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Janelly
I need to make a 5-minute, educational skit on child labor, child soldiers, and children getting married at a young age. I just want to know if anybody has an idea how to make an interesting skit about this topic while educating the class at the same time?
Answer
I've spent many years as a working script writer in Hollywood and a successful creator of skits and sketches for businesses. The best thing I can tell you is: just make sure you have a beginning, a middle and an ending. And when you've made your point -- end the darn thing... even if it's not a full five minutes long.
If you're aiming for a sketch of about 4.5 minutes, think about breaking it down as follows: 1.5 minutes for the set-up; 2.5 minutes for the middle; 1 minute for the conclusion/resolution.
I know that probably sounds insanely obvious, but that's the key to writing an effective script of any length. Knowing when to stop is especially important. But don't take my word for it, watch "Saturday Night Live" and see how many of their professionally written sketches drone on and on because they're struggling to fill their time slot.
As for the content of your skit, there's obviously nothing funny about child labor, but if you treat the whole thing as deadly serious as it deserves, your audience will zone out before you make your point.
Don't be afraid to use humor in your set-up... it'll just make the dramatic heart of your message sink in that much further, because laughter makes people lower their shields just enough to let deeper emotions come out.
In your case, you could probably string together an effective story that goes something like this.
Start on Character A, a ten year old who earns about a dollar a day making sneakers that will sell for hundreds of dollars in America.
Character A is excited, because after putting in the usual ten hour day, he is going to a wedding -- his fourteen year old sister is getting married to her sixteen year old boyfriend... if you want to get into it you could add the fact that Character A will be an uncle very soon, because his sister is expecting a baby. (Note: the baby bit may be too much for a school sketch... weigh that out on your own.)
Character A is spending two weeks pay ($10) at the Sneaker Company's company store to buy a pair of flashy sneakers as a wedding gift to his new brother in law.
After work, Character A is accosted by Character B, a sisteen year old male soldier, who shakes down Character A and discovers the flashy new sneakers hidden in a backpack.
Character B, who enjoys his authority just a little to much, tells Character A to shut up and hand over the sneakers. Character A protests --- "But I know you. You used to work at the sneaker factory. You're not much older than me... how come you think you have the right to take the sneakers I worked so hard to buy?"
Character B's answer is predictable: "Because I am a solider and you're not. Because I am fighting for our president and you're not. And most importantly, because I have a gun and you don't."
To further prove his authority, Character B even takes the shoes off Character A's feet and tells him "you're getting off lucky. you're lucky I don't take your pants!"
So... Character B takes the shoes and Character A is forced to attend his sister's wedding with no gift. That makes Character A out to be the black sheep of the family... he is further humiliated by the fact that he has shown up in bare feet... the other guests make fun of him and nail him with "bare foot" insults... to make matters worse, even after hearing that his intended gift was stolen by a soldier, his sister yells at him for showing up empty handed and dissing her new husband.
Why is the sister really so angry? Because as she confesses, the bride and groom have arranged to sell their wedding gifts so they can afford to move into a room behind the local gas station. With luck, they'll have enough left over to buy food so she can stay healthy while carrying their baby.
However, guess who else has been invited to the wedding....? The grooms brother just happens to be Character B... the greedy young soldier... who shows up proudly wearing the new stolen sneakers.
Obviously, you'll have to come up with some sort of resolution -- but once Character A tips the groom that his own brother is wearing the sneakers/gift indended for him... well, I suspect you can do something fun with the groom unceremoniously relieving his brother of the sneakers.... while telling his soldier/brother to leave Character A alone from now on, he's family.
Then, the groom gratiously gives his wedding shoes to Character A. So now, the soldier (Character B) is left barefoot... and without his gun and his shoes, he's not nearly so intimidating.
So what's the point of all of this? If you do it right, you'll make the point that kids in developing nations work ten hours per day for about a dollar a day.
You'll make the point that some countries have immature young kids running around with lethal weapons... bending the rules to suit their needs... becoming callous beyond their years.
You'll make the point that kids who aren't even old enough to attend high school in America are getting married and having families -- with no visible plans or hope for the future.
If you can accomplish all of that in under five minutes... and still weave in some fun, you'll have done an excellent job.
Hope this helps.
Dave W
I've spent many years as a working script writer in Hollywood and a successful creator of skits and sketches for businesses. The best thing I can tell you is: just make sure you have a beginning, a middle and an ending. And when you've made your point -- end the darn thing... even if it's not a full five minutes long.
If you're aiming for a sketch of about 4.5 minutes, think about breaking it down as follows: 1.5 minutes for the set-up; 2.5 minutes for the middle; 1 minute for the conclusion/resolution.
I know that probably sounds insanely obvious, but that's the key to writing an effective script of any length. Knowing when to stop is especially important. But don't take my word for it, watch "Saturday Night Live" and see how many of their professionally written sketches drone on and on because they're struggling to fill their time slot.
As for the content of your skit, there's obviously nothing funny about child labor, but if you treat the whole thing as deadly serious as it deserves, your audience will zone out before you make your point.
Don't be afraid to use humor in your set-up... it'll just make the dramatic heart of your message sink in that much further, because laughter makes people lower their shields just enough to let deeper emotions come out.
In your case, you could probably string together an effective story that goes something like this.
Start on Character A, a ten year old who earns about a dollar a day making sneakers that will sell for hundreds of dollars in America.
