Royalty-free Play Script for Schools-At the Pool's Edge

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6 characters. Flexible cast. Approximately 6 minutes long. Best for ages 8-11. A girl has a strange experience when she falls into a pool.

To prove that she has an adventurous side, ten-year-old Zulayka attempts to balance on the edge of a hotel pool, even though she’s been left alone and doesn’t know how to swim. Unfortunately, the girl loses her balance and falls into the deep end, where she must overcome her fear—and her vivid imagination—if she hopes to reach safety. Performers will be challenged to create memorable underwater sequences as well as demonstrate emotional moments between close-knit family members.

This play was written based on stories submitted by elementary students to the playwright. It, therefore, has the flavor of a whimsical/non-sensical story that a child would tell! If you are working with students on any sort of devised work, this would be a great short script to introduce children to original works based on stories or prompts!

Evan Baughfman, the playwright, has had various written works published and/or performed. Many of his plays have been produced across the U.S., United Kingdom, and Australia. Additionally, his children’s play, “R.O.M.3.O. and Julia” (Romeo and Juliet with robots) has been published in PLAYS Magazine. His script, “Lipstick and Heroics,” is available through YouthPLAYS. In addition, his middle-grade play, “Percy Pangolin Wants to Go Viral,” is published by Heuer Publishing. Heuer also published “A Taste of Amontillado” (an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado”).

Excerpt from the play:

CHARACTERS

Zulayka a girl beside a hotel pool, 10 years old
Brandon her brother, 8 years old
Tia the kids’ aunt
Octopus
Shark
Lifeguard

(Zulayka and her brother, Brandon, walk beside a hotel pool.)

Brandon
ZULAYKA, watch! See how close I can get to the pool’s edge!

(He walks along the edge of the pool like it’s a tightrope.)

ZULAYKA
(yanking him back)

Don’t do that! You don’t know how to swim!

BRANDON
(brushing her off)

Neither do you!

ZULAYKA
Exactly! You see me doing what you’re doing? No, you don’t.

BRANDON
Aw, you’re no fun!

ZULAYKA
TIA said I had to watch you while she was in the room. That’s what I’m doing.

BRANDON
This is supposed to be a vacation, and all you wanna do is boss me around!

ZULAYKA
When you get to be older than me, you can be the boss.

BRANDON
But I’ll never be older than you!

ZULAYKA
Aw, too bad for you!

(TIA enters.)

TIA
Hey, you two! I’ve been looking all over the hotel for you!

Kids
Sorry, Tia.

TIA
What’re you doing out here by the pool? Did I say it was okay to be out here without me?

Kids
No, Tia. Sorry, Tia.

TIA
It’s okay. You wanna go with me into town and see what’s there? Maybe we can get some ice cream?

BRANDON
Alright! Yeah!

TIA
(to Zulayka)

How about you?

ZULAYKA
I guess so.

TIA
You “guess so”? Do you like being boring? Where’s your sense of adventure?

BRANDON
That’s what I’ve been saying!

TIA
Well, come on, let’s go, then.

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