Narrator

Body

Brain

Eyes

Ears

Nose

Tongue

Skin

Audience (3+)

Teacher

Rotten food

Microphone

8 Chairs

Vulture doll

Stage is dimly lit. Eight chairs are at the back. Narrator sits in the chair on the right. Brain, Eyes, Ears, Nose, Tongue, and Skin sit on the left side. Body waits off stage on the right. A pile of rotten food lies in the middle of the floor at front of stage. Teacher waits on the left side of the stage.

Narrator:

A student lost in the desert, relying on senses to survive. Watch what happens when you have common senses, but no common sense.

Body:

(wanders onto the stage from the right, looks up at the sky)

Skin:

I'm feeling heat on my head, arms, and feet.

Brain:

Body, you need to get in the shade or cover up your exposed skin. The sun is too hot.

Body:

(shrugs, stumbles to center stage, trips over a pile of rotten food) I'm so hungry!

Nose:

That doesn't smell good.

Ears:

I think I hear flies buzzing on it.

Brain:

Eyes, can you confirm flies?

Eyes:

Yes, and the flesh looks like it's been rotting for a while.

Body:

(rips off a piece of rotten food)

Skin:

This doesn't feel like something we should eat. And, just a reminder, we're getting too hot.

Body:

(brings food to mouth)

Brain:

Stop! Stop! That food is rotten! If you eat that, we'll be sick. It could kill us!

Body:

(lowers food) But I'm hungry.

Brain:

Eyes say it's rotten. Ears hear flies on it. Nose and skin are also alarmed. Listen to your senses!

Body:

I'm hungry. I can hold my nose and shut my eyes while I eat it. Yes, that's the thing to do. (lifts food to mouth)

All Senses:

Listen to us! We are here for a reason!

Body:

(closes eyes, holds nose, takes a bite)

Tongue:

It's rancid! It tastes fowl!

Nose:

I could verify that if I weren't being squeezed shut.

Brain:

Spit it out! Spit it out!

Body:

It does taste bad, but holding my nose helps get it down.

Skin:

We're getting too hot!

Brain:

Spit that nasty stuff out. And cover your head before you pass out.

Body:

(bends over in pain, falls on face)

Brain:

What's happening? Senses, report to me! What's happening?

Skin:

We're lying in the sand, and we're still too hot, way too hot. Reaching critical levels!

Nose:

I can still smell that nasty rotting food.

Tongue:

That's nothing! I can taste it and feel it on me.

Brain:

Eyes, what do you see? I'm getting reports from the stomach that something is on its way back up.

Tongue:

(sarcastically) Oh, great. A present for me.

Eyes:

Can't see a thing now. We saw sand moving fast toward us, then nothing. Our lids must have closed to keep the sand out.

Brain:

Tongue, prepare for-

Tongue:

Yeah. I know. I know. I'm waiting with anticipation.

Ears:

Um, I think I hear vultures nearby, on our left.

Brain:

Can anyone verify? (silence) Body, get up! Get up! There might be vultures near by!

Body:

(groans and lies still)

Skin:

Um, brain, we're still hot.

Brain:

Yes, I know, I know. We have a more immediate threat now. There might be vultures preparing to eat us. Can anyone verify?

Skin:

Brain-

Brain:

We'll take care of the heat in a minute, skin.

Skin:

No, brain. I have something else to report. There's something nibbling on our toe.

Lights are turned up to see the stage clearly, so it looks like an odd talk show.

Narrator:

(hops up out of chair) Well, that was quite shocking to watch! Wouldn't you agree, audience? (murmurs of agreement from audience)

Welcome to Body Talk. Today's show is about common senses and common sense. You have just witnessed the senses, but I have yet to see anything that makes sense.

(turns to brain) You know, I never knew that senses could be involved in such dysfunctional relationships.

Brain:

Could I say something?

Narrator:

(brings microphone to brain)

Brain:

I wouldn't call it dysfunctional.

Narrator:

Baby, your body's lying there with a vulture nibbling on its toes. I don't think that's working for you. Unless your goal in life is to be bird feed. (thrusts microphone at brain) Is that your goal, brain?

Brain:

(frowns and doesn't answer)

Narrator:

Skin, how are you feeling about all this? (holds microphone out to Skin)

Skin:

Well, I feel ignored of course.

Narrator:

So, this wasn't the first time that something like this happened?

Skin:

No, it happens all the time. (grabs microphone from Narrator) There's the sunburn. This body never puts on any sunscreen. I mean, everyone knows that exposure like this can lead to skin cancer, but does anyone listen to me? Do they? No!

Narrator:

(reaches for microphone, Skin pulls it away)

Skin:

You'd think they'd appreciate me. I mean, I warn them about burns, cuts, scrapes. (points finger at body) Who told you to drop that knife in '98 and apply pressure to your cut?

Brain:

Well, technically that was I. You just reported the cut to me, and the spinal cord and myself decided on what action to take.

Skin:

Whatever! You couldn't do that without me! And who tells you about mosquitoes that are about to bite you and cold breezes and boiling water and snow in your boots and tickling! Yeah, tickling! That's all me too!

Narrator:

(grabs microphone from skin and holds it out to brain) Brain, how do you respond to that?

