The
Nightmare Before Summer- Level 4
This play is inspired
by the film The Nightmare before
Christmas. The main characters are almost the same but the story is brand
new.
CHARACTERS: JACK/JACQUELINE, the Sun King/Queen.
ZERO, the dog
friend.
THE MAYOR, Jack’s mom.
SALLY, the rag doll
friend.
DR. FINKLESTEIN,
Sally’s father.
LOCK, an evil child.
SHOCK, an evil
child.
BARREL, an evil
child.
OOGIE BOOGIE, the
villain friend and the children’s
master.
master.
CITIZEN 1, a fake
Maths teacher.
CITIZEN 2, a Maths
student.
SYNOPSIS:
Jack/Jacqueline, better known as the Sun King/Queen,
is an ordinary teenager who lives in Summer Town. There, he is very famous since
he leads its citizens in an awesome celebration every Summer Solstice.
But this year is different, Jack is really worried
about his final exams, he reckons he is going to fail Maths. Zero tries to
cheer him up and simultaneously Sally is looking for help.
Jack knows that if he doesn’t pass his Maths final
exam, the Mayor won’t let him be the Sun King anymore, the Summer Solstice
will be spoiled and the citizens of Summer Town will be angry with him. What a
nightmare!
Moreover, Oogie Boogie takes advantage of this to
replace him in the Solstice celebration. He will count on Lock, Shock and
Barrel to distract Jack from studying. Yet, they won’t achieve their objective
and Jack will continue to be the local hero.
To see the original
script go to:
CHARACTERS OBJETIVES
JACK: nice teenager,
he wants to pass his exam but he is discouraged.
ZERO: innocent, he
wants to help Jack to pass his exam. He moves like a dog.
THE MAYOR: vain
and elegant, she wants Jack to study all the time.
SALLY: brave girl, she
wants to help Jack anyhow, she moves like a rag doll.
DR. FINKLESTEIN:
Sally’s father, old, ugly, demanding and mean. She wants Sally to stay always
home.
LOCK: evil. He
prevents Jack from studying.
SHOCK: evil. He
prevents Jack from studying.
BARREL: evil. He
prevents Jack from studying.
OOGIE BOOGIE:
villainous, smart. He tries by all means to replace Jack in the Solstice. He
moves in a charming way.
CITIZEN 1: silly. He
wants to deceive Jack with his Maths explanations.
CITIZEN 2: clever. He
wants to help Jack to pass his exam.
SCENES
Scene 1: Introduction
It is set in Summer
Town, the Main Square. Jack, Zero, the Mayor, Sally and Doctor
Flinkenstein talk to each other about the arrangements for the Summer Solstice.
Scene 2: It is set in the park. Oogie Boogie
knows the situation and talks to Jack. Breakdowns: Jack and the Mayor
argue, Jack assumes he is in danger of spoiling the Solstice. Doctor and Sally
are arguing too. Sally wants to escape from home to help Jack.
Scene 3: At school, break time. Oogie Boogie,
Lock, Shock and Barrel plan what to do to deceive Jack. Oogie Boogie is
ordering the children.
Scene 4: It is set at Jack’s home. The Mayor is
happy; Oogie brought Citizen 1-a Maths teacher to help Jack. Jack studies the
whole night with Citizen 1. Zero suspects Oogie.
Scene 5: New Breakdown or Climax: Jack’s
home, early in the morning. Zero and Sally arrive, they found out Oogie´s
plans. Citizen 2, a Maths student, goes with them. The Mayor is angry again but
she finally agreed to leave Jack home with Citizen 2 instead of going to school.
Jack passes his exam later.
NOTE: Divide the class in groups of five or four
students. You give them one scene to each group and they start reading it. It
is better that you assign them the roles they are playing.
For
each scene four or five different students play the parts. In this play there
are parts for 24 students. You can add extra characters if you want.
