"The Peasant and the Waterman"

Booth, Roy C. (American playwright, comic book/games/book store owner, 1965-____), “The Peasant and the Waterman,” a 15-minute children’s play in English, set in Old Russia, long ago,

3m1f

; • © 1997 by Roy C. Booth; • in Roy C. Booth’s The Peasant and the Waterman (Bovey, Minnesota, U.S.A.: The Author, 1997) ; • script/rights; • script/rights available from Roy C. Booth, 3811 6th Avenue West, Hibbing, Minnesota 55746, U.S.A., telephone (home) 218-759-0246, (work) 218-759-0246, e-mail roycbooth@hotmail.com. • Cited by Roy C. Booth via ftp December 29, 1999; • Booth says,

§ Dramatis Personae The Waterman (m), bizarre water spirit; The Peasant (m); Peasant’s Wife (f); The Brother (m).

§ Synopsis “A poor, good-hearted peasant makes his way into the forest to cut wood. Unfortunately, he is also very clumsy and he loses his only ax in a lake. As he bemoans his situation, up pops up the Waterman of the lake, a bizarre water spirit who asks what all of the commotion is about. After hearing the peasant’s story, the Waterman dives under the water and reappears with an ax—a silver ax! The peasant tells the Waterman that it is not his and the Waterman dives below again—this time coming up with a golden ax! Again the Peasant refuses to take the more valuable ax. Finally the real ax is returned, and the Waterman rewards the peasant for his honesty and gives him all the axes. Arriving at home, the peasant tells his wife and mean brother what has happened and how he was rewarded. Filled with greed, the brother tries to get more axes from the Waterman but fails miserably.

§ Comment “This play was originally produced at the Lake Bemidji State Park with two short children’s plays in August, 1997, at the Lake Bemidji Wooden Outdoor Amphitheatre using simple costumes and simple sets. The Waterman was an elaborate makeup job of clay, water, and mud which helped segue into a conservation lecture led by one of the park wardens after the end of the show. • One peformance of the play featured the Waterman out of ‘costume’—the end result with the audience was the same—they loved it! • Versions of this story can also be found in Ireland and other parts of Europe.” • Good news [July 5, 2000]: looks like this play and ‘The Coldest Time of the Year’ are set to be produced in Durban, South Africa. The producers saw ‘Coldest’ on this website, then contacted me directly. Whoop!

§ Themes folklore, honesty, Irish folklore, mythical creatures, punishing the wicked, rewarding the just, Russian folklore.

See also:

Booth, Roy C. (American playwright, comic book/games/book store owner, 1965-____)

• "Alvissmal," a 10-minute Skaldic verse drama in English, translated and adapted from Old Norse by Roy C. Booth, set in outside Thrudheim, Thor's home in Asgard, night, ancient Norse mythological era, 2m
• "Cafe a la Ionesco," a 32-minute absurdist farce in English, set in a fancy restaurant in Nymore, Minnesota, Tuesday evening, February 2, 1999, 3m1f
• "Circe," a 5-minute dramatic dance piece in English, set at the gates of Mount Olympus, mythological Greece, 4f
• "The Coat," a 20-minute drama in English, set in a Greek mountain outpost, late night, winter, 1940, 3m1f
• "The Coldest Time of the Year," a 20-minute children's play in English, set in a forest in India, long ago, 3m
• "The Confession," a 25-minute suspense drama in English, set in a small, isolated church, northern Minnesota woods, U.S.A., 1995, 2m
• "Do You Think Dogs Think? Part I" a 10-minute postmodern comedy in English, set in a college office, today, 3m1f (+ extras)
• "He Who Gets Laughed At Last," a 25-minute dark comedy in English, set the dressing room in a comedy club, 1996, 2m2f
• "No Uncertain Terms," a 60-minute postmodern drama on comedy, translated by Roy C. Booth and Peter Birmanns from the German original, set in the headquarters of the Black and White Party, last week, 3m1f (+ extras)
• "Ratopolis," a 22-minute science fiction drama in English, set in American suburbia, 2045,1m1f (+ extras)
• "Vafthrudnismal," a 12-minute Skaldic verse drama in English, translated and adapted from Old Norse by Roy C. Booth, set in Asgard, then the Giant Vafthrudnir's hall, night, ancient Norse mythological era, 2m1f

Booth, Roy C. (American playwright, comic book/games/book store owner, 1965-____) and Cynthia Booth (American playwright, comic book/games/book store owner, 19__-____),

• “Two Wives and a Dead Guy,” a 23-minute comedy in English, set in a funeral parlor, 2000, 2m2f

Booth, Roy C. (American playwright, comic book/games/book store owner, 1965-____) and Shane K. Robertson (American playwright, student, 1967-____)

• “Hello, Crisis Center Hotline?”a 17-minute comedy satire in English, set in a swanky high rise office, 1996, 2m1f

This Website continues under construction and welcomes new citations and comments.

Page mounted January 20, 2000, and updated July 4, 2000, February 10, 2001, May 8, 2002, February 15, 2003, February 2, April 27, July 22, 2004, by the site Webmaster.
 
 

There is a there there with a correct click.

Quick Connections to Major Sections of This Guide

Preliminaries | Home Page | Contents | Acknowledgments | | Foreword | Preface | Introduction | Body | Author Index | Cast Size/Gender Index | Title Index | | Glossary of Genres | Bibliography for Playwrights | Playbills by Themes | | Eighty Script Analyses (in Print Volume) | Source Directory for Scripts | Sundries | Visits Counter | Success Stories | | Form for Submitting New Citation | | Form for Ordering 1/2/3/4 for the Show | | Present Web Links | Adding Web Links | | Guest Book | Disclaimer | General Bibliography | | About the Author |

Quick Connections to Cast Size/Gender Menus

1 Actor | One-Male Plays | One-Female Plays | 2 Actors | One-Male-One-Female Plays | Two-Male Plays | Two-Female Plays | 3 Actors | One-Male-Two-Female Plays | Two-Male-One-Female Plays | Three-Male Plays | | Three-Female Plays | 4 Actors | One-Male-Three-Female Plays | Two-Male-Two-Female Plays | | Three-Male-One-Female Plays | Four-Male Plays | Four-Female Plays |
 

Small-Cast One-Act Guide Online

complements

the more-extensive print volumes

1/2/3/4 for the Show: A Guide to Small-Cast One-Act Plays, Vols. 1 and 2

  (Lanham, Maryland, U.S.A.; Folkestone, Kent, U.K.: Scarecrow Press, 1995, 1999),

vol. 1 [1995] ISBN 0-8108-2985-1, vol. 2 [1999] ISBN 0-8108-3600-9

 Scarecrow Press, Inc.

4720 Boston Way, Lanham, Maryland 20706, U.S.A. telephone 800-462-6420 or 301-459-3366, fax 800-338-4550

4 Pleydell Gardens, Folkestone, Kent CT20 2DN, England
 

 

Both volumes of this guidebook are available in 2-3 days from ScarecrowPress.com Amazon.com BarnesandNoble.com Borders.com