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Stories by: Tsvetyna Arabadzhieva and Yana Minkova
Director: Yulie Great Script: Alex and Ellie Great Music: Nikolay Bosev Choreography: Sonya Arabadzhieva Songs: Duo Reverance Costumes: Izabela Shopova Stage Designer: Yulie Great Consultant: Antoinette Everts and Nina Minkova
Characters and Actors
Act I Merchant – Yulie Great Servant 2 – Boyana Shopova Servant 1 – Maria Demerdjieva Servant 3 – Tsvetyna Arabadzhieva Farmer – Boris Ivanov Storyteller – Boko Great Bonka – Maria Demerdjieva Kmeta - Simeon Penka – Lili Peneva Hristina – Miriam Tafira Master – Simeon Girl – Yana Minkova
Act II 1. Road Sign – Boris Ivanov 2. Guide - Great China Wall – 3. Guide - Taj Mahal – Simeon Ivanov 4. Artisan – Pyramids of Egypt - Boko Great 5. Guide - Acropolis, slide Athena – Boyana Shopova 6. Guide - Christ the Redeemer – Maia /Janathicen/ 7. Guide – Stonehenge – Miriam Tafira 8. Guide - Eiffel tower – Yana Minkova 9. Juggler – Boko Great Act I
Episode I
Scene I
Music
Storyteller: - Hello everybody! Welcome! This looks like an interesting place. I have the feeling that something is going to happen here. /looks around/ While we are waiting for something to happen I’ll tell you a story. /pause/ Once upon a time there was a wealthy merchant.
/enters merchant and servants/
Merchant: - Faithful servants. I am going on a long journey. While I am gone here are five talents for you.
Servant3: - Thank you Master.
Merchant: - two talents for you.
Servant2: - Thank you Master.
Merchant: - and for you, one talent
Servant1: - Thank you Master.
Merchant: - There! I have given talents according to your ability. Take care!
Scene II
One of the servants sees a merchant of grain.
Servant2: - What to do with my talents? The master told me to be careful. I need to think about the future. What is this?
Farmer: - Grain.
Servant2: - How much for a sack of grain?
Farmer: - Two talents.
Servant2: - Give me one sack.
/the servant2 takes the sack and pretending it’s too heavy starts walking /
Scene III
/soon he meets a Storyteller. /
Storyteller: - /to the servant. Where are you going?
Servant2: - I am trying to take this heavy sack of grain home. It is very heavy and will hardly last us for a year but I spent all my money. Can you help me?
Storyteller: - You don’t know how lucky you are! Of course I can. I can make the sack easier to carry and last longer at the same time. Give me that sack. I’ll show you!
/the servant reluctantly hands the sack the Storyteller who opens it and starts throwing the seeds (sweets) in the audience. /
Servant2: - Stop. What are you doing? That’s food for my family!
Storyteller: - Don’t worry. I’ll leave enough in the sack to keep you through till harvest. The seeds that we’ve sown will bear fruit and there will be enough for you, your family and everyone around you and you’ll still have some left to sow. Look!
/from the audience emerge the fruit of the seed: talented kids dance with crowns of talents/ /Dance (Sonya)/
Episode II
Scene I
/enter Servant 1 and 3/
Servant1: - I am tired! I need a break.
Servant3: - OK let’s sit for a while.
Servant1: - I am bored. Do you know any stories? Can you tell me one?
Servant3: - I don’t know … What kind of story?
Servant1: - An interesting one. Tell me a story about adventures, exploring new places, meeting legendary heroes.
Servant3: - Um….. I know one about a real hero and I know her. Personally! I’ll tell you a story about a distant land.
/a map appears projected on the screen/ - music
Servant3: - From New Zealand, up through Asia, past India and up Africa you find yourself in ancient Europe. There is a small country in Europe, a small wonder land called Bulgaria. Bulgaria my dear homeland. In Bulgaria, near the town of Kyustendil, there is a little village in the countryside, called Zgurovo. Zgurovo is my favorite place to be of all. This is the place I spent a big part of my holidays and all of my weekends. I love everything in it. The old nature, the old people, the old houses, the old everything! The surrounding nature is gorgeous. There are flowers and trees of all kinds. The most common trees are apple, cherry, grape and pear. There are a lot of hills, slopes, ups and downs everywhere. If you go south from my cottage you go an amazing journey.
Scene II
/retrospection servant 3 is already in her Grandma’s village/ - music (5sec)
Servant3: - First you pass the store, which always has cold lemonade and crispy chocolate waffles. Further down the hill is the village’s council whose only member is the mayor.
