Reminiscing-Drama Skit

Reminiscing-Drama Skit

Themes: Black History; Ella Fitzgerald; Jesse Owens; Oprah Winfrey; famous African American icons; how past generations paved the way for future generations; how the past influences the present; remembering those who have come before us; African American trivia
Categories: Black History 
Summary:

Three famous African American icons of yesterday and today (Ella Fitzgerald, Jesse Owens, Oprah Winfrey) take the stage one at a time.  In three brief monologues, each character reflects on the struggles and accomplishments of his/her life.  At the end of each monologue, the character asks "Who Am I?", encouraging audience participation if desired.  If no audience participation is desired, the character identifies his/her self and exits the stage.  When all three monologues have been completed, a fourth character, Morgan Freeman, takes the stage and briefly re-emphasizes the notion that "those who came before have paved the way for those of today."  Names such as Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, Malcolm X, Rosa Parker etc. are briefly mentioned. 

 
 
Style: Monologue

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Characters: 4 (2 Male, 2 Female)
Length: 5-8 minutes
 
Excerpt (Sample)

Setting: The stage is bare, as the characters come out one by one to speak to the audience.

As the scene opens, Ella Fitzgerald is on stage, flipping through a photo album, smiling. This should go on for 3-5 seconds, before addressing the audience.

Ella:

(looking up at the audience briefly while she continues to flip through the photos as she speaks) Don't mind me; I just be lookin' through my old book of photographs.  Child, do these bring back some memories!  If these pictures could talk, they could tell you a thing or two!

(stopping on a page, gazing thoughtfully at the photo) I was so young in this picture!

(points to the photo) This is me.  I know you can't see it but I was just 16 years old.  My momma had died the previous year but on this night I was standing on stage at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.  I decided to sing in a contest on amateur night. I was so nervous I thought my insides were gonna explode!  I shouldn't have been nervous cause I'd been singing in my church ever since I was a little girl, but there was somethin' different about being on that big ole stage.  It felt like home.

(This is not the complete diaglogue--it's just a sample)

 

Jesse:

(Jesse Owens jog/runs on stage with his arms raised above his head in a victory formation-he talks as an announcer would if he were recapping an event)

 "And the crowd goes wild as yet another world record has been broken by this amazing, all-star athlete!" (he "dances" around the stage for a moment, reveling in his "victory," unaware of the audience)

 (suddenly aware of the audience, Jesse stops, a little embarrassed and tries to act "normal.")

 Hey.  Wha'ssup?  I didn't see you there.  I was just reliving some of my glory days.  Seems like a long time ago. I was born September 12, 1913 in Oakville, Alabama.

 I was a good runner.  In the 5th grade a coach asked me if I would join the track team, and man, was I good!  By the time I got to jr. high and high school I was setting records all the over the place.  My coach once told me that I seemed to float over the ground when I ran. 

 I went to college at Ohio State University in Columbus.  Not everyone was so happy about my college enrollment though, and I was put down and called names by my white classmates. I tried not to let it bother me; if anything, it strengthened my desire to succeed. 

 (This is not the complete diaglogue--it's just a sample)

Oprah:

(Oprah enters with several index cards in her hands; she waves as she enters & then speaks to audience)

 How are you all doing today?  My, you sure are different than my usual audience, but it's great to be here anyway.

 When my best friend, Gayle, first told me I was going to be here to speak to you all today I wasn't sure what I was going to say.  Most of you already know me from t.v.  But then I thought, there's always certain questions I'm asked wherever I go, so I thought I'd take some of the more popular ones and answer them for you here today. 

 Question #1: (looks at first index card and reads the question)  "What was it like to grow up poor?" (she looks back to the audience)

 Well, I always say this, "I've been poor and I've been rich, and rich is better!"

 (This is not the complete diaglogue--it's just a sample)

 

Morgan:

(enters, looking off to where Oprah exited) Isn't she great?  Weren't they all?

 Hi.  I'm Morgan Freeman, and no I'm not here to tell you my life story or my greatest successes in life, although getting the role of God in the movie Bruce Almighty was a pretty big deal!  I mean it's one thing for America to accept a black President, but a black God?  It just goes to show you how far we've come in this great country of ours.

 Think about it...back in the days of slavery or even the Civil War would it ever have been imagined that one day a poor, black woman would grow up to become one of the richest and most powerful women in our history so far?  Or that a man of color would be sitting in the Oval Office at a place called the White House?

 (This is not the complete diaglogue--it's just a sample)