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Bilfrid Militante was a 12-year old young man. He loved Anime, basketball, and Scouting. He had a Facebook account, just like me. But Bilfrid Militante and I could never, ever become FB friends.
He perished in Palo, Leyte as Monster Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) furiously and brutally pulverized Cen-tral Philippines and parts of Southern Luzon on Friday, November 8, 2013.
Make no mistake about it. Bilfrid had been a victim not just of a monster hurricane in the Philippines, Bilfrid Militante is probably the Boy Scout looking into the camera. Let’s salute him. (I took this photo from his FB account.) but of climate change caused by unchecked carbon emissions from the “usual suspects.”
As I share with you the last and 3rd installment of “Annie D. Ant: Readers Theater Edition”, let’s make a firm resolve to fix this climate change madness.
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The Readers Theater Edition
by Carmelita C. Ballesteros
(Adapted from the author’s picture storybook)
CHARACTERS
Narrators 1 and 2, have an expressive voice and clear enunciation
(could be a boy and a girl, both girls, or both boys)
Annie D. Ant, has a young, kind voice
Georgia Grass-Hopper, sounds vain and selfish
Little Red Hen, a little loud and bossy
Poky Little Puppy, sounds arrogant and overbearing
First Little Pig, always seems curious
Second Little Pig, arrogant, laughs foolishly
Third Little Pig, proud, smart-aleck
(The Three Little Pigs could be all girls, all boys, or mixed)
Elsa the Elf, high-pitched, but nice voice
Mr. Lion, has a big voice, but sounds humble
Mr. Sheep, has a very loud voice
Mrs. Duck, almost as loud as Mr. Sheep
Mrs. Cow, has a cheerful voice
Mr. Turtle, has a mellow voice
STAGE DIRECTIONS
The children stand in a semi-circle, middle of the stage. On the right side facing the audience, the narrators are beside each other. Beside them are the major characters. The CHOIR members stand together, left side facing the audience. Ideally, there should be five microphones with stand. However, if there’s only one microphone, the teacher/coach can devise an efficient manner of using the microphone. The CHOIR does not need a mike. If a choir member will speak individually, he or she must use the mike.
Part III
NARRATOR 1: Mr. Lion is the first neighbor to arrive.
NARRATOR 2: Knock! Knock!
LION: (breathes heavily) Good evening, everyone. What have you got here?
GEORGIA: Hello, Mr. Lion. I can see that you want your lion’s share.
LION: Oh, no, Miss Georgia. I’ll be grateful for one evening meal.
FIRST LITTLE PIG: Here you are, Mr. Lion. Sorry, it’s vegetarian.
LION: Thanks very much!
NARRATOR 1: Mrs. Cow, Mrs. Duck, and Mr. Sheep arrive.
NARRATOR 2: Mrs. Cow is thin. Mrs. Duck and Mr. Sheep are dirty.
DUCK: Hello there, Mr. Sheep. You seem to be taking the heat well.
SHEEP: Hi, Mrs. Ducky. You look strong and healthy.
DUCK: Hey, Mrs. Cow! You’re so skinny!
SHEEP: What do you think about this horribly hot and long summer?
COW: Listen, it’s absolutely dry and hot right now. But I’m sure there’ll be
rainy and cool days ahead.
NARRATOR 1: Mr. Turtle arrives. He’s out of breath.
NARRATOR 2: Little Red Hen and Poky Little Puppy come back.
LITTLE RED HEN: Terry! Terry T. Turtle! I’m so happy to see you! Where’s
Robert O. Rabbit?
TURTLE: (panting) He can’t come here. He won’t ever… (sobs) come here!
POKY LITTLE PUPPY: What do you mean?
TURTLE: He couldn’t take the heat any longer. He’s dead! (sobs louder)
LITTLE RED HEN: No! (cries out loud) My best friend is gone!
CHOIR: We remember him, We knew him well, He helped us build, Our tiny
homes.
(Music: Instrumental Version of “The Christmas Song”)
NARRATOR 1: It is the evening before Christmas. There is one candle on the
dining table.
NARRATOR: There has been no power for several days. Annie has lost contact
with her e-mail friends.
GEORGIA: I wish we had… (sings sadly) “chestnuts… roasting… on an
open fire…”
ANNIE: Cheer up! We can make a simple and lovely Christmas dinner!
LITTLE RED HEN: I will bake rice cakes! Tak-tak-tak-tak!
GEORGIA: How can we cook? We have no gas and no electricity!
LITTLE RED HEN: I will make an old-fashioned stove out of stones. And I’ll
use dry leaves and twigs as fuel.
ANNIE: Great idea! Come on, Georgia! Let’s go down to the food storehouse. THIRD LITTLE PIG: (clears his throat) It’s one hour before Christmas!
Oink-oink!
POKY LITTLE PUPPY: I will brew some ginger tea! Barf-barf! Barf-barf!
FIRST LITTLE PIG: Let’s sing Christmas carols! Oink-oink!
SECOND LITTLE PIG: (sings in a comic way to make others laugh) Jingle
bells, jingle bells! Oink-oink!
NARRATOR 1: Annie and Georgia come back from the food storehouse.
NARRATOR 2: Georgia is very anxious.
GEORGIA: There’s very little food left! What shall we eat and drink after
Christmas? (she starts to cry)
ANNIE: (hopeful) Who knows? We might have chestnuts, your favorite!
And some cheese, sweet yellow mangoes…
FIRST LITTLE PIG: I’d love some yellow corn, bananas, papayas, green and
red apples…
SECOND LITTLE PIG: (keeps singing in a comic way; to the tune of “Jingle
Bells”) Papayas, bananas!
THIRD LITTLE PIG: (clears his throat) It’s five minutes before Christmas!
LITTLE RED HEN: Rice cakes fresh from the stove!
POKY LITTLE PUPPY: Ginger tea for generosity and hospitality!
ANNIE: The table is ready! It looks delightful!
GEORGIA: Come on, everybody! It’s time to eat!
EVERYBODY: It’s party time!
ANNIE: Let’s say a little prayer.
GEORGIA: Thank you for the rice cake and ginger tea.
ANNIE: Thank you for our friends.
EVERYBODY: Thank you for Christmas.
CHOIR: One candle glowing in the dark, One table gleaming with delight,
One fam’ly sharing day and night, One Christmas keeping us in love!
NARRATOR 1: Suddenly, Elsa the Elf arrives!
NARRATOR 2: She’s dressed like Santa Claus!
(Music: Instrumental Version of “Feliz Navidad”)
ELSA THE ELF: Excuse me! I’m Elsa the Elf from the Elf Express! Sorry,
I’ve been knocking…
ANNIE & GEORGIA: (amazed) Sorry, we didn’t hear you!
ELSA THE ELF: I have five container vans of food and water for you! From
Japan, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, and the U.S.A.!
GEORGIA: Five container vans? I can’t believe it!
ANNIE: From Japan, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, and the U.S.A.? My
e-mail friends have kept their promise!
ELSA THE ELF: I need some help to unload the vans.
GEORGIA: Of course, Elsa.
ANNIE: Merry Christmas, Elsa.
EVERYBODY: MERRY CHRISTMAS ! ! !
CLOSING MUSIC (Instrumental Version of “O Holy Night”)
CURTAIN CALL
The narrators introduce the characters, themselves, and their teacher/coach. Then they thank the audience for watching and listening. Finally, they greet the audience, “Merry Christmas!”
Readers’ Theater Presentation Rubric
Retrieved from: http://www.cheney268.com/learning/organizers/readerstheaterrubric.htm