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Adapted from a Reader’s Theater –
Meridian Idaho East Stake
Used to introduce the YW Values to the Young Women and Leaders.
Our Ward put this on as a play with the YW Leaders acting as the
Contestants and a member of the Bishopric as the Commentator. We came
in different costumes, according to our character, and really hammed it
up. On each ribbon banner was written the Contestant’s Title and on the
other side we wrote the Value the contestant reformed to. Each banner
was in the Value color.
TV ANNOUNCER: (on tape) ...and now back to our show…
COMMENTATOR: Thank you for
that word from our sponsor. And now, ladies and gentlemen, it is
getting close! We’re almost to the BIG moment. The judges have just
handed me the envelope that lists our finalists. (open envelope) And
here they are!
From Persnickety, Pennsylvania,
MISS PIOUS! (Enter Miss Pious)
From Moansville, Maryland, MISS
WHIMPER’N’WHINE! (Enter Miss Whimper’n’Whine)
From Big Me Little You, Texas,
MISS SELF-CENTERED! (Enter Miss Self-Centered)
From Muscle Beach, California,
MISS TEN! (Enter Miss Ten)
From Indecision, Indiana, MISS
IDAKNOW! (Enter Miss Idaknow)
From Confidential, Connecticut,
MISS GOSSIP! (Enter Miss Gossip)
From Counterfeit, Kentucky, MISS
PHONEY-BALONEY! (Enter Miss Phoney-Baloney)
And now, the moment you have been
waiting for, the grand finale! Each contestant will answer the big
question, “Why are you here, and what do you stand for?”
(Each contestant wears a ribbon
with her title on it. We made crowns for after the “contest” with
crowns we got from Burger King and glitter.)
MISS PIOUS: I’ve worked so
hard, I deserve to be here! Why, I even get up at 3:00 in the morning
for my personal perfection. You know… That’s pray for 20 minutes,
scriptures for 20 minutes, exercise for 20 minutes and meditate on my
virtues for 20 minutes. I am very organized! I fast one day each week
to prove my humility to my friends. I insist that we kneel in prayer
before our carpool leaves for school each day. I never miss an
opportunity bear my testimony. This lets everyone know how spiritually
aware I am. I always like to remind people that my Dad is the Stake
President – in case they didn’t know. Everyone else my age is vastly
immature. I’ll be very glad to graduate and go to B.Y.U. so I can have
the opportunity to associate with people on the same superior level as
myself!
MISS WHIMPER’N’WHINE: You
know, it really isn’t fair that I wasn’t first to share my inner
feelings with you. Someone is always making me go second, or more
likely, last. My mother wouldn’t even buy the $700 dress I wanted for
this competition. (she sighs) I had to settle for this stupid $400
one. It even has dumb sleeves! I haven’t seen sleeves like this since
the 80’s, and we all know how long ago that was! I am always so busy.
Nobody understands the time constraints I have to deal with. I just
don’t have any time to do housework, attend church or listen to my
friends go on and on about their silly problems. In fact, I will
probably lose this dumb contest because nobody would help me the way
they should have. My father is always too busy, my mother is
preoccupied with her little life, and my sister sure doesn’t care. Oh
well. It was stupid to try in the first place. It’s not like I wanted
to win.
MISS SELF-CENTERED: (with
thick Texas drawl) I am Sarah Belle Self-Cenetered from Big Me Little
You, Texas! (wink to audience) I am plum dee-lighted to be here and to
let y’all have a gander at me! I know I’d be the perfect peach for this
title. It would certainly further my career, I declare! None of these
fillies here (wave to the other contestants) have what it takes to be a
truly big success. I’ve been to the Julliard school of music, and
Boston’s finest finishing school. My Daddy? Oh, my Daddy’s rich. And
my Momma’s good looking. All of the handsome return missionaries think
I am the finest little filly in all of Texas!
MISS TEN (body and I.Q.):
(carries a mirror) Isn’t this the most awesome thing you have ever
seen? Do you like my new hair style? It isn’t too big, is it? I’ve
been having it colored since the third grade, and I think it’s finally
right. I have pedicures every Tuesday and Thursday. Manicures are
Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Oh! And I can’t forget my Saturday
facial! I work so hard to keep my body perfect. And a perfect body
just can’t be seen without the perfect clothes! Can you imagine this
body in anything but a designer label? Oh, the thought makes me
shudder! With all of the work I already have to do to stay perfect, I
certainly don’t have time for school and books! All I need to make it
in life are my looks. Keeping up my beauty is my number-one goal!!
