On the Mayflower by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of Houghton Mifflin Company unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Address inquiries to School Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Company, 222 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116. Printed in the U.S.A. ISBN 10: 0-547-01273-X 123456789-RDT-13 12 11 10 09 08 07 ISBN 13: 978-0-547-01273-5
historian TV director and camera head of costumes and props mother daughter baby son cooper, a Pilgrim leader the Mayflower s captain sounds, songs, cheers Set for TV show The present
ACT I Okay, everyone. We have two days to tape our TV show, On the Mayflower. I have a question. Yes, John? What am I wearing for this scene? A cap, shirt, suit, stockings, garters, and shoes. Stockings and garters? No way! (smiling) Yes way! Men wore stockings back then. And garters will hold up your stockings. (frowning) I ll go and change.
Are there any other questions? Yes. What is that box on rockers? It s a cradle like the one on the Mayflower. We built it for your baby in this scene. Thanks! I have a question. Why can t I eat an orange in this scene? Sorry. There weren t any fresh fruits OR veggies on the Mayflower. We don t have many props. Is that okay?
Yes, because the Pilgrims didn t bring much with them. There wasn t room on the ship. What did they bring? Barrels of food and a few chests. Did they bring books? Yes. They also brought tools for cooking and building. More questions? (looking around) No? Let s get started. Places, everyone! (The actors move into position.) (pointing the camera at the actors) Roll camera and ACTION! (cheering) Hooray! A brand new baby boy. Hooray!
WAH! WAH! WAAAHHHHH! (rocking the baby in a cradle) There, there, little one. Don t cry. This is a special day. Here, here! our ship. This is the first baby born on WAH! WAH! WAAAHHHHH! (laughing) and a healthy one at that! (shooing everyone away) Now let the baby rest. Constance, please get breakfast ready while I care for the baby.
Cold biscuits and cheese again! I wish we had fruit. Sorry, daughter. Be thankful for the food we do have. I will set out the food. Then I will.uh uh uh wash our clothing. CUT! (All of the actors look at Jasmine.) You were supposed to say: I will set out the dishes, too. I forgot my line! Anyway, why can t I say that? The Pilgrims didn t wash clothes on the Mayflower. They didn t take baths either!
Why not? They had little fresh water. It was only used for drinking. Constance, please say your line again. Then this scene is done. ACT II The next day on the set John? Sailors? Do you have your tools for the next scene? and Yes! (to the Hopkins family) Do you have your oilcloths? Oilcloths? What are they?
Blankets, remember? They re made from old sails coated with oil. Wrap one around yourself. Act as if you are cold. Are we ready? Places, everyone! (The actors move into position.) (pointing the camera at the actors) Roll camera and ACTION! Whoosh whoosh.whoosh! It is so windy and cloudy. The waves are high, too. Brrrr. I am so cold. And the ship is rocking. I feel sick! Wah! Wah! WAHHHHHH!
Come, Constance. Let us go below with the baby. We will try and warm up. Good idea! You will be safer and warmer down below. (A few minutes later) Creak.creeeaaaaak.CRASH! All hands on deck! Aye, aye, Captain! What is the problem, Captain? The main beam has cracked! Should we turn back?
We have come too far. We cannot turn back! Do you think we can fix the beam? Yes. Men, get your tools. We must fix the beam. Aye, aye, Captain! John, see if the barrels are safe. I will. We don t want saltwater getting into our fresh water or our food. (Ana s cell phone rings.) Brrring, brrring! CUT! What now? Sorry! I ll turn my phone off. The props for the next scene just arrived.
That s okay. It s a good time to take a lunch break. (louder) One hour, everyone! ACT III One hour later on the set Are we ready to tape the last scene? (looking around) Places, everyone! (The actors move into position.) (pointing the camera at the actors) Roll camera and ACTION! (The ship s bell rings.) Ding, ding Ding, ding! Ahoy! There is land ahead. Prepare the ship.
Aye, aye, Captain! (cheering) Land! Land! I see a long, curving beach ahead. This is the first land we ve seen in more than two months. Soon we will build our new community. to drink. I hope we find fresh water I cannot wait to wash my clothing. We can plant fruits and vegetables. We can have hot meals.
Coo, coo. Gurgle, gurgle. (Everyone laughs.) Your baby brother is very happy. This will be his very first home. Here, here! I cannot wait to meet new friends! (looking around) Everyone, it is time to begin our new lives.
And.CUT! That was terrific! (clapping and cheering) Hooray! Great! See you at the cast party.
Glossary captain a person who is in charge of a ship and its sailors cooper a person who builds and fixes barrels cradle a small low bed for a baby garter a band worn around the leg to hold up a stocking historian a person who studies the past Mayflower the ship that sailed from England to America carrying the Pilgrims in 1620 Pilgrims a group of people who left England and came to America to be free