Leaping Off the Page: Any Time of the Year Edition

by L. Ruth Carter

  Gracious Sakes Alive!

  A Short Play

  This play discusses God’s grace. The challenge is to give the grace we so much want to receive. It runs about seven minutes, and has four characters: two women; one boy; one girl.

  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  Marge: A young mother who has been away on vacation for two weeks. Bright, caring—a good friend and neighbor.

  Ellen: Marge’s friend from church, another young mother. Maybe she has a little more to learn.

  Maggie: Marge’s four year old daughter.

  Nicholas: Ellen’s four year old son. These two children could be played by older people. If they are, every effort must be made for them not to be “cutesy”. It would be great if they could be done by actual four or five year olds.

  SCENE: This could take place in a family room, on a deck or patio, or at the kitchen table of a nice suburban home. I’ll use a living room. There should be a sofa, easy chair and coffee table in the center stage area. The coffee table should have some books on it and maybe a candy jar or plate of cookies. A table down right or down left for coffee pot, mugs, cream and sugar should have a trash can nearby. There should be a couple of other chairs scattered about, one that needs to be in the upstage area left or right of center.

  SET PIECES: Sofa, easy chair, straight back chair, small table (i.e.: card table), trash can

  PROPS: Bible, notebook, purse, jacket, coffee pot with coffee, cream, sugar, two mugs, spoons, napkins

  At Curtain, Marge, the hostess, leads her guest into the room.

  Marge (Enter with Ellen and gesture to her to sit on sofa) Thanks for coming over, Ellen. (Take Ellen’s jacket and put on chair out of the way) Having missed two weeks of the Bible Study, I feel like I’m hopelessly behind.

  Ellen: Happy to. (Looking around) You’ve got a new carpet! (If a carpet doesn’t work here, say, “I love your sweater! Is it new?”)

  Marge: (Smiling) Our Christmas gift to each other. Like it? (Or, “Bob gave it to me for Christmas.”)

  Ellen: Gorgeous. (At coffee table, put purse and books down) I tell you, Marge, this has been quite a study. (To door, looking out) Are you sure the kids’ll be all right playing outside?

  Marge: (Sits on easy chair. She’s used to Ellen’s disjointed conversations) Of course. My Maggie dotes on your Nicholas. True love, I’m sure.

  Ellen: (Chuckling, to sofa and sit) Nicky wouldn’t admit it, but he enjoys Maggie’s adoration. In her eyes, he can do no wrong.

  Marge: Oh, to be four years old again!

  Ellen: Or to be loved like that. (Picks up her notebook) Now, how can we get you caught up on that study?

  Marge: I wish I could have been there. (Getting up) Could I get you some coffee?

  Ellen: (Nodding) Please. You’d have loved it. I mean, positively loved it!

  Marge: (To the coffee pot) Yes. Grace is such a vital subject.

  Ellen: Yes, indeed it is!

  Marge: (Fixing two cups of coffee) The grace of God’s love is so big. Too big to comprehend. Cream? Sugar?

  Ellen: Both, please. (Or whatever the actress can stomach) None of us could ever deserve His free gift. (Archly. Puts book down) I certainly couldn’t. I mean, really!

  Marge: (Bringing the coffee cups over) And that’s what grace is all about, isn’t it? That we simply don’t deserve it. (Gives Ellen her cup)

  Ellen: (Sipping coffee) It certainly is. Absolutely.

  Marge: What a remarkable thing that kind of love is! If I could only grab hold of it myself. (Sip)

  Ellen: What do you mean, Marge?

  Marge: Well, you know—(put cup down) to be able to love like that. (Curl legs up in chair) It is such a (hand gestures for emphasis) dynamic, vibrant thing. I want to grab hold of it—both ways. To totally accept God’s grace and then to be able to extend it to others. I probably would never get mad at my husband again for leaving his whiskers in the bathroom sink.

  Ellen: (Laughs) You must admit that there are some things that simply cannot be borne!

  Marge: (Smiles) But grace means that love bears all things.

