Extract from Onetonners Tonne of Skits

Cumulative Action Skits

Contents
SYMPATHETIC MOURNERS ..................................................................................................................... 2
WINDOW FACTORY ................................................................................................................................. 3
ZOO-KEEPER AND HIS ANIMALS ............................................................................................................. 4



SYMPATHETIC MOURNERS

CAST:
Storyteller, many mourners

SCENE:
Mourners are lined up in a row, with storyteller at one end.

ACTION:
Storyteller begins telling about a death: McTavish is dead. First mourner asks, How
did he die? Storyteller: With his left arm held high. and he holds his left arm up high.
First mourner turns to next and says, McTavish is dead. Next mourner: How did he
die? First mourner: With his left arm held high. and holds his left arm up high. This
passes down the line until all mourners have their left arms in the air. Last person
repeats, With his left arm held high! Oh, my! Oh, my!
All mourners must keep their left arms up for the rest of the skit, adding other actions as
the skit progresses.
Storyteller goes on: McTavish is dead. How did he die? With his left arm held high
and a-blinking one eye. This passes along, too.
Add other actions such as, With one foot in the sky, With his mouth all awry, A-
swatting a fly, and you could invent more. Keep it going until the whole group is looking
very funny.

ENDING:
When you have had enough, on being asked, How did he die? the storyteller shouts,
A-waving goodbye! whereupon all wave at the audience and either run off stage or
collapse.

Alternative
An alternative ending is to lead into this song [to the tune of The Irish Washerwoman]:
Oh, McTavish is dead and his brother dont know it, His brother is dead and McTavish
dont know it Theyre both of them dead, and in the same bed, And neither one knows
that the other is dead.

You can have the audience do an Irish jig dance as they sing this faster and faster!

WINDOW FACTORY

CAST:
Foreman, Joe, workers.
Tip: Joey leader can be the Foreman and all Joeys Joe & workers

SCENE:
A factory. All perform this in a rhythmic, sing-song manner. There should be no pausing
between speakers; keep the dialogue moving.

ACTION:
Joe: Hi, my name is Joe and I work in the window factory. And along comes the boss
and he says to me,
Foreman: Joe, are you busy?
Joe: I said, NO. He said,
Foreman: Wipe that window with your left hand.
Joe, and all the other workers, each do so to an imaginary window.
All: NEXT DAY!
Joe: Hi, my name is Joe and I work in the window factory. And along comes the boss
and he says to me,
Foreman: Joe, are you busy?
Joe: I said, NO. He said,
Foreman: Wipe that window with your right hand.
All do so, while continuing on with the left hand.
Continue this process with left foot right foot forehead backside

ENDING:
All: NEXT DAY!
Joe: Hi, my name is Joe and I work in the window factory. And along comes the boss
and he says to me,
Foreman: Joe, are you busy?
All: I said, YES!

Alternatives
This is often performed as The Button Factory. Invent your own actions!
It can also be done as an audience participation skit.


ZOO-KEEPER AND HIS ANIMALS

CAST:
Narrating zoo-keeper, animals.

SCENE:
The zoo.

ACTION:
Zoo-keeper introduces self, bows, and introduces animals. Each animal must spring into
action for a few seconds when it is mentioned: This is Chicko, our somersaulting
chimpanzee, This is Jessie, our trumpeting elephant, This is Katie, our hopping
kangaroo, etc. After all are introduced, the zoo-keeper tells an elaborate story about
the animals in the zoo. Each animal does its action every time it is mentioned.
As the story progresses, the keeper begins mentioning the animals more and more
often, requiring them to leap around in a frenzy. The story can be simple, such as a tale
of a small boy who feeds peanuts to the elephant, then others. Build up to all animals
being involved at once, e.g. a zoo parade. Then have things that have all animals being
involved at once, e.g. having them endure a storm with rain, scary thunder, etc.

ENDING:
At last the animals can take no more. They all turn roaring on the zoo-keeper and chase
him offstage. While fleeing, the zoo-keeper concludes, And all the animals turned on
their zoo-keeper and chased him out of the zoo. The end.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
These skits are all included in this compilation because I would like to share the
enjoyment as widely as possible. They have been collected, organised and adapted
from my experience with youth organisations including schools, scouts, churches and
music camps.
As is often the case with songs and stories that belong in folklore, it is impossible to
trace authors of items in the form they have come to me. Some have been in several
publications from organisations including the NSW Dept. of Sport & Recreation, Scouts
Australia, the Y.M.C.A. and in more recent years in the internet. If you are concerned
about a possible copyright infringement then please let me know so that due recognition
can be given.
My thanks go to all the teachers, leaders and [most of all] children whose creativity has
been reproduced here, or inspired me to create several of the skits. I hope to continually
update the collection, so contributions are welcome!
Phillip Ward
September, 2013