WE RAN AWAY TO WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

A short play by BEN, JAYCE, AND LIENN (HOLMES, GRADES 3-5), ADAPTED FROM THE BOOKS WE WERE TIRED OF LIVING IN A HOUSE BY LIESEL MOAK SKORPEN AND WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE BY MAURICE SENDAK

Characters: Big Sister, Little Sister, Little Brother, Big Brother, Bears/Wild Things, Max

Scene 1: The Siblings Leave Their House

Big Sister: Man, we were tired of living in a house!
Big Brother: So we packed our bags and moved to a tree.
Little Sister: We liked our tree. There was always a breeze in the afternoon and also a tiny speckled bird who sang all day, as well as our red and gold roof in autumn.
Little Brother: Well, we liked it until we tumbled out.
Little Sister: So we packed our bags with some souvenirs and moved to a pond. We really liked our pond.
Big Brother: We floated on a little raft and fished and chased dragonflies while frogs sang on Lily pads.
Big Sister: Well, we really liked it…until it sank.
Little Sister: So we packed our bags again and moved to a cave. We liked our cave.
Big Brother: We slept on cool moss, hunted blackberries, and drank water from the brook. We roasted walnuts over the fire, and explored every once and a while. We really liked our cave.
Little Brother: Until we met the bears!
Bears: Rawr!
Big brother: So we packed up once more and moved all the way to the ocean.
Big Sister: We built a huge sand castle of sea water and warm sand. We dove in the waves, hunted for treasure, and slept to the calm sounds of the sea. We liked the sea.
Little Sister: That was until the tide swept us away.
Big Brother: But then we found a private boat built just for us.
Big Sister: We sailed off through night and day and in and out of weeks and almost over a year to the place where the wild things are.
Little Sister: After we sailed all that way we arrived at an island. We liked our Island.
Big Brother: There were trees and caves and WILD THINGS!
Little Brother: Wait, WILD THINGS?
Wild Things: Rawr!

Scene 2: Max Enters!

Max: Why hello and welcome to MY island. You are just in time for the WILD RUMPUS!
Siblings: (The siblings shrug and then join Max and the Wild Things in dancing and “rawr”-ing at the moon. Then they line up and parade around the stage.)
Wild Things: (to the sibling:s) Oh please don’t go, we could eat you up we love you so!
Big Sister: But then, Max said…
Max: NO! I guess I will have to lock you up because the monsters have taken a shine to you, and I AM KING OF ALL WILD THINGS!
(The Wild things sadly make a monster arm cage around the siblings and then fall asleep standing up, snoring.)
Max: Awww, they are all sleepy from the rumpus.
Big Sister: We don’t like it here any more!
Little Sister: We want to go home!
Max: You are not going home, you are going to be the Wild Things’ supper tomorrow! (Max walks away.)
Big Brother: (speaking in loud whispers:) The Wild Things are sleepy.
Little Brother: (speaking in loud whispers:) So am I but I think we are going to need one more wild rumpus. JOIN ME!
Siblings: (The siblings RAWR and dance wildly. The Wild Things wake with a bratty and break apart allowing the siblings to run out.)
Big sister: The Wild Things roared their terrible roars.
Wild Things: ROAR!
Little Sister: They gnashed their terrible teeth.
Wild Things: GNASH GNASH GNASH!
Little Brother: They rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws!
Wild Things: (The Wild Things do that.)
Big brother: But we looked them right in their yellow eyes and tamed them by shouting
Siblings: BE STILL! (The kids get into the boat in a hurry and pretend to paddle.)
Big Sister: So we traveled back through night and day and in and out of weeks and almost over a year.
Little Brother: Across the beach, past a bear cave…
Big brother: Past a pond and a pretty tree…
Little sister: To the place where our house and parents and supper were waiting AND the food was still warm.

END