© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com Terri and the Turkey pg.

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 IMPORTANT NOTICE-Copyright 2018
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© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com Terri and the Turkey pg. 2

 About the Author…
Wade Bradford was born and raised in the often wet and
sometimes windy state of Washington. At the age of 19,
Wade fell in love with a girl who lived out-of-state, so he
moved to the often sunny and sometimes shaky state of
California. He earned a Masters in Literature from CSUN.
Wade currently teaches English at Moorpark College. In
2011, his first picture book, Why Do I Have to Make My
Bed? (edited by Red Fox Literary agent Abigail Samoun)
was published by Tricycle Press/Random House. In a
starred review, Publishers Weekly said of the book: “This
book deserves a place on the shelves next to the Magic
School Bus series." Wade's second picture book, Around
the World in a Bathtub, is now available through Charlesbridge Publishing. His latest
books are Papa Bear's Page Fright and There's a Dinosaur on the 13th Floor. In addition
to writing picture books and novels, Wade has written over 35 plays, including CSI:
Neverland, Promedy, and Tomorrow's Wish. Oh, and the girl he fell in love with? She
and Wade have been married for over 23 years! You can find more plays Wade has
written on his website: http://www.wadebradford.com/plays.

Thank the Author…

Do you love this play as much as we do? If your group performs this piece, be sure to
credit Wade Bradford and Drama Notebook in your program and advertising. We ask
that you ALSO make Wade’s day by sending him your feedback, adoration, gratitude,
and sending pictures of your production. After all, he wrote this play for you and your
students!!!!

Contact Wade at: profwade@hotmail.com

About the play…

Terri and the Turkey is a hilarious short play about a family’s
gathering for Thanksgiving. The potatoes are mashed, the
cranberries are crammed, and the yams are all yammed.
There’s just one thing left to do, kill the turkey. Grandpa
happily delegates the gruesome job to Dad who passes it off to
his son who cons Terri into doing it. The stress of it all has
taken its toll on poor Tom the turkey and when Terri attempts
to chop off his head, he has a heart attack! Will Tom be the
main entree at Thanksgiving this year or will he get a pardon?
A great play for older elementary and middle school students to
perform!

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com Terri and the Turkey pg. 3

 Terri and the Turkey
By Wade Bradford

CHARACTERS

NARRATOR
TOM
GRANDMA
GRANDPA
MOM
DAD
SON
TERRI
PIG

SETTING: The humble home of Grandpa and Grandpa. An animal pen is nearby

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com Terri and the Turkey pg. 4

 Terri and the Turkey
By Wade Bradford

NARRATOR
Thanksgiving. A time of joy and celebration. Of food, relaxation, and family. A day beloved by
everyone. Everyone that is except…Tom Turkey!

(A Turkey named Tom walks on stage left, flapping his wings.)

TOM
Gobble, gobble!

On stage right, Grandma and Grandpa enter. Tom listens to them as they
speak.

GRANDMA
I mashed the potatoes, I crammed the cranberries, I yammed the yams, and now it’s time for
you to do what you always do on Thanksgiving Day.

GRANDPA
Watch football?

GRANDMA
No! It’s time to prepare the turkey.

TOM
Prepare? That doesn’t sound so bad.

GRANDMA
Prepare? That’s such hard work! I have to pluck the feathers.

TOM
Ow!

GRANDPA
And pull out the innards.

TOM
Eek!

GRANDPA
And toss him in the oven.

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com Terri and the Turkey pg. 5

TOM
Oh my!

GRANDMA
But don’t forget. First, you must chop off his head.

TOM
(Grabs his neck, fearful.) And all this time I thought I was going to be the guest of honor.

(PIG enters.)

I’ve got to get out of here! These people are going to eat me!

PIG
Oink, oink. Welcome to my world, buddy.

GRANDPA
Well, I guess I better get busy.

A happy couple, Mom and Dad, enter.

MOM AND DAD

Hi, Grandpa!

MOM
Happy Thanksgiving.

DAD
Is there anything we can do to help?

GRANDPA
I’m glad you asked that. Go out back and chop off the turkey’s head.

DAD
Oh. I was hoping you would have me set the table.

GRANDPA
Too bad. Get chopping!

MOM
Be brave, dear.

DAD
But honey, you know the sight of blood makes me queasy.

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com Terri and the Turkey pg. 6

MOM
I’m needed in the kitchen.

DAD
Well, sometimes a man has to do what a man has to do--

(A son and a daughter (Terri) enter.)

DAD
Make his kids do the work.

SON
Hey Dad, is dinner ready yet?

DAD
Son, this is a very special Thanksgiving because I’m giving you a very special responsibility. I
need you to chop off the turkey’s head.

SON
Gross!

DAD
And while you’re at it, pluck the feathers, take out the innards, and give it to Grandma to put in
the oven.

SON
But – but – but…

DAD
Have fun, son.

The son turns to Terri, who has been engrossed in a book.

SON
Terri! Hey, bookworm! Did you hear what Dad just said to me?

TERRI
No, I was too busy reading my history book.

SON
You mean you didn’t hear a single word Dad said?

TERRI
No. What did he say?

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com Terri and the Turkey pg. 7

SON
He wants you to kill the turkey.

He pushes her toward the animal pen, then exits. Note: All of the other
human characters have cleared the stage too.

TERRI
Well, I guess if we want a turkey dinner, someone has to do it.

Optional: She picks up a prop ax – make sure it’s something safe.

TERRI
(Approaching Tom) Sorry, Mr. Turkey. The time has come.

TOM
I – I – I feel faint!

The turkey starts to sway back and forth. He falls to the ground.

TERRI
Oh no! I think he’s having a heart attack!

GRANDMA
(Entering.) Who’s having a heart attack?

TERRI
(Checking the turkey’s pulse.) He doesn’t have a pulse.

GRANDPA
(Entering.) I don’t have a pulse?

TERRI
Not you, Grandpa. The turkey!

DAD and MOM enter.

DAD
Terri, what are you doing?

TERRI
CPR. I learned it in health class.

MOM
She’s such a good student.

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com Terri and the Turkey pg. 8

SON
(Entering.) What the heck is going on?

TERRI
I think it’s working. Live, Mr. Turkey! Live!!!

(Optional: If you want to get really silly with this skit, the actress can
pretend to use a defibrillator.)

TOM
(Coming back to life.) Gobble gobble!

MOM
You did it, honey!

DAD
You saved his life.

TERRI
Yep. Now I guess I better cut off his head.

GRANDMA
Now, wait, child. It just doesn't seem right.

TERRI
You know, according to my history book, presidents such as Harry Truman and John
Kennedy have spared the lives of their turkeys. And since 1989, the White House has been
granting a presidential pardon to each live turkey that is presented to the president. Maybe this
year we could do the same kind of thing.

GRANDMA
I think that’s a lovely idea. After all, one of the many things we should be thankful for is simply
how many families have been able to have wonderful Thanksgiving dinners all because of this
noble bird. Besides, we have many other delicious foods we can eat. Yams, cranberries, freshly
made bread, and mashed potatoes.

GRANDPA
That’s right, Grandma. Now, who’s up for some pork chops?

PIG
(Feeling faint.) I gotta get out of here!

CURTAIN

© Drama Notebook www.dramanotebook.com Terri and the Turkey pg. 9

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