PROGRAM 1 THE MORNING AFTER
Duration: 10 min.
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CONTROL CHARACTERISTIC MUSIC. BLENDS WITH JUNGLE SOUNDS. UNDER
ELPHIE Good morning, my little friends, good and gorgeous morning! (MAKES CHARACTERISTIC SOUND OF ELEPHANT, SAME THROUGH THE SERIES). My name is Elphie, and as you have probably noticed, I’m an elephant. A female elephant, to be more precise… And I happen to be a teacher…
CONTROL JUNGLE NOISES UP
ELPHI I teach in a beautiful town very near a river. And at present I have to teach outside, under a tree, while the workers finish rebuilding my school. (PAUSE) You know, one year ago we were hit hard by the tsunami, which destroyed completely our little place. (SHE BECOMES SAD, AND CRIES WHILE SHE TAKS). I still remember that awful day. Many animal friends disappeared, as well as their belongings… It was awful… (ELEPHANT NOISE) But that is past. The important thing is that we are alive, that we are rebuilding and that everything will be better than before!!
CONTROL JUNGLE NOISES UP
ELPHI In the meantime we have to accommodate and accept a little noise, je, je… (T) But I have talking about me, and you haven’t told you anything about my students… They are…
MONKITO (IRRUPTING) Very proud monkeys!!
CONTROL MONKEY NOISES
ELPHI Oh, there you are, Monkito… Good morning to you.
MONKITO Good morning to you, Miss Elphi!
ELPHI Where are your friends?
MONKITO They will be here at any moment, Miss. But I wanted to be here earlier to talk to you alone.
ELPHI (INTRIGUED) Is there anything wrong?
MONKITO No, no, on the contrary… It’s just that I heard that we are going to have a media center at the school. Is that true?
ELPHI (LAUGHING) News go fast! Yes, it’s true, Monkito… as part of the rebuilding effort…
MONKITO I also heard that children will be trained to handle the equipment.
ELPHI True also.
MONKITO Well… I was thinking…
ELPHI Yes…?
MONKITO I would like…
ELPHI You would like to become a member of the communication center, right?
MONKITO (EXCITED) Yes!!!!!
ELPHI Do you realize that you are about the most troublemaker student in my class?
MONKITO (ALMOST SCREAMING) Me?
ELPHI Who broke the window?
MONKITO Oh… well… that was an accident.
ELPHI Who ate all the bananas for the morning tea?
MONKITO I was a bit hungry…
ELPHI And who threw a coconut to Mr. Jerafee when he came to inspect the school?
MONKITO He was very serious…
ELPHI And do you expect me to support you to become a young journalist at the center…
MONKITO (SAD TONE) I guess it was a bad idea…
ELPHI (LAUGHING) Wrong! (T) It’s an excellent idea! As a matter of fact, it might be the only way to channel properly all your energies. I’ll support you, Monkito!
M,ONKITO (LOUD MONKEY SCREAM) Great!!! You are the best, Miss Elphi!!! (SONOROUS KISS) Smack!!!
ELPHI (LAUGHING) Well, that’s what I call a Kiss!!!
MONKITO Yupiiii!!!! I will be a reporter!!!!
CONTROL SOUND OF MONKEYS COMING UP, MIXED WITH JUNGLE NOISES AND FAR AWAY VOICES. UNDER.
ELPHI That’s how it started. Monkito was so excited with the idea of becoming a journalist that he couldn’t sleep that night. He immediately told all his friends... and his family… his relatives, the neighbours. In a matter of hours the entire jungle knew about this big happening.
CONTROL NOISE UP. MONKEY SOUNDS AS IF TRANSMITTING MESSAGES.
ELPHI Very soon there were others who wanted to follow Monkito’s example. But the most important one was Maki, a young and beautiful monkey girl, with ponytails and enormous eyes. She came to me with a rather angry face…
CONTROL STEPS RUSHING IN
MAKI Miss Elphi, this is not fair…
ELPHI What is not fair?
