King’s College Sound Production Script Project Make a list of moments where you think sound might be added (cues) as you read the script. Some of these wil

King’s College Sound Production Script Project Make a list of moments where you think sound might be added (cues) as you read the script. Some of these will be very straightforward, some may be sounds you think would help tell the story.Please note the page number and submit these in either a word document, or a spreadsheet. Pay special attention to sounds that may happen when there is no dialogue, Series: Our Miss Brooks
Show: The Magic Christmas Tree
Date: Dec 24 1950
CAST:
ANNOUNCER
MISS CONNIE BROOKS, dry-humored schoolteacher
MRS. DAVIS, her scatterbrained housekeeper
MINERVA, the cat
URCHIN
WALTER DENTON, obsequious cracked-voice student
HARRIET CONKLIN, sweet sixteen, student
MR. OSGOOD CONKLIN, grumpy, pompous principal
MRS. MARTHA CONKLIN
MR. PHILIP BOYNTON, teacher, Miss Brooks’ unrequited crush
The Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company, makers of Lustre Creme Shampoo and Colgate Dental
Cream, bring you OUR MISS BROOKS, starring ???! And we should like to open our show with
greetings and best wishes from Colgate-Palmolive-Peet for a gloriously merry Christmas! And
now — OUR MISS BROOKS!
RECORDED MUSIC:
THEME
LIVE SOUND:
APPLAUSE
ANNOUNCER:
Yes, it’s time once again for another comedy episode of OUR MISS BROOKS, under the
direction of Michael J. Smith. Well, many of us are spending this Christmas Eve with our
families and friends. But our Miss Brooks, who teaches English at Madison High School, isn’t
quite so fortunate.
1
CONNIE:
(NARRATES) No, my family was too far away to visit and it seems my friends had other plans.
But I made up my mind not to brood about it and I was trimming a rather tiny tree in our living
room, when Mrs. Davis, my landlady, joined me.
MRS. DAVIS:
That’s quite a nice Christmas tree, Connie.
CONNIE:
It isn’t really a Christmas tree, Mrs. Davis. It’s called a Friendship Tree. You see, I trim it by
putting all my greeting cards on the branches with strips of cellophane tape. Looks nice, doesn’t
it?
MRS. DAVIS:
Yes, it does. You certainly received some pretty cards this year.
CONNIE:
And the sentiments are so lovely. Look at this one I got from my principal.
MRS. DAVIS:
Mr. Conklin? What does it say, dear?
CONNIE:
It’s very heartwarming, Mrs. Davis. It says, “To Miss Brooks, May the coming year bring you
much more efficiency in your work. … Signed, O. Conklin.”
2
MRS. DAVIS:
Oh, I can hardly believe it’s Christmas time again. What happy memories I have of the earlier
Christmases. There was one I’ll never forget. I was just eight years old, and when I tiptoed into
the living room, there was my father standing by the tree. The minute he saw me, his eyes
crinkled up and he started to laugh so that his big white beard and his huge paunch just shook
with glee.
CONNIE:
Your father was made up as Santa Claus?
MRS. DAVIS:
You’d think so, but no. Anyway, to get back to the present, Connie — I’d love to stay here and
celebrate Christmas Eve with you, but I promised my sister Angela I’d come over to her place.
You remember Angela — the absent-minded one?
CONNIE:
Oh, certainly, Mrs. Davis.
MRS. DAVIS:
She always got a big thrill out of the holidays, too — even when we were girls. Of course, the
poor dear could never remember when it was actually Christmas — and one Christmas day she
did the funniest thing!
CONNIE:
What was that, Mrs. Davis?
MRS. DAVIS:
What’s what, dear? …
CONNIE:
What did Angela do?
3
MRS. DAVIS:
Angela?
CONNIE:
Your sister.
MRS. DAVIS:
My sister?
CONNIE:
The absent-minded one. … What did she do?
