BACK-UP DOG & THE BULLY A play for grades K-2 Written by L.B. Hamilton for CLIMB Theatre

BACK-UP DOG & THE BULLY A play for grades K-2 Written by L.B. Hamilton for CLIMB Theatre Revised Summer 2006 By James Rone 2003 Climb Theatre, Inc.

2 CHARACTERS: BACK UP DOG (): : : An energetic puppy with a strong sense of street smarts. Training to become a Super Pup, so that s/he can help others who are being bullied. A second-grader who displays all the characteristics of the passive victim. He is shy, quiet and unassertive, but eager to learn. A third or fourth grade bully. can be big or small, or a girl or a boy. The most important attribute that displays is that s/he gets her/his power through intimidation. CHRIS: A third or fourth grade bystander. CHRIS admires s confidence and so follows what s/he does, but when pressed, disagrees with the way treats other kids. ZEBRA: LION: DANTE: COURTNEY: : : A Zebra. Submissive and shy. A Lion. Bold, brash, cocky he acts like Elvis Presley. s aggressive older brother. s passive younger sister. A bully who uses sly needling rather than physical aggression to get her way. A provocative victim. is hyperactive and seldom realizes the effect his noisiness is having on others. He responds to bullying aggressively. 2

3 Educational objectives for Back Up Dog and the Bully: To define bullying including various types of bullying behavior; To examine why bullying occurs; To define the two types of victims bullies tend to target: passive and provocative; To give victims tools and strategies to use when they are being bullied; To introduce the CALM strategy (Cool down, Assert yourself, Look at the bully straight in the eye, Mean it); To motivate bystanders to take action to create an environment in which bullying is not tolerated. To reinforce the concept that caring for fellow students is; To demonstrate friendship skills. 3

4 Place: Discovery Elementary School playground. Sign says School - no trespassing. No dogs allowed) Up stage is a level that is Mrs. Reed s Office. Another level represents Tye s home where his brother and sister appear.. happily snoozes below the sign. He is wrapped in a cape, that has a big Two kids run by playing loudly. awakes, starts scratching his ear, then sees the audience Well, hello there! Welcome to Discovery Elementary School. (Holds up buisness card) Allow me to introduce myself. BACK UP DOG super-pup-in-training AT YOUR SERVICE. But you can call me - you know (Shows the letters on the cape) for Back Up Dog. Anyway, I hang out here at Discovery Elementary School because as part of my in-training duties, I try to help kids out who are having Bully problems. See When you have a bully problem it s good to have a friend around - ready to Back You Up. If any of you have ever seen a bully raise your hands! Yup, thought so.. A bully can be a boy or a girl or rich or poor or smart or not so smart and any shape, size or color. And guess what a bully can be any age too. So I m on the look-out for someone who needs help because I m BACK UP DOG. Course its pretty quiet right now. Everything seems to be going okay. Soooo I think I ll just. ( stretches and yawns. Cacophany of sound. goes into point ) Uh-oh. Bully Alert. Tye runs into the scene, keeping his eyes to the direction of the sound. He stumbles over who yelps.) Oh sorry! Sorry, puppy. Sorry. (Tye scrambles to feet, pets on head and dashes to a hiding place, hiding with his ball) (Suddenly Alex and Chris run on stage. Alex - obviously the leader is running backwards about to toss a ball to one of the others. Actors ad lib the game - Alex! Throw it here. Throw it to me, etc.) Ha ha! (To Tye) He ll never get the ball back! (Alex, running backwards, doesn t see who gets slammed when Alex falls on him, Chris tumbles over him Some ooffing and groaning. Alex yells at ) GET OFF ME! Why don t you look where you re going, you dumb dog? (Tye sneezes, his ball gets away from him, rolls towardalex. ) Geshundheit! What? 4

