MARTIN THE SHOEMAKER
(Dancer leads Martin back to work
Adapted from the story by Leo Tolstoy
Cast
Male Actor
Female Actor/Dancer
Child
Set
Cobbler shop, with window
Props
Shoes, coat tree, window with curtains and
thermometer, work bench, jacket, hat, scarf,
apron,
firewood, 2 mugs, tea pot, Open/Closed
sign, 2 chairs, basket with apples, baby doll,
snow shovel
(Martin comes in from outside, carrying firewood.
Puts a log on the “fire.”) A brisk north wind
tonight. (Takes off
coat.) These old bones have seen lots of cold
winters, but (checks thermometer on window), my
goodness, minus 38, in December? That’s
unusual, even for Siberia. (Laughs.) Of
course, I
remember the winter of ’57… (Puts on apron.)
Now, where did I leave my hammer? (Picks
up
Mrs.
hammer and shoe. Sits at work bench.)
Robinivich wants her children’s shoes ready
for
Christmas.
(“O Come, O Come Emmanuel” played on piano.
Martin works on shoes. Gets up to pour himself a
drink of tea.
Works some more. Gets up. Pulls curtains. Puts
“Closed” sign in window. Takes off apron. Pulls out
reading
glasses. Opens Bible. Reads. Goes to sleep at the
bench.)
(As piano piece ends) O come, o come,
Emmanuel.
(Brief pause, as Martin sleeps. Music resumes.
Dancer enters as part of Martin’s dream. He sits up in
his
dream. Watches dancer. Puzzled.)
Emmanuel? Is that you? (Dancer reaches for
Martin’s hand.) Coming to visit me?
Tomorrow? (Dancer
leads Martin to the window. She peers from one side.
He the other.) Watch for you? Outside my
window?
bench.) Tomorrow? Tomorrow. (Martin resumes
sleeping position at the work bench. Dancer leaves as
music fades.) Wouldn’t it be wonderful if
Jesus came to
visit? (Martin sleeps.)
(Martin awakes. Stretches. Opens curtains. Turns
sign to “Open.” Pours himself a cup of tea. Before he
drinks, he suddenly remembers his dream. Sets down
his cup and goes back to the window and peers
around. He
sees a woman shoveling snow.)
Oh my, she looks cold. Out shoveling this
early in the morning. (Goes to the “door.”)
Come, my friend,
come inside. Warm yourself by my fire. Join
me for a cup of tea!
(Surprised, she puts down her shovel and comes
inside.)
Martin: Sit down. Please. It’s another cold
day.
Snow shoveler: Record low last night, they
said.
Martin: Here, this will warm you up. (Gives
her a cup of tea.)
SS: You’re very kind.
Martin: You’re very kind to shovel my walk.
It’s not easy at my age anymore.
SS: This really hits the spot. Thank you.
Martin: Camomille. With just a little
something extra. (They both laugh.)
SS: Thank you. Your tea has warmed my
bones. Your visit has warmed my heart.
I won’t mind the cold as much now. (She goes
outside, picks up her shovel and exits.)
Martin: If you ever need a break from the
cold, you’re always welcome.
(Martin puts on his apron. Picks up a shoe. Goes to
the window and peers around. Sees nothing. Sits at
workbench and begins to work. A few moments later,
a woman carrying a small child appear at the
window.
They are poorly dressed for the weather. Martin
walks to the window and notices them. Goes to the
door.)
Martin: Ma’am. Come inside. Come warm
yourself and your baby.
Mother: Thank you. My baby won’t stop
crying. (Martin touches the baby.) I fear he has
the croup.
Martin: Oh my, you need something warmer
to wear.
Mother: My husband is away, in Moscow,
and won’t be home until spring.
Martin: He has work there?
Mother: Some. More than he had here.
Martin:
(He retrieves his jacket from the coat tree.) Take
this. It will keep you and your baby
warm.
Mother: No, I can’t.
