Scene 27

The GIFT – Scene IV

Scene begins with marching style music. The girl and boy immediately jump to attention when the music begins and start to rigidly pace back and forth across the front center stage. They look frustrated, angry, and irritated. They march with bored determination. They bump into each other on the second or third time across and slap each other hard. The next time through they slap each other even harder. After this harder slapping, they notice that one of the gift boxes is closed and is in a different position. They look at each other and then dash for the box. It becomes a frenzy as to who gets to open the box and who will own what’s inside. They almost wreck the box with the violence of their fighting over it and finally as if by accident the box flips open and out steps Jesus. They look in bewilderment at him and scratch their heads. They were not expecting this at all. Jesus, smiling, takes both their hands and leads them to center stage. He begins to teach them that he came to tell them about goodness and mercy and love. He demonstrates that he loves the world and them with exaggerated motions of embrace. He then tells them that he loves them. The girl and boy gradually catch on to what he is saying and finally hug him one at a time. Jesus then takes both their hands and tries to put them together. They resist and will not come near each other. The boy feigns that she smells and the girl mimes his attitude. Jesus does not give up and tries again to pull them together. They resist at first and then finally give in and hug each other – not very convincing but more of a giving in kindof gesture. At mark 1:32, again the demons come on the scene and whisper bad things about each other to the girl and boy. This happens two or three times and with each time they listen more and more until they are full out fighting again. Jesus tries to intervene but gets pushed around. They end with each yelling at the other and going off into a corner to stand sulking. Fade out music. All freeze.

The GIFT – Scene V Betrayal & Crucifixion
This scene opens with Jesus making a gentle appeal to the girl and boy. He walks over to the girl first and puts his hand on her shoulder to comfort her and try and talk with her. She abruptly flicks his had off the shoulder and this leaves Jesus’ right hand in the air like the one side of the cross. He keeps the right hand up in the air and approaches the boy on stage left and does the same thing to him with his left hand. The boy reacts just as strongly. He flicks off Jesus’ attempt to reconcile the two. This pushes Jesus back to the centre stage area. The girl and boy now begin to fight again blaming each other for the way life turned out. They unknowingly push Jesus back three times (sound significant?) each time getting more and more violent with their approach to Jesus. They strip him of his robe and sash and fight over who gets the robe. The girl wins this fight and they both retreat off to the very edge of the stage at both sides. On the third time they push him, they push him so hard he gets thrust right against a cross which the demons had subtly been erecting during the fighting and were manipulating the whole scene. The chief demon stood on the box where the cross was being erected during the fight with his hands very ominously cast over the scene like he was controlling the situation. Now the demons grasp Jesus’ hands and feet with pointed fingers and exaggerated motions of victorious valor. They have defeated the good guys!

The toys come to life on the point of death of Jesus on the cross (mark 1:59). They see Jesus and begin to mourn the loss. The Soldier kneels and weeps in a mechanical way and the ballerina just flops on the ground and wails with exaggerated motions in the shoulders. They stop long enough to carry Jesus down from the cross and bury him with a white cloth over his body. Music Fades. The toys kneel down and freeze at either end of him off to the side of the stage.

The GIFT – Scene VI – Resurrection, Warfare & Restoration

When the music comes up the Father steps into the scene to survey all the damage. He pats the Soldier on the head and touches the Boy. He goes to the girl and puts his hand on the shoulder of the Ballerina. His eyes show a sad yet determined gaze. There is a fiery look there of righteous anger! He steps up onto the cross box (the head demon was standing there but cringes as he sees the Father approaching). All the demons have been shaking most noticeably as soon as the Father stepped into the situation at the beginning of this scene. Now, they barely are able to hang around… they are hanging over the body of Jesus in a “haggard” kinda way. The music intensifies and at mark 00:36 the Father swipes at the closest demon with his arm in a broad stroke matching the duration and timing of the music. This demon flies head over heals off the stage running in complete terror. At mark 00:45 the second demon gets blown away in similar fashion. At mark 00:53 the head demon is taken care of. The Father now braces himself for the resurrection of Jesus. At mark 1:02 the music cue gives the Father place to use both hands to motion a lifting of something heavy. As he does this, Jesus raises slowly from under the burial cloth and stands up. At mark 1:10 the music hits a place where his hands come up in total victory and jubilation!! The Father comes down and hugs the son and they rejoice at being together again. The Father gives the son the golden sash.
Now, the toys run to Jesus and hug him and are quite happy to see him alive. As the music changes modes, Jesus calls out to the girl to come to him and she comes – reluctant but willingly. She puts the robe down that she had taken from him back in Scene IV and turns to leave him thinking that this is what he was calling her for. But he draws her in to him and hugs her long. He then turns to the boy and does the same call. The boy looks at the belt that he had taken from Jesus and considers his choice. The scene fades and music finishes with him half reaching out to Jesus. Jesus and the Father both extend their hands as far as they can go in reaching out to him but leave the final decision up to him. All freeze.

(At the end of The Gift, when Jesus and the Father hold out their hands to the Boy, the Boy ponders whether to run into Jesus’ arms. At this point, HOPE runs past the Boy, and runs into the arms of Jesus)

The End