The Clay - Script
An acting troupe is preparing a Christian Drama about Jacob and Esau. Oddly, neither the Director or the lead actor believe in God!
See the struggles as Lucas tries to teach them what the meaning of scripture is all about.
Great as an outreach tool!
Cast of Characters:
- Randall -- The Director. Harried, pleasing, frustrated.
- Cade -- Hot tempered. Plays Jacob.
- Lucas -- Easy going. Deeply religious. Plays Esau, Angel of the Lord, Laban, Jacob’s Servant 1, a shepherd.
- Sean -- A little not all there, yet in some ways the wisest. Plays Isaac, Jacob’s Servant 2, Esau’s messenger.
- Sound Tech - This is your actually sound tech
- Light Tech -- This is your actual lighting tech
Set Design: This is a rehearsal stage. The opening scene suggests the tent of Isaac as he is dying. Blankets and more can cover the walls to give the illusion of a completed set at the beginning, but some of these may be taken down and a half completed set can be shown. The audience is never addressed directly, but they are part of the stage as they are in the rehearsal hall.
Script sample:
Cade: I take my part seriously. I take acting seriously. This isn’t a game for me. I don’t do community theater gigs like you, then go back to a regular job. This IS my regular job. As regular as acting can be. So stop with the amateur questions all right? It’s obvious you need one, but I’m not your acting teacher.
Lucas: Well, excuse me if I want to tap into your experience and knowledge. I didn’t realize it was such a bother. Thought you may want to help us ‘amateurs’ improve so your performance doesn’t suffer.
Cade: There’s nothing you can do to make my performance level drop. I will never droop to your level and you can only hope to come up to mine.
Lucas: Wow, what an ego.
Cade: If it’s fact, it’s not ego.
Lucas: If you’re so good, why are you stooping to join this little troop? I’d think you’d have too much pride, too much respect for your craft to belittle it with us.
Cade: Been wondering the same myself lately.
Lucas: Or are we a charity case? An indie project you can put on your resume to laugh at later? “Yeah, I did that drama. Just wanted to keep the skills up between real jobs.”
Cade: Trust me, this project will never be on my resume.
Lucas: And to think I couldn’t wait to bring my friends to see you in this play. The way you’re treating it, it stands no chance of possessing any spiritual power.
Cade: Spiritual power? You’ve got to be joking. This is a theatrical production not a church service.
Lucas: Not all spiritual messages are delivered in churches, Cade. More of Jesus’ recorded messages were outside of the synagogue than inside. But you wouldn’t know anything about that. You’re obviously too good for God.
Cade: God has nothing to do with this drama!
Lucas: What? It’s the story of Jacob and Esau! Jacob’s journeys to Haman, getting married, have 12 sons, discovering his true calling and purpose in God. Having his named changed from Jacob to Israel. How can you say it has nothing to do with God?
Cade: Take the story out of the bible for a second. What do you have? A man, his brother and a bunch of relatives trying to get all they can for themselves. Nothing new there. In my mind this doesn’t take place in the Mideast. At least I’m not playing it that way.
Lucas: Where are you playing it?
Cade: Kentucky and West Virginia border.
Lucas: Say what?
Cade: It’s a classic remake of the Hatfield and McCoy saga.
Lucas: How can it be a remake if it happened a few thousand years before them?
Cade: Okay, not a remake, but it has the same elements. Feuding, large families, slavery issues and delusions of grandeur. And beards. I’d love to replace these camels with pickup trucks and those spotted sheep with illegal moonshine stills. That’d be a great drama!
Lucas: You know what? You’re right. Man is man. You’ve just proven once again that we are all imperfect. And you’ve made my point.
Cade: What point is that?
Lucas: That the stories and events in the bible are relevant.
Cade: Give me a break.
Lucas: This is why it is so important. People need to know that we can turn to the bible to find answers and help. Sure this event took place thousands of years ago, but we can see ourselves in the characters and – whether they acted right or wrong – we can learn by their triumphs. By their mistakes.
Cade: Please! Lay off the sermons already! If I shout Amen and Hallelujah once can we get back to the rehearsal?