Act #1: What is this?

Listen to this play on the radio!

Roles:

Narrator/Director–Sarah Whitten

Nigerian Husband–Ibukun Onitiju

Japanese Wife/Script–Hideko Nagashima

American Waitress–Victoria Adellegan

Scene I: In Nigerian House

Nigerian Husband: What is this?

Japanese Wife: What is what?  This is just a stout beer bottle right?

Nigerian Husband: You buried this here—in this yard?

Japanese Wife: Oh, yes.  I didn’t know where to throw it so I dug the ground and buried.

Nigerian Husband: Why!?  Don’t you know this will bring bad luck?

Japanese Wife: Oh sorry.  I didn’t know.

Nigerian Husband: What is that?

Japanese Wife: My necklace.  I was cleaning the room and needed to hang it here.

Nigerian Husband: Why!?  Don’t you know this is taboo to hang the necklace at the door?

Japanese Wife:  Sorry…what is wrong with it?

Nigerian Husband: It means very bad…I forgive you since you are Japanese.

 Scene II: In Japanese House

Japanese Wife: What is this!?

Nigerian Husband: What?

Japanese Wife: Why are you sticking the chopsticks on the rice?

Nigerian Husband: I am just keeping them here…

Japanese Wife: Don’t you know it is taboo?  It is bad luck, stop, stop, stop!

Nigerian Husband: Oh…sorry..

Japanese Wife: We are traveling to U.S. next week.  You said you reserved hotel, what is the room number?

Nigerian Husband: No. 4

Japanese Wife: Did you reserve hotel room no. 4?

Nigerian Husband: Oh yah.  There are windows with wonderful views.

Japanese Wife: Don’t you know it is terrible bad luck!  Don’t reserve the room No.4 !  Change it right away!  It is non sense!

 Scene III: In restaurant in Grand Canyon, U.S.

Nigieran Husband:  Look at this Ground Canyon!  Wonderful!

Japanese Wife: It sure is.  Ah!

(Her hand mirror slides off her hands and is broken on the floor.)

American Waitress: Oops, bad luck!

Japanese Wife: Is it a bad luck?

American Waitress: Oh yes.

Japanese Wife: Is there any way to cancel out the bad luck? We have been doing too much bad luck lately.

American Waitress: Oh, yes.  Just keep this.  This will do.

Nigerian Husband: What is that?

American Waitress:  This is a rabbit foot.  We keep it on the key chain to protect us from bad luck.

Nigerian Husband: We have plenty of those at home…I catch rabbits—that is my profession.

American Waitress:  Then you don’t need to worry.  This will cancel all out.

Nigerian Husband:  Cancel all?  Whoa, then why did we worry so much about getting bad luck all this time?

Japanese Wife:  Rabbits’ foot?  Isn’t it a bad luck for rabbits themselves?

Nigerian Husband:  After all, whole things are ridiculous to even think about. Let’s live life without getting involved.

Japanese Wife:  You are right.  I wasted so much time worrying about nothing.

Narrator: Thus, the Nigerian husband and Japanese wife lived life happily ever after without worrying….