The Clown Prince. Book by Bill Hayden. Copyright 1990, by Pioneer Drama Service, Inc.

Transcription

1 The Clown Prince Book by Bill Hayden Copyright 1990, by Pioneer Drama Service, Inc. Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that a royalty must be paid for every performance, whether or not admission is charged. All inquiries regarding rights should be addressed to Pioneer Drama Service, Inc., PO Box 4267, Englewood, CO All rights to this play including but not limited to amateur, professional, radio broadcast, television, motion picture, public reading and translation into foreign languages are controlled by Pioneer Drama Service, Inc., without whose permission no performance, reading or presentation of any kind in whole or in part may be given. These rights are fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America and of all countries covered by the Universal Copyright Convention or with which the United States has reciprocal copyright relations, including Canada, Mexico, Australia and all nations of the United Kingdom. COPYING OR REPRODUCING ALL OR ANY PART OF THIS BOOK IN ANY MANNER IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN BY LAW. On all programs, printing and advertising, the following information must appear: 1. The full name of the play 2. The full name of the playwright 3. The following notice: Produced by special arrangement with Pioneer Drama Service, Inc., Englewood, Colorado

2 THE CLOWN PRINCE By BILL HAYDEN CAST OF CHARACTERS GASPARD... the Magician Well meaning guardian of Prince Damon. PRINCE DAMON/PETER... Young prince being forced into a marriage with a princess he has never met. He would rather be a clown than a prince. SNIPE... the Jester A better companion to Prince Damon than a jester. LAUREL... the Tutor The tutor/guardian of Princess Dana. PRINCESS DANA/CARLOTTA.. A young princess being forced into a marriage to a prince she has never met. She would rather run away and hide with a band of Gypsies. RITA... the Gypsy A flamboyant Gypsy who helps Dana run away and hide. SYNOPSIS OF SCENES ACT ONE Scene One: A room in the castle. Scene Two: A road at the edge of the woods. Scene Three: A room in the castle. Scene Four: A clearing in the woods. ACT TWO Scene One: A room in the castle. Scene Two: A clearing in the woods.

3 THE CLOWN PRINCE ACT ONE Scene One The house lights dim to black. The stagelights come up to reveal, in front of the main curtain, a room in the castle, represented by a small table with crystal ball on STAGE LEFT. GASPARD is CENTER STAGE trying to work a piece of magic with a red scarf. [See Production Notes.] GASPARD: Ninety four ninety two colored scarf please turn blue. That s odd. Maybe my numbers are wrong. (He takes a piece of paper out of his pocket.) No, that s right. Ninety four ninety two. (He shakes scarf.) Turn BLUE! (He looks up, sees the audience for the first time.) Oh, hello and good afternoon! This scarf was supposed to turn blue. I thought we would start our play with a nice magical effect. But it didn t work. My magic hardly ever works when it is supposed to. I m afraid I m not much of a magician. But I am a good storyteller. My name is Gaspard, and today I have a story to tell you. I don t know how the story will end yet, but I do know how it begins, and I will tell you that. Once upon a time, there lived a prince named Prince Damon. He was engaged to marry a beautiful princess named Dana (PRINCE DAMON and SNIPE ENTER at the rear of the theater.) PRINCE: I won t, I tell you. I won t do it. SNIPE: Shhh. People are listening. (PRINCE starts down the aisle of the theater, followed by SNIPE.) PRINCE: I don t care. I won t do it. I positively, absolutely, will not do it. SNIPE: Don t tell me. Tell Gaspard. PRINCE: I ll tell him. Don t worry about that. (The PRINCE and SNIPE come up onto the stage.) Gaspard, I won t do it. GASPARD: Do what? PRINCE: My mind is made up, and it can t be changed. GASPARD: Do what? PRINCE: Argument is useless. GASPARD: Arguments generally are. But what is it that you won t do? PRINCE: I will not marry this princess of yours. GASPARD: Shhh. Children are listening. (To AUDIENCE.) Ah, this is Prince Damon. PRINCE: (To AUDIENCE.) How do you do.

4 GASPARD: And this is his loyal jester, Snipe. SNIPE: (To AUDIENCE.) At your service. (To GASPARD.) When did they come in? GASPARD: A little while ago. The play has started. PRINCE: Then it will have to stop. I m sure the children will agree with me. (To AUDIENCE.) Would you marry a princess you had never met? GASPARD: That doesn t matter. In the story I m telling, you marry Princess Dana. PRINCE: But I don t want to get married. I m perfectly happy the way I am. GASPARD: But, Your Highness, listen to reason. It was your father s last wish that you marry this princess. PRINCE: Yes. I know. GASPARD: After living without your dear departed mother for all those years, it was very important to him. And I promised him that you would maintain your family s royal name by marrying Princess Dana. Fortunately, the princess comes from a very well to do family, or so I have heard, and if you marry her, you will bring back your family s wealth. PRINCE: Money doesn t interest me. GASPARD: Well, it interests me. Do you realize that you have not paid me or Snipe, your loyal Jester, for three years? SNIPE: Four years. PRINCE: Has it been that long? SNIPE: Longer. GASPARD: And besides, you owe it to your kingdom to marry this princess. It is your royal duty. PRINCE: Duty. There you go again. You are always talking about duty. Besides her money, what more can you say about this princess? GASPARD: Well, she is a lovely looking girl. Take a look at this painting sent to your father by Princess Dana s father when they exchanged pictures of the two of you. (GASPARD unrolls a painting of PRINCESS DANA and shows it to PRINCE DAMON.) PRINCE: She is pretty. SNIPE: Pretty! She is beautiful! PRINCE: But I have heard that beauty is only skin deep. Besides, have you considered that she may not like me? GASPARD: Impossible! You are Prince Damon! PRINCE: (Still searching for a way to get out of marriage.) Of course! That s it! She won t like me. After all, why should she? What do I

5 have to offer a wealthy princess? I have only an old castle with a leaky roof and a kingdom consisting of two people: you two. She would never want to marry me. I ve been worrying about nothing. GASPARD: She will marry you. At least if she knows her royal duty. It has all been planned by your fathers. And besides, her private tutor, Laurel, and I have made all the arrangements by letter. PRINCE: Wait until she sees this castle. She will UN arrange things fast enough. GASPARD: There is nothing wrong with our castle. PRINCE: It has mice. SNIPE: No, it doesn t. The mice all left. Not enough food. PRINCE: You see! This castle isn t even good enough for mice. So it will certainly not suit a princess. Come along, Snipe. We have some practicing to do. GASPARD: Where are you going? PRINCE: Snipe and I are working on a new pantomime. GASPARD: Pantomime again? It is unseemly for a prince to play act. PRINCE: Maybe. But it is fun. (He EXITS.) GASPARD: Snipe, have you lost your senses? The prince should be getting ready for the arrival of the princess. SNIPE: What can he do? He can t put on his new suit. He doesn t have one. He can t polish the crown jewels. We sold them years ago. GASPARD: He should, at least, be thinking about the princess. SNIPE: Maybe it would be better if he didn t. Besides, I was thinking that if the prince and I had a nice pantomime to do for the princess, and she liked it, he might like her better. GASPARD: Hmmmm. Well, I suppose it can do no harm. PRINCE: (From OFFSTAGE.) Snipe, I m waiting. SNIPE: (Calling back.) Coming, Your Highness. (To GASPARD.) At any rate, I suppose I could keep an eye on Prince Damon. (SNIPE EXITS.) GASPARD: (To AUDIENCE.) Has any magician ever had so much trouble in a kingdom? Why doesn t my magic work? If only I could do real magic, I would make this story come out right. I would see to it that the prince would want to marry Princess Dana. (Snaps fingers.) The crystal ball! I wonder if I can locate the princess and her royal court in my crystal ball? They should be in range by now. (Looks into crystal ball.) Hmmmm, it is foggy, but I do see something. A young girl and a companion walking by the road in the forest. But there are only two of them. This can t be the