5 I didn t say anything! CHRIS Oh yeah? Well, I guess it was this weird looking dog. Hey! I ve got a new ball! I ve got a new ball! (Tye hangs his head and mutters something. Chris starts snickering) He talks so quiet you can t even hear him! It s because he s scared. Like a baby! (cont.) CHRIS (CHRIS laughs. shakes his head) (cont.) He must be a baby because he can t talk! Ga ga, goo goo! (Tye slumps more) Tiny baby Tye. Yeah! Tiny baby Tye! Tiny baby Tye! CHRIS (Tye sneezes. The boys laugh and mimic the sneeze. Tye finally mutters something) I can t hear you. He still can t hear you, Tiny Tye. (whispers) pleasemayihavemyballback? (cont.) CHRIS ( sighs and shakes his head) (to others) Did he say something? 5

6 (tearing up) I have to go. He s crying! Like a baby! He s sad because he lost his baby ball. Tiny baby Tye! Tiny baby Tye! CHRIS (Alex and Chris laugh. is getting his hackles up and we know it) I know, we should play dodgeball! YOU RE IT!!! /CHRIS (They pretend over and over that they are going to throw ball hard a la dodge ball style. Tye is very upset. throws his voice) B.U.D HI THERE,! (Everyone freezes a moment. Alex and Chris give each other a look then run off stage.. Tye stands in stunned silence.) That s better. Things were getting scary, doncha think?. Let me introduce myself: BACK UP DOG - super-pup-in-training - AT YOUR SERVICE. (he hands the card to Tye - who doesn t take it.. continues to stare) Right. Let s try that again. BACK UP DOG - super-pup-in-training - AT YOUR SERVICE (he offers a paw to shake. Tye stares at it) Show your manners, Kid. Take the paw. (he does, then sneezes again. Wipes his face.) But you can call me. See? B.U D. So kid, you seem to have Bully problem. I guess I have two bully problems. Two? Chris was mean to me too. Funny, he s not like that when Alex isn t around. 6

7 That means he s a helper for the bully. He plays along with Alex that so Alex won t bully him like he bullies you. But that s not fair! Yup. You know alls you have to do is learn some anti-bully tricks. Tricks? That sounds hard. Nahh. The tricks YOU need to learn are simple: Stand up straight; look the bully in the eye; speak in a strong voice. Got it? Ummmmm stand on your head a strong eye is a--- So, this Alex kid he pushes you around a lot, does he? Kinda. You know, if a bully s giving you trouble you should travel with friends instead of being out here alone. It s safer. I know! Hey Kids! We re going to help Tye out! What? What kids? Ooops. I forgot; he can t see you yet. Hold on. Let me check the manual. (he pulls out a book, muttering while he leafs through it) Hmm Nope, Nope, uh nope. AH! Here we go ( looks out to the audience and makes conjuring gestures, then throws glitter confetti) All who can hear Super Pup, You can help back Tyrone up. With an arf arf arf and a bow wow wow, our friend Tyrone can see you NOW! (Tye jumps and stares at audience, then dashes behind ) Don t worry Tyrone- they won t hurt you. They re your friends. They re here to help you - to Back you up! 7

8 That s really nice, but unless they can change Alex from mean to nice, they can t really help me. Alex is popular, and he s big, AND he doesn t like me. Why? What s not to like? Well, I m skinny and I m not very tall and I have glasses and I need new shoes and I ha- havhaaaave (he sneezes) allergies. WHOA there! Alex just uses those things as an excuse. If all those things go away tomorrow he ll just make up other reasons to bully you. And just between you and me? I m allergic to cats. And even so no one bullies me so that means turn around. Huh? Go on, turn around. Please. (Tye does and reveals a target on his back. It has a B in the bullseye) (to kids) Just as I suspected. A target! (Tye starightens up, but has still has trouble looking others in the eye) A target. I don t see a target. Well of course, it s invisible to you. But it s right there on your back or my name s not BACK UP DOG - super pup in-training. You know what a target is, Tyrone? My dad has one in the garage. He throws darts at it. There you go. So a regular target is something that you aim for and try to hit with something else, like darts, or arrows, things like that. Then there s your kind of target. And Bullies know it s there. I have a Bully Target! Oh no! Yup. Only instead of darts the bully throws words and threats and sometimes even worse. 8

