SAY SOMETHING

SAY SOMETHING (62172)
by Joanna Jones

GENRE: Light Drama
TIME: 5 minutes
CAST BREAKDOWN: 1F

THEME: Prayer; Waiting on God; Contentment

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE: Luke 11:1-13 & 18:1-8,Psalm 37:4
CHURCH YEAR SEASON: Any
SUGGESTED USE: Seeker Service; Worship Service

SYNOPSIS: While attending church, a woman talks to God and expresses her
frustration with his apparent silence.

CHARACTERS:
WOMAN

PROPS: None
COSTUMES: ContemporarySOUND: One wireless microphone; prerecorded sound effects
LIGHTING: General stage
SETTING: A church pew

Lights up. WOMAN walks into pew—apparently late. There are no other actual people with her, but they are indicated by her movements. The first 60 seconds of this drama represent the entire service in fast forward. The lights shift and sound changes to show the different elements.

Just as she squeezes past the invisible people, they stand to sing.

VOICE-OVER (Her thoughts): Oh, I love this song. I'm not ready to sing it in front of actual people, but I love this song...

Oh, I need an envelope... Where's my checkbook?! (She writes a check.) I really screwed up this week, better double that...(She writes a new check.)

Lights shift as she prays. She is listening to the sermon, taking notes. SFX: Muted talking, congregation laughter and "amens".

These sermons are great: the jokes are lame, but you can't help but love the guy. But I'm not getting answers! I'm not getting answers! I'm not getting answers!

Lights change: She stands for prayer, smiles as people are leaving. Steps into aisle. People are gone— she looks desperately at the altar. Sighs — turns to leave. Then stops. She speaks in prayer, now live:

WOMAN: I'm not getting any answers! Please, say something. Okay. Maybe you’re shocked that it’s not even Easter and I’m here. I've tried everything, and I had this feeling that maybe I should try harder to talk to you.

Are you talking to me? I guess you know about that...well, that thing I did - a few weeks ago. You know, where...Well you are...(Looks at notes)...“Omniscient”— of course you know, but the fact is... that I am sorry. I really am. I feel terrible and it messed everything up so here I am. Here I am.

So that's it....You’re mad at me and now the rest of my life isn't working. But he just said today that you don't work that way...so why is something missing?

When I graduated, I thought it was that I needed a fulfilling job—but I've got that now. A great job. And I feel empty.

My friend Sandra talked to this psychic healer who says the key to fulfillment was proper breathing. I tried it and hyperventilated—so I'm pretty sure that's off track.

Besides, it hurts to sit like that... (She strikes odd “meditation” pose.)

I thought I just needed a good relationship. So I'm dating. Two guys named Steve—very funny, God—but even between them, I don't feel...fulfilled. I don't mean that way, or anything...well you know; you are...(She looks at notes ) “Omnipresent”. I've been good.

So I thought I just needed my own apartment—did that—nothing! New hair style—nothing.

Exercise twice a week—nothing. Gave up chocolate and caffeine——became a huge crab—started up again. Now I'm much better.

But really, all in all, I'm not getting much direction here. I'm at church and I pray, I think. You know I want a true love in my life. Look, I even read this (She picks up her Bible and flips frantically to a marked page.)—marked it with a Post-it -note—“God (that would be you) will give you (that would be me) the desires of your heart.”

The desires of my heart? Brad Pitt hasn’t called ONCE! My mother says the perfect man for me is Jesus. Well, it must be a guy thing–’cause he ain't calling either!!!

I make bad choices. Way too often. But I chose you and I know that’s right — so why do I feel this way?

Look, I want you to be proud of me. I want to do good things. I don't want to feel like this! I hate feeling like this. I stand here and watch people affected by you. Happy and content. Content.

I'm frustrated, I'm angry...I'm...(Glancing at watch)...now late for lunch.

And I'm sanding here raving like a lunatic. Like a lunatic.

So say something. Anything. Please. Just say something.

Lights down.

Director’s Notes “Say Something”

What’s So Funny?

