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EVERY
BOY'S DREAM (61070)
by John C. Havens
GENRE: Drama with light comedy
TIME: 5 minutes
CAST BREAKDOWN: 4M
THEME: Perspective; Pride; Priorities; Values
CHURCH YEAR SEASON: Any Season
SUGGESTED USE: Worship Service; Men’s Group; Women’s Group; Youth Group
SYNOPSIS: Three friends sit in a Starbucks, trying to ‘one up’ each other by bragging about how important their jobs are for the betterment of the world. However, when they find out the man next to them is a fireman, they begin to get some perspective on how to help others before themselves.
CHARACTERS:
BILL–the Fireman
BRENT–the Lawyer
BOB—the Broker
BEAU–the HMO Executive
PROPS: Four chairs, coffee cups (if desired)
COSTUMES: Suits for BRENT, Bob, and Beau. Bill is upscale casual.
SOUND: Four wireless mikes
LIGHTING: General stage
SETTING: A coffee shop
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE: Proverbs 13:10, John 15:13DIRECTOR'S NOTES: Although some lines are written for comedic effect, the three ‘one uppers’ should not be played as ‘bad guys,’ but rather people caught up in bragging and pride, a trap we all can fall into. When they hear that Bill is a fireman, however, they are in awe of him. But this drama is not about hero worship; rather, they admire Bill for his bravery and the simple value of what he does.
Lights up on four men in a coffeehouse. Three sit together at one table while one sits apart by himself. The three men are in power suits, ties undone and collars open after work.
BRENT: So it turns out this dog had eaten completely through this guy’s guitar.
BOB: His guitar?
BRENT: Yeah. Rotweiler/Lab mix, this enormous gray beast whose canines popped through this guy’s guitar case like it was a melon rind. Guy turns around just in time to see Garganta-pup claw into his 1978 Fender Stratocaster and bite the neck in half like a chow mien noodle.
BEAU: (Cringing) A Stratocaster?
BRENT: Yup.
BEAU & BOB: (Shaking their heads in pity) Ooh.
BRENT: Good news is, guitar boy hires old Brent here, (indicates himself) and after three moderately lengthy visits to the courtroom won his case and got him some serious money.
BOB: What’d you go for, emotional damages?
BRENT: Big time. (Putting on his lawyer voice as if speaking to a jury) Ladies and gentleman, my client has owned that guitar since he was 17. It’s like a child to him. (Dramatically) That animal killed my client’s child.
BEAU: Layin’ it on a little thick there, aren’t ya’, Brent?
BRENT: Hey, whatever works. (Starting the ‘one upmanship’ game) I’m a lawyer. I sell justice for a living.
BEAU: Hey, Brent, did the guy get hurt at all? Maybe the dog bit him or something?
BRENT: I don’t think there’s a sale here for you, HMO guy. Unless he had full body coverage on the Strat, you’re out of luck. Dog didn’t touch him.
BEAU: Just checking. You’re not the only one who has to chase an ambulance once in a while to make a living.
BOB: Come on, Beau. You provide a service, just like Brent and me. People pay your company a lot of money, sure. But you have a needed product.
BEAU: I guess. (Rising to the challenge) No, you’re right Bob. I know people think that HMO’s are basically leeches who siphon money out of you until you get sick and then deny you coverage because of some minute stipulation vaguely stated in tiny print on the back of an annual report.
BRENT: It’s all legal, though.
BOB: Yeah, and it’s good business.
BEAU: Yeah! It is good business. And I’m a part of that business. A vital part. (One upping) I sell peace of mind for a living.
BOB: Well, that’s lovely fellas. Real idealists, the both of you. Wish I could say I had some high moral principle for why I do what I do. (Thinks) But I don’t. I just really like making people money.BILL the fireman starts taking a more active role in listening at this point.
BRENT: And you’re good at it, my friend. Never seen anyone play the stock market as well as you do. I’d get you in the courtroom for gambling and extortion if I could!
BEAU: Except he’s tripled your portfolio in the past two years.
BRENT: True. And yours, too, my healthy wealthy amigo.
BOB: Yeah, come to me if you’ve got guts and a dream. The gamble may be big, but so are the payoffs. (One upping) I sell risk for a living.
They toast one another with their coffees or drinks. After a moment, they see that BILL is smiling.
BOB: (Noticing him) Hey, friend. Something we said tickle your funny bone?
BILL: Yeah, kind of. I heard you talking about gambling and thought about the time I tried to jam a bottle cap in a one armed bandit and set off the Casino alarm.
They all laugh.
BEAU: What happened?
BILL: My dad spanked me even though they gave him four free tickets to the buffet.They laugh again.
