Lillenas Drama Presents HE D LAUGH AT ME! from The Worship Drama Library Volume 2 By Mike and Colleen Gray Theme: God s acceptance regardless of our past, God s complete forgiveness Characters: Two women MARSHA: early 30s TERRI: same age Tone: Humorous with a reflective conclusion Running Time: Five minutes Synopsis: Marsha and Terri are relaxing, enjoying a cup of tea. They are neighbors and close friends. During the course of the conversation, Terri reveals her husband has become a Christian, which shocks Marsha. Marsha is sure it s just a fad, but Terri hopes the changes are permanent. She likes how her husband treats her and their children since the change. Marsha correctly guesses Terri is now considering religion. Marsha uses stereotype answers to persuade Terri to avoid church, but to no avail. Terri invites Marsha along to check it out, but Marsha declines. After Terri leaves, Marsha reveals she is sure God would laugh at her because of her past. Setting/Props: This sketch takes place in a kitchen or dining area. Props: tea cups, tea bags, etc. MARSHA: What type of tea would you like? Do you want Sweet Dreams, Heavenly Delight, or Slightly Surprised? TERRI: I don t think I ever heard of Slightly Surprised. What s that like? MARSHA: Beat s me. It s from the girls club Annie and her friends formed. They tried to make some money by collecting tea bags. They repackaged them, put a fancy ribbon on the box, and sold them to all the parents. Illegal, but ingenious. TERRI: Did anybody buy any? MARSHA: All of the parents did. TERRI: Since it s a day off, I ll be adventuresome and risk Slightly Surprised.
(MARSHA hands her a tea bag wrapped in tissue with a ribbon around it.) MARSHA: I don t need any surprises in my life. I ll stick with Heavenly Delight. (TERRI opens her bag, revealing a used tea bag.) TERRI (laughing): I think they named this tea incorrectly. It should be named Slightly Used. (She holds up the dried tea bag.) MARSHA: You re kidding? Oh, I m sorry, Terri. I ll get you a different one. I can t believe Annie did that. I m so embarrassed! TERRI: Don t worry, I have two children. My kids do embarrassing things. MARSHA: Your kids? Embarrass you? TERRI: Remember when you first moved in next door. Tim and I invited you and Al and little Annie over for dinner. My Kevin was into frogs at the time. (MARSHA starts laughing.) He had found two and insisted on keeping them. I told him to put them out of sight until after the evening was over and then we would discuss the matter. Little did I realize he d put them in the toilet bowl. MARSHA: Frogs like water. I thought Kevin showed a lot of ingenuity for a five-yearold. TERRI: I bet if it was you instead of Al who discovered those uninvited guests, you wouldn t have thought it so ingenious. MARSHA: Probably, but it sure scared Al! I guess you could call it a ribbetting experience! (Both laugh deeply.) TERRI: What a way to start a friendship! MARSHA: I always figured if you could invite me over with frogs in your bathroom, I d never have to worry about the condition of my home when you were here! TERRI: As if you have to worry about your house being a mess. Having one daughter is not the same as having two sons. MARSHA: But you forget, I have one husband who makes up for everyone else. TERRI: Al can t be any messier than Tim! MARSHA: Oh, yeah? Al s idea of major cleaning is moving his coat from the middle of the living room floor to the back of the couch. And nothing less than a presidential visit or a firing squad would demand that kind of respect. TERRI: He s not that bad, is he?
