The Town Clock: From Script to Stage

The Town Clock (a play)

Characters: MR. OKAFOR, a clockmaker; LINA, his granddaughter; MS. DIAZ, a neighbor

Setting: A small clock shop. Dozens of clocks hang on the back wall, and they are all ticking. A wooden workbench covered with tiny tools stands in the center.

(MR. OKAFOR sits at the workbench, peering through a magnifying glass. LINA sweeps the floor with a broom.)

MS. DIAZ: (rushing in, out of breath) Mr. Okafor, come quickly! The tower clock has stopped, and the noon bell will not ring!

MR. OKAFOR: (slowly standing up) Then I must wind it before noon. Lina, please hand me the brass key from the hook by the door.

LINA: (looking at the hook) Grandpa, the hook is empty!

MR. OKAFOR: (patting his pockets) Empty? Oh dear. Without that key, the tower clock cannot run.

(Everyone searches. MS. DIAZ looks under the workbench.)

LINA: (stopping suddenly) Grandpa, what did you work on this morning?

MR. OKAFOR: I oiled the gears of the cuckoo clock in the window.

LINA: (whispering) The cuckoo clock! (She tiptoes to the window, opens the cuckoo clock's tiny door and pulls out a brass key.) Here it is!

MR. OKAFOR: (laughing) I must have left it inside while I worked. Thank you, Lina!

(MR. OKAFOR and MS. DIAZ hurry out the door. LINA smiles at the audience. A moment later, a bell far away rings twelve times.)