THE BEANSTALK
A 5-minute one-person play (with optional silent role)
by Tara Meddaugh
Jack has impulsively climbed the giant beanstalk that had somehow appeared in his backyard over night. While it was exciting climbing up, he is starting to feel kind of lonely now…missing Mother, Brown Cow and even Fence Post. And the worst part of all…while it would be nice to climb down back to home…he realizes…he’s kind of stuck. And doesn’t want to be the laughing stock of the village, once again, as the boy who got stuck in a giant beanstalk. He solicits the help of a passing raven who has taken the time to stop and observe this strange human creature way up in the clouds. And maybe Jack’s solution isn’t really about climbing down the beanstalk…
DETAILS
Genre: COMEDY/DRAMA
Cast: MALE (FEMALE)
Setting: A GIANT BEANSTALK
Age range: 12-25 years old
Running time: 3-6 minutes
*Adapted from the 10-minute play, Jack and Dear Raven.
EXCERPT BELOW
JACK
Please don’t poke my eyes out! I’m not—I’m not an evil stepsister! Just a boy! No curses on me! I promise! (looks anxiously around then realizes raven won’t hurt him) So you—so you won’t…peck my eyes? Can we agree…to not do that? Because… because if you won’t…if you have no intention of hurting me, then…would you…would you mind staying with me? For a bit? I’m awfully lonely up here, Dear Raven. I hope it’s okay that I call you that because you are. Dear—that is. You’re the only creature that has stopped to see me. (pause) See, I didn’t…really…think that I’d make it up this far. I didn’t really think it through at all. Mother keeps telling me that’s my problem—I don’t think, I don’t think! I guess she’s right… because now that I think about it…not thinking has landed me in quite a few pickles. Even just yesterday, I chased after what I thought was a sack of coins, but don’t you know, Dear Raven, I chased that sack of coins right into a cave and turns out the sack of coins was a baby bear! (pause) And his mama was not pleased with me. (pause) Still. I managed my way out of that pickle. As I always do, because my body reacts even if I don’t think. But Dear Raven…my body is not helping me out of this pickle. Not this time. (pause) Oh, climbing up here was easy. Put one foot in front of the other. Mother says I’ve always been a climber. It must be an instinct. When I was nine months old, she found me sitting on top of the brown cow in the barn one morning. But how long was I sitting there before she found me and she brought me down? (pause) I’ve never considered myself afraid of heights before, but it’s not really the climbing up that scares me. It’s the getting down, Dear Raven. (pause) You see, I think I’m stuck here on this giant beanstalk. (pause) Oh, I’ve tried climbing backwards already. I—END OF EXCERPT—
Click below for the completely version of the 5-minute-monologue, The Beanstalk.
To learn more about Jack and read the ten-minute play from which this monologue was edited, check out Jack and Dear Raven below.
Jack didn’t give it much thought when he climbed up the 15,000 foot beanstalk. But now that he has reached the clouds, he is starting to miss his mother, his turkey, and even his fence post. Unfortunately, he appears to be stuck and unable to climb back down the slippery stalk which was so easy to climb up. When a roving black bird passes by, Jack solicits his company and aid in figuring out how on earth he should now get down the beanstalk he has carelessly climbed up. Unless, of course, he is not meant to climb down.
-This play runs around 15 minutes, for 2 actors (2 m or 1 m/1f), with a minimal set.