Reader’s Theater- The Babysitter
Preview: A family is sitting with the babysitter watching television on a Friday night. A caller keeps calling and hanging up, scaring the sitter and the children. The twisted ending is what makes it scary.
Characters:
The babysitter, Doreen
Richard
Jenny
The Caller
The operator
The Policeman
Setting: A suburban home Friday evening 9pm
Richard: Turn it up, I can’t hear it.
Brian: Gaga, googoo
Jenny: It’s already too loud, it hurts my ears!
Doreen: Stop bickering you two, you will upset Brian, he needs to go to sleep soon.
(The phone rings.)
Doreen: Maybe it’s your mother. (She picks up the phone) Hello?
Caller: (From behind the curtain) Hahahaha
Doreen: That’s weird.
Jenny: What?
Doreen: The caller laughed and then hung up.
Richard: Who do you think it was?
Doreen: Some nut. What did I miss?
Jenny: They think they know who did it, but they don’t have enough evidence to arrest him yet, so they are still watching him.
(9:30, the telephone rings again.)
Doreen: (Answering the phone) Hello? Hello?
Caller: (From behind the curtain) I will be there soon! Hahahahah
Doreen: What? (Caller hangs up)
All children: Who was it?
Doreen: Some crazy person!
Brian: Wahwahwah
Jenny: Stop crying Brian, no one is going to hurt you!
(Everyone goes back to watching television again.)
(The phone rings again.)
Jenny: I will get it! Hello?
Caller: (offstage) One more hour. Ha ha ha, (hangs up)
Jenny: He said, one more hour..What did he mean?
Doreen: Don’t worry. It’s somebody fooling around.
Jenny: I’m scared.
Brian: scahed too, dodo
Richard: I will protect you all.
Doreen: Your parents will be home soon, it will be fine, don’t worry.
(Everyone goes back to the movie. Then the phone rings again.)
Doreen: Hello, hello, who is this??? (Angry, anxious)
Caller: (from offstage) Pretty soon now, ha ha ha.
Doreen: (Screaming into the phone) Why are you doing this? (Caller hangs up, Doreen hangs up, slamming the phone down)
Richard: Was it that guy again?
Doreen: Yes, I am going to call the operator and complain! This is ridiculous!
Operator: (From the other side of the stage) Hello?
Doreen: Hello, operator, we keep getting these prank calls!
Operator: Call back if it happens again, we will look into it! We will try to trace the call.
Doreen: In the meantime, Brian needs to go to sleep. (She goes to put him in the crib in the next room.)
(Ten minutes later, the phone rings again.)
Doreen: Let’s hope this is someone other than that crazy person calling. Hello?
Caller: Very soon now! Ha ha ha! (Hangs up)
Doreen: I am going to call the operator. (Dials 0) Hello, operator?
Operator: (Calling back) Hello, hello, That person is calling from upstairs, get the heck out of there you are in grave danger!! Go, go, go!! I will call the police!
Doreen: Get the baby, Jenny, let’s run!
Caller: (Door opens- Caller appears from the top of the stairs) Ha, ha, there you all are, here I come!! You thought you could get away that easily, not so fast! (Caller begins to descend the stairs after the children and Doreen, they begin to run out of the house as fast as they can)
Doreen: ( Outside) Thank our lucky stars, we are all going to be all right. You parents will be home soon, thank goodness. Stay with me, we will keep each other warm.
Children: (all crying) That was the scariest thing that has ever happened to us!
Caller: (Smiling in a very strange way) Not so fast..
Police: (Arrives at the door) Yeah, you can say that again, not so fast, mister..You are under arrest.
Caller: What have I done? (Smiles strangely again) Ha ha ha
Police: You have the right to remain silent, if you do not..
THE END
The next step is for them to write their own Reader's Theater. We discussed how to do it, and we wrote a quick scene from "The Viper" as an example for the class. I think they are prepared to work together, and I am excited to see what they figure out together as small groups. Talk to you all next week!
No comments:
Post a Comment