6 princess. There is no royal court, no ladies in waiting, no pages, no escorting soldiers. This crystal ball is not working right. Oh, why doesn t my magic ever work? (He EXITS. Blackout.) End of Scene One ACT ONE Scene Two Curtains part to reveal a road at the edge of the forest. PRINCESS DANA ENTERS from STAGE LEFT, followed by LAUREL, her tutor. The PRINCESS is wearing a very regal, if somewhat moth eaten gown. LAUREL is carrying a large pack on her back. Attached to the pack is a bucket. They are both very tired. DANA: Can t we rest a bit? LAUREL: We must keep on. I don t want to be caught in the forest at nightfall. It is only a short way to the next village. DANA: I don t care. I can t go a step more. (She sits on a rock CENTER STAGE.) LAUREL: Very well, we ll rest for a minute. While we rest, you can practice your knitting. DANA: Must I? LAUREL: A princess must be well versed in all of the gentle arts. I have taught you sewing, singing, tatting and crocheting. Now you must tend to your knitting. DANA: But I don t like to knit. LAUREL: (Takes knitting needles and knitted item from pack and hands to DANA.) A princess must know how to knit. That is all there is to it. DANA: (Counting stitches.) 1,2,3, oh dear, here s a knot, and here s another knot. LAUREL: What s wrong now? DANA: I seem to be knotting instead of knitting. LAUREL: Here, let me see it. (LAUREL takes knitting needles and knitted item and starts to knit.) DANA: Laurel LAUREL: Shhhhh. I m turning a corner. There we are. Now you see how it is done. (LAUREL unrolls the piece of knitted goods. It is about four feet long.) What is this thing? DANA: I don t know. You just said to knit. You didn t say to make anything. How much further is it to the prince s palace? LAUREL: (Puts knitting materials back in pack.) Two day s journey. And I hope he will be able to handle you better than I can.

7 DANA: I m sorry, Laurel. I do try. Honest I do. Sometimes I think I m not cut out to be a princess. LAUREL: But you are a princess. DANA: (With a sigh.) I know. Does he have a big palace? LAUREL: Prince Damon? I have never seen his palace. I made all the arrangements by letter. But I hear that it s the biggest palace in three countries. DANA: Oh, dear. LAUREL: Now what s wrong? DANA: I think we should turn back. Couldn t we go back to my little palace, Laurel? LAUREL: Princess Dana, I am surprised at you. We have been all through this. You don t know how hard I worked to arrange this marriage. Your father, the king, when he was very ill, made me promise that I would see that you would marry royalty. It took me months to arrange this wedding. Before your father passed away, this was the one thing that truly made him smile. You will marry this prince and that is final. DANA: But he doesn t know me. LAUREL: He has seen your picture. That is enough for me and that should be enough for you. I promised your father I would see that you were taken care of. You should be a very happy young lady. A prince is in love with you. DANA: But he has never met me. LAUREL: It doesn t matter. We won t discuss it any further. Now rest a bit, for we have a long way to travel. I ll look for some fresh berries for us to eat. (LAUREL EXITS STAGE RIGHT with bucket.) DANA: (To AUDIENCE.) I should be happy. A prince is in love with me. Few girls are as lucky as I am. I will be happy. I am happy. I am happy I am (She starts to cry. RITA, a Gypsy girl, ENTERS STAGE LEFT with a tambourine flourish.) RITA: Good afternoon. DANA: Afternoon. RITA: Are you crying? DANA: No. RITA: Is someone mistreating you? DANA: Mistreating me? Oh, no. I am traveling with Laurel, my tutor. She is trying to help me. RITA: Then why all the tears? DANA: It s a long story. RITA: Then tell me. Next to dancing, a Gypsy loves stories best.

8 DANA: Are you a real Gypsy? RITA: Of course I am. I didn t get this sun tan indoors. My life is the open road. DANA: How wonderful. To travel and see all sorts of interesting things. I wish I could. RITA: Why can t you? DANA: I am a princess. RITA: A real princess? DANA: Yes. RITA: I have never met a real princess before. That s even better than being a real Gypsy. DANA: Oh, no, it isn t. Really, it isn t. A princess can t do anything, especially if she is a poor princess like I am. She has to stay shut up in her palace all the time. And she can t do anything she wants to do because it isn t proper. RITA: That doesn t sound like much fun. DANA: It s not. And now I have to marry a prince whom I have never even met. My tutor says it is proper for a princess to do so. RITA: Do you love this prince? DANA: How can I? I have never met him. I have a painting of him, though. (Shows RITA the painting of PRINCE DAMON.) See? RITA: He s handsome. DANA: Isn t he? And they say he loves me. But how could he when he has never met me? I think he s marrying me because he has been told it is the proper thing to do. Princes always marry princesses, you know. RITA: The same as Gypsies always marrying Gypsies. It is perfectly proper. DANA: There s that word again. RITA: Sorry. DANA: If I could only know for sure. RITA: Know what? DANA: If he really loves me. RITA: That s easy. Test him. DANA: But how does one test a prince? RITA: Let me see. Hmmmmm. I know one way that might work. It s an old Gypsy method. DANA: What is that? RITA: Run away and hide. If he comes looking for you, he really loves you.

9 DANA: Of course. And if he doesn t love me, he won t even come out of his palace. He ll send his soldiers instead. That is a wonderful idea. But, oh, how could I run away? I would only get lost. I have never been out of my palace before. RITA: I ll help you. DANA: Why would you ever want to help me? RITA: I love adventure. Remember, I m a Gypsy. Have you ever known a Gypsy who didn t love adventure? DANA: Well, then, when can we start? RITA: First of all, we must decide where we are running to. I have it. The Gypsy Encampment! (You may want to start a running gag here. Every time the words Gypsy Encampment are spoken, RITA shakes her tambourine, whether ON or OFFSTAGE.) DANA: What is the Gypsy Encampment? RITA: It s where all the Gypsies meet for a week during the summer. That s where I am going now. I can take you with me. Then we can wait there and see if your prince comes. It will be perfect. There is one thing, though. DANA: Is something wrong? RITA: These clothes don t seem suited for adventure. DANA: But this is all I have with me. It is my best gown. RITA: Then I will loan you some of my clothes. They should fit. I ll make a real Gypsy out of you. Let me see, what would be a good Gypsy name? I have it, Carlotta. You will be my little sister, Carlotta. DANA: Carlotta. What a beautiful name. RITA: Then let s be off. For we must hurry to my camp to turn you into a Gypsy. We ll use walnut stain that will make your blonde hair as dark as mine and your skin look suntanned. Then the right clothes and no one will be able to tell you from a real Gypsy. DANA: Oh, what fun! Let s hurry. RITA: Hadn t you better leave a note? DANA: Of course. (DANA carefully slips a paper and pencil from LAUREL S pack.) What shall I say? RITA: Hmmmmm. If you give your tutor all of the details, she may be the one to come and get you. You can t say too much. (Thinks.) Just say The Gypsy Encampment. DANA: That s a great idea. (DANA writes the note and puts it on top of the pack.) There. That s done. RITA: Then let s be off! Come along, Carlotta. DANA: Carlotta! Oh, it will be such fun to be Carlotta! (The girls hurry OFFSTAGE LEFT. LAUREL ENTERS with berry filled bucket.