Character A is excited, because after putting in the usual ten hour day, he is going to a wedding -- his fourteen year old sister is getting married to her sixteen year old boyfriend... if you want to get into it you could add the fact that Character A will be an uncle very soon, because his sister is expecting a baby. (Note: the baby bit may be too much for a school sketch... weigh that out on your own.)
Character A is spending two weeks pay ($10) at the Sneaker Company's company store to buy a pair of flashy sneakers as a wedding gift to his new brother in law.
After work, Character A is accosted by Character B, a sisteen year old male soldier, who shakes down Character A and discovers the flashy new sneakers hidden in a backpack.
Character B, who enjoys his authority just a little to much, tells Character A to shut up and hand over the sneakers. Character A protests --- "But I know you. You used to work at the sneaker factory. You're not much older than me... how come you think you have the right to take the sneakers I worked so hard to buy?"
Character B's answer is predictable: "Because I am a solider and you're not. Because I am fighting for our president and you're not. And most importantly, because I have a gun and you don't."
To further prove his authority, Character B even takes the shoes off Character A's feet and tells him "you're getting off lucky. you're lucky I don't take your pants!"
So... Character B takes the shoes and Character A is forced to attend his sister's wedding with no gift. That makes Character A out to be the black sheep of the family... he is further humiliated by the fact that he has shown up in bare feet... the other guests make fun of him and nail him with "bare foot" insults... to make matters worse, even after hearing that his intended gift was stolen by a soldier, his sister yells at him for showing up empty handed and dissing her new husband.
Why is the sister really so angry? Because as she confesses, the bride and groom have arranged to sell their wedding gifts so they can afford to move into a room behind the local gas station. With luck, they'll have enough left over to buy food so she can stay healthy while carrying their baby.
However, guess who else has been invited to the wedding....? The grooms brother just happens to be Character B... the greedy young soldier... who shows up proudly wearing the new stolen sneakers.
Obviously, you'll have to come up with some sort of resolution -- but once Character A tips the groom that his own brother is wearing the sneakers/gift indended for him... well, I suspect you can do something fun with the groom unceremoniously relieving his brother of the sneakers.... while telling his soldier/brother to leave Character A alone from now on, he's family.
Then, the groom gratiously gives his wedding shoes to Character A. So now, the soldier (Character B) is left barefoot... and without his gun and his shoes, he's not nearly so intimidating.
So what's the point of all of this? If you do it right, you'll make the point that kids in developing nations work ten hours per day for about a dollar a day.
You'll make the point that some countries have immature young kids running around with lethal weapons... bending the rules to suit their needs... becoming callous beyond their years.
You'll make the point that kids who aren't even old enough to attend high school in America are getting married and having families -- with no visible plans or hope for the future.
If you can accomplish all of that in under five minutes... and still weave in some fun, you'll have done an excellent job.
Hope this helps.
Dave W
am taking my 14 week old to ibiza is is better to buy the baby milk and nappys there to avoid heavy baggage?
delboy9448
can i purchase baby milk and nappys in the local shops?
Answer
Better to take milk and nappies with you. I can remember wasting a lot of time looking for somewhere to buy nappies. Nappies don't weigh much, and you can easily cut down on other stuff to make sure you have room for these two essential things. Make space for them. It will be worth it. Cut down on clothes instead. You can always wash some while you are there. Take a tube of travel wash with you. It's concentrated detergent. You only need a tiny bit to wash a sinkful of clothes. You can get travelwash designed to wash baby clothes too - it's kind to their skin. But if you can't find it, then a little baby shampoo works just as well for all but the most stubborn of stains.
We have had holidays backpacking with our children - one with our first child at the age of 4 months and some more as they grew older. Each time we travelled with the bare minimum of luggage, but travel wash and my boobs (in your case formula) are two things we always took. For holidays like that we started out with just enough nappies to get started and bought more as we went along, but that was a necessity because we were always moving around. It wasn't always easy to find nappies.
But during a package holiday, when we could have taken enough for the whole holiday, we ran out, and, as I said in the first line, spent a lot of time looking before we found any. That was in Majorca. It's best to take enough to last the whole time and then it's not a problem. Have a good holiday.
Better to take milk and nappies with you. I can remember wasting a lot of time looking for somewhere to buy nappies. Nappies don't weigh much, and you can easily cut down on other stuff to make sure you have room for these two essential things. Make space for them. It will be worth it. Cut down on clothes instead. You can always wash some while you are there. Take a tube of travel wash with you. It's concentrated detergent. You only need a tiny bit to wash a sinkful of clothes. You can get travelwash designed to wash baby clothes too - it's kind to their skin. But if you can't find it, then a little baby shampoo works just as well for all but the most stubborn of stains.
We have had holidays backpacking with our children - one with our first child at the age of 4 months and some more as they grew older. Each time we travelled with the bare minimum of luggage, but travel wash and my boobs (in your case formula) are two things we always took. For holidays like that we started out with just enough nappies to get started and bought more as we went along, but that was a necessity because we were always moving around. It wasn't always easy to find nappies.
But during a package holiday, when we could have taken enough for the whole holiday, we ran out, and, as I said in the first line, spent a lot of time looking before we found any. That was in Majorca. It's best to take enough to last the whole time and then it's not a problem. Have a good holiday.
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Title Post: How to make a short skit on child labor?
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Rating: 96% based on 987 ratings. 4,7 user reviews.
Author: Unknown
Thanks For Coming To My Blog
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