Martin:Please. For your baby’s sake.
Mother: You are very generous. Thank you.
Martin:
(As she leaves.) There’s some money in the
front pocket. For the doctor.
(Martin returns to his workbench. As he works, he
ponders.)
Was I dreaming last night? I never dream.
But I remember seeing someone, dancing.
Jesus.
Promising to be here today. I must remain
patient. Ready. How happy I’d be to have
Jesus as
my guest!
(Outside the window, an elderly woman and child are
in an argument. The child has taken an apple from
her basket and is
trying to run away. The woman has hold of his arm.)
Woman: Stop! You’re stealing my apple!
Give it back to me!
(Martin goes to the window, then to the “door”.)
Martin: Ma’am, let the boy go!
Woman: He’s taken my groceries.
Martin: I’ll pay for the apple. (To child.) You
know it’s wrong to take things that don’t
belong to you.
Child:
(To Martin.) I’m sorry, sir.
Martin: No, don’t talk with me. Tell the
woman how sorry you are.
Child: I’m sorry, ma’am. Here’s your apple.
I was just hungry.
Martin: May I buy him the apple?
Woman:
(Let’s go of child’s arm. Gives him the apple.)
That’s okay.
Martin: Looks like a heavy basket.
Woman: At our age it seems to weigh even
more.
Child: I’ll help you carry it, ma’am.
Woman: That would be nice. (To Martin.)
Thanks for your help.
(Woman and child exit together. Child carries basket.
Piano again plays, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”
Martin takes off apron, closes curtain at window, puts
up the “closed” sign.)
Silly, I really thought I’d see Jesus today.
(Pours himself a cup of tea. Opens Bible. Falls
asleep. Dancer enters, wearing/holding one item from
each
previous character: apple, baby’s blanket, jacket.)
Another dream? Who are you? (Dancer puts
down the apple beside Martin on the work bench.)
The woman
this afternoon? No, who are you really?
(Dancer puts down the baby blanket on the bench.)
The
mother with the baby? Who are you? (Dancer
takes off the jacket.) The snow shoveler? No.
No.
You’re, you’re Jesus, the dancer …. (The
dancer exits. Music stops. Martin awakes. Rubs his
eyes and
looks down at his Bible.)
“I tell you, whatever you do for your brother
and sister, you do for me.”
Now, I understand! Emmanuel has come.
God is with us.
(Piano plays the refrain of “O Come, O Come
Emmanuel” and Martin exits.)
WHERE LOVE IS, GOD IS
Adapted from the short story by Leo
Tolstoy by Michelle Van Loon
For 7 readers
12-14 minutes playing time
NARRATOR: Male or female
MARTIN AVEDEITCH: Male
SPEAKER #1: Male or female
STEPANITCH: Male
WOMAN: Female
OLD WOMAN: Female
LAD: Male
AT RISE: In semi-circle facing the audience,
readers should be positioned as follows.
From left, SPEAKER #1, STEPANITCH,
WOMAN, MARTIN AVEDEITCH, OLD
WOMAN, LAD. NARRATOR can be off to one
side, separate from the rest of the group.
NARRATOR: In a little town in Russia, there
lived a man named Martin
Avedeitch, a cobbler by trade.
MARTIN: Hardly a pair of boots in my
neighborhood hasn’t been in my
hands at least once or twice. Some boots
I’ve re-soled, some I’ve
patched, and others I’ve stitched ever so
carefully.
NARRATOR: From his basement
workroom, he could look out the
window and see his handiwork pass by.
2 LAD: A respected man.
MARTIN: I recognize everyone by their
boots.
NARRATOR: Though Martin had always
been a good man….
WOMAN: A reliable man…
LAD: A respected man.
NARRATOR: In his old age, Martin began to
think about his soul as he
never had before.
MARTIN: I began to seek God. After I
finished each day’s work, I would
fetch my Bible off the shelf and read it.
WOMAN: The more he read, the better he
understood.
