The Tale of the Bully Who Could Have Been Stopped
OR
"All Together Against the Big Bad Bully"
(A free version of the Brecht's play: The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui .)
By Gavarre Ben
Characters:
THE NARRATOR: Wears a toy megaphone and a clown nose.
ARTIE THE OGRE: A big, furry, blue monster. Deep down he’s lazy, but he wears a villain costume: a peel-and-stick mustache, a bright orange wig that sits crooked, and a very long red tie that drags on the floor and that he keeps tripping over.
THE OLD SHEPHERD: A very old, tired dog who guards the keys to the "Cookie Vault."
THE BAKERS' GUILD: Three people in tall chef hats who are very worried because nobody is buying their cookies.
SCENE 1: The Cookie Deal
(The stage is a town square made of cardboard. THE NARRATOR steps to the front.)
NARRADOR: Ladies, gentlemen, and little folks! Today we will see the story of a monster who wasn't really much of a monster, and a fear that shouldn't have been so scary. It is the story of a rise to power that could have been stopped with just one finger. Watch!
(The BAKERS are nervous. The SHEPHERD is sleeping.)
BAKER 1: We haven't sold a single cookie! We need the Shepherd to lend us the gold from the Vault.
BAKER 2: But the Shepherd is honest! He won't give us gold for our silly wishes.
BAKER 3: (Pulls out a box of expensive chocolates) We will give him this gift... if he signs the permit, we won't tell anyone he broke the rules.
(The SHEPHERD wakes up, sees the chocolates, gobbles them all up, and signs the paper. Suddenly, a noise of badly played drums is heard: BOOM, KABOOM!)
SCENE 2: The Ogre with the Red Tie
(Enter ARTIE THE OGRE. He looks ridiculous: his orange wig is messy, and his red tie is so long he has to carry it bundled up on his arm like a hose.)
ARTIE: (Speaking in a very loud, scratchy voice) ATTENTION! I have heard there are people here doing bad things with cookies. It's terrible! It's a disaster! Nobody makes cookies like I would! I will make this garden the best garden in the world again!
BAKER 1: Who are you?
ARTIE: (Sticks on his little mustache, which stays crooked) I am the Great Artie. And I have seen that the Old Shepherd accepted forbidden chocolates. I have photos! I have drawings! If you don't let me be the boss of the Cookie Vault, I will tell everyone that the Shepherd is a glutton.
NARRATOR: (Interrupts the action) Just a moment! Did you see that? Artie has no magic. He only has someone else's secret and a very flashy wig. Do you think he is dangerous? He trips over his own tie!
SCENE 3: The Fear of the Invisible
(Artie starts jumping around and yelling at the children in the audience.)
ARTIE: Be afraid! There are invisible dragons in the garden! Many dragons! Huge ones! Only I can see them because I am a genius, a very stable genius. If you give me your sweets, I will scare the dragons away.
(Artie takes out a spray can and starts spraying air at nothing.)
ARTIE: Take that, dragon! Get out of here! Did you see how I scared him? I am the best scarer in history! Nobody scares like I do!
BAKER 2: (Whispering) I don't see any dragons...
ARTIE: That's because they are invisible, silly! Pay me or I'll let them bite you!
NARRATOR: (To the audience) Look closely! The bakers pay him because they are afraid of something that doesn't exist. And Artie uses that money to buy an even longer tie and a noisier spray can. This can be stopped right now! Does anyone want to shout: "There are no dragons!"?
SCENE 4: The End of the Disguise
(Artie tries to walk toward the neighbor's flower garden to take their daisies.)
ARTIE: That garden is mine too! The flowers greet me because they love me! I am the King of Flowers!
(Artie trips over his red tie, his orange wig flies off, and his little mustache falls down. He sits on the floor, looking like a very simple and slightly embarrassed blue monster.)
BAKER 3: But it's just lazy Artie! There are no dragons!
SHEPHERD: And my gold permit is worthless because I signed it with chocolate in my mouth!
(Everyone laughs at Artie. Artie blushes and starts gathering his things.)
NARRATOR: (Closing the story) See? He seemed like a giant, but it was just a costume. He seemed like a mountain, but he was just a pile of noise. This story ends this way because someone decided to stop believing in scary tales.
NARRATOR: The monster is made of plush, the mustache is fake, and the power of loudmouths... ends when people stay... wide awake!
(Everyone dances to a happy song while Artie tries to put his wig on backwards.)
THE END.
