Noize
(A drama about listening to God)

Director's Notes: Noize is a very short (1 minute) but effective drama. It only has one line in it (the last one) but the message is very powerful in today's hectic, loud world: If you want to hear what God has to say to you, you must make quietness in your life. After all, doesn't He whisper to us in a still soft voice?

In order to do this drama, you'll need to download the MP3 audio file I've recorded HERE. Right-click on the link and select "Save Target As..."  Next, burn it onto a CD (or you can create your own that is similar). Basically, the premise is that the person is coming home from work and must systematically remove himself/herself from the noise of the world around them before they can listen to God. Simply right click on the blue link, select 'Save Target As', and save the MP3 file to your hard drive...

The MP3 contains a number of overlapping sounds on it. As the actor goes through the drama, one sound is removed at strategic points until, finally, it's silent enough for them to listen. I've noted these sounds in the script below.

The part can either be male or female.

Cast:
John: An average man

Props:
A boombox
A remote
Some mail
A Bible
A chair
An end table

Setting:
The front porch into the family room.

(LIGHTS UP CENTER STAGE)

(Start the CD. The overlapping sounds are car noises, the Beatles playing on a radio, a basketball game on TV, a dog barking, and, eventually, a fly buzzing around.)

John:  (comes walking up to the stage, stands by an imaginary door, and reaches for his keys in his pocket. He unlocks the door and shuts it. - car noises stop at :10)

John:  (walks in and puts down his coat. He drops the mail on the end table, and switches off the boombox that is sitting there - Beatles stop at :20)

John:  (sits down and looks through the mail for a couple of seconds before he picks up the remote and turns off the TV - basketball game stops at :30)

John:  (he picks up the Bible and starts reading from a marked page but becomes annoyed at the dog barking and reaches over and shuts the window - dog barking stops at :36)

John:  (he goes back to reading from the Bible and closes his eyes. A fly starts buzzing around his head 3 times and, with his eyes still closed, he reaches out and catches it on it's fourth trip, opens a window, throws it out, and closes the window (fly and window noizes end at :49)

John:  (John looks up and says) Sorry, Lord. You were saying?

(LIGHTS FADE OUT)

END

© 2001 Dave Marsh