Two one-minute play for Gone in Sixty Seconds - A Theatre Quest
NOTE: Details are given to give the play a feeling of completeness. If some ideas are not feasible, either due to time-constraints or lack of materials, they may be changed as seen fit. Remember that they are only suggestions and you have the final say on what appears on stage.
In each play, there are 2 main characters, the GENIE and the MAN, the latter being the one who makes the wishes. The GENIE is wearing baggy, colorful clothing, and appears and disappears in a puff of smoke. The GENIE’s bottle is colorful and shiny, so that it is noticeable onstage. Most of the action takes place center stage, unless specified otherwise.
The Third Wish
Both the MAN and the GENIE are standing onstage, the MAN closer to stage right, and the GENIE closer to stage left. The MAN is holding the GENIE’s bottle in his hand, but looks quite confused at the sight of the GENIE before him.
GENIE: All right. You have just one more wish left. Wish wisely.
MAN: Pardon me? (looks at the bottle in his hand, then back at the GENIE) I don’t seem to understand.
GENIE: (sighs) You rubbed the lamp, releasing me from a thousand years of imprisonment. I am bound to repay that favor by granting you three wishes. Your second wish was to restore things to how they used to be before you made your first wish. This is why you have no memory of these things.
MAN: Oh, NOW I understand. (begins to rub his chin in thought) So…I have one more wish remaining, correct?
GENIE: Yes, Master, that is correct. And remember, you may not wish for more wishes.
MAN: Then I should really make this one count, shouldn’t I?
GENIE: (exasperated and annoyed) Yes, and can we please move things along? I don’t have all day to stand around and chat, you know.
MAN: (stops rubbing chin and raises hand with index finger extended in excitement, while shouting his third wish) I’VE GOT IT! I WISH THAT I WAS IRRESISTIBLE TO WOMEN! (a broad smile appears on the MAN’s face)
GENIE: Your wish is my command, Master. It shall be so. (bows deeply) I shall now be taking my leave. (turns to leave stage left)
MAN: WAIT! (rushes forward to stop the GENIE before he leaves) Before you go, you have to tell me one thing. What was my first wish – the one I asked you to reverse?
GENIE: (turns to face the MAN) Your first wish? Your first wish was identical to your third. (turns to leave, and disappears in a puff of smoke)
Curtains Fall
Even Some Wishes Are Impossible to Grant
A MAN is walking casually from stage right to stage left as if he is going for a night stroll along the beach, staring up at the stars and the like.
MAN: It sure is a lovely, English night.
At about center stage, he bumps into a GENIE’s bottle barely above the sand and almost trips over it.
MAN: I almost broke my neck due to this thing. I wonder what it is… (turns to face the direction of the bottle and where he came from, stage right, removes the bottle from the ground, turns it over in his hands, and starts to rub it clean) It seems a bit dirty. Let me clean it up a bit…
Suddenly, in a puff of smoke, the GENIE appears onstage from stage right
GENIE: For your kindness of releasing me, I will grant you one wish, and one wish only.
MAN: (pauses a few seconds to think) Well, I have always wanted to go to New York, but have never been able to do so because I’m afraid of flying, and ships make me claustrophobic and ill. So, I wish for a bridge to be built from here to New York.
GENIE: (hesitates to contemplate the MAN’s wish) No, I don’t think that I can do that. Just think of all the work involved with building such a thing. The pilings needed to hold up the highway would be immense, and imagine how deep they would have to be to reach the bottom of the ocean. Consider all the concrete that would be needed, not to mention the surfacing, drainage systems, lighting … No, that is TOO much to ask.
MAN: (dwells upon this shortly) There is one other thing that I have always wanted. I would like to be able to understand women. What makes them laugh and cry, why they are temperamental, and why they are so difficult to get along with? Basically, what makes them tick?
GENIE: (pauses and rubs chin while considering this request, finally responding in a defeated manner) So, do you want two lanes or four?
Curtains Fall