MRS. DAVIS:
Well, I haven’t spoken to Angela in some time. What has she been up to? …
CONNIE:
I wish I knew. Maybe I can refresh your memory. Christmas morning, Angela did the funniest
thing.
MRS. DAVIS:
Christmas morning isn’t until tomorrow, Connie. You must be confused. …
CONNIE:
Well, don’t worry about it. I only get these spells once in a while.
MRS. DAVIS:
Well, you shouldn’t let it go, Connie. If you don’t mind my offering a little advice, I’d like to
suggest that you train your mind to concentrate more.
4
CONNIE:
I’ll do that, Mrs. Davis.
MRS. DAVIS:
Now then, I’ve developed a little scheme which works wonders for me. Supposing you have
trouble remembering where you put things around the house. Well, you just keep repeating the
location to yourself with a sort of rhythm. For example, I just chant to myself, “The mustard’s in
the closet, the bread is in the box. The mustard’s in the closet, the bread is in the box.” Now, isn’t
that simple? “Mustard’s in the closet, bread is in the box.” …
CONNIE:
That’s wonderful, Mrs. Davis. If anybody wants a mustard sandwich, you’re really ready. …
MRS. DAVIS:
Yes. Now, before I do anything else, I want to invite you to join me tonight.
CONNIE:
Join you?
MRS. DAVIS:
Yes, dear. I’m going over to, uh– To, uh—
CONNIE:
Angela’s house.
MRS. DAVIS:
Why, yes, how did you know? Oh, she’s so cute with that little absent mind of hers. Why,
sometimes she forgets what she was talking about right in the middle of a– Oh, dear me, I hope
there’s enough milk for the cat.
5
CONNIE:
Well, I’m sure if we– But then maybe someday– Or, if it doesn’t seem too– And that’s why I
can’t join you tonight. … But thanks anyway, Mrs. Davis. I’ll just spend a quiet evening at home
here.
MRS. DAVIS:
But how about Mr. Boynton? Don’t tell me he was too shy to ask you for a date on Christmas
Eve.
CONNIE:
Why do you think there’s mistletoe on all four walls? … No, Mr. Boynton asked me, all right, but
then he canceled yesterday. Said he’s going upstate to visit his folks for a couple of days. But
don’t worry about me, Mrs. Davis. I’ll have a great time. I’ll listen to the radio — read — and from
this window, I can see our neighbors’ television – antenna. …
MRS. DAVIS:
But what about the little gifts you’ve got for Walter Denton and Mr. and Mrs. Conklin and
Harriet? When are you going to deliver them?
CONNIE:
They told me not to bother. They said we’d exchange on the twenty-sixth.
MRS. DAVIS:
The twenty-sixth? But I don’t think the day after Christmas is the time to exchange gifts.
CONNIE:
You don’t? You should see the department stores. …
MINERVA:
Meow!
6
CONNIE:
What’s that, Mrs. Davis?
MRS. DAVIS:
Oh, it’s Minerva. (TO MINERVA, AS IF TO A BABY) Where are you, dear?
MINERVA:
(MIMICS HER TONE) Meow! …
CONNIE:
Oh, she’s over by the tree. (TO MINERVA) Here, Rover! Er, Minerva. …
MRS. DAVIS:
Isn’t it the strangest thing how she bites at the pine needles? I guess the resin in them appeals to
her. I’d swear she likes the taste of it.
CONNIE:
I guess to her it’s like a Tom and Jerry. Or rather a Minnie and a Mickey. … Come here, Minerva.
We might as well get friendly. We’re gonna spend the evening together.
MRS. DAVIS:
Well, I’ll be running along now, dear. I hope you won’t feel too lonely.
CONNIE:
I’ll be fine, Mrs. Davis. After all, I do have an imagination. I’ll hang up my stocking in a little
while; then, when I’m pretending I’m asleep, I’ll sneak in and fill it. Before you know it, it’ll be
midnight.
MRS. DAVIS:
Ah, midnight – of Christmas Eve.