LAD: The better he understood, the
happier he felt.
NARRATOR: Until one night, when Martin
read from the Gospel of
Luke:
SPEAKER #1: “If someone slaps you on one
cheek, turn the other also.
If someone takes your coat, do not
withhold your shirt. Give to
everyone who asks you, and if anyone
takes what belongs to you, do
not demand it back. Do to others as you
would have them do to
you.”
NARRATOR: Martin was troubled by these
words of Jesus. He had been
a good man…
STEPHANITCH: A reliable man…
NARRATOR: But he was not the kind of
man Jesus described. Troubled,
he turned the page, hoping to find a word
of comfort. Martin found
a description of a rich Pharisee who had
invited Jesus to his house.
A troubled woman…
WOMAN: A sinner!
NARRATOR: …interrupted the meal.
3
OLD WOMAN: She wanted to see Jesus.
WOMAN: She needed to see Jesus.
OLD WOMAN: And when she did, she wept
at His goodness.
WOMAN: She wept at her own shame.
OLD WOMAN: She washed the dusty feet of
Jesus with her tears.
WOMAN: She poured her finest perfume
on His shoeless feet.
NARRATOR: Martin read:
SPEAKER #1: “Then Jesus turned toward
the woman and said to the
Pharisee, ‘Do you see this woman? I came
into your house. You did
not give me any water for my feet, but she
wet my feet with her
tears and wiped them with her hair. You
did not give me a kiss, but
this woman, from the time I entered, has
not stopped kissing my
feet. You did not put oil on my head, but
she has poured perfume
on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many
sins have been
forgiven—as her great love has shown. But
whoever has been
forgiven little loves little.’
OLD WOMAN: But whoever has been
forgiven little…
WOMAN: Loves little.
MARTIN: I realized that the Pharisee was a
person just like me. A good
man…
STEPANITCH: A reliable man…
LAD: A respected man.
MARTIN: He thought only of himself – how
to get a cup of tea, how to
keep warm and comfortable, never a
thought for his guest. He
cared nothing at all for his guest. Yet who
was the guest? The Lord
Himself! If He came to me, would I behave
like the Pharisee?
4
NARRATOR: The question troubled Martin.
At last, he fell into a
restless sleep. (Pause)
SPEAKER #1: (Calling) Martin?
MARTIN: (Groggily) Who’s there?
NARRATOR: But there was no one there.
Martin drifted to sleep
again…
SPEAKER #1: (Quietly) Martin? Martin!
Expect me, for I shall come to
you tomorrow.
NARRATOR: Martin didn’t know whether
he had heard these words in
a dream or while awake. He tossed and
turned into the wee hours
of the morning, then just before the dawn,
he at last fell into a
deep, restful sleep.
MARTIN: When I awakened, I decided I
would begin my day as I always
had. I prayed. I prepared a pot of
buckwheat porridge, and put a
kettle of soup on the fire so it could cook
while I worked. I brewed
tea for the day in my old samovar, then
tied my leather apron
round my waist and took my seat at the
window so I could begin
work.
NARRATOR: Just as he did every day,
Martin watched the parade of
boots pass in front of his basement
window.
WOMAN: Patched felt boots.
OLD WOMAN: Sturdy working man’s boots.
LAD: Then the shabby, snow-soaked boots
of Stepanitch.
STEPANITCH: (With effort, pausing after
each phrase) My feet…so
cold…but must…keep shoveling…so tired…
must…keep
shoveling…
5 repaired. Something happened last night
NARRATOR: Stepanitch was an old,
broken-down soldier, renting a
room from a wealthy businessman. To pay
the rent, Stepanitch
needed to work. That day, he was
supposed to clear the walks in
front of his landlord’s businesses, but
Stepanitch was too frail to
lift the heavy, wet snow.