10 She finds the PRINCESS missing and panics.) LAUREL: Princess, where are you? Oh, no! Where can she be? (To AUDIENCE.) Did you see where the princess went? (LAUREL finds the note.) What s this? A note? The Gypsy Encampment. Now what can that mean? The Gypsy Encampment. Oh, my goodness, I think I know what it means. The princess has been captured by Gypsies. Thank goodness she was able to leave me a note so that I could rescue her. But I can t do this all alone. Oh, what shall I do? I have it. The only one who can help me is Prince Damon. He will send his army to rescue her. I must hurry and tell him. He ll want to know. (She EXITS. Blackout.) End of Scene Two ACT ONE Scene Three Lights up in front of curtain at CENTER STAGE to represent a room in the castle. SNIPE and PRINCE DAMON are rehearsing a pantomime as follows: SNIPE, dressed as Harlequin (See Production Notes.), ENTERS STAGE RIGHT. PRINCE DAMON, dressed as a whiteface Pierrot (See Production Notes.), ENTERS STAGE LEFT. PRINCE is carrying an imaginary rope. He draws an imaginary line on the stage from curtain to footlights. SNIPE, not satisfied, erases and redraws the line. PRINCE hands SNIPE the end of the rope, and they square off for a tug of war. They pull back and forth until SNIPE gives a quick tug and pulls PRINCE off his feet. GASPARD ENTERS just in time to catch him. GASPARD: What are you doing? PRINCE: Practicing. GASPARD: Today? When the princess is due any moment? PRINCE: That doesn t matter. She won t stay long. She ll take one look at our broken down castle and then go right back home again. And I can t say I blame her. GASPARD: There is nothing wrong with our castle. PRINCE: There isn t? GASPARD: Not, really. PRINCE: Go ahead. Let the princess see. GASPARD: Well, maybe there are one or two little things wrong. PRINCE: I thought you would agree. GASPARD: But that is no reason why you couldn t make a good appearance. PRINCE: I do make a good appearance. Snipe says I make a fine looking clown.

11 SNIPE: Never seen better. PRINCE: You re just saying that. SNIPE: No, really. GASPARD: But the princess doesn t want to meet a clown. She wants to meet a prince. PRINCE: What s so special about meeting a prince? Anyone can be born a prince. I was. But it takes a lot of hard work to be a good clown. SNIPE: Years of practice. PRINCE: Constant study. SNIPE: Training. GASPARD: (Shouting.) Will you listen to me? PRINCE: You re shouting. GASPARD: I know I am. (PRINCE points at AUDIENCE. GASPARD becomes embarrassed, gulps. To AUDIENCE.) I beg your pardon. I didn t mean to shout. I got excited. (GASPARD turns to PRINCE and says through clenched teeth ) Will you please take off that whiteface and that silly costume? PRINCE: It s not a silly costume. It s traditional. All good clowns wear a costume like this. GASPARD: The princess will be here at any moment. I wish you would remember you are a prince and not a clown. PRINCE: Why can t I be both? The Prince of Clowns. SNIPE: Or The Clown Prince. PRINCE: The Clown Prince. I like that. Why can t I be The Clown Prince? GASPARD: For one thing, a good clown never speaks. He says all he has to say with pantomime. PRINCE: I can do that. GASPARD: You! You can t keep quiet for two minutes! PRINCE: We shall see about that. I will not speak again, not until you and this Princess what s her name? SNIPE: Dana. PRINCE: Princess Dana will admit I am a good clown. GASPARD: I forbid it. PRINCE: Too late. I have made up my mind. Not one word will I say. I have taken a vow. Not one word until you and this princess admit I am a good clown. GASPARD: This is silly. PRINCE: Not one word.

12 SNIPE: But, Your Highness PRINCE: Not one. GASPARD: Your Highness PRINCE: No. GASPARD: Snipe, this is all your fault. SNIPE: My fault? GASPARD: Encouraging him in this foolishness. Your Highness (PRINCE shakes his head no. GASPARD throws his hands in the air, starts to walk away, turns back to PRINCE and starts to ask again. PRINCE shakes his head, no. ) SNIPE: Someone is coming. GASPARD: It must be the princess and her court. And nothing is ready. Prince, please. (PRINCE shakes his head. LAUREL comes rushing in from STAGE RIGHT.) LAUREL: The prince. The prince. I must see the prince. GASPARD: Who are you? LAUREL: I m Laurel, tutor to her Highness, Princess Dana. I must see the prince. GASPARD: I am Gaspard, Magician to Prince Damon. LAUREL: How do you do. I must see the prince. Where is he? GASPARD: In front of you. LAUREL: (Looking past PRINCE DAMON and SNIPE.) In front of me? I see no prince. Only two clowns. GASPARD: The one in whiteface is Prince Damon. We have been preparing a little entertainment in honor of Princess Dana. LAUREL: Oh. How do you do. (They all bow.) Your Highness, I am honored. (To GASPARD.) Why doesn t he speak? GASPARD: That s hard to explain. He wants to show Princess Dana what a good clown he is and has vowed not to speak until he meets her. LAUREL: Oh, fine. That is all I need. A non talking prince. Gentlemen, I need your help. The princess has been captured by Gypsies. GASPARD: What?! SNIPE: Gypsies?! (The PRINCE registers surprise.) LAUREL: On the way here, we stopped to rest at the side of the road. I went to pick berries, and when I returned the princess was gone and I found this note in her place. All it says is The Gypsy Encampment. SNIPE: The Gypsy Encampment? What is that? GASPARD: It is where all of the Gypsies spend part of their summer.

