ICHABOD
CRANE: (M, 126 lines)
Lanky,
pompous schoolmaster from Connecticut.
KATRINA:
(F, 50 lines)
Coy
young charmer, the subject of Ichabod's and Brom's adoring affection.
BROM
BONES: (M, 66 lines)
Ichabod's
roaring, roistering rival.
WASHINGTON:
(M, 28 lines) Storyteller.
IRVING:
(M, 28 lines) Storyteller.
EMILY:
(F, 35 lines) Storyteller.
CHARLOTTE:
(F, 35 lines) Storyteller.
GILES:
(M, 26 lines) Storyteller.
FRAN:
(F, 25 lines) Storyteller.
VAN
TASSEL: (M, 10 lines) Katrina's father.
CLAUS:
(M, 10 lines) Sleepy Hollow Boy, Van Tassel's friend.
SEBASTIAN:
(M, 4 lines) Sleepy Hollow Boy, Brom's gang.
ULRICH:
(M, 5 lines) Sleepy Hollow Boy, Brom's gang.
NATHAN:
(M, 5 lines) Sleepy Hollow Boy, Brom's gang.
PETER:
(M, 2 lines) Schoolboy.
JUDITH:
(F, 8 lines) Schoolgirl.
HANSEL:
(M, 5 lines) Schoolboy.
SADIE:
(F, 4 lines) Schoolgirl.
WILHEMINA:
(F, 14 lines) Tea Lady.
GRETA:
(F, 13 lines) Tea Lady.
VAN
RIPPER: (M, 7 lines) Horse Gunpowder's owner.
HEADLESS
HORSEMAN: (M, 1 line, lots of action)
Brom
in disguise; may be played by another actor.
NOTE:
With minor adjustments STORYTELLERS, SLEEPY HOLLOW BOYS, SCHOOL
CHILDREN, and others may be played by male or female actors.
For a larger cast increase the number of actors in these groups. For
a smaller cast some actors can play multiple roles.
THE
LEGEND
OF SLEEPY HOLLOW
WHY
IS THIS PLAY BEST FOR YOUR SCHOOL?
Easy
Choice! Top Quality! All
of these plays were professionally developed by ArtReach Touring
Theatre or were commissioned by Professional LORTS like Florida Rep
and Rep of St. Louis. All have had professional tours to
theatres and schools across the country. Many have won awards
in High School One Act Play Contests, Drama and Thespian Speech and
Theatre Competitions.
Easy Staging and Travel! Competitions
rarely take place on your own stage! These One Act Plays have
been designed to travel to the Contest Host Theatre on that important
competition day. All have easy staging, simple sets & costumes,
minimal props, flexible tech for a mainstage or gym/open facility
performance space. At last your students can worry about their
performance, not the set!
Easy to Adapt with Flexible Casting!
When you license any of our One Act Plays you have permission to cut,
adapt and adjust cast size! You also have permission to make a
video or DVD of the production! At last, you are allowed to
adapt a play to your students' needs!
Easy Budget! These
One Act Plays, can be successfully produced on limited budgets and
by small or expanded student casts with little or no tech
assistance. Many have great background CDs for an easy,
inexpensive professional touch!
Easy Ordering! Follow
the steps to order and pay your royalty, once you've paid,
you're good to go! No complicated applications and the
endless trouble of getting permission to make changes for your
students' needs!
Tried
and True! Our
One Act Plays have been performed literally thousands of times by
many professional theatres such as Stella Adler Theatre, Solano Youth
Theatre, Nebraska Theatre Caravan, Singapore Repertory Theatre,
George Street Players, Fulton Theatre Company, Indiana Repertory
Theatre, Boarshead Theatre, Virginia Stage, Honolulu Theatre for
Youth, Kennedy Center and Sundance Children's Theatre, to name a
few. High Schools, Junior Highs, Middle Schools have been
performing these plays for over 30 years!
WASHINGTON:
Along about midnight, after the ladies had retired, the men folk gathered...
IRVING:
...as was their custom...
EMILY:
...around the fire to tell tales of ghosts and strange sights...
CHARLOTTE:
...as the neighborhood is rich in legendary treasures of the kind.
(ICHABOD
gathers, as if by a fire, warming his hands. He may be eating, but
he obviously drinks in all BROM says. STORYTELLERS circle him when
the speak as the SLEEPY HOLLOW BOYS did earlier.)
GILES:
Many dismal tales were told about...