Scene III
/enter Mayor/
Mayor: - Good Morning.
Servant3: - Good Morning Mr Mayor. In the garden of the mayor’s office are the kid’s playgrounds. There are two sets of swings from which only one is still standing but it’s still pretty good. There is a rocket, with two levels, used as a “tree house.” To get to the second level you climb a teeny-tiny ladder in the inside of the rocket. Sticking out, like a tongue out of the second floor is the rusty slide, which surprisingly doesn’t tear your pants. Beside the rocket /house/ slide is the train. It has four wagons, which all have two pairs of seats. You can easily climb on top of the wagons and then jump in the grass, whilst yelling your heart out “Jeronimoooooooo”. Further down Further down the road there’s a secret passageway that leads to the river .It’s more of a natural spring, actually. At the end of the passageway is the oldest and biggest chestnut tree in the area. It’s branches spread wide across the river, making a nice shade. Near the chestnut tree there’s small creek, where we used to splash on a hot summer day. My hero lives in the centre of the village. Her name is Bonka and she is my good grandmother. She’s the most wonderful, honest and loving and caring person I’ve met. She’s not like some grandmothers, all grumpy and funny smelling. She’s in fact the complete opposite. I’ve seen her a bit angry, just once, when she had been cleaning the rugs all day and me and my cousin – Bibi stormed in the house with muddy shoes. Ouch! Fortunately she forgave us. Grandma Bonka is the best florist in the village. See, in Zgurovo all the grandmas have this secret competition going on, about who has the nicest crops and flowers.
/Flowers are projected. Actors dressed as flowers dance and sing. Song Koko & Zoya/
Servant3: - And so my grandmother always wins in the flower section of the competition. Ohm… you just have to see her garden. It’s the most magical and fragrant place in the whole village. Whatever kind of flower you can think of, she’s got it. Besides being an amazing florist, grandma Bonka is a good farmer too. She has 2 pigs, 8 sheep, about 30 hens and chickens, a dog and a cat.
/Enter chicken and cat. Bonka appears and feeds the chicken. Song Koko & Zoya/ Dance
Servant3: - Here’s my hero!
Cat: - I know a hero too! A magical man brought me here so you can look after me well. Then he said Goodbye and ran away. His talent is to collect pets, but he can’t look after them, so he gives them to the kids. Two girls help him. Their names are Loving Girl and Caring Girl. They are friends and love each other.
Servant3: - Whenever there’s a new baby lamb, she lets me and my cousin names it. We always used to choose funny, English names, which we had heard from cartoons and she never remembered them. In the end we settled on short Bulgarian names. This is way my granny is my hero. She never wants much; she’s always good and loving. She can even be quite amusing in an old fashioned way but she’s 73 after all. Firstly we went south from my house, now let’s go north. One of the most significant places in Zgurovo is the “gossip bench”. After a long day working on the farms and gardens, the old ladies from the village gather on the bench. They always meet at the same time -5:00 pm., just after the regular episode of “The Bold and the Beautiful”. There they passionately and excitedly discuss the episode and argue about everything you can think of.
/Bonka, Penka and Christina come to the bench while the mayor hides in the back to eavesdrop/
Chirstina: - I’m worried! Stephanie might go to jail!
Bonka: - Don’t talk like that. Stephanie is clever. She’ll find a way out.
Penka: - I think so too.
Christina: - Nick is angry and is determined to destroy Stephanie.
Bonka: - More like he wants to take over the company because he is jealous that Borrke is loyal to Forester and wants to come back to Rich.
Penka: - This /Brook woman says that she loves Nick, kisses Rich and looks like she is looking forward to keeping both of them for herself.
Servant3: - This is my hero and this is the place to be- Grandma Bonka in ZgurovoThey finish gossiping at about 6-6:30 pm and then go home to gossip a bit more to themselves and their cats. Further north there are lots of sloping hills, which in winter get frozen and we used to slide down, with our sledges. For me a hero isn’t just a lifesaver or an inventor, a hero is an ordinary man or woman who lives simply and honestly, who doesn’t demand much, who always puts your interest before his or hers, who thinks only the good of you, who is always loving, caring and honest!!!!!
Episode III
Scene I
Servant 1: - Thank you for the wonderful story.
Servant 3: - Yes I got so excited while telling it that I would like to go there right now. Do you want to come with me? I miss Bonka, I want to go see her.
Servant 1: - I am not sure… Do you know how to get there?
Servant 3: - Not exactly, but we can always ask. Don’t worry we’ll find a way!
Servant 1: - No that’s too risky, you go I’ll stay here.
Servant 3: - Good bye friend.
