A War Story

Actors: 8 (Jackson, Paula, and six others)

Scenario: Jackson, a soldier who has just returned from being at war for a year, is with his girlfriend, Paula at his house. They are on the couch, and Jackson is describing a war story to Paula. As he describes it, other actors are enacting his story.

Note: It doesn’t really matter what gender the actors are except for Jackson, Paula and Sean, which is why in some places it says “they” or ”them” instead of “him” or “her”.

At the start, Jackson and Paula are sitting on a couch, center-stage.

Paula: My God! That doesn’t even seem possible!

Jackson: I know! I really have a hard time replaying it in my mind.

Paula: Well, I don’t want to make you relive these awful times. Please, let’s just do something else.

Jackson: Paula, really, it’s fine. We’ve lost so much history from soldiers who haven’t passed on their stories. I just want to pass on history.

Paula: Well if you’re absolutely sure. I will always respect your opinion.

Jackson: Don’t worry about it, Babe. So, after I saw something from the sky and hit the ground (an actor enters from stage-left slowly spinning with their arms out before finally landing center-stage in front of the couch and falling), I ran over to it because I had no idea what had just fallen! (Another actor enters from stage-right and runs over to center-stage). I realized it was someone from my rank, and I helped them up. I put their arm around my shoulder, and helped ‘em walk back to the jeep. (The actors act this out and exit stage-left)

Paula: What happened to them? Were they badly hurt? How did they manage to stand up after flying through the air!?

Jackson: Well, somehow they managed to survive being hurled through the air by a roadside bomb. Luckily they weren’t too close to it! After I saw to it that they were going to be okay, I returned to the line of fire to aid my comrades. We were lying on the ground behind a small hill, out of the enemy’s sightline. (Four new actors, two from each side of the stage, enter and meet in the middle. They all get down on their stomachs and pretend to hold up army rifles facing the audience). I looked to my left (actor second from the right from the audience’s perspective looks to his left) and saw that the private next to me wasn’t fully covered by the hill, and I started to tell them to get covered when they were shot in the leg. (The actors enact this). I rolled them over on their back towards me to tend to their wound whenI noticed two enemies approaching (two new actors reveal themselves from the audience and run towards the other actors with guns), so I yelled to the privates next to me to watch out and take care of them.

Paula: Did your comrades kill them?

Jackson: Yup, first shot from each. (The enemy actors pretend to be shot in the chest and then stumble off to opposite sides of the stage).

Paula: But what happened to the wounded private?

Jackson: I told the one of the other two privates that were with me to take them back. (One of the actors from the stage-right side of the actors on the ground helps the wounded actor up, puts the wounded private’s arm over their shoulder, and helps them hobble off stage-left). At that point, the remaining private, Sean, and I advanced forward with other soldiers. (The remaining two actors circle around the couch, depicting a good amount of walking). We walked for a good amount of time before we heard a noise behind us. (The two actors should have ended up behind the couch). We saw it was a jeep coming fast for us, driven by Captain Chesterhaven. (The actors just look off to one side of the stage that is behind them. Another actor does not enter to portray the Captain). He was signaling for us to get in, so we ran off to him and got in the jeep (the actors run off to where they were looking).

Paula: And then?

Jackson: And that was it for that day. The ride back to camp was completely silent; I’m not sure why. I just thought about all that had happened that day.

Paula: Jackson, I’m at a loss for words. I don’t know what else to say other than ‘thank you’.

Jackson (smiling): Paula, you don’t have to say anything. Telling you about this is thanks enough.

Paula: I love you, Jackson.