9 That s not fair! Hey wait! If my target s invisible how can Alex see it? Well that s a tricky one Hmmm. For this, we ll all take Tyrone to Africa. AFRICA! But lunchtime will be over soon and I have to get back to my class. No problem. Plenty of time. So, kids. Can someone tell me what animal is called the King of the Jungle? (If no one says Lion, Tye answers) Right. (to Tye) Ever been to Africa before? No? You ll love it. Okay Now, here we go. (He howls and Throws confetti. Tye looks around.) Wow! Africa looks just like my school Oops. Heh heh. We re not in Africa, are we? Well, I m just a super-pup-in-training, you know. (he checks to manual again) Ah Hah! Kids? Will you help me out here? Repeat after me: Siss Boom Siss Boom Wa La La. (repeat) Now we go to Af-ri-ca. (repeat) Boom Siss Boom Siss Ring a ding ding. (repeat) Time for us to meet a king!!! (repeat) (During this, a gentle and shy zebra has wondered onstage. After a moment, a lion struts on and surveys his kingdom ) So, Tyrone, What do you see? Wow! Zebras! Lots and lots of zebras! 9

10 Right! And they are all just minding their business, grazing on grass. Graze. Graze. Grazegrazegraze. ZEBRA And there s the ferocious King of the Jungle, right over there. Thank you. Thank you very much. (he starts to sneeze) Ahh ahhh ahhh LION(in the style of Elvis Presley) ( covers s nose and indicates the lion) (Soft whisper) chooo. Now watch. (cont.) (The Lion yawns and stretches and thinks, then realizes he s hungry. He rubs his belly and smacks his lips.) LION The King is hungry. Hmmmmm. Lots of zebra out grazing today. Graze, Graze, Graze. ZEBRA LION Ahhh. That s the one. (The lion begins to stalk the lone zebra) Oh no! (The lion grins and settles on that zebra as his target and gets into chase mode) Poor zebra! (The lion stalks his prey, who simply stands there unaware.) The King has found his target. LION 10

11 (The lion closes in. And finally the zebra notices something wrong and gets nervous the lion gears up for a pounce and the zebra starts to move away, too slowly) Do something! Please, please help! Okay, if you want to help, on the count of three, we ll all yell BOO. One, two, three! BOOOOOOO! (The lion starts and looks around and the zebra gets away. D oh! (The lion moves away and pouts) LION Whew. That was close. Thank you! So, Tyrone. How many zebras do you think were out there? Too many to count. And what did the lion do? The lion looked at all the zebras then picked just one to be lunch. RIGHT! (The Zebra has re-appeared on the opposite side of the stage and listens) ZEBRA But why did he pick me for lunch? I look just like all the other zebras.don t I? Yeah, she doesn t have glasses and she s not smaller or fatter or skinnier. Yes. ZEBRA 11

12 LION (Lion clears his throat) Simple. Because I knew I could catch you. And I woulda too. If someone hadn t yelled boo. (He glares at the audience) You knew? How? How did you know? ZEBRA LION Well, look at you. You re standing there all alone. You sorta slump and you keep your eyes down all the time. Kinda like this kid here. (Tye straightens up fast and so does the Zebra) LION I had a pretty good idea I could catch you -. You might as well have a target on your back. You know? I see So Alex is like the lion and I m like the zebra and RIGHT! and Alex knows he can get away with making me his target! (Tye slumps again) Don t slump, Tye. Didn t you hear what the lion said? Slumping and keeping your eyes down is part of what tells bullies and lions - that you re a target. You are great. So stand up straight! Oh, I like that! You are great, so stand up straight! Why don t we all say it together? You too, kids! Ready, Set, Go! EVERYONE YOU ARE GREAT SO STAND UP STRAIGHT! The next one is: Don t be shy look a bully in the eye. 12