13 LAUREL: Do you know where it is? GASPARD: No, it is in a different place every summer. Only the Gypsies know where it will be. But what of the other members of your court? Couldn t they have protected the princess? LAUREL: I must confess there are no other members of the princess s court. Just Princess Dana and me. And now there is only me. SNIPE: What of your soldiers? LAUREL: There are none. Just the princess and me and a crumbling old castle. That s why I came here. You must send your soldiers to rescue the princess. GASPARD: That is a problem. We are as poor as you are. We have no army either. (PRINCE DAMON whistles. All look at him.) SNIPE: The prince has something to tell us. LAUREL: (In dismay.) Oh! Why won t he speak? (PRINCE lifts arms helplessly.) SNIPE: He wants to now. But he can t. He has made a vow. He can t speak until the princess tells him she thinks he is a good clown. (PRINCE shakes his head sadly.) He wishes now that he hadn t made that silly vow. But there is nothing he can do about it. A prince s vow, and all that, you know. GASPARD: True. He can t break a vow. That s another reason we must find the princess. (PRINCE points to SNIPE, GASPARD and himself. Then he starts walking in place, doing mime bits.) LAUREL: This is no time to start playing games. SNIPE: No, it s not a game. It s a message. (PRINCE mimes looking.) I have it. The prince says that Gaspard, he and I will look for the princess. (PRINCE nods yes then does some mime bits. He mimes acting and walking. All attempt to guess his message. Finally, SNIPE figures it out.) I ve got it! He says we can search for the princess by pretending to be a traveling show. (PRINCE points to SNIPE, does quick motions, points to GASPARD and pulls an imaginary beard.) I will be Harlequin and Gaspard will be the old Pantaloon. (See Production Notes.) GASPARD: Me! But I have never acted. SNIPE: There is always a first time. GASPARD: Hmmmm. It might work. That way we can meet Gypsies on the road and question them. They will never suspect a traveling show. And they might tell us where we can find the Gypsy Encampment. They might even take us there. Then we can rescue the princess. All right. We ll do it! (PRINCE looks sad and shows empty pockets.) SNIPE: That s right. We have no money for traveling expenses. Well,

14 we will earn it along the way, just like a real traveling show. We can do it. LAUREL: What about me? GASPARD: You wait here. Someone must stay here at the palace in case there is word from the princess. Snipe, get our things together and let s get this show on the road. (SNIPE and PRINCE rush OUT. To AUDIENCE.) I m sorry my story isn t working out the way I had planned. But I promise you, we will have a happy ending. I hope. (PRINCE runs in again, motioning to GASPARD to hurry.) Yes, yes, I m coming. (They EXIT.) LAUREL: (To AUDIENCE.) Are you still there? (Waits for response.) Good. Do you think they can find the princess? (Waits for response.) I don t. Poor Dana. To have to depend on an old magician, a fool jester and a silent prince to rescue her from the Gypsies. I ll have to do it all by myself. But how? I don t know yet. But I will find a way. (LAUREL EXITS. Blackout.) End of Scene Three ACT ONE Scene Four Curtain opens to reveal a clearing in the woods. The same set can be used by shifting rocks and trees. ENTER RITA and DANA. They are carrying their possessions in gaily colored bandanas. DANA is now dressed in a complete Gypsy costume, from golden earrings to full skirts. Her hair is now black and hangs freely down her back. (See Production Notes.) RITA refers to her as Carlotta, her sister. RITA ENTERS first, tambourine in hand. RITA: Ah, this clearing looks like a good place. DANA: A good place to rest, I hope. We ve been walking since sun up. RITA: Are you tired? DANA: Not really. RITA: Good. You re becoming a real Gypsy, which reminds me. You need some more walnut stain on your face. DANA: Do I? Oh, dear. My face is that of a princess and all the rest of me is a Gypsy. RITA: (She searches for walnut stain in possessions.) Hmmmm. Where did I put the walnut stain? DANA: Oh, Rita, do let us find the walnut stain. I want no part of me to remain a princess. Someone might recognize me and take me back to the prince I m supposed to marry. RITA: Not much chance of the prince finding you here in the deep

15 forest. DANA: Well, let s hurry and find the walnut stain for my face, anyway. RITA: We can easily fix that. There are some walnut trees nearby, as well as some blackberry bushes. DANA: Blackberries? What are they? RITA: What? Never had blackberries? Then you have a treat coming. You shall have some for supper. DANA: What about our bundles? RITA: Leave them here. Only Gypsies use this road and a Gypsy will never touch another Gypsy s bundle. (They EXIT. GASPARD, SNIPE and the PRINCE come rushing IN, checking over their shoulders as if being chased. GASPARD now wears the beard of the old Pantaloon.) GASPARD: (Out of breath.) I think we can stop here. SNIPE: (Breathing heavily.) Are you sure it is safe? They still may be following us. They were pretty angry. GASPARD: (Staring back the way they had come.) No. It s safe now. They have stopped following us. We can rest a minute. SNIPE: Who would have thought those townspeople would do that? What an angry audience. Imagine, throwing things at us. I m just thankful we hid our belongings in the woods. Unfortunately, our food is back there. (PRINCE whistles and pulls out two apples and a piece of taffy.) GASPARD: What s that you have, Your Highness? (PRINCE holds apples and taffy up so all can see.) Apples? Where did they come from? SNIPE: Gifts from the townspeople. GASPARD: Oh, so that s what they were throwing. I thought it was rocks. SNIPE: So there is a bright side. The townspeople have given us lunch. GASPARD: Two apples and, what is that other thing? (PRINCE hands it to him.) A piece of taffy. SNIPE: (Taking the taffy.) Oh, I love taffy. (PRINCE tosses an apple to GASPARD and they all start to eat.) What do we do now? GASPARD: The first thing we must do is make our show better. Every town we have attempted to play, the townspeople have chased us out. No one likes our show. So we must improve on it. Any ideas, Snipe? (SNIPE has eaten the taffy and cannot speak. He mumbles an answer to GASPARD.) Speak up. (SNIPE points to the taffy still in his hand and then points at his mouth.) Oh, this is

16 fine. Now you can t talk. Get rid of that taffy. You can have half of my apple. (SNIPE mimes taking the taffy out of his mouth. He tries to throw it away, but it sticks to his hand. He tries to take it with his other hand but it sticks there, too. He takes it in both hands and both hands stick together.) SNIPE: Help me, Gaspard. I m stuck. GASPARD: Oh, for goodness sake. (GASPARD tries to pull SNIPE s hands free and SNIPE s hands fly apart and stick to GASPARD s hands. The two of them are now stuck together.) Let go of my hands. SNIPE: I can t. They re stuck. GASPARD: Your Highness, help us. Give us a hand. (PRINCE joins in and gets stuck to one of SNIPE s hands and one of GASPARD s. Then, in an effort to free themselves, they begin to climb over and under each other s arms until they are tied together, into a knot. When they have gone as far as they can go with this bit, GASPARD speaks ) Everyone pull hard. As hard as we can. One, two, three. (They all pull and break apart, falling down. While falling, PRINCE stumbles over RITA and PRINCESS s belongings. Picking up their possessions, he motions to SNIPE and GASPARD.) The prince has found something. SNIPE: What are they? GASPARD: These bundles can only belong to Gypsies. That means there are Gypsies nearby. This is a good sign. SNIPE: How so? GASPARD: We will meet these Gypsies, make friends with them, find out where the Gypsy Encampment is to be held, and, with luck, they may even take us there. SNIPE: Great. What do we do now? GASPARD: Nothing. SNIPE: Nothing? GASPARD: That is, nothing to excite their suspicions. Prince, put those bundles back where you found them. (He does so.) Good. Now, let s start to rehearse. SNIPE: Rehearse? Now? Why? GASPARD: Snipe, you can be dense at times. So they will think we are a real traveling show. And what does a real traveling show do when it sets up camp for the night? It rehearses. SNIPE: It also eats supper. GASPARD: That will come later. SNIPE: I hope so. I m starved. Shall we do the scene that the

