Teen Angel Goes To Nazareth

The Christmas story emphasizes how God can (and does) use anybody.

Anybody, no matter how unprepared they think they are.
Even Mary, a young woman from the impoverished village of Nazareth; even an awkward teenage angel filling in for Gabriel.

Written to be a Radio Drama but can be used as regular script
Lovingly written by DramaShare friend, Chris Redmond.

Cast: 17+ m or f

• Total 17+ speaking parts, plus a narrator if it's performed as a radio play.
• Minimum of 12 actors (at least 2 female, at least 6 male) if smaller parts are doubled.
• One character, the Little Angel, is a child, or must at least seem childlike.
  • Angels:
    • Gabriel,
    • Fred,
    • Little Angel
  • Shepherds:
    • Aleph,
    • Beth,
    • Gimel,
    • Daleth
  • Wise Men:
    • Caspar,
    • Melchoir,
    • Balth
• Others:
  • Max the herald,
  • Anne,
  • Mary,
  • Jean,
  • Foreman,
  • Joseph,
  • Villager
• Non-speaking crowd

Bible Reference: Luke 2

Set: standard

• Full staging, (as opposed to Radio Drama), would require six scenes (heaven, kitchen, carpentry shop, roadside, pasture, stable), each of which could be suggested very sketchily.

Sound: wireless mics if available

Song:

• Three songs are suggested, but could be changed or omitted:
  • The Angel Gabriel From Heaven Came, on internet
  • Away In A Manger, traditional carol
  • On A Day When Men Were Counted, on internet

Lighting: standard

SFX:

• trumpet blasts

Props:

• (if staged as a regular drama):
• Broom, carpenters’ tools, trumpet, handkerchief for angel with a head cold, blankets, gifts brought by the wise men.

Costumes:

• Something suggestive of villagers, shepherds and wise men; or could be done in plain clothes, apart from the angels, who will at least need haloes, preferably with a glow.

Special Instructions:

• When this script was first performed it was done as a radio play — read by actors at microphones, openly using scripts, without action, props or costumes; stage directions were read by a narrator. Full staging would require six scenes (heaven, kitchen, carpentry shop, roadside, pasture, stable), each of which could be suggested very sketchily.
• Sepphoris (real city near Nazareth, population 30,000 in Roman times) is pronounced SEP-por-iss.

Time: 25 with songs

Sample of script:

SCENE I: PREPARATION

SCENE I: PREPARATION

(Fred enters, followed by Little Angel. Fred is dressed in white and with angel wings, but lacks a halo and seems to lack self-assurance. Little Angel has both a halo and, in a five-year-old sort of way, poise.)

FRED
Testing, testing. One-two-three-four. Glory to God in the highest.

LITTLE
Fred? Fred, why did you count to four? I can count all the way to twenty!

FRED
Hush! I have to practise my speech!

LITTLE
Sorry, Fred.

FRED
Glory to God in the highest. The Lord is with you, and — is with you, and you are —

LITTLE
Fred? Fred, are you going to wear your halo when you make your speech?

FRED
Oh, will you stop interrupting me? I have to practise! And yes, I’m going to wear my halo. It’s going to be all shiny and polished. I’ll be so bright that everybody will have to squint at me like this!

LITTLE (laughs)
Fred, you’re funny. Fred, how come you get to make the speech this time? Every other time, when God has a message for somebody, one of the big angels gets to bring it.

FRED
Well, now I’m one of the big angels. They picked me because I’m the best. And because Gabriel and Michael and Raphael all have those awful sore throats this week.

LITTLE
I think they’ve got the bird flu.

FRED
Well, whatever they’ve got, they can’t take God’s message, so I get to do the job instead. And now I have to practise, because today is the big day. I’m on my way right after lunch. Testing, testing...

SCENE II: ANNUNCIATION

(In the kitchen of a small house in Nazareth, a young woman, Mary, is sweeping the floor, while her mother, Anne, clears away the dishes.)

ANNE
That’s the kitchen all cleaned up. I have some mending to get to, and I suppose you need to work on the clothes for your wedding. Or maybe you’re just going to daydream about Joseph for a while!