MAKI Monkito is saying that girls can not become journalists!
MONKITO Right so. Only males!
ELPHI You said that, eh? Well, Maki, don’t worry. Modern media are full of women. As a matter of fact it is one of the professions where women have become very popular. Television if full of us!
MALE So I can also become a journalist?
MONKITO What??!!!
ELPHI Of course you can. And I am sure that you will be a very good one!
MAKI Yuuuupii!!!
MONKITO This is not fair, teacher. Women are always afraid!
MAKI No, we are not!
MONKITO They will not be able to cover the most important news!
MAKI We can do anything you can do!
MONKITO They don’t know how to handle equipment!
MAKI Better than you, prehistoric monkey!
MONKITO They have house obligations! No time to go reporting.
MAKI Wait, wait… Those obligations we are supposed to share.
MONKITO I’m supposed to do interviews, not dishes!
ELPHI Now you wait a moment, Monkito. You are very wrong. Some of the best presenters on radio and TV are women.
MAKI See? Do you see?
ELPHI Females can do the same things as males... provided they get equal opportunities.
MONKITO So… I will have to accept her working with me?
ELPHI Absolutely.
MONKITO I quit!
MAKI Good!
ELPHI You have not even started yet, Monkito
MONKITO The equipment will not last two days in her hands. I can assure you.
ELPHI We’ll see... In the meantime, let’s start our class.
MONKITO (TO HIMSELF) Not fair…
CONTROL CLASS ATMOSPHERE: DESKS, CHAIRS MOVING, CHILDREN TALKING, etc. UNDER AND OUT
ELPHI (CLAPPING HER HANDS) Children, this year will be special! We will very soon move to our new school. We will have new desk and books… Multimedia equipment... We will even have Internet!
CHILDREN (APPLAUSES BIG NOISE)
VOICES Great!!
ELPHI It will be a great year. We will learn many new things,
MONKITO Like recording!
MAKI And filming!
ELPHI (LAUGHING) Yes, yes… We shall learn those things…
MONKITO And writing scripts!
MAKI And editing!
ELPHI Wel…l yes, yes… Of course… but…
MONKITO I will be a radio announcer,
MAKI And I will be a disk jockey!
MONKITO You will rather clean the studio
MAKI Troglodyte!
MONKITO Stiff lip!
MAKI Barbarian!
MONKITO Inutile!
CONTROL LAUGHS. NOISE AND UNREST GROW. BIG ELEPHANT BLOW, LIKE A TRUMPET.
ELPHI Children!!!! (T) If the school and the center are to be a success you better drop that attitude. You must all cooperate!
CONTROL SILENCE
ELPHI Otherwise we won’t have learnt anything from our past experiences. (SHORT PAUSE) We survived past tragedies because we learnt to help each other, to trust each other.
MONKITO Sorry, Miss Elphi…
MAKI Sorry, Miss Elphi…
ELPHI (ENERGETIC) I want this year to be special. I want you to be special. So we have to come up and learn how to be prepared for any natural disaster. Do you understand?
MONKITO You mean like the tsunami.
ELPHI Yes, Like the tsunami. Although that’s a tragedy that rarely happens. But there are other natural disasters…. And then those caused by humans.
MAKI By humans?
ELPHI Yes, Maki, by humans. But don’t rush too much, we will hear about them on due time. Right now we need to learn the spirit of preparedness and survival. And since you all look a bit sad, we are going to sing a song..
VOICES Yes…
ELPHI A song we have all learnt the hard way, with the things that happened a year ago. It is a song that will help us always look to the positive side of life. (T) Whenever something happens, good or bad, music will be there, and this song will remind us that there is always a tomorrow.
CONTROL SONG IN THE LINE OF “ACURA MATHATA” IN WALT DISNEY’S “LION KING”.
ELPHI That’s right, children, that’s the spirit! Always remember to sing this song when things go wrong. It will cheer you up. But at the same time we have to learn to be prepared, in case disasters happen.
CONTROL SIGN. TUNE AND NORMAL CLOSING