17 townspeople would not laugh at yesterday? GASPARD: We might as well. It does need work. (The three of them start to rehearse a pantomime scene. SNIPE keeps looking around to see if anyone is coming. They get involved in what they are doing and do not notice RITA and DANA, who appear UPSTAGE RIGHT and steal down to where their bundles are.) DANA: Who are they? RITA: Strolling players. Let s get our bundles and go before they see us. (Girls pick up bundles and are almost OFFSTAGE.) DANA: Let s watch a bit. It looks like fun. (Girls watch a bit. RITA tries to pull DANA along, but she is fascinated and stands firm. In the course of the pantomime, SNIPE falls down and both girls laugh. The three men look up.) SNIPE: Look! Gypsies! GASPARD: Let me handle this. Good afternoon, ladies. RITA/DANA: Good afternoon. GASPARD: We didn t know we had an audience. DANA: You were very funny. GASPARD: Thank you. That is a compliment to our art. Won t you ladies join us for supper? SNIPE: Oh, boy, supper! RITA: We couldn t, really. We must be on our way. DANA: Oh, Rita, couldn t we? The blackberries were delicious, but I m still hungry. RITA: Well, if you are sure it is not too much trouble. GASPARD: No trouble at all. We have little enough but we are always ready to share it with fellow wayfarers. Allow me to introduce ourselves. I am Gaspard. This is Snipe, our Harlequin. SNIPE: How do you do. GIRLS: Hello. GASPARD: And this is Pr er Peter, our clown. (PRINCE bows.) RITA: My name is Rita (PRINCE bows again.) and this is my little sister, Carlotta. (PRINCE bows a third time.) DANA: Doesn t he speak? GASPARD: A good clown doesn t need to speak. What are you two girls doing in the forest? It s not safe. RITA: Gypsies don t fear the forest. It is their friend. DANA: Just a few minutes ago, the forest gave us some delicious blackberries. SNIPE: Blackberries! I love them!

18 DANA: Do you? There is a bush right over that hill near the hollow log. SNIPE: Near the hollow log, you say? (He starts out.) GASPARD: Snipe, that can wait. So, you girls liked our little show? RITA: Sort of. But it s the first time I have ever seen a traveling show without actresses. Where are your actresses? GASPARD: Alas, we have none. SNIPE: I have an idea. How would you girls like to join our show? RITA: Well, I don t know. DANA: Oh, Rita, it would be such fun. RITA: Let me talk privately to my sister for a moment. (Men go STAGE LEFT. Girls go STAGE RIGHT.) GASPARD: Snipe, what are you up to? SNIPE: I have two good reasons. They are Gypsies and if they re part of our troupe, they might take us to the Gypsy Encampment to perform. GASPARD: True. They might, indeed. (Not thinking.) What do you say, Your Highness? SNIPE: Peter! GASPARD: (Realizing the PRINCE still is not speaking.) Oh, drat. I must remember that. What do you think, Peter? (PRINCE nods agreement.) GASPARD: All right. What s your other reason? SNIPE: We need them as part of our troupe. With them, we would look more like a real traveling show. GASPARD: So we can catch two birds with one net. It sounds like a good idea to me. (To AUDIENCE.) What do you think? Shall we take these two Gypsy girls as part of our troupe? (Waits for answer.) Hmmmmm. Well, then I guess we re all agreed. DANA: Oh, Rita, can t we join their show? It would be such fun. RITA: Let me think. The Gypsy Encampment is not for five days, and it is to be held right here in these woods. DANA: Really? I didn t know that. RITA: About a mile from here. So we don t have to travel anymore and, if they are staying here, it will give us something to do to help pass the time. DANA: How exciting! I ve never been in a traveling show! (The two groups come together, CENTER STAGE.) RITA: We ll join your troupe on one condition. GASPARD: And what is that?

19 RITA: That we are to stay here for five days to rehearse. For if we are to become actresses, we want to be good actresses. GASPARD: Perfect. We had planned to stay here in any case. Welcome to our little troupe. SNIPE: You were saying something about blackberries? DANA: They are right over that hill. Come, I ll show you. (All but GASPARD EXIT. He comes forward and addresses the audience.) GASPARD: Now five days have to pass as we need that time to rehearse our pantomime show. So, what shall we do? Do we sit here for five days? No, that would not do at all. I think I have an answer. As I said before, I am a magician. I may not be able to make a scarf change colors, but I can do something about time. I can make time fly. (He opens his arms wide.) Here I have five days. Now I will press them together ever so tightly. Closer and closer. (His hands are now about five inches apart.) There, I have reduced five days into five minutes. Now, how long is five minutes? Let me see. There are 60 seconds in a minute, so 5 minutes would be 5 X seconds, in 5 minutes. And how long is a second? I have heard it takes just one second to say one chimpanzee. So, one minute would be 60 chimpanzees, and 5 minutes would be 300 chimpanzees all in a row. Now, I want you to count 300 chimpanzees. When you are finished, 5 minutes will be up. But count to yourself, so you will not disturb our rehearsal. Ready? Count, 1 chimpanzee, 2 chimpanzees, 3 chimpanzees (GASPARD EXITS for a 5 minute intermission.) END OF ACT ONE ACT TWO Scene One A room in the castle. LAUREL ENTERS, in front of curtain, disguised as a tinker with pots and pans hanging about her. LAUREL: (To AUDIENCE.) Did I hear someone counting? Counting chimpanzees? Whatever for? Never mind. I must be on my way. (She starts across the stage, stops and turns to AUDIENCE.) I just can t stay in this drafty old place. I must try to find them. Do you know who I am looking for? That s right. I m looking for Princess Dana. If I can t find her, I hope to find Gaspard, Snipe and that fool prince that won t talk. How do I look? Do I look like a tinker ready to mend pots and pans? It is a wonderful disguise, isn t it? I sound like one, as well. Just listen to me. (She SHOUTS OUT.) Old pots mended. Old pans mended. Knives sharpened. Anyone want their pots mended? Well, I m off to find a Gypsy Encampment and save

20 Princess Dana. I do hope she is all right. (She EXITS.) End of Scene One ACT TWO Scene Two A clearing in the forest. Curtain opens to reveal GASPARD. He is sitting CENTER STAGE, in the forest which has been cleared away to form a stage. If desired, at each side of the stage there could be a doorframe. GASPARD is alone. GASPARD: Welcome back. Now we are ready to do our pantomime show. That is, I think we are ready. Snipe, Peter, Carlotta, Rita where is everyone? (SNIPE ENTERS STAGE RIGHT.) There you are. Why is no one ever around when it is time to rehearse? SNIPE: They ll be here in a minute. The prince GASPARD: (Interrupting.) Peter! SNIPE: Right! Peter is over at the girls camp showing Carlotta how to put on whiteface. GASPARD: Whiteface! Whatever for? She s not going to stop talking, too, is she? SNIPE: Never fear. You can t stop her from talking. It is only to go with the new costumes. GASPARD: That was a good idea of yours, Snipe. You know, I was thinking, what if, in the next town we play, I do a little bit of my magic? SNIPE: Gaspard, you know your magic hardly ever works. GASPARD: I ve been practicing. Watch. See this red scarf? (See Production Notes.) Now, ninety four, ninety two, little red scarf, please turn blue! Now, pull on it. (SNIPE pulls a pair of boxer shorts out of GASPARD s hand. With much embarrassment, GASPARD quickly snatches the shorts away and hides them.) Snipe, I want you to do something for me. SNIPE: What is it, Gaspard? GASPARD: I want you to stay with the prince at all times. SNIPE: But why? GASPARD: I think the prince is falling in love with Carlotta. SNIPE: Really? GASPARD: Haven t you noticed? They re always together. SNIPE: That s only natural. He s teaching her pantomime. GASPARD: Just the same, you stay with him. SNIPE: I will, after I take my walk with Rita. GASPARD: You re not falling in love with Rita, are you?