STEPANITCH: So heavy…so tired….so cold…
MARTIN: I watched him work from the
comfort of my cozy basement
room. I was about to have a cup of tea. But
first, I climbed the
stairs to the street and asked Stepanitch to
come inside for a bit.
STEPANITCH: God bless you, Martin!
NARRATOR: Stepanitch tried to wipe his
feet as he entered Martin’s
room.
MARTIN: You’re as wobbly as three-legged
mule, Stephanitch! Let me
wipe that slush from the stairs. Please, sit
down, have some tea,
friend.
STEPANITCH: The tea warmed me from the
inside out.
NARRATOR: Stepanitch drank one cup,
then two. All the while, Martin
kept glancing out the window.
STEPANITCH: Was he expecting someone?
MARTIN: The only time I have guests is
when someone needs their shoes
that will not leave me
today. I can’t tell in the daylight whether it
was a dream or a
fantasy. In any case, I was reading about
Christ the Lord and what
happened when He walked on earth.
STEPANITCH: I’m an ignorant man, not
able to read. Tell me more.
6
MARTIN: I came to the part where He went
to a Pharisee’s home, and
wasn’t received well. As I read, I wondered
how that Pharisee
would not want to welcome Christ. And
then I wondered if
something like this could happen to a man
like me.
NARRATOR: Both men drank their tea in
silence for a few minutes.
MARTIN: What would I not do to welcome
Him? That’s when it
happened.
STEPANITCH: What happened?
MARTIN: I began to doze, and I heard
someone call me by name, though
there was no one in the room. It happened
again, and I heard the
voice whisper, “Expect me. I will come
tomorrow.” I watch out the
window now because I am expecting my
dear Lord.
NARRATOR: Martin refilled Stepanitch’s
cup once more. Stepanitch
drank it in silence, then rose to leave.
STEPANITCH: Thank you, Martin
Avedeitch. You have given me
comfort, both body and soul.
NARRATOR: Martin again took his place at
his cobbler’s bench, and
began stitching the back seam of a boot.
The words of Christ
whispered in his soul:
SPEAKER #1: “Do to others as you would
have them do to you.”
NARRATOR: Martin watched for the feet of
Jesus.
STEPANITCH: He saw soldier’s boots…
OLD WOMAN: Work boots…
LAD: And then tattered woolen stockings
and peasant-made shoes
paused in front of the Martin’s basement
window.
MARTIN: A stranger in town. Those shoes
aren’t from around here.
7
NARRATOR: The woman wore shabby
summer clothes. A tiny baby was
in her arms.
WOMAN: (As if speaking to a baby) Shhhh,
little one. We’ll stop here for
a moment, just so I can try to warm you up.
Please don’t cry, little
one.
NARRATOR: Martin watched as she held
the baby close, re-wrapping
the ragged blanket around him. He rose
from his bench and once
again climbed his basement stairs.
MARTIN: Why do you stand out there in
this cold with your baby?
Come inside. You can wrap him up better
in a warm place. Come
this way!
NARRATOR: She followed him inside.
MARTIN: Sit down near the stove, friend.
Warm yourself and feed your
baby.
WOMAN: (Pause) I have no food.
NARRATOR: Without saying a word, Martin
brought her a steaming
bowl of cabbage soup and some bread.
Gently, he took the baby
from her arms and held it while she ate.
MARTIN: Do you have warmer clothing?
WOMAN: No sir. I pawned my shawl to buy
food yesterday.
NARRATOR: Martin went to a trunk at the
back of his shop and
rummaged for a moment. He brought an
old woolen cloak to her.
MARTIN: You can wrap your son in it.
NARRATOR: The woman wept in gratitude.
As she rose to leave, Martin
pressed some coins into her hand.
MARTIN: Get your shawl out of the shop.
May the Lord bless you.
8
NARRATOR: Martin returned to his work.
Many feet walked by his
window, but none turned in to his shop.
STEPANITCH: He waited….
WOMAN: And waited.