MISS IDAKNOW: I don’t
know why I’m here. One of my friends thought it would be fun, so here I
am. I don’t know if I even wore the right dress for tonight. My
boyfriend picked this out for me, and you can tell he likes the “rugged”
look. I don’t know where I am going either. I don’t know if I can go
to college. I’ll have to wait and see what everyone else does. I don’t
know what my standards are, either. I’ll just watch to see what my
friends do. Do you know why I’m here?
MISS GOSSIP: Guess what I
heard today? I heard that Miss Ten is really a Six! You can’t tell
with that dress she’s wearing, but she’s bowlegged! People think she’s
been on a horse for most of her life, not in a salon! You know what
else I found out? Miss Pious doesn’t really say her personal prayers.
She only knows how to pray out loud and in front of people. In fact,
she picks new words from the dictionary each day to include in her
out-loud prayers so she’ll look more inspired! And you can keep a
secret, right? Something Miss Idaknow really doesn’t know is how many
people laugh at her behind her back! She wouldn’t know where her head
was if it wasn’t screwed onto her neck! Oh, and Miss Self-Centered will
never get the Miss Congeniality award. Nobody can stand her! She
honestly thinks the Sun is revolving around HER! HA! Shhhh. Now, you
have to cross your heart and hope to die that you won’t tell anyone what
I’ve just told you… Okay?
MISS PHONEY-BALONEY:
(Everything in parentheses is to be said as an aside to the audience, or
can be taped beforehand and played at the appropriate time.)
I’m so glad to be here with all of these wonderful people! (This is the
most boring audience I have ever seen. Hello! Anyone awake out
there?) I owe my family so much! (Like my brother – I owe him a punch
in the arm) My mother is truly my best friend, and I love her so! (She
is sooooo old fashioned, and knows absolutely nothing about life!) All
these girls here have been so special and sweet to me. They have all
helped me a lot! (Have you ever seen such a collection of misfits and
losers?) All of the other students at my school have been so supportive
of my entering this contest! (Yeah, right. The whole student body is
filled with nerds and geeks. They may think I like them, but I really
think they’re a bunch of idiots.)
COMMENTATOR: You know,
this job should be an easy one for our judges. Choosing the best girl
from our finalists is probably a snap for you members of the audience!
But personally, I am confused. I just don’t know what to think! These
girls… They have no values! They pretty much stink! Where is their
purpose, their direction or their goals? Without Faith and Good Works,
they will be lost souls. Let’s try this again, but look way deep inside
yourselves, contestants. The judges aren’t looking for perfection –
Just someone who has tried, with hard work, knowledge, understanding and
care to become better. Audience, I think these lovely ladies have more
to share with us. Let’s give them a hand encourage them to be their
best!
Miss Pious, are you truly happy
with the title of “Miss Pious”, or would you like to be known as
something else?
REFORMED SPEECHES
MISS PIOUS: I have been so
busy telling everyone how righteous I am that I haven’t taken the time
to test my own faith and beliefs. I need to stop putting others down
and truly build myself up through quiet actions and thoughts. In D&C
14:77, it says:
“And if you
keep my commandments and endure to the end, you shall have eternal life,
which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.”
It doesn’t say, “If you act superior in keeping my commandments and
strut around flashing all your knowledge and beliefs to others you shall
have eternal life…” I just didn’t get it. I think I do now. I need to
have FAITH in the Gospel and in my Father in Heaven, and be humble in
this knowledge. I hope I can lovingly help others to find this FAITH.
That’s the first step in my journey.
“I am a
daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves me, and I can have FAITH in His
eternal plan which centers in Jesus Christ, our Savior.”
I hope you’ll
be able to forgive me for acting like such a hot shot. I was wrong.
I’d rather be known as a young woman of FAITH than Miss Pious. (Place
FAITH crown on head, and turn sash to word FAITH.)
COMMENTATOR: Miss
Whimper’n’Whine, is that the title you’d like to keep?