Servant 1: - Be careful.
Servant 3 exits.
/enters Storyteller/
Servant1: - Who are you?
Storyteller: - I’ve travelled a lot and studied a lot now I know a lot and something I know better. I believe it’s a lucrative business. Tell me what you want to know, pay me handsomely and I will tell you what to do.
Servant1: - Why would I pay you? Knowledge and education should be free...
Storyteller: - They sometimes are if you pay attention and open your eyes, heart and mind you may learn a lot. You seem confused and I thought I might help you but if you are not interested…
/Storyteller starts walking away/
Servant1: - Stop! How much does it cost?
Storyteller: - It takes a talent to solve your problem.
Servant1: - A talent, but that’s all I have. I might as well solve my problem myself.
Storyteller: - You might, but are you sure? You might get it all wrong.
Servant1: - But can I get a piece of your knowledge for free?
Storyteller: - There is no such thing as free lunch.
Servant1: - Just a free sample to lure me in as a customer? I need to know what to do with my talent: invest it and win or loose, or bury it to keep it safe.
Storyteller: - Here’s a piece of free advice: In both cases you’ll be sorry.
Servant1: - What shall I do? I know my master is a hard man, harvesting where he has not sown and gathering where he has not scattered seed. If I buy grain like my servant friend and scatter it I may lose part of it. If I waste my money on travel and learning as my other friend I might lose everything. I think it’s better to be safe than sorry. I hide my talent so no one can find it and take it away from me. I have no faith that investing it will do me any good. I doubt I can succeed. I bury it here in the darkness of the forest.
/servant 1 buries his talent in the ground looking around cautiously/
Scene II
Servant 3: - I’ll use my talents to reach my hero, but what exactly should I do? Let me see if I look good. /takes out the mirror/ - music 1mints Hmm, not bad. I have grown up. I wonder if Grandma Bonka will recognize me. I wonder which way to go. May be the mirror can help me. Mirror, mirror, can you tell me how to reach my hero?
The Mirror: - What do you think I am: a GPS? Can’t you check the internet?
Servant 3: - I can’t find an internet café and I don’t have my laptop …
Storyteller: - Come I know someone who can help you .., /he takes her to the Road Sign/ Ask him!
Servant 3: - Hmm…
Road Sign: - What do you want?
Servant 3: - Can you show me the way to Small Wonderland?
Road Sign: - /Looks very important starts waving his hands showing directions/ I know everything! The Eiffel Tower is that way; Taj Mahal is that way, Rio de Janeiro that way. And of course North Shore is to the North and Hamilton is that way if you follow the highway. I know the way to wealth and glory too….
/after listening carefully and considering the options Servant 3 is confused/
Servant3: - But you didn’t show me the way to small wonder land?
Storyteller: - /a map appears on the screen/ That wasn’t very helpful, was it? Come, I think I can do better than that. Here’s a map. You can borrow my car! This is a magic car. It can fly it can sail the ocean, it can speed down the highway and it can stop too. That’s very important. As long as you know where you want to go, it will take your there. Maybe not directly ….. Sometimes it gets distracted, but if your desire is strong it will take you where you dreams will lead you.
Servant3: - But where do I start?
Storyteller: - Start with A – A for Asia. Then you will cross India and Africa. Then continue to Europe and soon you will arrive in Bulgaria, there you will find the town of Kyustendil and if you turn left from the centre after thirty kilometers is your Small Wonderland. Good luck!
/ Servant 3 climbs in the car and drives away/ - music 1-2 mints
Act II
Scene 1
/enter Merchant and 3 Servants/
Merchant: - Hello my faithful servants. I hope you’ve done well while I was away.
Servants: Welcome home Master.
Servant 2: - See, I have gained five more. They all have different talents: music, art, dance...
/song Koko & Zoia/
Merchant: - Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!
Servant 3: - I am sorry Master but I used all the talents you gave me to travel around the world with my friends.
Merchant: - And what did you bring me from your travels?
Servant 3: - Nothing but knowledge.
Merchant: - /suspiciously/. What kind of knowledge?
Servant 3: - First I went North that’s where the compass points. I guess I went a little too far. I reached an ancient wall and couldn’t go any further…
Scene 2
A map /slide: Great China Wall/ /enters guide/
Servant 3: - /to the guide/ Excuse me! Can you please tell me how I can go around this wall?
Guide: - Around!? It’s several thousand kilometers long if you go that way and another couple of thousand if you chose the other way.
Servant 3: - But I want to go to India because …
Guide: - /smiling/. You don’t know how lucky you are! India is that way!