Brain:

(shrugs) It's all true.

Narrator:

(runs back to skin) Brain admits it's true. Do you have anything else you'd like to say?

Skin:

Yeah. Those wool sweaters are really itchy.

Narrator:

Interesting...to someone else, I guess. (laughs) Who else wants to talk?

Nose:

Well, I do.

Narrator:

(brings microphone to nose) Go ahead.

Nose:

It's not all about any one of us. We work together. I mean, tongue needs me to taste better.

Tongue:

(laughs) Yeah, when we have a cold and nose is stuffed up, I can't taste nothing.

Narrator:

Nothing at all? Interesting. So, you are completely dependent on the nose. Are you...codependents?

Tongue:

What? We work together. I can taste the basic flavors, on my own, but not much more that that without the nose. But tasting isn't all I do. I sense textures and the temperature of things.

Narrator:

Like the skin does?

Tongue:

Yeah. It's important to know if the hot chocolate is too hot or the shiny apple is made of plastic.

Narrator:

Yes, I guess that would be important. So, you were talking about working together, but I am only hearing about your special relationship with the nose. Do you really have anything to do with the rest of these senses?

Tongue:

Yeah. The eyes always pick out the best looking fruit to eat. The skin tests the texture of the peel. The nose puts in a vote, and I confirm their choice. They do a pretty good job. I don't have to spit out much.

Narrator:

And the ears, sounds like they don't do a lot for you. Do you resent their special placement on the head?

Ears:

Hey! Wait a min-

Tongue:

No! That's not true. The ears saved our life that one day. Remember, back in the park?

All Senses:

(nod, serious expressions)

Tongue:

It was the fourth of July. We were at a picnic. There was a beautiful bush of fresh berries. The eyes liked what they saw. The nose agreed. Skin thought they felt plump and juicy. Those berries were rolling across me on their way to the back teeth when the ears reported "I heard someone say 'Don't eat those. They're poisonous!'" Saved our life.

All Senses:

(nod)

Narrator:

Wow. That's quite a story. So, you guys really do get along.

Eyes:

Yeah. We have a lot of fun hanging out, sharing our experiences, getting a better understanding of the world. We've had some real adventures.

Ears:

And some close calls.

All Senses:

(laugh)

Narrator:

So, you socialize outside of the office in your free time? That's great. Isn't it audience?

Eyes:

Uh, what free time? We're all part of the body.

Narrator:

So, you're working all the time? What dedication! What teamwork! How inspiring How- (looks down at the body lying on the ground) How did this happen?

Ears:

That would be one of those close calls we were talking about.

Narrator:

I see. So, there's hope?

Brain:

There's always hope with this team on the job.

Narrator:

(nods) Let's watch the rest of the clip. Would you like to see the rest of the clip, audience?

Audience:

(claps)

Narrator:

Roll that clip.

(lights dim)

Brain:

Move that toe, body. Let it know you're alive! You can do it!

Body:

(moves foot)

Vulture:

(squawking noise, flapping wings)

Brain:

Now, get that rotting food out of your system.

Body:

(vomits)

Brain:

Great job, muscles! Thanks, tongue.

Tongue:

You're welcome. (spits)

Brain:

Now, let's get covered up. Suggestions?

Eyes:

There's a tear on the shirt.

Brain:

That'll make it easier to rip.

Body:

(tears off piece of shirt)

Brain:

Make a hat.

Body:

(makes a hat out of the cloth)

Brain:

How does that look, eyes?

Eyes:

Looks good.

Brain:

Good. Let's put that on the head.

Body:

(puts hat on head)

Brain:

Skin, do you have a report?

Skin:

It's going to take a while to feel better, but that's definitely starting to help.

Brain:

Great. Senses, I need you to work together to get us out of here. Anyone have something to say?

Eyes:

I might see something in the distance.

Brain:

Could be a mirage. Do I have any confirmations?

Ears:

I think I hear splashing.

Brain

Maybe water. What direction is the sound coming from?

Ears:

It's a little stronger in my left ear.

Brain:

Okay. Body, start moving a little to the left.

Nose:

I smell hotdogs.

Tongue:

I can almost taste them.

Brain:

Hotdogs in the desert?

Skin:

It feels cooler over here.

Ears:

I hear other people.

Brain:

Keep moving.

Teacher:

(walks onto left side of stage) There you are, Sam. Where have you been? How did you manage to get lost in the desert exhibit? You're lucky you didn't get heat stroke in there.

(puts arm around body) Everyone's having lunch. Come join them.

(looks at body closely) What happened to your shirt? Did you get attacked by one of the iguanas? (laughs) What am I going to tell your parents?

(lights come up)

Narrator:

(moves to the front of the stage) I know one thing you can tell those parents, teacher: using your senses is just common sense!

Let's give a hand to our guests: the senses!

(whispers) I'm sorry, audience. I was hoping there'd be more drama with the vulture too. I mean this is sweeps week. (shakes head)

Anyway, that's all the time we have for the show today. Join us tomorrow when my guests will be the bones. Hear their tales of breaking, shattering, and mending. I have a feeling it's going to be a tearjerker. That's tomorrow on Body Talk.