MISS WHIMPER’N’WHINE: All
I have done is whine, complain, argue, moan and be disagreeable. I have
forgotten that I have inherited DIVINE qualities. But, they have been
hidden for so long under mounds of my negative moaning that they were
lost temporarily.
“I have
inherited DIVINE qualities which I will strive to develop.”
I need to take
the time to recognize these qualities. I have been so busy being a
whiner that I have forgotten how bright and wonderful life and other
people can be. The negative is always out there, and if I go in search
of it, I will certainly find it. If I embrace the negatives I find, all
of the positives will slip from my grasp and I will lose it. Life is
great… I am great… You are great… I have a wonderful family and
wonderful friends… I live in a great country and have the Gospel in my
life and my home. I am a daughter of God, and he loves me. I sure feel
better now. I need to spread joy as I travel through life, and if I do,
I will end up happy and will fulfill my DIVINE NATURE. I am beginning
to understand and like myself a lot more. (Place DIVINE NATURE crown on
head, and turn sash to word DIVINE NATURE.)
COMMENTATOR: Miss
Self-Centered… Do you really want to be remembered that way?
MISS SELF-CENTERED: I have
been so preoccupied with my own superiority that I can’t get outside of
my own needs long enough to recognize the INDIVIDUAL WORTH of my friends
and family. Recognizing my own INDIVIDUAL WORTH doen’t mean I should
put others down, walk all over people or be disagreeable. D&C 18: 10
states that the worth of souls is great in the sight of God. It doesn’t
say that I am greater than any other person. We are all important to
our Heavenly Father. Not just me. Boy, was I mixed up! We are all
unique, different and inherently special to our Heavenly Father, and
that’s the way he meant it to be. I needed to realize that we are all
of infinite worth as Children of God, and we all have an individual and
divine mission to fulfill. Sometimes I would act superior when that
wasn’t how I felt inside. I would say how great I was, but I felt small
and insignificant. I need to find and nourish the things that are
positive about myself. This way, I can work on eliminating the negative
from my life, and find my INDIVIDUAL WORTH as well as the worth of
others. The Lord has promised that we all have talents and gifts. If
we will just look for them, He will help us find and develop them. I
feel so much better knowing that I don’t have to act like I am great. I
can just be me, and I like this me better than being “Miss
Self-Centered”. (Place INDIVIDUAL WORTH crown on head, and turn sash to
word INDIVIDUAL WORTH.)
COMMENTATOR: Miss Ten,
what is really important to you?
MISS TEN: I have been
such an airhead. All I used to think was important was having a great
body. I thought if I had that, everything else in my life would just
fall into place. I was terribly wrong. Sure, it’s important to eat
right and take care of my body, but I need more than that. To find the
kind of successes in life that will make me happy and please my Heavenly
Father, I need to have KNOWLEDGE of many different areas. In D&C
88:118, I have learned that I need to seek learning, even by study and
also by faith. It doesn’t say I have to have a pedicure or manicure on
a certain day. That scripture tells me that I need to seek
KNOWLEDGE. Going to school and studying hard to better my mind, making
plans for college – these are some of the things I need to do to find
KNOWLEDGE. You know, I have always wanted to marry a college graduate,
and have a lot to talk about with my husband. How can I expect a
college grad to have an intelligent conversation with me when all I know
about is my own hair and toenails? I was going in the wrong direction,
but now I have it figured out. There are good books to read, plays to
see, art to appreciate, music to study, classes to take and discussions
to take part in to help me learn. But I can’t just learn about the
world alone. I need to gain KNOWLEDGE of spiritual things to truly
appreciate the things I learn about the world. I can do this by
studying the scriptures, attending Seminary and Institute classes,
listening to General Conference and praying about the things I learn. I
want to be able to study the Gospel and stand on my own two feet with a
strong testimony. I don’t just want to say, “I believe,” but I want to
say “I KNOW.” From this day forward, I will continually seek
opportunities for learning and growth. (Place KNOWLEDGE crown on head,
and turn sash to word KNOWLEDGE.)