13 Don t be shy look a bully in the eye. Can we do that one together too? Sure. Okay kids? Ready set go! EVERYBODY DON T BE SHY LOOK A BULLY IN THE EYE! Way to go, kids! What s the third trick? Huh? Oh. Speak in a strong voice. LION Speak in a strong voice? Hah! That doesn t even rhyme. Oh, who cares? Okay, Everybody ready, set, go! SPEAK IN A STRONG VOICE. EVERYONE Now put them together repeat after us. One You are great so stand up straight! (repeat) Two Don t be shy look a bully in the eye (repeat) and Three Speak in a strong voice! (repeat) Cool! You know I m still hungry. (Zebra looks a little nervous) ZEBRA/ LION ZEBRA I ve got to be going. I m going to go play with some of the other Zebras. No more staying alone for me! Nice to meet you. (She exits saying the mantra over and over, reminding herself to stand straight and hold her head up) Boy I used to like lions, now I know you re not the king of the jungle - you re the bully of the jungle. 13

14 LION Don t be cruel man. I m an animal. I can t help myself. Excuse me, I need to order a pizza or something. (he exits) He s right, Tyrone. Lions aren t bullies, they re just doing what nature meant them to do. But we well you and Alex and Chris.you are people and you can make choices. Wow! Thank you. (beat) Okay, let s get back to Discovery Elementary School, shall we? Lassie, Lassie, Rin Tin Tin Take us back to school again. (Howls and throws confetti) (cont.) So? What do you think? STAND UP STRAIGHT, LOOK THE BULLY IN THE EYE, AND SPEAK IN A STRONG VOICE. I don t know. Everyone keeps telling me different things. Like my little sister Courtney and my big brother Dante I m confused. Really? ( surreptitiously throws some glitter confetti and Tye s younger sister appears as does his cool older brother, Dante.) COURTNEY You see, Tyrone - alls you got to do is stay out of the way. You just have to learn to become invisible. (Tye slumps) DANTE Nahhh. Listen Bro, your problem is that you don t try to fit in. Be more like that Alex kid. You need to try harder to be cool, you know what I mean? (Tye Stands up straight) 14

15 COURTNEY No way. Do NOT let the bully see you and never be where the bully is. (Tye slumps) DANTE Try playing football or basketball. If you re good, people won t pick on you so much. Your problem is that you try too hard in school. That makes you a nerd, man. Don t go whining to your teacher or Mom and Dad. You ve got to learn to be a man! (Tye stands up straight) COURTNEY If you accidentally get seen by the bully, just be real quiet and don t make him mad. Besides, you can always stay home and play with me, you know. (Tye slumps) Don t go hanging out with losers. DANTE (Tye is getting very confused between slumping and not slumping) COURTNEY Don t listen to Dante, Tye. Come on, we can play Spongebob Squarepants! DANTE Here s the main thing: If anyone, I mean anyone, gets in your way or tries to push you around you hit them right in the jaw. (Tye stands up straight) NO! COURTNEY Wait a minute! I already do what you say, Courtney. And that s why I slump and keep my eyes down and mumble. That doesn t work. DANTE That s because you just stand there doing nothing. Well I m not doing that anymore. I m gonna be cool like you Dante! That s right, Tye. DANTE 15

16 COURTNEY You ll be soooorrrrrry! (beat) Oh. What a cute doggie. (She hugs. and tickles behind his ears, making his leg twitch. He giggles.) Stop hehehehe.oh stop. That tickles! hahahahaha! (Courtney screeches and begins to run O.S. Dante is struck dumb at the talking dog) (cont.) Hey Courtney! Nice shoes! (to Tye) Never hurts to compliment someone. (She screeches again as she exits) (cont.) So you really think what Dante says to do will make you cool? DANTE (finding his voice) It s a start! Fighting back lets the bully know that they can t push you around. (to Dante) Back up there, friend. (to Tye) Trust me kid, fighting sounds easy, but socking someone doesn t solve anything. (to Dante) And what if he gets caught? He ll get in trouble. What have you got to say to that? Ummm, dogs don t talk? DANTE Thanks for stopping by, Dante. Stay cool, now. Um Sure. (he cautiously starts to exit) Nice shirt. Umm thanks. (Dante exits quickly) I think he s right. DANTE DANTE 16

