Written: Scott Wegener and the Edinburgh College drama class (a variation of Compassion Flakes)
Performance: Edinburgh College Arts Evening - November 10, 2015
Compassion = sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others
~Narrator:
Once upon a time there was a boy who, no matter what bad things happened to
people around him, wouldn't show any compassion... to anyone. In fact, you could say he was
the opposite of compassion!
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~Narrator:
Someone could fall
over.
Jessie: [falls over]
~Narrator: He wouldn't help, he would ...laugh.
Cameron: (Laughs)
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~Narrator:
He could find out a friend’s pet had died
Jessie: My cat, Fluffy,
got hit by a car yesterday.
~Narrator:
He wouldn't speak kindly, he would... Make fun.
Cameron: Doesn't surprise me - Fluffy as the dumbest
cat I know. Dumbest name for a cat with no hair too
Jessie: She had cancer
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~Narrator:
He might see someone being bullied
Jessie: [to imaginary
bullies] HEY, give me my lunch back!
~Narrator:
He wouldn't step in and help, he would... join in the bullying.
Cameron: Hahaha, got your lunch stolen, AGAIN!
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~Narrator:
If there was a story on the TV about thousands of people hurt and homeless from
an earthquake, he wouldn't care, he would... change the channel.....
Cameron: (Changes the channel)
~Narrator: to watch a game of football
...
Cameron: Hey, football!
~Narrator:
Between two teams he didn't even like.
Cameron: I hate these teams... Oh well.
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~Narrator:
If he saw a homeless person on the street, he wouldn't give them his
change... He'd go to Mc Donald's and eat only half the food he ordered...
Throwing out the rest.
Cameron: (Throws away bag)
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~Narrator:
If someone was afraid of flying,
Cameron: What's your problem?
Jessie: I’ve never flown before, not sure I can do
this.
~Narrator:
he wouldn't encourage them, he'd.... try and Scare them.
Cameron: Yep I think we will die, I saw one of the
wings had a big crack in it... But what can we do, the seat belt sign's on,
you'll make the plane
crash if you take your seatbelt off now anyway.... (Hehehe)
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~Narrator:
If he knew someone had their girlfriend break up with them,
Breakup 1: It’s over
Breakup 2: But... I love
you!!
~Narrator:
he wouldn't comfort them, he would ... Tease them.
Cameron: Haha, you're all alone again!
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~Narrator:
If an elderly person got on a bus and there were no seats,
Jessie: [walks up to
chairs]
~Narrator:
he would never move over.
Cameron: (Spreads out)
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~Narrator:
If he knew someone who was embarrassed about their body, he wouldn't ignore it,
but... make fun of it.
Cameron: Wow your chin is really, really, REALLY big!
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~Narrator:
If someone performed a musical item and they made a mistake,
Jessie: [plays item makes
mistake]
~Narrator:
He wouldn't ignore the error, he would tell everyone around him about the mistake.
Cameron: Did you hear that mistake, yeah terrible
player, what about you, did you hear the mistake...
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~Narrator:
It seemed, No matter what misfortune happened to others around him - he NEVER
showed any compassion to anyone, UNTIL ...
One day the boy went
to a doctor for an annual check-up.
The doctor was
running very late, which annoyed the uncompassionate.
Cameron: What’s taking you so long!
~Narrator: Said the boy. And the doctor proceeded to
tell him about the bad news he had to tell his previous patient.
Cameron: That’s no excuse!
~Narrator: Said the boy.
Cameron: I’m not dying and I’m in a hurry to go play
my Xbox.
~Narrator: The Doctor was shocked at his lack of
compassion. In fact He’d never seen such a bad case in the years he’d been
practicing medicine – other than on Youtube.
So the Doctor got out
a compassion vaccine and, while distracting the boy by pointing out someone else’s
misfortune, he quickly injected the man without him even knowing.
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~Narrator: The next morning, while watching the morning
news the boy noticed something strange happening.
He was feeling
sorry for the people who were homeless from the earthquake! He actually wanted
to find a way to help them, and one of his eyes even started to cry a
little!
It seemed this boy
now had compassion!
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~Narrator: From that day on, If he saw someone fall
over,
Jessie: [falls over]
~Narrator:
He wouldn't laugh he would ...help.
Cameron: (Helps)
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~Narrator:
If a friend's pet had died, he would speak...kindly,
Cameron: I'm sorry to hear about your pet!
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~Narrator:
If he saw someone being bullied He would... be a friend.
Cameron: Got your lunch stolen again? Want some of
mine.
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~Narrator:
If he saw a homeless person on the street... he would give them his change.
Cameron: (Gives change)
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~Narrator:
If someone was afraid of flying, He would... encourage them.
Cameron: We'll be fine - I fly all the time!
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~Narrator:
If he knew someone had their girlfriend break up with them, he would ...
comfort them
Cameron: Mate we should go play some basketball, help
you take your mind off her.
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~Narrator:
If an elderly person got on a bus and there were no seats, he would ... stand
and offer his seat
Cameron: (Stands )
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~Narrator:
If he knew someone who was embarrassed about their body, he would ignore it.
Cameron: (notices a BIG chin, but says) Umm, how about
the weather!
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~Narrator:
If someone performed a musical item and they made a mistake, he would ...
ignore the error and encourage them
Cameron: Nice item! Well done.
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~Narrator:
In fact, with his life filled with compassion, he was now one of the nicest
people you'll ever meet.
Fortunately, you CAN choose to be compassionate all by yourself, without the need of a mysterious injection.
And I think we all
agree, if everyone was compassionate, what a better world it would be to live
in! (drop script on ground)
Cameron: Haha, you drop your script.
[Narrator gives a disappointed glare to Cameron.
Doctor comes out, jabs Cameron again.]
Cameron: Well done. Well read. Give her a round of applause everyone.
[All walk off stage.]