NARRATOR: Just before sunset, an old
woman stopped in front of his
window. She carried a basket of apples in
one hand, and a sack of
wood chips to fuel a fire in the other. She
leaned against the
building to rest for a moment, and Martin
saw a boy in a tattered
cap come from out of nowhere and grab an
apple from her basket.
STEPANICH: She grabbed him.
OLD WOMAN: Get back here, you thief!
LAD: Let go of me!
OLD WOMAN: Let go of my food!
LAD: Ouch! You’re hurting me!
OLD WOMAN: I’m calling the police!
LAD: I wasn’t trying to take your rotten old
apples, lady!
NARRATOR: Martin rushed up the stairs
and outside into the fading
light to separate them.
MARTIN: Let him go, Granny. Please…
forgive him for Christ’s sake.
OLD WOMAN: Forgive him? He needs to be
punished. Thief!
MARTIN: Let him go. Lad, ask Granny’s
forgiveness. I saw you snatch
an apple from her basket. (LAD and
GRANNY lower their script
books and look at one another for a
moment.)
LAD: (With great emotion; he’s truly
sorry.) It was just a rude prank,
ma’am. I’m sorry.
NARRATOR: Martin reached into her
basket and handed the boy an
apple.
9
MARTIN: I’ll pay you for this, Granny.
OLD WOMAN: You’re rewarding him for
stealing! He ought to be
punished so he never forgets.
MARTIN: That’s our way, but it’s not God’s
way. If he should be
punished for stealing an apple, what
should be done to us for all of
our sins?
NARRATOR: Martin told them both the
parable of the master who
forgave a large debt that one of his
servants owed to him. But the
first chance he had, the servant chased
down someone who owed
him a bit of money.
MARTIN: God asks us to forgive or we
won’t be forgiven. Forgive
everyone, and forgive a thoughtless
youngster most of all.
OLD WOMAN: True enough, sir, but these
young ones are getting
terribly spoiled.
MARTIN: Then we old ones must show
them better ways.
OLD WOMAN: That’s what I always say.
NARRATOR: As the old woman hoisted her
sack of wood chips onto her
back, the lad sprang forward to help.
LAD: Let me carry that for you , Granny. I’m
walking in our direction.
NARRATOR: The old woman nodded and
placed the sack onto the boy’s
back, and they went down the street
together.
WOMAN: The old woman forgot to ask
Martin to pay for the apple.
NARRATOR: Martin watched them as they
walked off together,
talking. He glanced up and down the
vacant street one last time
before heading back downstairs to his
shop. He lit the lamp on his
table and took his Bible off the shelf. He
sat down in his chair, and
bowed his head in prayer. Had this good
man, this reliable man,
10
this respected man missed the visit of his
beloved Lord today?
(pause) Just then, he heard soft footsteps,
as if people were
standing in a corner of the room. A voice
whispered…
SPEAKER #1: (Calling) Martin? Martin?
Don’t you know Me?
MARTIN: Who is it?
SPEAKER #1: It is I.
NARRATOR: Stepanitch stepped out of the
dark corner, smiled at
Martin and vanished into thin air.
SPEAKER #1: It is I.
NARRATOR: The woman with the baby
stepped out of the dark corner.
The woman nodded at Martin. The baby
laughed, then they, too,
vanished into thin air.
SPEAKER #1: It is I.
NARRATOR: The old woman and the lad
stepped out of the dark
corner. The woman hugged the boy, and
then both vanished.
Martin’s soul grew glad. He opened his
Bible and read.
WOMAN: Jesus said, I was hungry and you
gave me something to eat.
STEPANITCH: I was thirsty and you gave
me something to eat.
OLD WOMAN: I was a stranger and you
invited me in.
MARTIN: Whatever you do for the least of
these brothers and sisters of
mine,
WOMAN: You do for Me.
STEPANITCH: You do for Me.
OLD WOMAN: You do for Me.
MARTIN: (Pausing to scan room as if
looking for Jesus.) For him.