MARSHA: Are you kidding? He prides himself on his lack of domestic skills. You know that. TERRI: I guess you re right. Remember when he offered to make dinner on your birthday? MARSHA: How could I forget! Gourmet cooking at it s finest! Cheerios. He was so proud of himself because he d added raisins for color! TERRI: Our men are definitely two of a kind. If Tim ever turned his socks right side out before putting them in the laundry, I think I d have a heart attack on the spot. MARSHA: You mean some men actually put their socks in the laundry? (They laugh together.) TERRI: Actually, I can t complain about Tim lately. I mean, he s not exactly Mr. Clean, but he was actually doing the laundry last Friday when I got home from work. You know my good white shirt? It s now my not-so-good pink shirt. MARSHA: Oh, no! TERRI: He washed it in hot water with his red sweats. He wanted to be sure and get everything really clean. MARSHA: Are you speaking to him? TERRI: He was so sweet. He knows I hate doing laundry. MARSHA: What s up? TERRI: What do you mean? MARSHA: I mean, he must want something. Doing laundry on Friday and watching both our kids Saturday so we could go to a movie? Does that sound normal to you? TERRI: It is a switch, I ll admit that. But I like it. He s almost thoughtful. MARSHA: He s probably trying to soften you up and then he ll tell you he invited the boys over for poker or something. I only let that happen once to me. Have you ever heard grown men sit around and see who could burp the loudest for a solid hour? TERRI: That sounds like my boys. MARSHA: With grown men it is much more disgusting, believe me. TERRI: I really don t think Tim is after anything. He s really different lately. He s spending more time with the boys and me, and he s really trying to make things better between us.
MARSHA (quiet, but firmly): Are you sure there s no one else? TERRI: Marsha! MARSHA: I mean it. Guilt is a great motivator. I know from experience. TERRI: No. I don t know how to describe it, but Tim s changing and I like it. MARSHA: Well, if you find out what s inspired this transformation, let me know. Al could use a little transformation. Who am I kidding, Al could use some major transformation! TERRI (quietly): I think his decision to become a Christian might be what s changing him. MARSHA (she chokes on her tea): His what? You don t mean Tim has gotten religious? Wow! I never thought Tim would buy into that stuff. I suppose you ll be selling your house soon so you can send money to keep TV preachers from dying. And you ll have to quit wearing makeup and put your hair in a bun. Either that or wear false eyelashes so long that they trip you whenever you try to walk and blink at the same time. TERRI (not amused): Marsha! MARSHA (stops and looks at TERRI): I m only joking. You guys would never become religious fanatics. There s about as much chance of the pope getting married as there is of Tim giving up sleeping in Sundays to take his family to church. (TERRI looks down into her cup.) You re kidding! He took you to church? He didn t even want your wedding in a church. TERRI: He s really sincere about this. MARSHA: Well, don t worry, I m sure it s just a fad. He ll get over it. Al spent 500 bucks on exercise equipment, and it didn t last a month. It s probably just a delayed reaction to his parents divorce or something. Maybe premature male menopause. TERRI: I m not sure I want him to get over it. MARSHA: You mean...you re not seriously thinking about this Christianity stuff, are you? TERRI: I don t know. Tim wants me to check it out. No pressure. MARSHA: You can t just check stuff like that out, Terri. You show a little interest, and they never give up! Then before you know it... gotcha! And all of your friends will notice if you suddenly become one of those stuffed shirts. TERRI: The Christians I met at Tim s Bible study weren t like that. They were nice. I got the feeling they cared about us.
MARSHA: Tim goes to a Bible study! And you went too! I can t believe you didn t tell me. TERRI: I just did. MARSHA: Well I ll give you credit! I could never get involved in religion. Have they told you what you d have to give up? TERRI: They didn t really seem to care. They said God accepts us where we are. MARSHA: Maybe where you appear to be, but wait till they start making you confess everything you ve ever done. TERRI: But Tim seems so different now... really at peace. MARSHA: Well, if I was you, I d keep this quiet. You wouldn t want people laughing at you. TERRI: Marsha, if I decided to believe in (pause) Jesus, would you laugh at me? (Silence) MARSHA: You re my best friend, Terri. I would never laugh at you. TERRI: Then as long as God doesn t laugh at my past, I shouldn t have anything to worry about. (A few seconds pause) Hey, how about you coming with me to church? We could check it out together...you know, strength in numbers? MARSHA: Al would have a heart attack if he thought I was getting into that stuff. Besides, you go, then you come back and tell me all about it. We ll have a good laugh about this. TERRI (pulls out a pocket New Testament): I ve been reading through this. Why don t you read it too so we know what we re talking about; common ground. You sure you won t come with me? MARSHA: Naw. (TERRI turns to leave.) Terri, I m happy Tim has changed. TERRI: So am I. (She leaves.) (MARSHA sits at the table, picks up the Bible, and pages through it. She sighs.) MARSHA: With my background, I know God would laugh at me. (She tosses the Bible on the table and leaves.)
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