21 SNIPE: Well, she s awfully fun to be with. GASPARD: Snipe! We mustn t forget that our first goal is to have the prince marry the princess. You must stay with the prince! SNIPE: All right, I will. Right after lunch. Can I bring you back some blackberries? GASPARD: No, thanks. SNIPE: I wish we could find something else to eat besides blackberries. Blackberries for five days. Last night I dreamed I was eating a big, juicy steak. I bit into it, and it tasted just like blackberries. I dream about pies, apple pies, pumpkin pies, but they always taste like blackberry pie. (He EXITS.) GASPARD: Poor Snipe. Now, while no one is around, it s a good time to try my crystal ball again. (He takes out his crystal ball, polishes it on his sleeve and holds it up to his eye.) Crystal ball, show me Princess Dana. I see something. Oh, drat, it s my own eyeball. (PRINCE ENTERS.) Where are Rita and Carlotta? (PRINCE points back the way he had come.) Good. I want to talk to you alone. Your Highness (Interrupting, the PRINCE puts his finger to his lips and looks around.) It s all right. No one can hear us. Your Highness, you are seeing too much of Carlotta. (PRINCE mimes that he is in love with Carlotta.) In love with a Gypsy girl! You can t be! You are a Prince. (PRINCE indicates that he doesn t care and EXITS.) Come back here. Drat. Why won t he listen to reason? Carlotta is a nice girl. But in this story the prince must marry the princess. I don t even know what to do with Snipe. The sooner we find Princess Dana, the better it will be for all of us. I ll try my crystal ball again. (He takes it out again, holds it up and makes magical passes at it.) That s what was wrong the last time. I forgot the magic gestures. It should work this time. (GASPARD, very intent on what he is doing, does not see RITA and DANA ENTER. They come up from behind and DANA peeks over his shoulder. DANA is wearing a Pierrette costume and whiteface like the PRINCE.) I see her! I see the princess! (He turns and sees that DANA is standing behind him.) Oh, how you startled me. I thought you were the princess. But it was your reflection in the crystal ball, not the princess. DANA: Did you say princess? GASPARD: Princess? Did I say princess? Oh, my, no. What did I say? I said priceless. That s it. I said this crystal ball is priceless. Well, I must go! (GASPARD EXITS in a hurry.) DANA: I m sure he said princess. RITA: You re imagining things. He couldn t have. Well, Carlotta, shall you tell them or shall I?

22 DANA: Oh, Rita, must we tell them? RITA: We can t just leave. The Gypsy Encampment is tomorrow and we must be there. DANA: I know. But I d rather stay here. RITA: I have to admit that I, too, am having a lot of fun with Snipe. DANA: I have a wonderful idea. Why couldn t we take them with us? RITA: What good would that do? DANA: If the prince isn t there, I could stay a Gypsy forever, and we could stay with Snipe and Gaspard and and Peter. RITA: You re fond of Peter, aren t you? DANA: I think I am in love with him. RITA: Carlotta, you must not be in love with him. Remember the prince. DANA: Oh, Rita, please let them come with us to the Gypsy Encampment. RITA: All right, my dear. If that s what you want. (As GASPARD ENTERS, RITA goes to him and DANA joins PRINCE and SNIPE who ENTER from the other side of the stage.) Gaspard, Carlotta and I must leave here tomorrow. GASPARD: Leave? Impossible. We cannot do without you. RITA: You won t have to. We want all of you to come with us. GASPARD: Where are you going? RITA: To the Gypsy Encampment. GASPARD: (To audience.) The Gypsy Encampment. This is what we have been hoping for. We ll find the princess now. (Back to RITA.) I have heard of it. RITA: There would be Gypsies from all over. Carlotta and I were thinking it would be a wonderful place to do our show. GASPARD: Indeed it would. Thank you, Rita. We will tell the others after our rehearsal. Now, places, everyone. (The rehearsal takes place on the stage upon the STAGE. On the makeshift stage in the center of the clearing are two entrances or possibly two doorframes, one at each side of the little stage. Standing by the entrance or doorframe at STAGE LEFT are DANA and PRINCE, holding hands. At the other doorframe are SNIPE and RITA, holding hands. GASPARD calls curtain and pantomimes the raising of the curtain, then walks off the makeshift stage. He is still in full view of the audience, following the action and preparing for his next entrance. Thus, when DANA is offstage, we can see her casting fond glances at PRINCE DAMON, etc. The action of the mime is as follows: PRINCE and DANA bid

23 a sad farewell and DANA goes into her entrance. SNIPE and RITA bid a casual farewell and RITA ENTERS her entrance. Still looking at their girl s house, PRINCE and SNIPE back up bumping into each other. They turn and recognize each other. PRINCE poetically mimes that he is in love with DANA. SNIPE nods in agreement and points to RITA s door. They congratulate each other. SNIPE shows PRINCE his empty pockets and asks PRINCE for a loan. PRINCE shows his empty pockets. They both sit sadly on the ground and stare into space. GASPARD comes hurrying through, carrying many little bags. He drops one and does not notice as he scurries offstage. PRINCE picks up the bag and waves it after the departing GASPARD. GASPARD is gone. SNIPE wants to know what is in the bag. He takes it and opens it. The bag contains coins. SNIPE bites one. They are real coins. He suggests that he and PRINCE split them. PRINCE says, no and puts the coins back into the bag. He is going to take it back. SNIPE agrees. PRINCE exits, supposedly with the bag and we notice that SNIPE still has it. SNIPE crosses to RITA s door, tossing the bag into the air and catching it. He knocks at the door and RITA answers. She invites SNIPE in. PRINCE comes back in looking everywhere for the bag. He cannot find it and gives up the search. He spots some flowers, picks one and goes to DANA s door. He knocks and she answers. He gives her the flowers apologizing that it is all he has to give her. She loves the bouquet. They do a little dance. GASPARD enters looking for the lost bag and DANA and PRINCE help him look. SNIPE and RITA enter and SNIPE is still tossing the bag into the air. GASPARD, PRINCE and DANA see SNIPE and go into a huddle. They get an idea and tiptoe offstage. SNIPE asks RITA what she would like to do. She says she wants to dance. GASPARD, PRINCE and DANA come back in dressed in long cloaks, pretending to be playing musical instruments. [NOTE: The instruments are mimed, but we can hear music from a recording OFFSTAGE.] SNIPE asks them to play. PRINCE, as the leader, demands payment. SNIPE gives him a coin. The three start to play and SNIPE and RITA dance. All of a sudden, they stop playing, leaving SNIPE in a very awkward position. They want more money. They repeat the music, stopping at an awkward moment, catching poor SNIPE off guard. They play so fast and stop so suddenly that SNIPE falls down, RITA dances over to GASPARD and they reveal their true identities, leaving SNIPE on the ground all alone.) GASPARD: Curtain! (He comes to the CENTER of the stage and mimes lowering the curtain.) SNIPE: How do you think it went?

