Title: “The roads are individual”.
Author: Silvina Carrasco
7 Characters:
- Young woman: She is a young woman of about 25 years old, she has a cheerful and relaxed attitude.
- Man: He is a man of about 30 years old. With an unfriendly attitude, he drags heavy luggage with difficulty.
- Woman: Woman about 35 years old. She walks in very high heels that make it difficult for her to move forward.
- Teenager 1: He is a teenager about 15 years old.
- Teenager 2: She is a teenager about 15 years old.
- Older man
- Narrator: Voice-over explaining what the game of life is all about.
SINGLE ACT
Characters that intervene in this act: Young man, Man, Woman, Teenager 1, Teenager 2, Older man and Narrator.
Stage: In the center of the stage there is a circle; everyone who arrives there behaves happily. From different points on the stage, paths – which may be marked with colored tape on the floor – lead to the central circle. There are six paths and each one has its own characteristics: Path 1 is full of flowers and has a comfortable sofa and a small table with a drink and a book. Path 2 has obstacles to run over in order to get through. Path 3 is clear. Path 4 and Path 5 join at one point and then separate again. Path 6, starts at a point, forms a circle and then leads to the center circle.
Each character stands where their path begins: Young man on Path 1, Man on Path 2, Woman on Path 3, Teen 1 on Path 4, Teen 2 on Path 5, and Older man on Path 6. As the Narrator refers to each, the actors will develop their performance while the others remain still.
-Narrator: Today we are going to see what the game of life is all about. In this game, all participants try to reach the same point: the central circle, the state of happiness. Yet, there are no winners or losers, just people trying to reach the same state (Short pause) For some, the path is pleasant….
(Young man walks happily on his way)
-NARRATOR: These participants are enjoying the whole journey.
(Young man sits for a moment on the sofa and drinks from the cup and looks at the book. He stops, takes a few more steps, picks up a flower, smells it with a smile, and continues to the center circle).
-Narrator: For others, reaching the circle is more difficult because they carry heavy weights….
(Man begins to drag his luggage with difficulty until he encounters the first obstacle in his path. He stands in front of the obstacle).
-Narrator:… and sometimes they need to stop and rest for a while until they figure out how to go on. (Short pause) There are people who walk in very uncomfortable shoes and still keep trying.
(Woman plods along trying to keep her balance in her heels)
-NARRATOR: If you can’t put yourself in other people’s shoes, don’t criticize them, only they know the difficulties they have.
(Woman stands still before reaching the circle).
-Narrator: Some paths meet….
(Teen 1 and Teen 2 walk to the point where their paths meet. They embrace.)
-Narrator:… and then they separate again.
(The teens go their separate ways. Teen 1 stands still a few steps ahead of the meeting point and Teen 2 continues on to the center circle)
-NARRATOR: If we pay attention, we can learn good things from everyone who crosses our path.
(Older man walks in a circle without being able to get out of the circle to reach the center circle).
-NARRATOR: Other participants have spent much of their lives repeating the same acts; constantly stepping in their old footsteps and unable to find a way out that will lead them to their goal.
-Narrator: Like these characters, we all seek to reach the center circle, the point of happiness, but the conditions are different for everyone. If a person is in a bad mood or unkind, don’t judge them; maybe their shoes are bothering them, maybe they are too tired to carry their luggage, maybe they don’t know how to overcome their obstacles or maybe they don’t know how to get out of their old routines… Walk your own path, decorate it as you wish, remove the obstacles that don’t serve you, carry the weight you decide and the most important thing: remember that you cannot expect other people to act as you would, because each one has to walk their own path.
THE END