where necessary
o Finally, ask students to prepare and perform brief improvised scenes without a narrator,
not necessarily written out but well planned out
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DISCUSSION
Kite Building Exercise
1. For this exercise you will need:
A) 15-20 yellow pieces of cloth (depending on class size)
B) 15-20 brown pieces of cloth (depending on class size)
C) Some rudimentary materials to build a kite. i.e. construction paper, rubber
bands, glue, popsicle sticks, etc… Enough for every member of the class to make
a rudimentary kite. No scissors. No staples or staplers. The more rudimentary, the
better.
D) A stopwatch
2. Divide your class into 2 teams, the yellow team and the brown team. Have each
team elect a leader, preferably a person with a commanding presence. For the first
third of class, the brown team is in charge. Their instructions are as follows:
A) First each team should wear their color. The team in charge should wear their
color as a headband. The submissive team should wear their color as an armband.
B) The brown team is to order the yellow team onto the floor and into a seated circle.
Members of the yellow team must obey every order from the brown team and should
be faced outward so that their backs are facing to the inside of the circle.
C) Generally, for every member of the yellow team, there should be one member of
the brown team. Try to avoid having friends match up with friends. That could taint
the process. The brown team should always remain standing, and the yellow team
should always remain seated.
D) A couple of members from the brown team should then put all of the materials for
the kite building into the middle of the circle.
E) Brown team leader should then instruct the yellow team as follows: “Each of you
has 7 minutes to construct a kite. You must construct your kite in complete silence.
If you do not complete this task in seven minutes, you will be punished. Begin!”
F) Yellow team should then begin and must complete the task in silence. Members of
the brown team should act as guards and have 7 minutes to get the members of the
yellow team to perform. It is important that every member of the yellow team has a
kite to present when time is up.
G) At the end of seven minutes, yellow team members should present the kites to the
brown team. Brown team members should break the kites into two separate pieces
and throw them aside.
3. For the second third of class, brown team and yellow team switch. Yellow team is
now in charge and walks the brown team through every step as instructed above.
4. Now each member of the class has felt what it is like to be on the team in charge
and on the submissive team. As well, each member of class has a broken kite. For
the final third of the hour, members of opposing teams must now work together to
reconstruct their kites.
5. Have your students write about this activity and how it relates to the play.
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