MARY
Mama, don’t tease me about him so much. Of course I’m excited! He’s the nicest man in the world… and he’s going to be making really good money in a couple of years, with all the construction that the Romans are planning over at Sepphoris.

ANNE
Yes, dear… and oh, Mary: soon after that I suppose I’ll be a grandma!

MARY
You’re still teasing me. But it’s true, ever since I was a tiny girl I’ve been praying to God to make me a mother some day. So we’ll see.

(Anne exits. Mary daydreams. Fred appears in the doorway, now with a shiny but crooked halo.)

FRED
Testing — umm — message begins. Glory to God in the highest.

(Mary sees him and gasps in surprise and fear.)

It’s okay, don’t worry. Glory to God — oh, I said that part already. Greetings from heaven to you on earth: you have found favour with God.

MARY
Are you really an angel?

FRED
Yes, I am, but please don’t interrupt me. It was a hard speech to learn. You have found favour with God, and now here is what is to happen: a baby boy will be born to you, and you will name him Jeshua. He will grow up to be a great man, and will be called the Child of Heaven, and God will give him the crown that once belonged to his ancestor, King David.

MARY
How did you know that my family is descended from King David? And so is Joseph’s family, we think.

FRED
I work for God, remember. God knows these things. As I was saying: your son, who will be called Jeshua, will rule over the people forever. That is the end of the message I bring you from God. Have a nice day.

MARY
Wait a minute! When is this supposed to happen? I’m not even married to Joseph yet. There’s no way I can have a baby.

FRED
That doesn’t matter. It’s the Spirit of God that will give you this boy child. Now please don’t ask any more questions. I have to hurry back and tell the big angels that I delivered the message!

(Fred dashes away.)

MARY (calling after him)
If that’s what God wants, that’s what I’ll do! Oh, he’s gone. Mama! Mama! Oh, but wait, I have to think about this for a minute. A baby for me, a boy child who will be a King! And I suppose that means I will be a queen. It’s just as amazing as the promises they read out from those scrolls when we go to the temple. God makes wonderful things happen in poor families like ours. Mama, I have to tell you about the message that came with an angel! (runs offstage)

MUSIC — SOLO: “The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came”

SCENE III: COMPLICATION

(Joseph and fellow carpenters, including the Foreman, work with saw and plane in their shop.)

FOREMAN
Hey, Joseph, do you want to work some overtime this weekend? I know you need to save up for getting married, and that rush job over at Sepphoris has to be done by next week.

JOSEPH
Sure, I can do that. The money will really help.

(Trumpet-blast. Actors move toward the door of the shop. Max the Herald arrives.)

MAX
Hear ye, hear ye. Hail, Augustus Caesar, Emperor of the World, and also hail Cyrenius, Governor of Syria, and Herod, King of Judea. A decree from the Emperor! All the people of the world are to be registered, in accordance with the Taxation Act previously announced. All persons are to report to the tax office at their ancestral village within thirty days of this date. Herein fail not, or you don’t want to know what awful things the Emperor will do to you. This ends the decree. Hail Augustus!

FOREMAN
More taxes. You’re going to need that overtime, Joseph.

JOSEPH
It’s not just the taxes. The problem for me will be going to my ancestral village. I come from the family of David, you know. This is going to mean travelling all the way across the country to Bethlehem, where David came from seven hundred years ago.

MAX
Hail Augustus! Here follows Addendum One to the previous decree. All family members are to accompany the head of household in reporting to the ancestral village. Young women old enough for marriage are to travel with their future husbands instead of being a burden on their fathers. Hail Augustus!

JOSEPH
Young women old enough — that means Mary is going to have to come with me, cross-country to Bethlehem. She can’t walk that far — I’m going to have to borrow a donkey or something for her to ride. But how am I going to protect her from bandits and dangers like that?

FOREMAN
It’s not an easy life with the Emperor in charge. But I’d better not say that too loudly while the herald is around. So I suppose this means you can’t do the overtime hours after all?

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