7
CONNIE:
I can just picture it. A short thin man in a black suit comes sliding down the chimney with an
empty bag — Saint Penniless, the schoolteacher’s Santa Claus. …
MRS. DAVIS:
Well, at least you’re not bitter. … Now, Connie, about my sister, er—
CONNIE:
Angela.
MRS. DAVIS:
Oh, thank you, dear. About my sister Angela—
CONNIE:
Yes?
MRS. DAVIS:
Good night, Dorothy.
CONNIE:
Good night, Bernice. … [APPLAUSE FOR MRS. DAVIS]
MINERVA:
Meoooow!
CONNIE:
Oh, stop chewing those pine needles, Minerva. Come over here. That’s a good kitty. Now, I’ll
just settle down in Mrs. Davis’ rocker and we’ll have ourselves a nice quiet rock.
8
RECORDED SOUND:
CREAK-CREEEEAK OF ROCKING CHAIR …
CONNIE:
I’ve got to exercise more; my bones are rusting. … Oh, it’s the rocker. Kind of soothing really.
You seem contented enough, Minerva.
MINERVA:
(AMBIVALENT) Myee-ooh. …
CONNIE:
“‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even
a mouse.”
MINERVA:
(TENSE) Meow! …
CONNIE:
Whoops! Sorry, Minerva. I didn’t mean to upset you. (YAWNS) Gosh, I’m sleepy.
RECORDED SOUND:
DOORBELL RINGS
CONNIE:
(YAWNS) Now, who can that be? Expecting anyone, Minerva?
LIVE SOUND:
CONNIE RISES DURING ABOVE … THEN WALKS TO DOOR WHICH OPENS
9
CONNIE:
That’s funny. Nobody’s here.
URCHIN:
I’m here!
CONNIE:
Where? Oh! Leaning on my knee. What can I do for you?
URCHIN:
I’m a salesman. But I don’t believe in giving any sales talk or sob stories. All I do is tell you what
I’m selling. If you wanna buy, okay; if not, okay.
CONNIE:
Okay, what are you selling?
URCHIN:
Well, it’s Christmas Eve. I’m just a small urchin — a little on the underprivileged side. I’m trying
to make a few dollars to get some wood to heat our tiny apartment so while she’s singing to my
three sick sisters, my mother’s lips don’t turn blue. …
CONNIE:
That’s what I like — no sob stories. … If you’re selling handkerchiefs, I’ll take six.
URCHIN:
No, ma’am. I’m selling Christmas trees. They’re only a dollar apiece.
CONNIE:
Well, I’ve already got a tree.
10
URCHIN:
Then I’ll make it fifty cents.
CONNIE:
But I don’t need a tree—
URCHIN:
How ’bout a quarter?
CONNIE:
Look, little boy—
URCHIN:
I can arrange payments! … Please take one, ma’am. These aren’t ordinary trees, you know.
They’re magic!
CONNIE:
Magic?
URCHIN:
Yes, ma’am. You’d be surprised what miracles will happen if you buy one.
CONNIE:
Well, a quarter isn’t too much to pay for a miracle.
URCHIN:
It’s fifty cents.
CONNIE:
I thought you said twenty-five?
11
URCHIN:
That’s when you sounded tougher to sell. …
CONNIE:
Oh. Well, before I melt down to my coal buttons and the stovepipe hat, here’s fifty cents.
URCHIN:
You won’t be sorry, ma’am. Here’s the little tree.
CONNIE:
Say, it’s kind of cute, at that. Would you like to come in and help me set it up?
URCHIN:
Oh, I can’t. I gotta get right home. My sitter’s been alone long enough.
CONNIE:
Sitter? What about your mother? And the firewood?
URCHIN:
That’s just a routine. My folks are attending a dinner the other bank presidents are giving for
Father. …
CONNIE:
With the pitch you’ve got, you’ll have your own bank by the time you’re twelve. …
URCHIN:
Thanks a lot. Good night, lady. (MOVING OFF) And merry Christmas!
