Equipment
None
Preparation
Have 3-5 scouts pretend to be behind jail bars. Each should pretend to be in a different ‘cell.’
Action
Characters: 3-5 ‘inmates,’ jailer, new inmate. Jailer (as he escourts the new inmate to his cell) OK, here is your new home. Don’t expect to get out anytime soon !! (Jailer laughs maniacally as he leaves. Inmates taunt new inmate. After a few moments of silence …)
Inmate 1 (yells): Five !! (Other inmates laugh hysterically while new inmate looks confused). Inmate 2 (yells): Twenty-Two !! (Other inmates laugh while new inmate looks even more confused). Inmate 3 (yells): Forty-Three !! (Other inmates laugh while new inmate continues to look confused). (This can go on for several inmates depending on the number of scouts available. When all inmates have had their ‘turn,’ a moment of silence and then …)
New Inmate: I don’t understand ! What’s going on ? Why is everybody laughing ? Inmate 1: Well, we’ve been here so long that we have memorized every joke we know. Inmate 2: So to save time, we just give each joke a number.
New Inmate: Gee, I think I’ll give it a try … (yells) Seventy-Five !! (absolute silence – no one laughs) New Inmate: What did I do wrong ? Inmate 3: I guess some people just can’t tell a joke !