Sample Pages from Rainbows vs. Bunnies: Annihilation Welcome! This is copyrighted material for promotional purposes. It's intended to give you a taste of the script to see whether or not you want to use it in your classroom or perform it. You can't print this document or use this document for production purposes. Royalty fees apply to all performances whether or not admission is charged. Any performance in front of an audience (e.g. an invited dress rehearsal) is considered a performance for royalty purposes. Visit https://tfolk.me/p289 to order a printable copy or for rights/royalty information and pricing. DO NOT POST THIS SAMPLE ONLINE. IT MAY BE DOWNLOADED ANY TIME FROM THE LINK ABOVE. Copyrighted Material R ainbows . b : vs unnies a nnihilation A COMEDY IN ONE ACT BY Bradley Walton Copyrighted Material for promotional purposes. Do not print or copy. Performances for an audience subject to royalty regardless of whether or not admission is charged. Visit https://tfolk.me/p289 to order a printable copy or for rights/royalties pricing. Copyrighted Material Rainbows vs. Bunnies: Annihilation Copyright © 2014 Bradley Walton CAUTION: This play is fully protected under the copyright laws of Canada and all other countries of the Universal Copyright Convention and is subject to royalty. Changes to the script are expressly forbidden without written consent of the author. Rights to produce, film, or record, in whole or in part, in any medium or in any language, by any group amateur or professional, are fully reserved. Interested persons are requested to apply for amateur rights to: Theatrefolk www.theatrefolk.com/licensing [email protected] Those interested in professional rights may contact the author c/o the above address. No part of this script covered by the copyrights hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means - graphic, electronic or mechanical - without the prior written permission of the author. Any request for photocopying, recording, or taping shall be directed in writing to the author at the address above. Printed in the USA Copyrighted Material for promotional purposes. Do not print or copy. Performances for an audience subject to royalty regardless of whether or not admission is charged. Visit https://tfolk.me/p289 to order a printable copy or for rights/royalties pricing. Copyrighted Material RAINBOWS VS. BUNNIES: ANNIHILATION 3 Cast of Characters 16 roles either gender. 8 actors possible with doubling. AARON/ARIEL – a teenager MR./MS. GRANT – Aaron’s history teacher AARON’S MOTHER (or FATHER) MR./MISS HOP-HOP – a bunny RAINBOW – played by seven actors RED ORANGE YELLOW GREEN BLUE INDIGO VIOLET FLUFFYBELLY – another bunny GREENLUCK – a Leprechaun BUNNY #3 BUNNY #4 BUNNY #5 Doubling: The actors playing GRANT and MOTHER could also play BUNNIES 4 and 5. The RAINBOW can be reduced from seven to five with RED, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE, and PURPLE, or even down to three with RED, GREEN, and BLUE. Using these options, the cast size can be reduced to 10. In a real pinch, the RAINBOW could be played by one actor wearing rainbow tie-dye for a cast of 8, which would require some slight changes to his dialogue, and to the fight at the end of the play. Staging Staging is very simple. Two chairs are needed for the first scene in GRANT’s classroom. A bench is needed for the first park scene. Cubes may be used instead of chairs and a bench. Optional bushes or shrubs may be added for the park scenes. Copyrighted Material for promotional purposes. Do not print or copy. Performances for an audience subject to royalty regardless of whether or not admission is charged. Visit https://tfolk.me/p289 to order a printable copy or for rights/royalties pricing. Copyrighted Material 4 BRADLEY WALTON Notes The dialogue for RAINBOW can be handled in two different ways, depending on the effect you want and how well your actors can synchronize their speaking. The actors playing RAINBOW can either speak all of RAINBOW’s lines in unison, or you can assign different lines to different colors. The “carrot laser sword” used by BUNNY #5 can be made using an orange pool noodle painted to resemble the texture of a carrot, with black and silver tape wrapped around one end to make the handle, and a dowel through the middle for support. Or, it could be a pool noodle or rod of some sort with a “carrot” for the handle. Properties Cell phones (3 total, or 2 with 1 shared) – AARON, MOTHER, HOP-HOP Average-sized carrots (6 total, or 4 with 2 shared) – HOP-HOP, FLUFFYBELLY and BUNNY #3 Pot of gold - onstage Carrot-handled nunchuks – BUNNY #4 Carrot