24 GASPARD: Pretty good for a dress rehearsal. In fact, I hate to admit it, but you ve become a very good clown. (PRINCE gestures that the first part of his vow has been fulfilled.) DANA: You were wonderful, Peter. (PRINCE DAMON mimes taking a walk with DANA.) I d love a walk. (They start to EXIT.) GASPARD: Stay here a moment, Peter. I have something to tell you. (They stop to listen.) First of all, though, Carlotta, I wish you would remove that whiteface. You are too pretty a girl to go about looking like a clown. (PRINCE points at DANA, then himself, then holds up two fingers and crosses them.) DANA: Peter says that he and I are a team. And the girl always wears the same type of make up as the clown. LAUREL: (OFFSTAGE.) Pots mended, pans mended, knives sharpened. SNIPE: Someone is coming. GASPARD: Hmmmm. That s strange. It sounds like Laurel. Princess Dana s tutor. SNIPE: That s who it is all right. She s supposed to be back at the castle. What s that she s calling? GASPARD: Something about pots and pans. LAUREL: (OFFSTAGE.) Pots mended, pans mended. DANA: (To RITA.) It s Laurel. What shall I do? Where shall I hide? RITA: (To DANA.) You can t hide. There s no time. (DANA steps behind RITA as LAUREL ENTERS.) LAUREL: Pots, pans. Want your pans men Gaspard? GASPARD: Laurel? LAUREL: (With relief.) Thank goodness. I ve finally found all of you. GASPARD: Laurel, you re supposed to be back at the castle. LAUREL: I had to leave. I felt I could be more helpful searching in the forest than sitting alone in the castle. SNIPE: We ve started a traveling show. It must have been almost impossible to track us down. LAUREL: You re right. I thought I d never find you. I have been all over the kingdom in the past five days. GASPARD: Is there any news? LAUREL: Bad news. But first, what have you to report? Have you found the princess yet? GASPARD: Of course not. Or we wouldn t still be here in the forest. LAUREL: I just knew you wouldn t find her. But it looks like you ve met somebody.

25 SNIPE: Yes. Allow me to introduce you to two new friends of ours. Rita and Carlotta, may I present Laurel, tutor to her Highness, Princess Dana. LAUREL: (Bowing.) How do you do. RITA: Hello. GASPARD: Rita and Carlotta have agreed to take us to the Gypsy Encampment. So our problems are over. Princess Dana will be there and we will rescue her and that will be that. DANA: (To RITA.) Laurel doesn t recognize me. RITA: (To DANA.) It must be the costume and whiteface. LAUREL: (To GASPARD.) So you think everything is all right now? GASPARD: Why, yes. It would appear so. LAUREL: Then hear my piece of bad news. The Gypsy Encampment has been canceled. SNIPE: Canceled? RITA: How can that be? The Gypsy Encampment has been held every year for hundreds and hundreds of years. LAUREL: Well, it won t be held this year. SNIPE: Why not? LAUREL: I ll tell you why not. We blundered, that s why. GASPARD: What do you mean? LAUREL: How many Gypsies have you talked to in the past week? GASPARD: Hundreds. LAUREL: And you asked them all about the Gypsy Encampment? SNIPE: Of course we did. How else could we find out about it? LAUREL: Well, I must have spoken to as many as you have. And the Gypsies became suspicious. They wondered why we were so interested in their encampment. So, they canceled it. We ll never find the princess now. We don t know where to look. She might be anywhere. SNIPE: What do we do now? LAUREL: I suppose the best thing to do would be to go back to the palace. Maybe there will be word from either the princess or the Gypsies that captured her. We can t give up the search. We must start all over again. (PRINCE points to his mouth. SNIPE looks at him.) SNIPE: That s right. We must keep searching. Remember the vow that Prince Damon took. RITA: What vow was that, Snipe? SNIPE: It was (GASPARD stomps on SNIPE s foot in order to shut

26 him up.) LAUREL: It s all my fault. I should never have written to Gaspard in the first place. Then none of this would have happened. The princess would still be safe back at her little palace. What a fool I was. I thought if I could arrange to have Princess Dana marry a rich prince, then she would be happy. Even her father used to say that money doesn t buy happiness. Of course, money doesn t matter since Prince Damon is as poor as Princess Dana. DANA: Is he really? LAUREL: That is the one thing I am positive of. When I find Princess Dana, I ll tell her so. She will not have to marry Prince Damon. She can marry anyone she chooses. All I want is her happiness and I m sure her father would agree to that. DANA: Do you really mean that? LAUREL: Of course, I do. Who are you? DANA: Laurel. It is I, Princess Dana. LAUREL: Princess Dana!? (She takes a closer look.) It is you! What are you doing here? What is that on your face? What how? DANA: Did you mean it when you said I would not have to marry Prince Damon? LAUREL: Of course I meant it. You can marry anyone you like. As long as you are safe. That is all that counts. SNIPE: Carlotta is Princess Dana? Well, I ll be GASPARD: But what? How? RITA: I can explain. I found Carlotta, I mean, Princess Dana, weeping by the roadside. She didn t want to marry Prince Damon, for she had never met him. She didn t see how she could love someone she had never met. SNIPE: Perfectly understandable. Prince Damon felt the same way. (SNIPE nudges PRINCE DAMON in the ribs and laughs.) DANA: So I talked Rita into helping me run away. We left a note to see if Prince Damon would come to find me and prove his love. We never dreamed that you would think I was captured by Gypsies. RITA: Gypsies don t do that sort of thing. DANA: Oh, dear, I had almost forgotten about the prince. GASPARD: Don t worry about the prince. You will meet him soon enough. DANA: Good. Then I can tell him in person, that while I am sure he is a very nice person, I can t marry him. I m in love with someone else. (She takes DAMON s arm and he just stares at her dumbfounded.)

