Amy Investigates SCR

Amy Investigates

A short, whodunit play for young people.  

Characters:

Narrator

Amy

Erin

Brett

Jack

The play is set in the home of AMY. In the kitchen and lounge room are AMY, ERIN, BRETT and JACK.

1 NARRATOR – It was a hot day at Cleary St, the home of Amy Barkley. The house was usually a reasonably quiet place but today there had been a ruckus, something quite awful had happened. A crime had occurred. A glass of ice that Amy had rested earlier in the morning on the table had disappeared.

2 AMY – It’s all gone, gone, gone. My nice cool glass of ice has all gone. Someone has taken it. Someone has taken my ice and changed it with some water.

3 NARRATOR– Amy fancied herself as a bit of a super sleuth, a brainy investigator. She had solved the case of the missing bread no longer than three weeks ago. Amy solved it by finding out that someone had turned the piece of bread into toast. She was closing in on the case of who ate the last jellybean. This case however, was now her first priority.

4 AMY – I have to get to the bottom of this, I need to solve it. I have to use all my wits and conduct some interviews. (Turning to ERIN) Erin, I will interview you first. I have a hunch that you know what happened to my ice. Now, where were you when I left my ice to sit on the table this morning?

5 ERIN – I was making a sandwich.

AMY – Making a sandwich. Tell me what kind of sandwich were you apparently making.

6 ERIN – Well I was starving so I made one with chicken, pickles, tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, cheese, mustard, honey and black olives.

7 AMY – And what happened after that?

8 ERIN – Well I was making my sandwich and singing to some songs on the radio. I finished making the sandwich, looked at it and remembered something.

9 AMY – Excellent, you remember something about the ice?

10 ERIN – No, nothing about the ice, I remembered that I don’t like pickles and I especially don’t enjoy eating black olives with honey.

11 AMY – So what did you do next?

12 ERIN – I gave the sandwich to the dog.

13 AMY – You gave the sandwich to the dog?

14 ERIN – I gave it to the dog.

15 AMY – Well I’ll just have to go and see (AMY walks off the stage and comes back). Your story checks out, Paws is fast asleep with a half eaten sandwich near him. So you know nothing about the glass of ice?

16 ERIN – Not a thing.

17 JACK – (Walking over to AMY) Amy, I think that.

18 AMY – You need to wait your turn Jack, I will get to you soon. A good detective works in a certain sequence.

19 NARRATOR – Amy had hit her first dead end in the case. Amy always thought that for every interview she conducted she could get some helpful information, but her interview with Erin didn’t go as she wanted. She decided she needed to speak to some more people, see if she could hunt out some more clues.

20 AMY – Ok. Brett I need to talk to you. (AMY turns to BRETT).

21 JACK – What about talking to me?

22 AMY – Jack, I will get to you very soon. Now Brett, I need to know if you know anything about the missing ice. What were you doing this morning?

23 BRETT – I have had the busiest morning.

24 AMY – I need to know what you did, so I can figure if you know anything about the missing ice. What were you doing this morning when the ice was put onto the table?

25 BRETT – Well, I was having a bit of a debate with myself.

26 AMY – What type of debate were you having alone?

27 BRETT – Well I was trying to figure if I have ten fingers or if I have eight fingers and two thumbs.

28 AMY – So that is what you spent all morning doing. Arguing with yourself?

29 BRETT – Well I didn’t really finish, I still haven’t decided. I think that I have figured it out and then change my mind every five seconds. Do you think you know?

30 AMY – Well I guess you have both.

31 BRETT – But that’s impossible, I don’t even have twenty things coming off my hands.

32 AMY – Sorry I can’t help you at the moment, I am trying to crack my case. So you don’t know anything about the ice.

33 BRETT – I don’t even remember seeing the ice.

34 NARRATOR – The case was not going well for Amy, she was getting a little down. Never before had she questioned so many people, but still had no hard leads, no evidence and had no suspects.

35 JACK – Amy, I really need to tell you something, it will be very important for your case.

36 AMY – O.k., I am ready to ask you questions. You need to know how a good detective works.

37 JACK – First could I ask you something?

38 AMY – Well that isn’t how it usually works. I am the detective and I need to ask question to the suspects.

39 JACK – This will be really important for your case.

40 AMY – Well maybe just this once, seeing as though you think it will help and I seem to being having no luck.

41 JACK – Remember during the holidays when we were watching that documentary on television about Antarctica?

42 AMY – Jack, I don’t think that this will help in the case.

43 JACK - Just answer the question.

44 AMY – I remember we watched it when was raining outside and we couldn’t go to the beach. It was all about the ice in Antarctica.

45 JACK – Well what happened when the sun shone on the ice and the big chunks of ice fell into the water.

46 AMY – Well the ice melted into the sea.

47 JACK – So the ice melted into water.

48 AMY – That’s right.

49 JACK – And what did you do with your ice this morning?

50 AMY – Well, I put it in the glass and then left it out on the table, right near the window. Right over there where the sun shines in.

51 JACK – So what might have happened to your ice?

52 AMY – Just thinking about it. It could have melted and turned into water.

53 JACK – Just like?

54 AMY – (Pointing at the table) Just like the water in the glass that is sitting on the table.

55 JACK – That’s what happened to your ice.

56 NARRATOR –Case closed!

Based on the passage Amy Investigates, how does Amy feel about solving mysteries? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.