FRAN:
...funeral trains...
WASHINGTON:
...MOURNING CRIES...
IRVING:
...and wailing were heard from the soul of Major André who
haunts the place.
ICHABOD:
Major André?
EMILY:
There was also the story of...
(STORYTELLERS
exit.)
BROM: (Moving
in on ICHABOD.) ...the woman in white... she was often heard to
shriek on winter nights before a storm, having died there in the snow.
ICHABOD:
In... in the snow?
(BROM
puts tablecloth on his head and shrieks -- scaring the daylights out
of ICHABOD.)
BROM: (Getting
cozy, sitting beside ICHABOD.) And then there’s my favorite
story, Ichabod. The one about the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow.
Some of the folk around here say he was a German trouper. They say
that during the Revolutionary War his head was carried off by a
cannonball... (BROM
uses a jack-o-lantern to represent the head and thrusts it toward
ICHABOD.) BOOM!
ICHABOD: (Jumping.)
Do tell.
BROM:
They say he rides at night as if on the wings of the wind. He rides
back to the battlefield. (He brings the jack-o-lantern close to ICHABOD.)
Guess what’s his favorite spot for haunting?
ICHABOD:
I... I’m... sure I couldn’t say.
BROM:
Remember the bridge, school teach? The church bridge?
ICHABOD:
The ch-ch-church br-br-bridge?
BROM:
Did you notice anything special about that covered bridge?
ICHABOD:
It seemed... well... somewhat...
BROM:
Somewhat... what?
ICHABOD:
Well... just a touch... dark...
BROM: And?
ICHABOD:
And frightening.
BROM: AND?
ICHABOD: (Shrieks.)
Haunted! It seemed haunted!
BROM: (Smiling
with satisfaction.) The church bridge is one of his favorite
haunts, school teach. You’ll have to be careful going home
tonight, Ichabod. Halloween is his favorite time of year. But
don’t worry. Everyone knows – once you cross the bridge,
you’re safe.
ICHABOD: (Cautiously
relieved.) S-s-safe?
BROM:
If you get across it before you meet the Headless Horseman. Good
luck, Ichabod. (He leaves, exiting, laughing maniacally.)
(CHARLOTTE
enters and "rebuilds" Gunpowder.)
CHARLOTTE:
With a heavy heart and a worried soul Ichabod roused Gunpowder...
(ICHABOD
gets on "horse".)
ICHABOD:
Come on, boy.
CHARLOTTE: (Handing
ICHABOD the reins/bucket rope handle.) ...and set out for home.
(OTHER
STORYTELLERS enter, turn all the trees back to original positions,
leaving the stark black silhouettes. Throughout the scene, they will
perform the necessary sounds, trees, horses, etc., while using the
cymbal for emphasis.)
GILES:
All the stories of ghosts and goblins now came crowding into his mind.
ICHABOD:
Major André...
FRAN:
The night drew darker and darker.
ICHABOD:
The woman in white!
WASHINGTON:
The stars seemed to sink deeper in the sky. (Music becomes more ominous.)
ICHABOD:
THE H-h-h-headless... (Can’t say it, gulps.) Horse...
horseman. Oooh... Come on, Gunpowder. Come on, boy. (Gunpowder
does not respond but continues in a plodding, rhythmic jaunt.)
IRVING:
Soon he came upon the very spot where Major André was taken prisoner...
EMILY:
...a tree that had since been named, Andre’s Tree.
CHARLOTTE: (Moving
tree to center of playing area, whispering.) Ich-a-bod! Ich-a-bod!
ICHABOD: (Dismounts,
falls to his knees, pleading with the tree.) Major André?
M-m-major... Major... I wish you no harm, sir, or ghost... uh...
spirit. Please rest in peace, I only want to pass by. I do not wish
to disturb your... uh... slumber, sir... uh... ghost-sir.
(CHARLOTTE
tips Andre's Tree so that it leans over ICHABOD'S head. He looks up,
cries out!)
GILES: Ich-a-bod!
ICHABOD: (Leaps
back onto Gunpowder, closes his eye and prays.) Oh, please let
me pass, oh please let me pass, oh...
(STORYTELLERS
swirl trees swirl around him, then freeze. ICHABOD opens his eyes.)
There
now, see, Gunpowder? Trees don’t move.
Note:
This is a sample from the actual script. To review the entire
play, order the PERUSAL SCRIPT (online instant download).
