Nobody’s Dummies
Freddie tells his co-worker Sherry they should search the boss’s office in their hunt for the coffee he thinks the boss is hoarding. Sherry knows they will be in trouble if they get caught. Freddie argues that the boss is out for the day, so they go in and are immediately challenged by Blitzen the surveillance reindeer inside the office. An amateur ventriloquist, Sherry teams up with Blitzen to teach Freddie a life lesson, that reckless actions have consequences. Trapped and at the mercy of Blitzen, Freddie realizes that his workplace shenanigans are about to be exposed. He runs from the office crying like a baby as Sherry and Blitzen wonder whether Freddie has learned anything from the experience. Probably not, they agree.
Themes and issues
Coffee. Surveillance culture. Reindeer. Entitled jerks getting what they deserve.
Production history
This play has not yet been produced.
Genre
Comedy, satire, romance, adventure.
Acts and run time
One act, approximately 10 minutes.
Cast
Two actors (1 woman, 1 man). The actor performing Sherry plays a double role as the voice of Blitzen. Roles may be cast with actors of any race.
Note on voicing Blitzen the toy reindeer
The actor performing Sherry is also the voice of Blitzen, the surveillance reindeer that watches over the boss’s stash of coffee. Sherry is a truly terrible ventriloquist who performs at community events and never misses an opportunity to voice inanimate objects. Obviously awkward ventriloquism is the desired effect here. When she speaks as Blitzen, it comes off as artificial even mechanical as she pretends—and fails—to speak without moving her lips.
Blitzen is a surveillance reindeer who engages with Freddie and Sherry when they activate her with the wake word “Blitzen”. Blitzen is later revealed to be a sophisticated communications technology concealing a camera and a microphone programmed to record audio and video and transfer files to the company’s network Cloud storage. Yet the audience has seen that Blitzen’s voice comes from Sherry not the toy reindeer. In practice, both situations can’t be true. Unless of course Blitzen truly is nobody’s dummy.
Performance rights
You may download a perusal copy of this copyrighted play for review. Performance rights inquiries to the playwright at rick@rbws.ca or the Playwrights Guild of Canada at playwrightsguild.ca.
I’m a self-represented playwright so I generally handle rights inquiries for my plays myself. You don’t need to deal with the big guys (you know who they are). You just reach out to me and we’ll start the process and get it done very quickly. If you’re used to dealing with the Playwrights Guild of Canada already, they’re terrific too, so go talk with them because they can administer rights for all my plays.
If you’re a drama teacher working with students and not selling tickets or making money with one of my plays, then I ask for production photos in lieu of royalties. It starts with an email to me. Then we figure it out.
spookyb 