  Ellen: Bears all things? (Marge points to the Bible in front of Ellen) Oh, the Love Chapter.

  Marge: Yeah. (Feet back on floor, leaning toward Ellen—earnest) Maybe grace means the kind of love that is so total you don’t even know you’re bearing all things! You’re not offended by these irritants in the first place!

  Ellen: (Getting excited) Hey, part of our study did deal with that. I thought how wonderful it would be to have someone love me like that. (She reaches for her notebook) It’s in here somewhere. (Starts leafing through the pages)

  Marge: And that’s what’s so exciting. God really does love us like that. (Rubs her jaw and chuckles) Whiskers and all.

  Ellen: (Looking up from her book) What? Whiskers? Oh, that. (Snickers) Well, at least you don’t leave any in the sink!

  Marge: (Shakes her head ruefully) Wanna bet? I’m afraid Jesus loves me through a lot of things I do that kind of clutter up my relationship with him. (Picks up cup and sips)

  Ellen: (Flipping a page in her book) Oh, here it is! (She waves it and accidentally knocks over her coffee so that it spills all over the place. If you can’t protect your stage floor adequately, change the action so that she spills it on Marge’s nice white sweater. Whatever it is, it should make a mess that would need some effort to clean.) Oh, my gracious! Your new carpet! (Or “sweater”) I’m so sorry! (Both women down on their knees to clean up the mess. You may have to ad-lib a bit with the apologies and reassurances while you clean up.)

  Marge: (Laughing, touches Ellen’s shoulder) That’s okay, Ellen, we can easily clean it up. (To table for handful of napkins) That’s what carpet cleaners are for. (Or, “that’s what stain removers are for.”)

  Ellen: But your cup! (Or plate or jar—whichever it is, if it breaks on impact, she can pick up a couple of pieces and hold them out ruefully. If it didn’t break—and these things are sometimes hard to engineer—she picks up the item in question and examines it closely for scratches or nicks.)

  Marge: Ellen, don’t worry about it. (Taking the cup—or plate—or jar) It’s only a cup. (Or plate—or alligator—you know what to do.) Plenty more where that came from. (Takes mess to trash can and deposit it)

  Ellen: (Smiling) Well, I am sorry to be such a klutz.

  Marge: No harm done. (Both women resume seats. Marge picks up her Bible) Now, what’s this about grace?

  (Two small children suddenly erupt into the room. I could have said enter, but children rarely do anything so dull. These two erupt—and then stand hesitantly just inside the door)

  Marge: (Looking up at them) What is it, kids?

  Maggie: (Very woebegone, to Marge, climbs into her lap) Nicky spilled his drink.

  Ellen: (To Nicky) What drink?

  Nicky: (Not looking at anyone) I put water in the sandbox pail.

  Ellen: (Grimaces) You were drinking from the sandbox pail? (Wipes his face with a napkin)

  Nicky: (Nodding) It was nice and cold from the hose.

  Maggie: (From Marge’s lap) He spilled it on the car.

  Ellen: (Swings in to Maggie) What car?

  Nicky: (Gulp—digs toe into carpet) Ours.

  Ellen: (She stands and towers over him—low voiced and controlled) You spilled water on our car?

  Nicky: (Nods)

  Maggie: On the trunk.

  Nicky: It was a naccident.

  Ellen: Nicky, that was a very naughty thing to do. You go right over there to that chair (Points to chair in the upstage corner) and sit. I don’t want you moving from there until it is time for us to leave.

  Nicky: (Nods and moves slowly over to the appointed chair. Maggie trails after him.)

  Ellen: No, Maggie honey, I don’t want him playing with you just now. He’s been a bad boy.

  Maggie: Oh. I’m sorry, Nicky. (She sits on floor next to him and stares down at her hands unhappily.)

  Ellen: (Shaking her head and sighing. To sofa
and sit) That kid drives me nuts. So clumsy. I swear! No grace there! (Smiles wryly at Marge) Now, where were we?

 

  Curtain

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