17 Huh? I ll show everybody I m cool - if Alex tries to bully me again, I ll just punch him! A school yard is not a jungle. If you want to be cool DON T LOSE YOUR HEAD! Being cool means keeping your cool - don t blow up. You need to think things out - you know USE your head. Ahhhh Don t lose your head - use your head? That s right. People can think about things - make choices. People can change their ways. And Back Up Dog can help you to take that target off your back! Well getting mad and fighting back has to be cooler than sitting there and not doing anything. Well let s see how cool life is for a kid who fights back. You know David don t you? (Confetti: Marya enters, very full of herself. Then David enters showing off with the ball.) Oh yeah. David s always getting himself in trouble. Oh Oh, here comes Marya. She s a bully like Alex. Hey! Marya! See what I can do? Oh, go away, dork. Let s play catch. Here Marya, catch! I don t wanna play with you. Besides this is my place and I get to say who plays here. Now go away. Aw come on. Let s play ball. Think fast! 17

18 (He s picked up the ball and throws it hard at Marya. ) Ow. I said YOU can t play here. This is MY place. I get to say who gets to play here. Come on. Bet I can throw a ball faster than you. Faster than everybody! (He gets the ball again and throws it at her again) Stop that, you weirdo! Throw the ball, back. Come on Marya throw the ball, throw the ball, throw the ball. WAHOO! Nobody wants to play ball with you. You wanna know why? Okay, Okay Tag, we ll play tag. YOU RE IT. Ew, ew ew! Don t touch me - you have cooties! Cooties, cooties, cooties. David has cooties, Davey Wavey has cooties. And I m telling everybody! That s a lie. That s a lie! You re lying about me! Yeah? Well what are you gonna do about it, huhn, Cootie-Boy? You gonna run and tell your big fat mommy? Don t you say that! Hey everybody, Davey Wavey s gonna tell his big fat mommy on me. I better watch out, she might sit on me and squash me. Shut up or I m going to-- 18

19 What! You gonna beat me up? Is Davey Wavey gonna hurt me? You even touch me and my brother ll get you. He s bigger than you and you ll be sorry! Hey everybody! David has cooties!!! (laughing, She runs and hides) Cootie-Cootie-Cootie! You bully, bully, bully. Big fat BULLY, I ll get you even if you are a girl! (he takes off after Marya, and chases her OS ) Wow! He had a target on his back! Wait a minute. We re not at all alike. You said I was a target cause I don t do anything. But David is ALWAYS doing something. Are there two kinds of targets, Bud? Yup. David is the kind of target that upsets people. That s what David does to try to fit in and be cool and to stop being bullied. He tries too hard then gets mad too easily. But he fights back just like you say you want to. Well it s not working. Looks like no one said Don t lose your head, use your head to poor ol David. Let s see how it all turns out. (Confetti: rounds the corner, ushering back) There will be no fighting on this playground. But she was telling people lies! David. I saw you chasing Marya like you were going to hit her. But she started it!! I just wanted to play. She told everybody I have cooties! As long as you re disruptive you ll keep ending up with the other kids angry at you. But I just wanted to play and they wouldn t let me!!!! 19

20 That doesn t mean you can hit someone. I think you need to cool off. Come on, David. Let s go into my office and talk about this. (As they walk off, a target can be seen on David s back) Oh geez. So how cool was that? How did it go for a kid that fights back? You were right, Bud. David would have been better off if he cooled down and used his head. Then he wouldn t have gotten in trouble. Right! You re a smart one. (David returns, he s upset) (to audience) I think David could use some back up now. Hi David. Allow me to introduce myself. I m BACK UP DOG SUPER PUP - Wow a dog that can talk? That s so cool! You re a really big dog. You can be my horse! Let me wear your cape! What s your name? Wanna play ball? (David s jumping around so much he tromps on Tye s toes) Ow ow ow ow ow.. (to Tye) What are you doing here? I got here first. I get to play with the dog. You better just -- Back up there, boy! Take a breath. ( snaps his fingers, David suddenly can t speak) You need to cool down, David. You want to have some fun, right? Just nod yes or no, okay? Yes. And you d like to play with other kids, right? Okay Tyrone help David out. 20