CONNIE:
Same to you, you little underprivileged millionaire. …
12
LIVE SOUND:
DOOR SHUTS … CONNIE’S FOOTSTEPS BEHIND—
CONNIE:
I’ll put this tree over here. Maybe we can find some extra trimmings for it in the morning.
MINERVA:
Meeeeoooowwww!
CONNIE:
Minerva, will you stop gnawing on those pine needles? (TO HERSELF) I wish I knew what
made them so appetizing to her.
MINERVA:
(DRUNKENLY) Meeeeoooowwww! Hic!
CONNIE:
Oh. … Now, you come here and let those things alone. (BEAT) There we are.
RECORDED SOUND:
CREAK-CREAK OF ROCKER
CONNIE:
Well, I guess I’m not the only one that’s spending Christmas Eve alone without family or friends.
But who can tell? Maybe Santa Claus has something up his big red sleeve that I don’t even know
about yet. Of course, I do have a squeaky rocker and Minerva. (SINGS) “Jingle bells, jingle
bells! Merry stuff like that. Oh, what fun it is to rock with a big fat drunken cat!” …
RECORDED MUSIC:
BRIDGE (“JINGLE BELLS”)
13
CONNIE:
(NARRATES) As I sat in the living room Christmas Eve with Minerva the cat on my lap, I
couldn’t help noticing that the tree which I’d bought from that wealthy urchin had a rather
peculiar luminosity. Although there wasn’t any artificial illumination, it seemed to glow from
deep down in its branches. As I rocked back and forth, I started to get very drowsy.
RECORDED SOUND:
CREAK-CREAK OF ROCKER
CONNIE:
(YAWNS) The little boy said this tree was magic, Minerva.
MINERVA:
(SKEPTICAL) Meow!
CONNIE:
I don’t believe it either. Still, it is Christmas Eve – (YAWNS) – and some very strange things
have happened on Christmas Eve.
RECORDED MUSIC:
MYSTICAL TRANSITION (“WHITE CHRISTMAS”), WHICH FADES AS . . .
DOORBELL RINGS
CONNIE:
(WAKES) Huh? What’s that? Oh. I must have been dozing. (CALLS) Coming!
LIVE SOUND:
CONNIE RISES AND HURRIES TO DOOR WHICH OPENS
14
CONNIE:
Well! It’s Walter Denton! Come in, Walter.
WALTER:
(HIGH-PITCHED VOICE, OVERENTHUSIASTIC) Noel! Noel! Joyeuse Noel! …
CONNIE:
Gracias. …
LIVE SOUND:
DOOR CLOSES
CONNIE:
Come on into the living room, Walter.
LIVE SOUND:
CONNIE AND WALTER WALK TO LIVING ROOM BEHIND—
WALTER:
Thanks, Miss Brooks. Here, I brought you this little gift to put under your tree.
CONNIE:
Oh, that was very thoughtful, Walter. Put it under this tree over here.
WALTER:
Okay. Say, you’ve got two trees, haven’t ya?
CONNIE:
Yes, one for Minerva and one for me.
15
MINERVA:
(UNSTEADY) Meow!
WALTER:
What?
CONNIE:
Don’t pay any attention to her. She’s sniffing at the catnip ornament. …
WALTER:
Oh. Well, Miss Brooks, as you know, I was supposed to spend the evening nestled snugly in the
tight little confines of my own small immediate family circle.
CONNIE:
For heaven’s sakes, come out of there. You’re giving me claustrophobia.
WALTER:
But I went to my father and mother and crove their permission—
CONNIE:
Wait a minute, Walter. You crove their permission?
WALTER:
Yeah. “Crave, craven crove,” isn’t it?
CONNIE:
Of course not. (TRIES TO CORRECT HIM) “Crave, crave–” Let’s see. “Crave, craven–”
(GIVES UP) After you crove their permission– …
16
WALTER:
Well, they waived my presence for a long enough while for me to deliver to you, Miss Brooks,
the little token of my esteem and affection which is now ensconcing under the tree.