BOB: (Trying to get a sale) Well, I don’t know if you’re still a risk taker, but I’d be happy to look over your portfolio if you like…
BRENT: (Overly serious) I’m sure that event scarred you deeply. (Takes out a pen) What casino was it? I’ll lay you twenty to one we can get you a settlement that will set you and you dad both up nicely.
BEAU: Do you have any reoccurring lower back pain from the incident? I have a great policy…
BILL: Thanks, fellas, but I’m afraid I don’t make enough money to hire any of you.
BRENT: Oh. (Somewhat rudely) What do you do?
BILL: I’m a fireman. (Pauses, gives a little smile) I save lives for a living.
Long pause. The three other men are speechless, and in awe. Eventually…
BEAU: (Very respectfully, childlike) Do you get to ride on the engine?
BILL: (Chuckling) Sure.
BRENT: And, um. Well, do you get to, how do I put this…
BILL: Yes I get to slide down the pole. But most of the time I’m already downstairs when we get the calls.The three men nod, impressed with the lingo, repeating, “get the calls, right.”
BOB: What’s his name?
BILL: Who’s name?
BOB: Your Dalmatian.
BILL: (Chuckling again) We don’t have a Dalmatian.
BOB: (Visibly crestfallen) Oh.
BILL: We have a fish, though. ‘Atticus Fish’ like Gregory Peck in To Kill A Mockingbird.
BRENT: Good name.
BOB: Does he have spots at least?
BILL: Um…sure. (Putting on jacket) Well, good to talk to you, fellas. I gotta’ go. Hey, you guys probably work around here, right?
They all nod.
BILL: Well do me all a favor and stop smoking in the men’s room, would ya?
Half our calls end up being false alarms from people ‘catchin’ a butt’ in the stalls. Save it for lunch hour, or better yet, quit. Those things’ll kill ya.
He leaves as the other three men stand, almost saluting him. “You got it, Bill,” “Yes, sir,” etc. After a pause…
BOB: Wow.
BEAU: Yeah, wow.
BRENT: A fireman.
BOB: Women love firemen.
BEAU: Everybody loves firemen. It’s like he said, he saves lives for a living. Wish I could say I did the same.
BRENT: Seriously. After talking to that guy I feel like one of the Sanhedrin or something.
BOB: San-who-drin? Sounds like an allergy medicine.
BRENT: They were on the Jewish high council; the judges who had Jesus put to death because of His supposed blasphemy.
BEAU: Blasphemy. There’s a law not really enforced much anymore.
BOB: I want to know how Brent knew about the Excedrins.
BRENT: Sunday school. You guys ever go?
BEAU: A billion years ago. I remember one of my teachers was this High School kid who was really into Batman & Robin stories. He read us a comic one Sunday and said it illustrated a verse from the Bible.
BOB: Sounds like a reach.
BEAU: Yeah, maybe. But I remember the verse.
BRENT: What was it?
BEAU: It was from John. (Thinking) “Greater love has no man than this, that he would lay down his life for his friends.”
BOB: (After a pause) That fireman lays down his life every day. For strangers.
BRENT: Yeah. Makes me wonder about what I do. (Thinks) What would happen if I really did put my clients first, instead of me? Maybe I’ll focus on that for a while: work for my clients to help them as much as I can.
BEAU: You’re onto something Brent. What if I questioned my company when we make a decision not to help someone because it will cost us. I’m going to work my hardest to make sure our clients get the health care they deserve.
BOB: Yeah. And I’m gonna’ quit my job. (Thinks) Or at least do my best to make sure my customers prepare for the future wisely no matter how much money I make.
BRENT: I bet that fireman would love to know he inspired us to give our best at what we do.
BEAU: Yeah, I bet you’re right.
BOB: (Pause) You think if we visited him at the station he’d let us climb on the engine?
BEAU and BRENT tease him, “Grow up,” “Are you kidding?” etc. Then, after a pause, they all lurch offstage after BILL.
ALL: Mr. Fireman!
They exit
DIRECTING EVERY BOY'S DREAM:
This script has lots of nice, witty banter and a great post-September 11 recognition of the heroism of firemen. Though the playwright makes it clear he does not want the three ‘one uppers’ to worship the fireman’s heroism, it is certainly clear by the change in their lives after meeting him that his heroism has a significant effect on them.
ACTING EXERCISE: CUE PICK-UP
Cue pick-up will be critical to the success of this piece. Because the dialogue is “banter” of the sit-com type, the lines will need to be delivered without any unnecessary pauses. (Note: this doesn’t mean the lines have to be spoken quickly—just beware of unnecessary pauses in between the lines.) For a cue pickup exercise, have your cast do “speed-throughs” of their lines in rehearsal: once their lines are memorized, have the actors say them several times as quickly as possible without any pauses or inflection, yet as clearly as possible so they can still understand each other! This will fuel their competitive spirit, for one thing. Who can be fastest? This will also help them to avoid turning any of their banter into something ponderous or heavy. Some actors want to give lots of meaning to certain lines when they don’t need to. A speed-through will also help them to see which lines are easy to “throw away,” that is, to treat lightly, to toss off casually. After your speed-throughs, run the scene normally. You should see a significant pick-up in their cues.