Short scenes and monologues can be tricky simply because your audience is given little or no “lead-in” to prepare them for what’s coming, and as a result, the viewers spend the first few lines trying to decide if this is a comedy, drama, etc. Because of this dynamic, sometimes scenes will get a laugh at the onset, even though the moment is intended to be fairly serious.

In Say Something, the interplay of a woman pantomiming a church service on stage while we hear her thoughts could be unintentionally amusing unless done carefully. Try rehearsing with your actress and her recorded voice as much as possible to see what’s “too much”, and it may be wise to bring in a trusted second opinion to view it in advance. There are some lighthearted moments at the scene’s opening as the woman struggles with her checkbook and critiques the pastor’s sermon. You want to make sure the audience is chuckling at the lines and not the theatrical device!

Being Specific

If you choose to stage the church service at the opening of the scene as a pantomime with no other actors, be sure the actress is extremely clear on what she’s doing, moment by moment and who she’s interacting with. (A lack of clarity in pantomime can be very frustrating to an audience!) It may be helpful to use real props where possible—the checkbook, for example—in order to make the movements clear.

Staging Notes

Encourage your actress to find the “movement” of her conversation with God. In other words, let the monologue have its rises and falls, steadily building to its conclusion and let the blocking grow out of those choices. Big stage movements may not be necessary but don’t allow the actress to become physically static either: there are lots of built-in beats and measures that can keep the monologue moving forward to a touching finish, and the actress should avoid moving except when it helps to accent those moments.

Back Story

This monologue leaves a lot of the “back-story” of the woman up to the imagination of the audience, and it may be helpful for your actress to spend some time developing the specifics of who she is, what her life is like, what she’s struggling with, etc. Even though the audience never hears all of these details, it can really help make a portrayal more rich and textured in the mind of the actress, which in turn really helps to “sell” it to your viewers.

Focal Point

Since the “scene partner” for most of this monologue is God himself, it may be a good idea to find a physical focal point somewhere behind and above the audience for the actress to deliver the lines to. She shouldn’t keep her eyes locked there, but having a specific reference point to return to will not only give the actress a sense of stability in her delivery, but also help solidify the prayer “dynamic” for the audience.

Thoughts from the Pastor

Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Often in scripture God gives us promises but in many cases a condition precedes them. In this case we are promised the desires of our heart. The condition that precedes the promise is “delighting ourselves in Him.”

So how do we delight ourselves in the Lord? We do so by desiring and appreciating his presence in our lives. Another way to delight ourselves in him is to embrace the truth and righteousness of scripture. If we embrace his presence and seek wisdom from his word, it is certain that God will be pleased.

In addition to pleasing God, our desires change when we spend time with him and time in his word. This happens in two ways. First, our desires begin to line up with scripture and his nature as we spend time with him and in his word. John 15:7 says, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”

The second thing that happens is that God begins to place desires in our hearts that he intends to carry out. Philippians 2:13 tells us that “…it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” God is at work in his faithful children and his work gives us the desire and strength to do his will.

Most people want guidance and help when it comes to making difficult decisions. We might go to a friend, a family member, or trusted advisor for advice when making a decision about a job or relationship. This might be news to some people, but God wants to be our ultimate advisor. He not only wants to give us the best advice, but he wants us to desire what is best for us. If we really desire to hear God’s heart, then we must spend time with him and be in his word (…if you remain in me and my words remain in you…).

Often we get frustrated when God doesn’t answer us immediately. Our finite minds often cannot comprehend the thinking of our infinite God. We wonder why God waits or stays silent when he knows we need answers now. In those times we must remember that our emergencies are not always God’s emergencies. Sometimes, God is slow to answer because he requires change in us. In delaying his answers, God often seeks persistence in us and desires that we get closer to him to get our answers.

God is willing to do his part. The question is, are we willing to do ours?

Study/Discussion Questions:

Describe what it means to “remain in Him.” Describe what it means for “His words to remain in us.”

Why do you think it is important to God that we be persistent when we are seeking his answers or his help?

List several reasons why God might be slow to answer our prayers?

Describe what it means to “delight yourself in the Lord.”

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.

Copyright © 2005 by Joanna Jones