by Emma Spires

Synopsis

'Jesse and the Bookkeepers' is a One Act play that follows the story of a young, shy child named Jesse who spends a lot of their time on their own in the Lunar Library. But they find themselves in a situation where the fate of the world and the library is in their hands. With the help of the librarian, Tioni Moon, who turns out to be a real live princess, and the magical Bookkeepers, they make their way through the pages of books, solving problems and trying to defeat Tioni's younger brother, Tiernan, and his sidekick, Smudge.

Along the way they visit books about Commedia, Romeo and Juliet, Aboriginal Dreamtime Stories, The Olympics, King Arthur and finally The Battle of Hastings, with the Scribes telling the stories along the way. Tiernan is doing his best to muddle up the books so he can get to Hastings first to become King of all realms. But with the help of Tioni and the Bookkeepers we see Jesse become more confident in their abilities, and solving all the problems Tiernan and Smudge cause.

The end battle sees Smudge finally get his redemption by saving Jesse, but it means that Tiernan escapes. With all the books safe, Jesse believes that along with the others they will now return to the library, but Tioni explains that Jesse doesn’t need them anymore. The play begins as it starts, but instead of Jesse staying on their own reading, they go off with their friends showing that they now have the confidence to live in the real world and not in books.

'Jesse and the Bookkeepers' is designed so that it can be a cast of many or few with the use of multi-roling. The lead can be male or female, and other characters can be cast to suit the setting and genders. It is written so that it can also be rehearsed in isolated sections should you have a large cast, and the set can be large scale or small scale. It is a mixed genre so as to appeal to a varied audience. Being a mixture of comedy, tragedy, T.I.E and physical theatre, there is something for everyone.

Duration

Characters

(1m, 2f, 2m/f plus large supporting cast)

Principals

• Tioni Moon -The Librarian, A Princess, 26 years old (f)
• Jesse, a bookish 13 year old (m/f)
• Tiernan Moon, Tioni’s mischievous brother, A Prince 25 years old (m)
• Smudge, Tiernan’s sidekick, Any age and gender (m/f)
• Stella, 23 years old (f)

Supporting Characters

• Bookkeepers: Creasy-Bookkeeper for Comedy; Doom & Gloom-Bookkeepers for Tragedy; PW-Bookkeeper for Plays; Ludo-Bookkeeper for Games; Geomundo-Bookkeeper for World Books; Razzie-Bookkeeper for Entertainment; Sprightly-Bookkeeper for Fairy Tales; Acu-Bookkeeper for History; Scribes 1 to 5

• Commedia Dell‘Arte Characters: Pantalone, Il Dottre, Il Capitano, Arlecchino, Zanni
• Shakespeare Characters: Romeo, Mercutio, Juliet, Nancy/Nurse
• Other Supporting Characters: Photographer, Runners 1to10, Rainbow Serpent, Frog1&2, Kangas1&2, Koalas 1&2, Birds1&2, Fish 1&2, Brothers1&2, Director, Actor, Knights 1to4, King Arthur, Snow White, Merlin, Morgana, Evil Queen, William The Conqueror, Harold, Soldiers