STAGING NOTES:
The staging is straightforward as dictated by the script. Put Bill (fireman) off to the right or left of the other three, possibly facing slightly upstage. He could then shift to facing downstage as he gains interest in the conversation. Give Bill something to do in addition to drinking his coffee, such as reading a magazine or sports section of the newspaper. The other three should face downstage around a cafe table.
CHARACTERIZATION NOTES:
Because the characters’ change of heart comes about so rapidly, the actors’ biggest challenge will be to make that transition believable. On one hand, if they act these life-changing moments too quickly, they will seem trite and you’ll lose the power of seeing them re-think their priorities. On the other hand, if performed too slowly, their changes will seem overly dramatic and the audience will lose the interest generated by all the witty banter earlier on. Actors have to walk a fine line when portraying life-changing epiphanies (discoveries) like these. The cue pickup exercise above can help you find that balance as well.
ACTING TERM : Discoveries
Discoveries: Do you know how your day will end before you get out of bed? None of us does. Yet actors often forget to go through their script with a fine-tooth comb and reckon with how much they know—or how little—in every given moment in the scene. What a character learns in the course of a scene is called a discovery. In seeing a character discover something, we see them change. This propels the story along and involves the audience in it. What are the surprises? What do these men already know? What are they thinking the other guy will say…and how do they react when he says something completely different? The obvious “big discovery” in this scene is the revelation of the importance of Bill’s work. Your cast will need to look carefully for the others along the way. The “one upping” the author asks for will only be possible if there are discoveries and surprises that fuel the characters’ competitive spirit, and keep the sit-com style banter moving.
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life
for his friends. John 15:13 NIVTHOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR:
Consider the value of a life? Our market economic structure teaches us that the value of something is determined by what people will pay. This becomes exceedingly clear when a hard to find toy that normally retails for a few dollars sells for hundreds in the hype of Christmas or an on-line auction. The Bible teaches us that even while we were sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). So the value of a human life is “Jesus” when measured by Christ’s sacrifice. That is amazing to ponder.Now take that thought a step further: what is the value of one who would save that human life? Like you, I think of the people I think I could die for—family, close friends and the like. However, as much as I might be able to think I would lay down my life for someone I love, there is always a seed of doubt in the back of my mind wondering if I could really follow through. Extend that to a stranger and the doubts multiply.
After all our nation has endured since September 11, 2001, those who risk their lives to protect and serve our communities are worthy of special honor (Romans 13:6-7). This sketch might serve as a way to recognize public servants in a special service.
STUDY/DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does our society value most, and how do we indicate that value?
2. What does God value that goes largely disregarded by our society?
3. Have you ever experienced someone “laying down his life” for you?
4. What are some ways that we can demonstrate to others that we value them?
WORSHIP THEME:
Serving God, Serving OthersWORSHIP IDEA:
Use this time to recognize people in your church who selflessly serve others (evangelism teams, firemen, policemen, etc.). End the time by showing how Jesus gave himself when he died.
WORSHIP LINKS
Performance Songs
“Lead Me Lord”
(Surrender)
As performed by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir off the
Recording entitled, “Praise Him…Live!” on Warner Alliance
Tempo: Slow/Moderate“Be Strong”
(Courage)
Worship Today Music Services
www.worshiptoday.cm
Tempo: SlowChoruses
“Faithfully Forever”
(Trust)
Worship Today Music Service
www.worshiptoday.com
Tempo: Moderate“Draw Them Near”
(Evangelism)
Lynn DeShazo
Hosanna! Music Songbook 7
Tempo: Upbeat“Come Heal This Land”
(Healing)
Robin Mark
Hosanna! Music Songbook 16
Tempo: FastHymns
“All Who Love and Serve Your City”
(Service)
Erik Routley, Carlton R. Young
United Methodist Hymnal
Tempo: Moderate“Jesu, Jesu”
(Perfecting Grace)
Tom Colvin
United Methodist Hymnal
Tempo: Moderate
Performance and photocopying rights:
Your purchase of this script grants your church unlimited use of these sketches within your programs and worship services. You may photocopy the script for each cast member in your church. Scripts and performance rights are not transferable between churches and cannot be resold. You may not use the sketches for any commercial or fundraising purpose, and usage rights do not extend to video, radio, television or film.Directors Notes by Sharon Maley, Freelance Director. Copyright © 2002 by Nan Allen