Servant 3: - Thank you! I guess the wall did a good job to stop me from going the wrong way. I believe it stopped all the invaders too.
Guide: - Not quite. But now it’s a world famous attraction and instead of dividing unites people from different nations.
Servant 3: - So all that effort to build that wall wasn’t in vain.
Guide: - No hard work always achieves something. Things might not go exactly as you planned, but it’s always better to do something than staying idle.
Servant3: - Thanks a lot! I’m off to India.
Guide: - Good luck!
/Dance Sonia/
Scene 3
A map /slide: Taj Mahal/
Servant3: - WOW! This must be the palace of the King of India!
Guide: - No it’s not. Besides we are a republic…
Servant3: - But this is the most beautiful building I have ever seen. What is it?
Guide: - A tomb
Servant3: - A tomb? But death means sorrow and this one is so beautiful and full of joy.
Guide: You are right. It’s not a monument of death but a monument of love…
/Dance Sonia/
Scene 4
A map /slide Pyramids of Egypt/
/an artisan sells ceramic vases some of them are with ornaments, some without/
Artisan: - The Pyramids of Egypt are the only one of the Seven Wonders of the World that is still standing today. The pyramids are tombs of powerful leaders who hoped to live after death and built them as homes for their afterlife. Well some of them are still standing after many thousands of years. There are many pyramids in Egypt the most famous being the Pyramid of Khufu or Cheops, the smaller Pyramids of Khafren and Menkaure built more than four thousand and five hundred years ago. Part of the same attraction is the Sphinx (a statue of a lion with human head). They are built out of millions of stone cubes 2 and a half tonnes each. Beautiful aren’t they.
/approaches Servant 1/
Girl: - How much?
Artisan: - Twenty talents.
Girl: - How much for those with the pictures?
Artisan: - Twenty talents.
Girl: - /surprised that the price is the same/ How is it possible that those with ornaments cost the same as those without? You must have spent more time and effort making those with the ornaments.
Artisan: - I am an artist! I can put a price on the vase I have made because I have make them all the same but not on its beauty. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Beauty is free for those who can appreciate it.
Scene 5
A map /slide Acropolis, slide Athena/
Servant3: - Hello, who are you?
Athena: - I am Athena the Goddess of wisdom and patron of Athens.
Servant3: - Oh I see. The citizens of Athens must be very clever to choose the Goddess of wisdom as their patron.
Athena: - They are very clever. They invented philosophy. But they chose me in fair contest with Poseidon the God of the sea. To win the citizens of Athens he made a spring appear on the dry hill by the city but the water was salty. I gave them the olive tree and they loved it. Then they built this beautiful temple for me.
Servant3: - So when I buy Greek olives in my local dairy I should thank Athena
Athena: - Yes but often the olives are shipped to you by sea so I think Poseidon played a role in that too.
/Dance Sonia/ Sertaki
Scene 6
A map /slide Christ the Redeemer/
Servant 3: - Amazing. Who is he?
/enters guide/
Guide: - Hi. Welcome. This wonderful statue is 38 meters high. As you see it stands atop the 710 meters high Coronado Mountain. His hands stretch 30 meters wide.
Servant 3: - He looks like he is about to embrace the world.
Guide: - Indeed
Servant 3: - Can you tell me the way to Small Wonderland?
Guide: - Sure. It’s that way to the Northeast.
Servant 3: - But that means that I have wandered off the path. Now what shall I do? If I keep doing this I’ll never reach my destination.
Guide: - Don’t worry. Only those who don’t do anything don’t make any errors. Or maybe that is the biggest error: not to do anything. Come, I’ll tell you a story it’s about him. At the last supper Jesus said that two of his most beloved students will betray him: Judas to the Pharisees and Peter will renounce Jesus three times before dawn. The prophecy was correct. They both did just that, but while Judas couldn’t stand the pain and killed himself, Peter repented and humbled continued to believe. Peter understood the essence of Jesus: love forgives. Judas died ignorant.
Scene 7
A map /Slide Stonehenge/
Guide: - Stonehenge is the most famous stone monument in the world. It is several thousand years old and is place of worship dedicated to the summer solstice. It is made of several circles: the widest over 100 metres in diameter made of huge stones each weighing several tonnes or several thousands of kilograms.
Servant 3: - Just rocks…. Huge rocks. Some on top of the others. How did they do that … and why?
Guide: - No one knows. We think it must have been a holy place. A place to pray and wait for answers. The position of the stones is such that they might have been used to tell the seasons and find out the best time to plant the seeds.
Servant 3: - Faith and knowledge together. That is a powerful combination.
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