CONNIE:
Walter, are you still in my English class?
WALTER:
Sure, Miss Brooks.
CONNIE:
Well, I’d better bone up a little. One of us is gonna flunk this term. …
WALTER:
But what I’d like to say, Miss Brooks, is something that I’ve wanted to say for a long time.
CONNIE:
Yes, Walter?
WALTER:
It’s a little on the sentimental side, perhaps, for a so-called “hep” high school boy to be telling the
teacher, but — it’s sincere, Miss Brooks.
CONNIE:
I’m sure it is.
WALTER:
It’s something I feel deep down inside of me, Miss Brooks, from whence so many of one’s
warmer emotions stem.
17
CONNIE:
That’s whence they stem from, all right. …
WALTER:
Of course, even if it does seem over-sentimental or even downright sticky, Christmas Eve seems
to be the time you can say things like this and not sound over-sentimental or sticky.
CONNIE:
(IMPATIENT) Christmas Eve is the time to say them. I just hope I hear them by New Year’s
Eve. …
WALTER:
What I want you to know, Miss Brooks, is that I’m grateful.
CONNIE:
For what?
WALTER:
For my association with you during the past semester at Madison High School.
CONNIE:
Well, thank you, Walter. I’ve tried to be a capable teacher—
WALTER:
Oh, your teaching was nothing! … I don’t mean scholastically. As a teacher, you were very
adequate. I mean personally. The interest you took in me and my problems. For that, I could
never thank you if I live to be a hundred. Of course, you’d long gone by then. …
CONNIE:
Joyeux Noel to you, too. …
18
WALTER:
You don’t know what it’s meant to me to have your ear whenever I needed it.
CONNIE:
It was nothing, really. I have another one. …
WALTER:
Especially about girls. Gosh, remember how silly I used to act about girls? Every time one of ’em
looked at me, I giggled like a kid. And then overnight, I matured. I met the one woman who
mattered — Harriet Conklin. (SMOTHERS A GIGGLE THROUGH HIS NOSE) …
CONNIE:
She certainly made something out of you, Walter. I don’t know what, but something. …
WALTER:
And you saw me though the difficult transition period of that amour as well — while Harriet and I
were adjusting to one another. It was wonderful to be able to come to you for advice, Miss
Brooks. It isn’t every boy who has such an interest taken in him by some intelligent older person.
…
CONNIE:
Give me back my ear; I can’t hear you. …
WALTER:
Not that you’re ancient or anything. Gosh, I’ve seen girls my age who don’t look as good as you
do. …
CONNIE:
Girls? What do you think I am?
19
MINERVA:
(AS A MATTER OF FACT) Meow—
CONNIE:
That’s enough out of you, Minerva. …
WALTER:
By the way, Miss Brooks, I see ya got lots of mistletoe on the walls. Were you expecting Mr.
Boynton tonight?
CONNIE:
Yes, Walter, I was. We were going for a wheelchair ride together. … But he had to visit his folks
upstate.
WALTER:
His folks? Gosh, they must be well along in years.
CONNIE:
His father’s over fifty. They may shoot him next spring. … Look, Walter, while you’re here, you
might as well pick up the little gift I got for you.
WALTER:
(SLOWLY) Oh, but you shouldn’t have, Miss Brooks! (QUICKLY) Where is it? …
CONNIE:
Under the tree, on your right. It isn’t much. Just a remembrance.
WALTER:
Well, gee, I almost forgot. I can’t open it yet.
20
CONNIE:
Why not? Oh, you mean you want to put it under your tree at home and open it with your
family?
WALTER:
Not exactly, but– Well, I’ll get it later, Miss Brooks.
RECORDED SOUND:
DOORBELL RINGS
WALTER:
Ooh, there they are now! I’ll answer it!
CONNIE:
There who are now?
LIVE SOUND:
DURING ABOVE, WALTER’S FOOTSTEPS HURRY TO DOOR WHICH OPENS, OFF
WALTER:
(OFF) Come on in, folks! She was all alone when I got here!