21 Well, you might want to pay some attention to what other kids are doing and what they like or don t like. Oh and you might want to make sure you don t stomp all over their toes. And next time someone like Marya tries to bully you try something different. Stay cool. It s like a game. (David cocks his head and shrugs, meaning how? ) A game where you ask the bully questions, and agree with the bully, and compliment the bully no matter how hard the bully tries to make you mad. Got that? (Snaps his fingers) Ask questions, agree and compliment? Right. Watch. Here comes Marya. Let me show you how to turn things around. Arf. (Marya returns and bumps into ) Ew. A dirty old dog. Go away. This is MY bench. YOU can t play here. Hmmm? May I ask why? I said this is MY place. Besides you have cooties. I do? Where?! Where? Where? You are dirty and stinky and have cooties so go away or I ll make you go away! Why Marya. That s so sweet! What?! 21

22 It s so nice that you care enough to tell me I need a bath. I m going to make sure I get one right away. Thank you. You re you re STUPID! Well I agree completely. What? (to Myra) I must be stupid, or I would have taken a bath this morning. Thanks! You STOP IT! Okay. What? STOP making fun of me! I m just trying to thank you for caring, Marya. Oh. Let me compliment you on your shoes. You you These shoes? I dig them. (long pause) Oh. (She wanders off stage completely confused. The boys laugh) Wow. You turned things around all right. And just by asking questions, agreeing and complimenting. I could do that! 22

23 Hey David? Nice hat! Thanks. (He sees someone OS) Hey. I m gonna go ask Seth if he wants to play ball. See ya! (Exits) Hey David! Watch out! Don t step on anybody s toes! (to ) This is great! Pretty soon there won t be any bullying at our school! Yeah. If we all work hard to stop it. And never help a bully. I would NEVER help a bully. Never. That so? (confetti. Alex comes back on. acts like an excited puppy) Here comes our friend Alex. What are you still doing here, you ugly dog. Go away. Leave me alone. ( sits up and begs) Go away! Go on! ( looks sad and cocks his head) I ll call the dog catcher. I really will! (Alex aggressively chases the dog, yelling and kicking at him until Bud runs for a corner, yelping. Alex laughs and walks off. After a beat) So Tye I thought you said you d never help a bully. I wouldn t. You just helped Alex bully me. 23

24 I did NOT! I didn t do anything. That s right. And by not doing anything, you helped. I did? Yup. If we want bullying to stop, we can t just stand there. We have to speak up when it happens to others too. Maybe but if I said something, Alex might have been mean to me again, too. Well, my friend, sometimes we just have to do what s right - even when it s hard. You understand, Tyrone? Yeah. (hanging head) I m sorry. I m just like a bully. How did you feel about not doing anything? Not so good. That means you care. If you were just like a bully you wouldn t care. (Confetti: Principal Reed is pacing and Alex can be seen sulking in her office) Alex, I m concerned. I have a note here that says you have been acting mean to some of the kids. What kids? Tye, for one. No, I wasn t! WHO SAID? Who tattled on me? 24

25 No one tattled; someone reported. I can tell you it wasn t Tye. If he weren t so weird, I wouldn t pick on him. He s asking for it. (to Audience) See there? Bullies think it s the target s fault. So you don t feel bad about how you treated Tye? Why should I? Tye s the weird one, not me. I m good at lots of things. People listen to me. I do what I like. And you like picking on Tye? It s funny. Well, in this school, we don t think being bullied is funny. And we are not going to tolerate meanness, Alex. Do you understand? But it s not my fault! You should tell him to not be such a baby! How would you feel if someone teased you all the time? I don t care. My big brothers tease me all the time. I m tough. Everybody teases. If other kids can t take it, that s not my problem. I see. Well we ll talk more, Alex, after school. What?! Right now I need to talk to Tye. (He sulks off and Principal Reed comes out of her office and sees Tye.) 25

