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Christmas Chats and Dramas (no 5)
The X - Factor (All-age drama)
For Leaders:
This drama revolves around six Scrabble pieces (vowels and letter ‘X’) which come to life in a child’s toy box at Christmas and then start talking about their importance. Letter ‘X’ is the odd one out (not a vowel) and is picked on by the vowels who are full of themselves but see little value in ‘X’. ‘X’ fights his corner and ultimately triumphs over the other letters when he turns his ‘X’ around making the symbol of a cross.
The full line up of letters.
Scene set: Whatever you can come up with to make your stage, platform of the front of your hall like a child’s bedroom. Some large toys, hula hoops, soft toys, large ball and a very large cardboard box front painted up to look like a toy box.
Scrabble Pieces: Pieces of square cardboard cut with a returned edge to give them some rigidity, painted cream with black lettering and numbers to look like giant scrabble pieces. The Cardboard squares are hung from the characters necks with a piece of string. The letter ‘X’ needs to be pivoted so that it can be turned round, so that instead of looking like an ‘X’ it becomes the symbol of a cross as pictured below.
Letter ‘X’ turned around to look like symbol of a cross.
(When you make your letter ‘X’ it will need to pivot onto the cardboard so that it can be turned around.)
Characters: A, E, I, O, U (the vowels) In addition to doing this drama with the characters being Scrabble pieces, another option could be to make the characters look like wooden cubes. For this you would need six large cardboard boxes with holes cut out for head and arms and put together in a manner where the characters can get into them. The cubes are bigger and more fun but the Scrabble pieces much more easily made and stored for the future.
The letter character playing the letter ‘X’ should be made up a little to look somewhat grubby. Smudges of black face paint on checks, forehead and chin plus black gloves with no fingers. ‘X’ should also ideally have black T-shirt and trousers.
Drama
The vowels A,E,I,O,U
Narrator: It’s Christmas Eve and Tommy Brown’s toy box has come to life, with the help of a little bit of Christmas magic of course! But there’s not much, ‘Goodwill to all toys’ in the air as we shall see.
(All the vowels enter the stage singing ‘We are family’, laughing and linking arms.)
A – Well girls it’s Christmas and we can all have a well earned rest for a week, Tommy will have all his new toys to keep him entertained. He won’t be playing with us for a while!
E – Yes I could do with a rest?
I – Oh look who’s come to join the party, grumpy X! (X slowly walks on to the stage and sits down).
A – (Turns to x and says to the other girls) I wonder what it must be like to be the 24th letter of the alphabet and hardly ever used to start a word in the dictionary? You don’t use the word xylophone every day, do you girls?
X – I’ll have you know I’m written on millions of Christmas cards all over the world to say the words ‘I love you.’
O – How do you mean?
X – Don’t you know X can mean a kiss (takes a bit of mistletoe from behind his back and sways it in front of the vowels) anyone fancy one? As they all run away he laughs and says – only joking.
A – Quietly whispers to u ‘ugh who’d want to be kissed by x?
E – Yeah what a horrible thought.
I – Well just think of all those poor kids at school who when they get 9 out of 10 spellings wrong, all down the page they see xxxxx, how disheartening – you mean that something is wrong!
X – Oh yeah, well I’ll have you know I have made many people rich down the years, remember x marks the spot on a map where treasure is hidden! So imagine all the pirates I’ve made happy, yo ho ho and a bottle of pop.
E – You know I feel so sorry for all the kids who have to learn algebra at school – X the unknown number, X squared plus X cubed minus X to the power of 9 equals…
A – Mind blowing stupidity if you ask me! When do they ever use it I ask you, poor little mites (all the vowels look at each other and nod to agree).
X - Nobody did ask you, and anyway Einstein didn’t have a problem. Well, you can thank me for putting Teresa May in number 10 Downing St, I’m used to vote you know.
A – So you’re the one we’ve got to thank are you!
I – (looks flustered) now let’s not get all political.
U – I’m just glad I’m a vowel and so useful – you know ‘u’ for useful.
A – Yeah I can only think of 2 words in the dictionary beginning with x, X – ray…
X - (Interrupts) yeah X –ray, think how important that is, I’m helping to save lives every day.
A – Well I don’t care what you say I wouldn’t want to be responsible for taking Christ out of Christmas (all of the vowels look at each other).
I – Oh yeah, see what you mean!
X – Well I’m glad you do, cause I’m sure I don’t!
A – You’ve seen Christmas written as x-mas. When people are rushed at Christmas they can’t be bothered to write Christmas in full, they shorten it to x-mas. (All the vowels A, E, I, O, U look at x and say in unison -) Sad isn’t it.
X – (Looks worried for a moment) well maybe so, but have you ever thought of this, turn me around and I become the symbol that has changed the history of the world. Jesus didn’t stay as a baby in a manger, He became a man and died on a cross to save the whole wide world because He loved us all that much. Christmas is not just about presents, food and parties it’s a time to remember Jesus – so on reflection I think I’m very important indeed!
(All the vowels look serious for a moment and look down at the floor.)
A – Come on girls let’s go over to Ted, he’s far more agreeable than grumpy old X!
X – (Licks his finger and marks a line in the air to say he’s won the argument and smugly walks off the stage shouting) ‘HAPPY CHRIST-MAS everyone!
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