HARRIET:
(OFF) Then it’s really a surprise, isn’t it?
LIVE SOUND:
DOOR CLOSES, OFF
CONKLIN:
(DOUR) We should have stayed home Christmas Eve. Besides, it’s freezing out.
21
MRS. CONKLIN:
Now, Osgood, don’t be so grouchy. (UP) Hello, Miss Brooks! Merry Christmas!
CONNIE:
Why, it’s Mr. and Mrs. Conklin, and Harriet. How are you all?
CONKLIN:
I’m cold. …
CONNIE:
Oh, that’s too bad. Come here, Minerva; rub up against Mr. Conklin.
MINERVA:
Meow!
CONKLIN:
What’s that? Go away, cat.
MRS. CONKLIN:
She seems to like you, Osgood. Or – or is she hungry, Miss Brooks?
CONNIE:
She’s not that hungry. …
CONKLIN:
I don’t like cats. Why doesn’t she go chase a mouse or something?
CONNIE:
You forget, Mr. Conklin. This is Christmas Eve. There isn’t one stirring.
22
MINERVA:
(SMUG GIGGLE) Mmmmmmm! …
WALTER:
(AMOROUS) Say, Harriet–?
HARRIET:
Yes, Walter?
WALTER:
There’s a lot of mistletoe around this room.
HARRIET:
I know. It’s real pretty.
MRS. CONKLIN:
(AMOROUS) Osgood? Notice all the mistletoe in this room?
CONKLIN:
What? Oh, that green stuff. … More often than not, it makes me sneeze.
MRS. CONKLIN:
Oh, come on, Osgood, let’s see if it does.
CONKLIN:
Oh, now, Martha, don’t embarrass me. I don’t want to—
WALTER:
It doesn’t make you sneeze, does it, Harriet?
23
HARRIET:
I’m willing to find out! Here’s a nice wreath of it on this wall.
WALTER:
Yeah. (BEAT) Well, here we are. …
HARRIET:
Yes. Here we are.
WALTER & HARRIET:
(AFTER A BEAT, THEY BOTH SUPPRESS A GIGGLE THROUGH THEIR NOSES) …
WALTER:
May I, Mr. and Mrs. Conklin?
MRS. CONKLIN:
If it’s all right with Harriet, it’s all right with us.
HARRIET:
Well, come on, Walter, we’re getting old!
WALTER:
(BIG KISS!) Oh, gosh, you’re sweet, Harriet!
MRS. CONKLIN:
Isn’t that cute, Osgood? Oh, come here, dear. How about one for your faithful old wife?
CONKLIN:
Well, it is customary, I guess. There. I’m under the stuff. …
24
MRS. CONKLIN:
Now, pucker up, dear.
CONKLIN:
Very well, very we– (STARTS BUILDING TO A SNEEZE) Ah–! Ah–! You see? I told you, I
told– (BIG SNEEZE!) AHHHH-CHOO! … Now, let’s stop this romantic dribble and act like
adult human beings. Miss Brooks, I’d like to take advantage of this visit to inquire as to your
plans for the coming year’s classwork. Do you have your schedule all laid out?
CONNIE:
Frankly, Mr. Conklin, I haven’t had much chance to work on anything.
CONKLIN:
Haven’t had much of a chance? But you’ve been away from school all week. Your vacation
started last Monday.
CONNIE:
I know, Mr. Conklin, and that’s what I took the week as. I mean, a vacation is something you go
on when you get the opportunity to. You don’t work on it, or during it, unless– Even though I
didn’t actually go anywhere, when my vacation came along, I went on it. Or was on one. Usually.
…
CONKLIN:
And you wanted to be the head of the English department. …
MRS. CONKLIN:
Please, Osgood, this is no time to talk of school affairs. We’re here to spend part of our holiday
with Miss Brooks.
25
CONNIE:
It was very nice of you to think about me, Mrs. Conklin. It was nice of all of you. I want to-Where a…
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