26 Tye, someone left me a note saying that Alex was being a bully to you and to some of the other kids. Someone tattled on Alex?! No. Tattling is when you want to get someone in trouble. Someone reported to me that Alex was bullying you. Reporting is what you do to keep yourself and others safe. Oh. (Tye looks at who whistles innocently) I also know now that Marya has been acting mean to David. I feel badly that I didn t see this before. I want you to know that you don t have to be afraid to tell me if someone is pushing you around and you need a grown-up to help. Okay? Okay. And, as of today, I m putting this special box outside the cafeteria. (She holds out a box that has zebra stripes on it) If anybody needs help or sees someone who needs help, they can come see me, or send me a note by putting it into this box. I want you and all the kids to know you don t have to be pushed around. You can come to me. Or you can talk to another grown-up you trust. (exits) Okay!? You gave Principal Reed that note, didn t you? You reported Alex! Yup. Because I m not going to help a bully be a bully. But aren t you afraid Alex will find out and come after you again? A little. But, if we all agree not to help bullies by doing nothing or joining in with them when they are being mean and teasing, we don t have to be afraid. (Tye looks thoughtful, then brightens. He s standing very tall now.) 26

27 Yeah! Well look at you, Tyrone! (to audience) Look at him. He s not slumping and staring at the ground now. He s standing up straight, looking us in the eye and speaking with a strong voice. Yeah! I m not going to be Alex s or anyone s passive target anymore! And if standing straight, looking him in the eye, speaking in a strong voice isn t enough, I m going to I m going to You re going to turn things around ask the bully questions! Yeah. And agree with the bully. And compliment the bully! Man-oh-man. You ve learned so much, I bet Alex won t be able to bully you anymore. Looks like you re ready, Kid. For what? Let s go back to the very beginning - when you and I first met. Ready? Alrighty, here we go. One, Two Three: BACK UP NOW! (Signature howl and everything goes back the beginning of the play. Freeze ) (cont.) He must be a baby because he can t talk! Ga ga, goo goo! (Tye slumps more) Tiny baby Tye. Yeah! Tiny baby Tye! Tiny baby Tye! CHRIS (Tye sneezes. The boys laugh and mimic the sneeze. Tye finally mutters something) I can t hear you. (cont.) 27

28 He still can t hear you, Tiny Tye. CHRIS (Tye stands up straight. Looks Alex in the eye and uses a strong voice) Thanks Chris. Alex, give me my ball back. Ohhhh. Scary. You are soooo scary I m scary? Me? You really think so? Cool. No, that was a joke. You re so stupid, you don t even get jokes. Oh yeah, a joke. I see. (laughs) You re right, Alex. Sometimes I don t get jokes. Maybe you can help me with that. Why would I help you? Because you re funny. What do you mean by that? I m just saying you re good at telling jokes. Maybe you can help me to get them. Alex leave him alone, let s go. But he s a baby, remember? CHRIS I just want to tell jokes and be funny like you, Alex. This is dumb; I m going. CHRIS 28

29 No you re not. CHRIS Ex-cuse me? (Alex drops the ball and moves toward Chris) I said you re not going. (Tye gets the ball) CHRIS You know what Alex? I don t want to fight. See ya, Tye. Later Alex. (He leaves. Alex looks stunned then sneezes.) Hey! (to Tye) Well? What are you looking at? Your shirt. It s cool. Where d you get it? (Alex can t take it anymore and exits. Tye and high five, then hug. The target should be surreptitiously removed at this time.) Way to go! You stood straight. You looked the bully in the eye. You spoke in a strong voice, AND I turned things around by asking questions, agreeing, and complimenting. And did you see Chris? He didn t help the bully this time! Well, would you look at that. What? Turn around. Yessiree, I m not seeing any Bully Target on this back. (to audience) How about you? WooHoo! 29

30 There s one more thing, and it s important, kids. If you EVER have trouble with a bully and you think that the bully might hurt you - get out of the way. Get to safety. Then tell a grown-up you trust right away. (to Tye) Got that? Good. It s been great working with you, Kid. (to audience) And you too. I couldn t have done it without you. I m going to see if David still wants to play ball. Thanks so much, Bud. I won t forget you. ( exits) Well, kids looks like our job is done for now; time for Back Up Dog to finish that nap. G night! End of play 30