COMMENTATOR: Miss Idaknow,
certainly you know something about what you want to be…
MISS IDAKNOW: I have
really buried my head in the sand. I have been letting everyone make
decisions for me… except for me. I would blame them for the decisions
made for me if things didn’t work out right. I have to make my own
CHOICES, and be ACCOUNTABLE for the consequences of those choices… good
or bad. When I don’t make my choices with careful thought and
consideration, I am really missing out on chances for my personal
growth. I need to study, ponder and pray about what is best for me and
what will bring me the greatest joy in the long run. My choices also
need to be ones that will please my Heavenly Father, because He gave all
of us the ability to make our own choices. Jesus’ plan was for us to
have the freedom to choose our own way, taking the consequences that
came with our choices. What a wonderful gift! The alternative was
Satan’s plan that would deprive us of the ability to choose, and in
turn, to learn and become more like our Heavenly Father. When we chose
Jesus’ plan, we knew that CHOICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY would be the best
for us, and Heavenly Father knew it too. Here I was, letting others
make my choices for me. When I make choices, I need to be accountable,
and not blame others. We can and do learn from our choices. I will
remain free by choosing good over evil and will accept responsibility
for my choices. (Place CHOICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY crown on head, and turn
sash to word CHOICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY.)
COMMENTATOR: Miss Gossip,
tell me something you have just found out…
MISS GOSSIP: I have just
learned… That I don’t want to be known as a gossip anymore. I seem to
be able to do one thing extremely well. I can gossip. When my favorite,
and only, pastime is talking about others, there isn’t much time left
for GOOD WORKS. I need to nurture others and build the kingdom [of the
Lord] through righteous service. There is so much I can do if I just
open my eyes and observe what is around me. For starters, I could try
being a better sister. I am really impatient at home. Love and service
start at home, so that is a good place for me to begin. The girls in
the Ward are truly good to me. In fact, many of them are here in the
audience tonight. They are so nice and supportive, and all I seem to do
is talk bad about them behind their backs. I’m really going to get busy
and start building others up with my words and deeds rather than tearing
them down when they turn away. It will take some time to regain their
trust, but I know with GOOD WORKS and help from my Father in Heaven, I
can become a better friend, sister and daughter. One of my favorite
scriptures is in the Book of Mormon. It’s 3 Nephi 12:16:
“Therefore,
let your light so shine before this people that they may see your good
works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.”
Gossiping is a
far cry from letting my light shine before anyone. It makes things very
dark and negative. I’m going to put other’s needs and feelings first
before opening my mouth, and I’m sure as I change, I will become much
happier and more confident in myself and the goodness in others. (Place
GOOD WORKS crown on head, and turn sash to word GOOD WORKS.)
COMMENTATOR: Miss Phoney-Baloney,
what do you really think about all of this?
MISS PHONEY-BALONEY: What
do I really mean? Most of the time I am so fake with my comments and
observations that I don’t observe anything honestly. In the dictionary,
the definition of INTEGRITY is “soundness of moral principle and
character; uprightness or honesty.” When I spout off sweet-sounding
compliments, they are not honest. My quick critical judgments aren’t
honest, either, and they can really hurt people! I need to have the
moral courage to make my actions consistent with my knowledge of right
and wrong. I have the power to show INTEGRITY in my words, thoughts and
actions towards others. I also have the power to be thoughtless and
fake by saying and doing things that are not honorable or Christ-like.
Job was a man who had many challenges and tests of his Faith during his
life. He had so many more struggles than I do, and he could have easily
been dishonest to save himself from the grief he went through. Yet, in
Job 27:5 he said,
“Till I die
I will not remove mine integrity from me.”
What a powerful
example to me. I hope you will give me a second chance to be a true
friend; not only through my words, but through what I do. I am truly
sorry for the false things I have said and thought. (Place INTEGRITY
crown on head, and turn sash to word INTEGRITY.)
COMMENTATOR: Thank you,
ladies… Audience, let’s give these young ladies a round of applause. We
have seen these seven young women turn themselves into winners. We all
can become winners as well. Think about what your values are. How do
people perceive you? Where are you going? How are you going to get
there? Will your values and your Father in Heaven travel along with
you?
Thank you and goodnight!
YW PRESIDENT: (Explain
values and any other themes or goals you have as a YW group for the
year.)
Value Pageant in West
Africa
Personal Progress
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