THE
RED
BADGE OF COURAGE
WHY
IS THIS PLAY BEST FOR YOUR SCHOOL?
Easy
Choice! Top Quality! All
of these plays were professionally developed by ArtReach Touring
Theatre or were commissioned by Professional LORTS like Florida Rep
and Rep of St. Louis. All have had professional tours to
theatres and schools across the country. Many have won awards
in High School One Act Play Contests, Drama and Thespian Speech and
Theatre Competitions.
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rarely take place on your own stage! These One Act Plays have
been designed to travel to the Contest Host Theatre on that important
competition day. All have easy staging, simple sets & costumes,
minimal props, flexible tech for a mainstage or gym/open facility
performance space. At last your students can worry about their
performance, not the set!
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When you license any of our One Act Plays you have permission to cut,
adapt and adjust cast size! You also have permission to make a
video or DVD of the production! At last, you are allowed to
adapt a play to your students' needs!
Easy Budget! These
One Act Plays, can be successfully produced on limited budgets and
by small or expanded student casts with little or no tech
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inexpensive professional touch!
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Tried
and True! Our
One Act Plays have been performed literally thousands of times by
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Theatre, Boarshead Theatre, Virginia Stage, Honolulu Theatre for
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performing these plays for over 30 years!
NARRATOR: (entering)
One of the men had the gray seal of death upon him. His hands were
bloody from where he had pressed them upon his wound.
(HENRY
moves in from of JIM. JIM puts his hand on HENRY. HENRY jumps as if
he had been touched by a ghost. HENRY turns to the man, sees it is JIM.)
HENRY:
Gawd! Jim Conklin!
JIM:
Hello, Henry.
(a
vacant stare, ahead)
HENRY: (horrified,
gulping back tears) Oh Jim... oh, Jim... oh, Jim...
JIM: (eyes
fixed ahead) Where you been. Henry? I thought maybe you got
keeled over. There's been thunder to pay today.
HENRY:
Oh, Jim... oh, Jim... oh, Jim...
JIM:
You know, I was out there. And Lord, what a circus! And by jiminey, I
got shot.
JIM: (leans
to speak confidentially to HENRY) I tell you what I'm afraid of,
Henry, I'll tell you what I'm afraid of. I'm afraid I'll fall down
and then, you know, them dumb artillery wagons — they like as
not’ll run over me. That's what I'm afraid of.
HENRY: (hysterical)
I'll take care of you, Jim! I'll take care of you. I swear to God I will.
JIM:
Will you, Henry?
HENRY:
Yes! Yes! I tell you... I'll take care of you, Jim.
JIM:
Just pull me out of the road. I'd do it for you, wouldn't I, Henry?
HENRY: (awkwardly
wiping tears away with his sleeve) Lean on me, Jim, just lean on me.
JIM: (pushes
him away) No... no... no, leave me be, leave me be...
HENRY:
I better take you out of the road, Jim. There's a battery coming.
HENRY:
I better take you out of the road, Jim. There's a battery coming.
(JIM
is vacant.)
HENRY:
Gawd, Jim, how can you keep walking like this?
(JIM
keeps walking doggedly. HENRY is exasperated.)
HENRY:
JIM! JIM!
JIM: (thinking
he understands) Oh! In the fields! Oh!
HENRY:
Gawd! Don't run, Jim!
(HENRY
grasps JIM, crying.)
HENRY:
Jim, what makes you do this way? You're hurt bad, Jim!
(SOUND
CUE #5: "Jim's Death".)
JIM:
No, no, no, don't touch me, leave me be, leave me be...
(JIM
pushes HENRY away and falls unto cube. NARRATOR enters. SHE and
HENRY quickly move downstage "following" JIM. HENRY and
NARRATOR play the scene as if seeing JIM out front. JIM remains on cube.)
NARRATOR:
Turning his head swiftly, the youth saw his friend running in a
staggering and stumbling way toward a little clump of bushes.
HENRY:
Where you going, Jim? What are you thinking about? Where you going?
Tell me, won't you, Jim?
NARRATOR:
The tall soldier turned and lurching dangerously, went on.
HENRY: JIM!
NARRATOR:
The youth followed.
JIM:
Leave me be for a minute. Leave me be...
NARRATOR:
At last. Henry saw him stop and stand motionless.
HENRY:
Jim, what's the matter with you, Jim?
NARRATOR:
There was a silence.
JIM:
Leave me be...
NARRATOR:
Finally, the chest of the doomed soldier began to heave. For a moment
the tremor of his legs caused him to dance a hideous sort of jig. His
arms beat wildly about his head. The tall soldier stretched to his
full height, then fell to the ground.
(JIM
stands, staggers downstage and falls into HENRY'S arms.)
HENRY: (sobs)
JIM!! Oh, Gawd, oh Gawd, oh Gawd!!
NARRATOR:
As the flap of the blue jacket fell away from the body, Henry could
see that his side looked as if it had been chewed by wolves.
(pause)
NARRATOR:
The youth turned toward the battlefield.
HENRY: (raising
his fist, furious) DAMNATION!!!!
Note:
This is a sample from the actual script. To review the entire
play, order the PERUSAL SCRIPT (online instant download).
