Drama Script : A Teenage Dream

TEENAGE DREAMS



Actors:

MC – Azham

A – Aiman

B – Kak Yah (subject to change?)

C – Dibah

D - Shafik



MC: Good afternoon everyone! Welcome to Mescafe Kick Start 2011, the only show where DREAMS BECOME REALITY! That’s right, we’re giving the winner of this show the chance to pursue their dream job, plus one million ringgit to start off their career! And now, everybody please put your hands together for our group of contestants who are ready to show you how passionate they are about their goals.

A! B! C! and D!

Ladies and gentlemen, before you stand 4 promising young men and women who, believe it or not, all aspire to become teachers! That’s right, our contestants here all have the same goal, which is to become the next greatest Malaysian educator. Hmm…seems like we have some strong competition going on. Let’s not waste any more time and proceed by interviewing them, shall we?

Good afternoon, Mr. A. Please tell us and everyone in the audience, what is it that made you want to become a teacher?



A: I want to be a teacher because I come from a family of teachers. My elder sister is a teacher, my parents are teachers, my grandfather was a teacher, my great-great-grandfather was an Indonesian who taught silat in his kampong, and my ancestors’ ancestors before him were all teachers!



MC: Wow, that’s pretty impressive! I see you must be very privileged to come from such a distinguished family of educators?



A: Oh, not at all. You see, because my parents and elder relatives are all teachers, they like to nag, nag, nag all the time. From early in the morning, my mother nags me until I wake up, then for breakfast I drink Mescafe while they nag, lunch time – nag; tea time – nag; dinner time – nag. Nag nag nag, all the time! I even dream of them nagging me at night!



MC: Ah, haha…I see. But your parents must have had a reason to nag you right?



A: The reason? Well the reason they nagged was because they wanted me to become a teacher like them. “Noooo, you can’t study to become a surgeon. You know you have unstable hands and bad eyesight, what happens in you accidently cut the wrong vein and kill somebody? Just become a teacher-lah!” “Why would you want to go out into the corporate world and compete with everybody else? You know how long those office hours are? 9 to 5, ah boy, 9 to 5! Just become a teacher-lah!” So, in the end, I told them I wanted to study mass communication, and they said: “Why study mass communication when you can join Mescafe Kick Start? You can become a teacher like we want you to, and they even give you the money to start your career too! Easy, right! Just join Mescafe Kick Start and become a teacher-lah!”



(Note: while A is talking the MC tries to butt in repeatedly but fails)

MC: Well, that’s all from our first contestant! Perhaps it was due to his family background that he has become such a long-winded person as well! Let’s move on to our next contestant, Miss B. Alright, Miss B, would you mind telling us why you’re determined to join the teaching profession?



B: First of all, I would like to see a complete overhaul of our education system. Statistics show that the younger generation these days has not been paying enough attention in classes. This results in poor academic achievement, which defeats the purpose of the school as an academic institution at all!



MC: You seem to be quite critical of educational affairs in our country. So, what do you think we should do to improve the education system?



B: I say we do away with all those unnecessary club and sports activities and just focus on academic learning. Apart from that, we should also put the students in a reinforced classroom with no windows that will distract their attention. Class hours will be lengthened, rest hours shortened, and students will be put through a strict regime to make sure they get through their intensive lessons every day.



MC: But wouldn’t that only cause students to further lose interest in their studies? You know, as the saying goes, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy?”



B: Ahhh nonsense! Those who cannot comply with the criteria should be kicked out of school then. Our country does not have any use for such lazy, incompetent people. All we need is the crème of the crop, so that we can brainwash them into becoming geniuses that can serve the country and the people.



MC: Brainwash them? What happens to their morals then? Their individuality?



B: Morals? Individuality! Those will only hinder the process of turning these students into geniuses! Having a personality means that there are things that they will like and dislike; for example, if a student says he hates mathematics, he will naturally slack in mathematics. That itself is a distraction, and in the production of geniuses there is no room for distractions!



MC: Weeell, it seems that Miss B has quite some radical ideas about education! So moving on…



B: Wait wait! I’m not finished yet! I haven’t told you about the plan to replace teachers with robots and-



MC: I think that’s quite enough Miss B! Thank you for your participation in the show! Security, if you please?



(Miss B is dragged off the stage)

MC: Next up we have-



C: Me! Me! Me!



MC: Ah, yes, you. Miss C, please tell us what inspired you to want to become a teacher.



C: I want to be a teacher because I want to be a good wife.



MC: A what? Come again?



C: I want to be a teacher because I want to be a good wife. You know, as in married and with kids?



MC: Alright, I think I understand the meaning of that word, but please tell us, what is the relationship between being a teacher and becoming a good wife?



C: Well, from my perspective, teaching is the best career for women because teaching doesn’t take up too much of your family time. You go to school in the morning, come back in the afternoon and look after the children, then cook dinner for the husband when he comes back. Apart from that, there’s lots of school holidays too, so there’s more time to catch up with the family as well.



MC: Hmm, that may be true in a superficial way, but I do believe that a teacher’s job nowadays isn’t as simple as spending half the day in school and the other half at home anymore. What about lesson planning? Marking the exercise books? Supervising extra-curricular activities?



C: Oh who cares about that? The most important thing is to just show up in class and teach according to the text book right? Whether those students want to learn or not, that’s their own business. At the end of the month I get my salary anyway. That’s right, that’s another reason why I think teaching is the best career for a woman! If you work for the government, you’ll never get fired and still earn your pay without needing to compete with anybody-



MC: Alright Miss C, it appears to me you don’t really have a clear conception of what becoming a teacher means, but to conclude our interview with you, please summarize what teaching means to you in not more than 5 words.



C: An unbreakable iron rice bowl!



MC: Thank you very much Miss C. (clears throat) And last but not least, our final contestant Mr. D! Er, Mr. D?



D: (D is carrying a guitar) Yes, thank you everybody! My song for today is Billionaire by Bruno Mars! (starts to strum guitar while singing)

I wanna be a billionaire so *beep*ing bad

Buy all of the things I never had

I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine

Smiling next to Oprah and the Queen



MC: Ehem, excuse me Mr. D, your song is very lovely and all, but what exactly do you think you’re doing?



D: Huh? Isn’t this Malaysian Idol?



MC: Malaysian Idol? Sir, I think you have got the wrong reality program.



D: Oh, really? Well then, what show is this? So You Think You Can Dance? I can dance too you know, everyday I’m shufflin’… (starts to dance)



MC: No we don’t do talent shows either.



D: Then what are you guys filming for? The Amazing Race? Do I have to go to KLIA and hop on the next plane to Timbuktu? Anyway if I win I get a million ringgit right? So just tell me what to do, ok? I’m ready to go anytime!



MC: Alright - stop, stop! Enough of all this nonsense! Ladies and gentlemen, it’s clear from this interview that all the contestants today have either the wrong idea or no conception of the teaching profession at all. I regret to inform that they are eliminated from the reality show. However, in their place, I shall join the teaching profession, and correct the misconceptions the public have about teaching in general. Someday, I hope that I too can say: “I AM PROUD TO BE A TEACHER”. Thank you for tuning in, we hope to see you again same time, same place next week! Goodbye!



(END)

Written by Leong Qing Yi. 22 August 2011