Theater Words offers royalty free plays and scenes, plays for women, plays for Black actors, African American plays, plays with gay themes, ten minutes plays, scenes, plays for children, plays for small theater groups, created by the Performing Arts Department of The Shipley School.
_OREOS AND NOSE RINGS
Characters: 4
Situation: A fourperson exchange at a table.
Purpose: Learning to work
withcross conversations. 1 and 2 have
one thing in mind while
3 and 4 are somewhat off on
their own.Giving the audience a sense
of what they are looking at even though the audience does not see it.The most important part of this exercise is
quick pacing.Lines should almost
overlap at times.The scene should
recreate four students at lunch each off on their own train of thought.To help understanding, the teacher may wish
to bracket off the connected conversations.The effect comes into focus only when the students are memorized and can
achieve the double conversation without hesitation.This exercise also prepares students for
contemporary works such as Ionesco’s The Bald Soprano.
(Four students are sitting
at lunch.They have brown bags and they
take out items - sandwiches etc. as they speak.Number 3 always talks with food in the mouth.The conversation begins in a “stage” whisper.)
1.Look at her.
2.Who?
1.Her - the girl with the chain and padlock
around her neck.
2.Yeh,so?
3. She’s new here.
1.Look at her.
2. I am looking.What do you want me to see?
1. The ring.
3. What ring?
4. I can’t see her hands.
She’s got her sleeves pulled down.
1. Not her hands - her nose!
2. Her nose?
1. In her nose.
4. Oh, I didn’t notice.
2. Yeh, so?You never saw a ring in somebody’s nose
before?
3. (pensively) Pretty
big ring.
1. Yeh, but watch what she’s
doin’.
2. What she doin?
1. With the Oreo.
3. I wonder if it’s real
silver?
4. It has to be
silver.
2. The oreo?
3. Why?
4. (to 2) No, not the
oreo.The ring.The ring has to be silver.
3. Why does it have to be
silver?
4. ‘Cause it would tarnish if
it wasn’t.
3. Really? I didn’t know
that.
2. Me neither.
1. Silver does
tarnish.. It’s gold that doesn’t.
4. Oh.
1. Check out the oreo.
3. (Looks in lunch bag.)
I don’t have any Oreos.My mom gave me
an orange. (Pulls out the orange.)
4. (Look in lunch bag)
I have a Ring Ding. (pulls out the Ring Ding.)
3. (To 4) Wanna swap?
4. Ok.
1. Do you see what I’m
tellin’ you guys? (Looks off atthe
other table) - Ah! Ya missed it again.
2, Missed what?
1. The oreo.
2. (frustrated) What
are you talkin’ about ,-- oreo?
1. Watch when she licks the
oreo.
2. Licks it?
1. You know, – how you lick
an oreo.
3. I hate peeling oranges.
1. Yeh, watch how the edge of
the cookie kind a’tigglesthe ring.
3. You get your finger all
sticky. ( in the meantime licking the Ring Ding from his/her fingers.)
2. “tiggles” the ring?
4. I like oranges.They’re better for you. (Being very neat
with the orange.)
1. You know what I
mean.
3. Yeh, it’s like when the
juice gets all over your fingers and you gotta lick it off. ( Continues to
make a mess with the Ring Ding.)
1. See how she takes ‘em
apart.Her tongue gets the bottom of the
cookie but hernose ring hits the top.
4. Not if you’re neat about
it.
2. Don’t you eat oreos like
that?
1. I don’t have a four inch
ring sticken’ outta my nose!
3.Oranges give me canker
sores.
4. I like the way oranges
come in pieces. (Breaks the orange in segments.)
3. What?(To 2) Taking them apart?
2. Yeh, don’t you take them
apart? (To 4)
3. What pieces! You get all
those little ikky strings all over that stick to your fingers.
4. Sometimes.
1. I never munch down an oreo
whole.
2. Sometimes I do.
3. You can’t even peal an
orange.You gotta poke your thumb
in the top.( licking fingers
loudlyand with chocolate all
over the face.)
1.I suppose I do too, once in a while.
4. I cut the skin with a
knife.
3.(Continuing to lick his/her fingers.)
And then you get that orange gunk in your fingernail.
2. But when you split ‘em,
what part do you eat first?
1. Whadda ya mean ‘what part
do I eat first?’?
2. ( impatiently) Do
you eat the cookie part first or do you lick the cream off the cream half?
1. I dunno, .... maybe the
cream.
2. I like to eat the cookie
first.
3. (Taken by the word
“cream” joins the oreo conversation.)
You don’t go for the cream?
I get the cream with my finger.
2. No, the cookie first.I get it out of the way.
3....... scrape it off.You know ( demonstrates)
4. You could use a
spoon.
2. A spoon?
4. I use a spoon.
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1. I usually lick off the
cream.
2. Then you’re left with two
cookies and no cream.
3.And it hurts your tongue after a while.
1. What does?
3. All the licking.It hurts the back of my jaw and kinda kills
my tongue.
So use your finger - it works
better.( loud lick and slurping
smack , or finger pop in the cheek.)
4.Ya know, if you eat the cookie side first,
then the cream, you only have one dead cookie side left to eat.If you eat the cream first, then you have two
dead cookie sides to get rid of.
3. Besides, you have to eat
the cookie first or you’d have disembodied oreo cream floating in the air.
2. How spiritual!
1. Does it matter?
2. Well, everything
matters.Some people don’t even like
Oreos.
1. Who doesn’t like Oreos.
2. My sister.She like Hydrox better.
1. It’s the same thing.
3.No, it’s not.They’re different.
(Aside to 4 - returning to the empty Ring Ding
wrapper.)
You got another one of these?
4. Nope that’s it.
3.(Returning to theothers.)Besides, Oreos come with double cream.
1. But they’re more expensive
that way.
3. So!I’d pay the extra dollar for the extra cream
2. Yeh, but Hydrox have more
cream right off the bat.
1. You know, I don’t see why
they don’t sell them with double stuff all the time.
2. That would be gross.
4. Not as gross as those
Christmas Oreos.
1. Oh yeh, I’ve seen
them.Red and green stuff inside for
Christmas.
3. Yeh, they’re great with a
glass of milk - right before you go to bed.
4. Oh man, they make the milk
gross.
1.. Why would they make the
milk gross.
4. ‘Cause the color
gets in the milk.
2. Wadda ya mean?
4. (singing) A little
red .... a little green ... together they make....
1. Ugh! Not a prettypicture.
3. It won’t kill ya.
2. No one but you could be
that gross.
3. Gee, thanks.
2. No, I take that back.
Look.
1. What I tell ya? Take a
look.
3. ( With delight)
Check it out!
1. Watch the nose ring!
4. She’s gettin the cream
stuff all over it !
2. Oh man! .
1. Do you believe it?
2. There it goes again.
4. She’s stickin’ out her
tongue to lick it off the nose ring!
3. I love it. ( Makes
another “pop” sound with finger in cheek)