27 LAUREL: But he s DANA: Oh, I know what you re going to say. He s only a clown. But I don t care. He s kind and sweet and he s the best clown in the whole world. PRINCE: Do you really mean that, Carlotta? DANA: Of course I mean it. Why, Peter, you spoke. SNIPE: He did it! He fulfilled his vow! DANA: Peter, why haven t you spoken before? GASPARD: He had vowed not to speak again until you, the princess, admitted that he was the best clown in the world. DANA: What? I don t understand. RITA: Ah, now I see. GASPARD: Imagine, Princess Dana was with us all the time. (To DANA.) Your Highness. SNIPE: Princess Dana, allow me to introduce a friend of mine. (SNIPE points to PETER.) DANA: Silly, you don t have to introduce me to Peter. SNIPE: Oh, but I do. Allow me to introduce Prince Peter Damon the Third. RITA: You mean Peter is actually the prince? SNIPE: The very same. RITA: (To SNIPE.) And I suppose you are the King of England? SNIPE: No. Just Snipe, jester of Prince Damon. RITA: Well, I m glad of that. LAUREL: Dana, do you mean you want to marry him now? DANA: Of course I do. LAUREL: I will never understand princesses. SNIPE: I suppose we must go back. (Gloom settles over the entire group.) PRINCE: Back to being a prince instead of a clown. DANA: Back to being a princess instead of a Gypsy. GASPARD: I see no other way. PRINCE: I ll hate it, though. RITA: (To PETER.) Don t you want to go back to the palace? PRINCE: Frankly, no. I would much rather stay here. DANA: As would I. RITA: Then, why don t you? Who is to stop you? GASPARD: No one, I guess. SNIPE: Sure. Why don t we stay here? We could be a real traveling

28 show. I can see it all now. Prince Damon and Princess Dana present the Royal Traveling Show. Mirth (He points to himself.) Magic (He points to GASPARD who, for the first time, turns the scarf blue.) and Merriment. (All begin to dance.) GASPARD: My story has come out right. What did I tell you? The prince and the princess will marry (They take hands and bow.) and the jester and the Gypsy become friends. (They take hands and bow.) LAUREL: What about me? GASPARD: Oh, why not (LAUREL and GASPARD take hands and bow. Then, all six join hands and bow. Blackout.) END OF PLAY

29 PROPERTIES ACT ONE, Scene One: Onstage: Small table, crystal ball, painting Brought On: Red Scarf (Gaspard) ACT ONE, Scene Two Onstage: Rocks, trees Brought On: Large Pack (Laurel); Knitting needles and large blanket (Laurel); Bucket/bucket with berries (Laurel); Tambourine (Rita); Paper/pencil (Dana) ACT ONE, Scene Three Onstage: Chairs ACT ONE, Scene Four Onstage: Rocks, trees Brought On: Tambourine (Rita); Possessions in bandanas (Rita, Princess Dana); Two apples and piece of taffy (Prince) ACT TWO, Scene One Onstage: Table, chairs Brought On: Pots, pans (Laurel) ACT TWO, Scene Two Onstage: Rocks, trees, two doorframes Brought On: Boxer shorts (Gaspard); Crystal ball (Gaspard) PRODUCTION NOTES STAGING The Clown Prince is designed for extremely simple staging. The basic set is a forest scene with trees, rocks, etc. The scenes inside the castle can be done with chairs and tables. The stage upon the stage in ACT TWO, Scene Two is done with two door frames. This is totally optional, but makes for a nice effect. ABOUT HARLEQUIN, PIERROT, AND PANTALOON Harlequin, Pierrot, and Pantaloon are descendants of commedia dell arte, an improvisational theater form from the Italian Renaissance ( A.D.). The characters have been evolving ever since, but there are certain characteristics unique to each. Harlequin always wears tights with a bold colored, diamond shaped design. He is usually wearing a half mask, which is almost always black. He is acrobatic, a dancer, and often is seen as being clever. He is frequently pictured with logos associated with theater, especially musical theater. He is always happy or mischievous looking. Pierrot is almost always depicted wearing a white, baggy pajama style suit, often with big round pom poms down the front where buttons

30 would be. The outfit is usually silk, with huge sleeves, and a large ruffled collar. Sometimes Pierrot wears a dunce s cap. He is almost never shown wearing a mask, but almost always has white face. He is often associated with pantomime and wordless expression, and is often sad, melancholy, but also can be childlike and happy. Pantaloon often wears a mask with a hawk like nose...long and curved. He typically has a hunch back or a hump. He often has a cane to aid in his walking and uses the cane to hit people with. Pantaloon is usually an old person, and has a squeaky voice (if he talks). Originally a merchant from Venice, Pantaloon is known as a miser. He is frequently seen in a dark green robe, slippers, a stocking cap, and carries a big money bag or purse. PRINCESS DANA BECOMES A GYPSY Princess Dana, when becoming a Gypsy, can utilize a black wig and dark make up. It is, however, important that she maintain the beauty of a princess while wearing her disguise. GASPARD S MAGIC ACTS Gaspard s magic acts can be as simple or as elaborate as desired. Don t hesitate to track down these tricks at local magic shops or simply stuff different colored scarfs in various locations where they are needed. MUSIC A variety of recorded music can be effectively used. It is wise to use music at the start of the play and as background for the clown acts in the second act.

31 Thank you for reading this E-view. This E-view script from Pioneer Drama Service will stay permanently in your Pioneer Library, so you can view it whenever you log in on our website. Please feel free to save it as a pdf document to your computer if you wish to share it via with colleagues assisting you with your show selection. To produce this show, you can order scripts for your cast and crew and arrange for performance royalties via our website or by phone, fax, or mail. If you d like advice on other plays or musicals to read, our customer service representatives are happy to assist you when you call during normal business hours. Thank you for your interest in our plays and musicals Outside of North America Fax PO Box 4267 Englewood, CO We re here to help!

32 Why PionEER: DRAMA WITHOUT THE DRAMA Words on a page are just words on a page. It takes people to turn them into plays and musicals. At Pioneer, we want the thrill of the applause to stay with you forever, no matter which side of the curtain you re on. Everything we do is designed to give you the best experience possible: Maintain control of your casting. We know you can t always control who auditions. Take advantage of our many shows that indicate flexible casting and switch the genders of your roles without restrictions. And with Pioneer, you also get access to scripts that were written for the entire cast, not just a star lead performer like so many other mainstream musicals and plays. Adapt and customize. Pioneer helps you manage the number of roles in your production. We indicate where doubling is possible for a smaller cast, as well as provide suggestions where extras are possible to allow for additional actors. Both options will help you tailor your play for your specific cast size, not the other way around. Be original. Get access to fresh, new musicals that will let your actors develop their characters instead of mimicking the same personalities we see on stage year after year. Take advantage of our teaching tools. Pioneer s CD Sets include two high quality, studio-produced discs one with lyrics so your students can learn by ear, the other without so they can rehearse and perform without an accompanist or pit band. You can even burn a copy of the vocal CD for each cast member without worrying about copyright laws. And with payment of your royalty, you have permission to use the karaoke CD in your actual production. It s like having an assistant. Use our Director s Books and benefit from professional features designed by and for directors. Line counts, scene breakdowns, cues and notes you ll love our spiral-bound, 8½ x 11 books with the full script only on one side of the page to leave plenty of room for your own notes. Videotaping? We d be disappointed if you didn t! With Pioneer, you ll never have to worry about videotaping your production and posting it on YouTube. In fact, we encourage it. We understand that your production is about your performers, not our script. Make the experience the best it can be, take pictures and videos, and share them with the community. We always love seeing our scripts come to life.