What's "Racing to
chase Alice the Albatross" all about, anyway?
Prelude: Diving Bat Cavern (may be done in
front of curtain with very soft light)
A tour guide takes a group of tourists down into
Diving Bats Cavern to tell the history of The Darwin Group of Scientists
at Sand Walk Island which is a small island
between Hawaii and California discovered by Captain Clerke in 1779.
Clerke referred to the island as "a bit rock sticking out of the Pacific
Ocean." (TRACK 1, TRACK 10 with a narrator voice for listening)
Scene 1: Dippledoodle’s Cavern in Underground
Secret Passages
Desmond Dippledoodle (who insists that he is called
Desmond "Diabolical") is down in the Underground Secret Passages of Sand
Walk Island. He is putting a GPS tag on an albatross and the
Plastic Pirates are building large wooden crates. Desmond tells
the Plastic Pirates about the plan to unload the trash from cruise
liners, cargo ships and fishing boats in the crates in order to save the
vessels money on fuel. But what will they do with the trash they
"collect"? Hint: Not good! (TRACKS 2 and 3)
Scene 2: Wannaknow’s Classroom
Dr. William Wannaknow, a new environmental science
teacher at the Sand Walk Island Earth Academy, talks to his students
about the effects of plastics on the Earth. He shows how much oil
and water are needed to produce one plastic bottle of water. (You should
know that it is very resource intensive!) They also talk about the many
things we use each day which are made out of plastic. (And how
long do you think it takes to get rid of plastics?)
Scene 3: Director Peaderbody’s Office
Director Peaderbody is pacing back and forth in
obvious "worry mode". Dr. Wannaknow and Professor Curiosity come
to Peaderbody's office to discuss the whereabouts of the teacher, Larry
Gottfried, whom Dr. Wannaknow has just replaced. It turns out that
Larry Gottfried (who the students called "Godzilla") was not at
all who he claimed he was. Dr. Wannknow discovered that Gottfried
was his former roommate at the Sand Walk Island Earth Academy when he
was a student and his real name is Desmond Dippledoodle.
Dippledoodle was also the son of former Director Maria Frances Edwards,
who was the granddaughter of Sir James Phillip Edwards one of the
orginal founders of the Academy. But what is Dippledoodle up to
and where is he now? Peaderbody gives Dr. Wannknow and Professor
Curiosity the task of leading the Darwin Group to find the solution of
the trash coming in from the ocean and onto the shores of Sand Walk
Island. Before they head out to sea, Peaderbody takes them to the
Marine Medical Facility to show them an albatross which was found nearly
dead on the shores with the trash. What did they find in the
stomach of the albatross which the doctors nicknamed "Alice the
Albatross". (TRACK 4)
Scene 4: Eclipse Boat in the Pacific Ocean (night
time)
The students of The Darwin Group from the Academy are
out at sea with Dr. Wannknow and Professor Curiosity. Captain
Stuart Moser is sailing the Eclipse, a solar-powered catamaran.
Why are they so far out in the Pacific Ocean in a place known as the
Great Pacific Garbage Patch? What concrete solutions could the
Darwin Group offer to solve this problem of the trash on the beaches of
their island? Alice the Albatross landed on the Eclipse and Dr.
Wannknow noticed there was an approaching boat on his navigator screen.
This eventually leads to Dr. Wannknow discovering what Desmond
Dippledoodle and the Plastic Pirates were up to. (TRACKS
5,6,7,8)
Scene 5: Sand Walk Island Earth Academy (a
celebration)
The Darwin Group, Dr. Wannknow, Professor Curiosity
and Captain Moser are given a hero's welcome.
The Darwin Group proposes that their new friends, the Plastic Pirates,
should collect plastics from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and sell it
to a company on a nearby island to make clothes and cheap laptop
computers for people in poor countries. But what what happened to
Desmond Dippledoodle? (Hint: Unfortunately, Desmond will be
back until we can solve enough problems on the planet which he can not
profit from!). And what last deed did Alice the Albatross do
for the Sand Walk Island Earth Academy to save it from Dippledoodle's
evil plans? (TRACK 9)
CHARACTERS
Dr. William Wannaknow * (male or female as “Wilma”
Wannaknow)
Professor Curiosity * - male or female
Director P. T. Peaderbody * - m or f
Desmond Dippledoodle * (aliases: Larry Gottfried, Captain Double D, “Diabolical”)(m)
Captain Stuart Moser: captain of the „Eclipse“ – m or f
Plastic Pirates: Pete, Bertha, Einstein, Fatty, Ratty, Sam
Six Students – m or f
Six or nine albatross chicks
Ms. Simpleton, personal assistant to Director Peaderbody (f)
Professors Humbugger and Bubbletree (m or f)
Alice the Albatross – voice only (best with a microphone from backstage)
(m or f)
Narrator / Tour Guide (optional)
* These roles should be taken by actors / actresses
with a good command of English |
Racing to chase Alice the Albatross