laser sword – BUNNY #5 Costumes Costumes may be simple or elaborate, depending on the needs of your production. AARON/ARIEL is a contemporary teenager and dressed accordingly. MR./MS. GRANT is a teacher and should be dressed professionally. AARON’S MOTHER (or FATHER)’s attire should reflect a responsible adult. HOP-HOP, FLUFFYBELLY, and BUNNIES 3-5 are all rabbits and should wear rabbit costumes, or at the very least, rabbit ears. FLUFFYBELLY should have a pocket or bag in which he carries carrots. The actors playing the RAINBOW should wear black pants with shirts that match the color that they are playing. If RAINBOW is played by one person, that person should wear a rainbow tie-dyed shirt. GREENLUCK is a leprechaun and wears green clothing with a green hat. Copyrighted Material for promotional purposes. Do not print or copy. Performances for an audience subject to royalty regardless of whether or not admission is charged. Visit https://tfolk.me/p289 to order a printable copy or for rights/royalties pricing. Copyrighted Material RAINBOWS VS. BUNNIES: ANNIHILATION 5 AT RISE: AARON and MS. GRANT, seated in two chairs down right on the apron in front of a closed curtain. GRANT: Thank you for coming to see me after school, Aaron. AARON: Sure. What’s up? GRANT: Actually, it’s not so much a matter of what’s up as opposed to what’s down. AARON: Oh. You mean my grade? Yeah, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that, Ms. Grant. GRANT: Your average is a 48, Aaron. What’s the problem? AARON: I’m a pacifist. GRANT: What’s that got to do with anything? AARON: Well, this is history class, right? GRANT: Yes. AARON: Mostly, what we study is war. GRANT: Because wars are part of history, and many of the turning points in history hinge on the outcomes of wars. AARON: But I don’t believe in war. GRANT: Most of the students in this school don’t believe in punctuation, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t learn it. If you would just turn in your missing homework assignments, it would pull your grade up to a low D. AARON: But I don’t believe in war, so I don’t believe I should have to read about it or do homework on it. GRANT: Why do you feel so strongly about this? AARON: Because it doesn’t interest me. GRANT: It doesn’t interest you? AARON: No. GRANT: I don’t understand. AARON: Well…there are people who don’t like sports, right? GRANT: There are, yes. Copyrighted Material for promotional purposes. Do not print or copy. Performances for an audience subject to royalty regardless of whether or not admission is charged. Visit https://tfolk.me/p289 to order a printable copy or for rights/royalties pricing. Copyrighted Material 6 BRADLEY WALTON AARON: Some people just can’t get into the concept of running back and forth with a ball. GRANT: That is true. AARON: I’m kind of like that…except I can’t get into the concept of two groups fighting. GRANT: Do you like sports? AARON: Sure. I just don’t like war. GRANT: A ball game is like a battle with rules and less violence…but the underlying idea is basically the same. One side against the other for victory. AARON: If they swapped out the fighting for passing around a ball, then I could probably get into that. But that’s not how war works, so I just don’t care. GRANT: You don’t actually have a moral objection to war? AARON: My moral objection is that it’s not interesting. GRANT: That’s not a moral objection. That’s a matter of personal preference. AARON: So I’m not a pacifist? GRANT: No. AARON: Does this mean I can’t opt out of the homework assignments I haven’t done? GRANT: Correct. AARON: I…have to do the homework? GRANT: Yes. AARON: And answer all the test questions that have to do with war? GRANT: Yes. AARON: But I just…my brain won’t go there. GRANT: Not every student is interested in every aspect of every class they take. AARON: Do you have any advice? GRANT: Go play some violent video games. Copyrighted Material for promotional purposes. Do not print or copy. Performances for an audience subject to royalty regardless of whether or not admission is charged. Visit https://tfolk.me/p289 to order a printable copy or for rights/royalties pricing. Copyrighted Material RAINBOWS VS. BUNNIES: ANNIHILATION 7 AARON: You mean like (insert name of current, non-violent video game)? Beat. GRANT: You know what? Never mind that. Don’t waste your time with games. Just do the reading and the work as best you can, okay? AARON: The “best I can” probably isn’t going to be very good. GRANT: Then your mother probably isn’t going to be very happy. I’ll be calling her to discuss the situation. AARON: What? GRANT: You’re failing the class. She needs to know. AARON: But— GRANT: Go. Read. Work. Try to develop a healthy interest in conflict and bloodshed like a normal teenager and maybe you’ll have a chance. Lights fade on the classroom. MS. GRANT exits and the chairs are removed. The curtains open to reveal a park bench at C. AARON sits on the bench and the lights come up. AARON: I am in so much trouble. (pulls out his phone and looks at it) Oh, boy. (puts phone to ear) Hi, Mom. AARON’S MOTHER enters from L and stands at the side of the stage. SHE is holding a cell phone to her ear. MOTHER: Aaron, I just got a call from your history teacher. AARON: Yeah…there was kind of a misunderstanding of expectations. MOTHER: Don’t talk fancy with me, Aaron. Whatever it takes, you need to pull that grade up. AARON: Okay. MOTHER: Or else. AARON: Or else what? MOTHER: You live in the same house with me and your dad. Remember that. Copyrighted Material for promotional purposes. Do not print or copy. Performances for an audience subject to royalty regardless of whether or not admission is charged. Visit https://tfolk.me/p289 to order a printable copy or for rights/royalties pricing. Copyrighted Material 8 BRADLEY WALTON AARON: Got it. MOTHER: Where are you? AARON: The park. MOTHER: What are you doing at the park? AARON: Thinking about the state of my life. MOTHER: Thinking’s not going to get you through school! Now stop thinking and get some homework done! MOTHER exits. AARON puts his phone away. AARON: What am I gonna do? I have at least four chapters of reading that I haven’t done, and absolutely zero interest in any of them. Whenever I try to read something about fighting or battles, my brain just shuts down. I’m gonna fail my class and my parents are gonna make my life a nightmare. (lies on the bench with his downstage arm dangling off the side and his upstage arm covering his eyes) I am so doomed. MR. HOP-HOP enters and approaches the bench, scrutinizing AARON carefully. Finally, HE pokes at the arm covering AARON’s eyes. AARON: Whoever you are, please go away. HOP-HOP: Are you okay? AARON: I’m fine. Now please leave. HOP-HOP: You don’t look like you’re okay. AARON: I’m okay. Thanks for asking. Now go. HOP-HOP: You sound kind of down in the dumps. AARON: It’s none of your business. HOP-HOP: Sure it is. I hate for people to be unhappy. AARON: That’s very nice of you, but there’s nothing that you can do. Please go. HOP-HOP: But I specialize in cheering people up. AARON: There is nothing that you could possibly do to cheer me up. HOP-HOP: Of course there is. What’s your name? AARON: Aaron. But I’m telling you— Copyrighted Material for promotional purposes. Do not print or copy. Performances for an audience subject to royalty regardless of whether or not admission is charged. Visit https://tfolk.me/p289 to order a printable copy or for rights/royalties pricing. Copyrighted Material RAINBOWS VS. BUNNIES: ANNIHILATION 9 HOP-HOP: My name is Mr. Hop-Hop. I’m a bunny. I make people happy. AARON: What do you mean, you’re a—(takes his arm off of his eyes, looks at MR. HOP-HOP, and screams in surprise) AAGH! (jumps up and takes a few steps away from MR. HOP-HOP) You’re a rabbit. HOP-HOP: I like to think of myself as a bunny. It sounds cuter. AARON: You’re a talking rabbit! HOP-HOP: Oh, dear. I am talking, aren’t I? AARON: Darn right, you’re talking! HOP-HOP: I’m really not supposed to do that in front of humans. It freaks them out for some reason. AARON: Because rabbits aren’t supposed to talk! HOP-HOP: (innocently) Are you freaking out? AARON: Yes, I’m freaking out! (begins to hyperventilate) HOP-HOP: I’m so sorry about that. It’s totally my mistake. But you looked so sad and down in the dumps and you had your eyes covered, and…the whole no talking thing just sort of slipped my mind. Are you hyperventilating? AARON: Maybe. HOP-HOP: You should sit back down. AARON: I don’t want to sit down. HOP-HOP: Why not? AARON: Because it’d take a whole extra second to get back up if I have to run away. HOP-HOP: Why would you want to run away? AARON: You might try to bite me or eat me. HOP-HOP: Bunnies aren’t carnivorous. AARON: Bunnies also can’t talk. HOP-HOP: Except that they can. AARON: And if you aren’t supposed to be able to talk but you can talk, then just because you’re not supposed to be carnivorous doesn’t mean that you’re not carnivorous. Copyrighted Material for promotional purposes. Do not print or copy. Performances for an audience subject to royalty regardless of whether or not admission is charged. Visit https://tfolk.me/p289 to order a printable copy or for rights/royalties pricing.