The Search For Three Nails

5 actors (at least 2 males) About ten mins.

CAST OF CHARACTERS:
ROMAN SOLDIER: (Speaks 913 words)
BLACKSMITH: (Speaks 252 words)
3RD PLANT: (Speaks 233 words)
1ST PLANT: (Speaks 140 words)
2ND PLANT: (Speaks 41 words)

Excerpt:
LIGHTS UP ON:
SCENE ONE:
Roman Soldier enters looking for a blacksmith type tradesman, and finds the man who makes nails. The soldier is carrying a crown of thorns and a whip. He tells the man that he needs 3 large nails right away for a crucifixion. But the man is all out. It will take too long to get the fire going again and make new ones, as the soldier needs them right away. The soldier explains the crown of thorns and the whip and who it all is for. He tells the man about the mock trial that he just witnessed for this radical religious man. Finally, becoming desperate, he must find 3 nails somewhere and begins to look among the audience. 3 people stand up and claim to have nails and he begins talking with them about getting their nails. When they hear what it is for, they don’t want to do it.
ROMAN SOLDIER
You there! Can I get some nails from you?
BLACKSMITH
Nails?
ROMAN SOLDIER
Yes… you know… the big kind for crucifixions. 7 to 9 inches.
BLACKSMITH
I have plenty of small nails, but the kind you need… the big ones…. Those need to be ordered in advance. When is the crucifixion?
ROMAN SOLDIER
Soon! They just had a mock trial… and now he’s getting scourged.
BLACKSMITH
A mock trial? Why didn’t they have a real trial?
ROMAN SOLDIER
I don’t know. It’s a Jewish thing. The guy’s a Hebrew and their religious leaders are the ones who had him arrested.
BLACKSMITH
What did he do? Break some Jewish law?
ROMAN SOLDIER
I guess. I think they’ve got him on grounds of blasphemy or something. The governor found him innocent.
BLACKSMITH
Pilate?
ROMAN SOLDIER
Yes. They brought him before Pilate and he questioned him. At first he said nothing, but then he did finally answer a question. He said something about truth and how he was a king. But he didn’t talk much about his kingdom. The guy’s a crackpot.
BLACKSMITH
But if Pilate found him innocent, then why are you crucifying him?
ROMAN SOLDIER
That’s why I’m calling it a mock trial. The Pharisees want him dead and Pilate finally washed his hands of the whole thing and turned him over to the Jews. He even sent him to King Herod in hopes that Herod would do something.
BLACKSMITH
And did he?
ROMAN SOLDIER
He put a purple robe on him and sent him back. That was when Pilate gave up and gave him over to the Jews. You should have heard the crowd that gathered.
BLACKSMITH
Heard the crowd?
ROMAN SOLDIER
Yes. They were all screaming “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” … over and over. And they demanded that the governor release Barrabbas in His place.
BLACKSMITH
Isn’t he a thief and a murderer?
ROMAN SOLDIER
Yeah… something like that. Anyway… it’s over now. Now he’s mine. But I need some new supplies.
BLACKSMITH
I see you got the whip.
ROMAN SOLDIER
Yes. Cat-o-nine-tails. This whip does the job.
BLACKSMITH
How does that work?
ROMAN SOLDIER
Look at this. It is short, with several braided leather thongs of different lengths that have iron balls and sharp pieces of sheep bones tied into them. We strip him of all his clothes, and tie him to a post, and then I flog him repeatedly, leaving his back, buttocks and legs cut and bleeding. After one of my floggings, the prisoner is usually ready to collapse and will probably be close to death. Depending on how much blood is lost, will determine how long he will last on the cross. The sharp bones and balls on the whip will cause deep contusions, cutting into the skin and also the tissues and skeletal muscles.
BLACKSMITH
Sounds brutal. What’s that thing?
ROMAN SOLDIER
Oh… because he claimed he was the king of the Jews, we decided to give him a crown. One of my guys weaved this one out of thorns. Doesn’t that look great? When we place it on his head… the thorns will dig into his skin.
BLACKSMITH
I don’t know how you guys can do that job. It is so violent. Inhumane really.
ROMAN SOLDIER
Well… this only happens to the most vile criminals.
BLACKSMITH
But you said that Pilate found this man innocent.
ROMAN SOLDIER
Yeah… that makes this a really strange case. But he must be guilty of something or this wouldn’t be happening to him. Anyway, it’s not up to me. I just carry out orders. Once they have handed him over to me for flogging… it’s pretty much over for him. No one can survive that AND hanging on a cross.
BLACKSMITH
And people like to gather and watch those things. I just don’t understand it.
ROMAN SOLDIER
Well, I can’t do it at all if I can’t get some nails. I only need three!
BLACKSMITH
Three!? Three nails can hold up a body?
ROMAN SOLDIER
Placed properly… yes. One in each wrist and then one through the feet. That’s why they need to be big ones… you know, spikes! And once the cross is stood upright and dropped into the hole, then the prisoner will drop down, dislocating his shoulders and elbows.
BLACKSMITH
That sounds so painful.