Unaware

Of course, there is a storm that takes out the bridge and now they have no way to get back to the mainland. When one of the heirs goes for help and turns up missing with only a bloody jacket found on the ground, well.. everyone thinks foul play. Waiting for help to arrive, folks are scared and suspicious of everyone, because most of them have a history with the missing man. Turns out the man was not missing… and is alive, and just when you think all is fine, the one woman whom no one knew is gone. Was she not of this world? Only a child seems to have the answer.

Cast of 16 (written as 4 males and 12 females, including one child) Some of the women can be easily changed to men. Could do as many as 7 or 8 males. about an hour long

Written by Warren Sager and Christi Schultz

CAST OF CHARACTERS:

Kelly: 1366 words (includes reading the will) The lawyer and executor of the will

Floyd: Speaks 926 words. The florist

Dana: Speaks 867 words. The doctor

Angela: 824 words (includes singing the song) The stranger

Eleanor: Speaks 777 words. The sister

Bernard: 726 words. The butler

Wilson: 716 words. The brother

Rebecca: 606 words. The brother’s wife

Madeline: 555 words. The maid and the butler’s wife

Gretchen: 509 words. The friend

Julia: 378 words. The niece

Penelope: 345 words. The pastry shop owner

Constance: 323 words. The cook

Heidi: 322 words. The great niece.

Sean: 281 words. The coast guard

Kenny: 14 words. The CG’s assistant

Excerpt:

CONSTANCE
I overheard her tell Angela that she came at Wilson with a knife once. Does your wife have a thing for knives? Because one of mine is missing.
MADELINE
Where is your wife, anyway?
WILSON
I don’t know.
MADELINE
Well, I hope we don’t have anyone all alone.
DANA
I think Kelly was the last one to go with Rebecca. But I haven’t seen either one of them for a long time.
MADELINE
We need to think about everyone’s whereabouts after Floyd left. It was about an hour before Bernard found his jacket.
WILSON
I’m afraid I don’t have an alibi. I was alone.
DANA
So was I.
CONSTANCE
I was in the kitchen.
MADELINE
Alone! And I was looking for Bernard. Alone.
ANGELA
Eleanor went to one of the rooms to lie down…. And Julia took a walk outside in the garden.
CONSTANCE
Outside? In this weather? Where was Heidi?
ANGELA
With me. Well, until her mom came back in. Then I was alone.
MADELINE
Sounds like nobody has a good alibi. Did anyone see Rebecca?
An alarm goes off. This is the smoke alarm which sets off other alarms.
DANA
Oh!! What is that???
BERNARD
It’s the smoke alarms!
DANA
Do you have something burning in the kitchen??!!
CONSTANCE
I’m not cooking anything!!
BERNARD
I’ll go throw the breaker!
He exits as everyone else runs in.
JULIA
Is there a fire??!
MADELINE
Not that we know of!!
WILSON
Maybe it is some kind of electrical thing caused by the storm.
HEIDI
It’s so loud!! It hurts my ears!!!
LIGHTS OUT.
Alarm stops.
MADELINE
I guess we need flashlights and candles. Follow me to the kitchen if you can see to get there!
Folks pull out their phones and make lights as folks start to exit.
HEIDI
Mommy, I’m scared!
JULIA
It’s okay, Heidi. I don’t think there is a fire.
ANGELA
Would you like Heidi to lie down? I’ve made up a little bed of sorts here.
JULIA
What?
ANGELA
I’ve got a blanket and a pillow here.
JULIA
Oh… I don’t know. I’m sure she is fine.
HEIDI
I want to lie down, Mommy.
JULIA
You do? Well… okay then.
HEIDI
Thank you, Miss Angela. Will you stay here with me?
ANGELA
Of course, if you would like. But I’m sure your mother would rather stay here with you…
JULIA
Hey… if she’s happy… I’m happy. You be still Heidi and I’m going to go and see if I can get one of those flashlights. They probably don’t have enough for everyone!
All have exited but Angela and Heidi.
ANGELA
I’m sure everything is going to be okay.
HEIDI
(Asking like she knows)
You’re not scared, are you?
ANGELA
Not really.
HEIDI
How come?
ANGELA
Because God is always with me. He’s with you, too. He’ll take care of us.
HEIDI
Do you think that man is really dead?
ANGELA
I don’t know. Probably not.
HEIDI
But they found his jacket with blood on it.
ANGELA
Yes… they did.
HEIDI
Do you think that someone killed him?
ANGELA
Lets not think about that for awhile. Maybe you can go to sleep.
Some come back in with candles and place them around the room and at this point the lights can come up dim. They can see Heidi is resting, so they all quietly go back out again.
HEIDI
I don’t think I will be able to go to sleep. I’m too scared.
ANGELA
Shh… let’s be quiet and try anyway, okay? I prayed and asked Jesus to watch over you. Over all of us, actually.
HEIDI
So that means that He will make sure that nothing bad happens?
ANGELA
That’s what I asked for. Ultimately, it’s up to Him. Sometimes bad things happen anyway.
HEIDI
You mean like when Great Aunt Bea died? That made me very sad.
ANGELA
But now she is with Jesus, so that is making her very happy.
HEIDI
You are a lot like her.
ANGELA
Really? How so?
HEIDI
She liked to talk about Jesus a lot, too. Maybe I’ll be like that when I am old.
ANGELA
You can be like that now.
HEIDI
I hope Floyd knows Jesus. You know, just in case something bad happened to him.
ANGELA
Let’s not think about that anymore, okay?
HEIDI
Okay.
ANGELA
I tell you what… how about if I sing a song?
HEIDI
What song?
ANGELA
It’s one I’ve heard. I think you will like it.
She sings