Script

Audition Central: Magic Tree House: Dinosaurs before Dark KIDS

Script: Jack

SIDE 1

JACK
Yeah! Nice to meet you!

(HENRY watches the TRICERATOPS exit, pleased that JACK and ANNIE have made friends. He gently pats ANNIE on the head. ANNIE nuzzles into HENRY. #7  HENRY S MAGIC begins.)

ANNIE
Let s call this one,  Henry.

JACK
He isn t the dog next door, Annie.

ANNIE
Can I call you Henry, Henry? (HENRY nods, makes a confirmation sound.)

HENRY
Yuuuhhhhuuhhnn.

ANNIE
I think he understands me.

JACK
You're nuts.

ANNIE
(looking into Henry's eyes)
I don t know, Jack, there s something magical about Henry. Henry, is it okay if we look around some more?

HENRY
Pwaaaaa.

(HENRY squawks, nods and flies away. ANNIE watches him go, then spots something in the distance and excitedly takes off. JACK makes final notes in his notebook.)

JACK
 Mouth like scissors. And& nice.

SIDE 2

JACK
Oh no!

ANNIE
What?
JACK
My backpack! I left it under the ferns. I have to go back.

ANNIE
Forget it, Jack.

JACK
I can t. We need it. I ll explain later. You stay here in the tree house and I ll

ANNIE
But

JACK
(stern)
For once in your life will you just do what I ask without arguing?

SIDE 3

JACK
Nobody will ever believe our story.

ANNIE
The trees might.

JACK
(laughing)
Right. We better go before Mom starts to worry.

(ANNIE, stalling, straightens out the other books. JACK helps her.)

SAPLINGS
But wait! What about Henry? And the gold medallion that Jack found? The one with the  M on it? What does the  M stand for?

STUMP
Maybe it stands for mystery?

SAPLINGS
Or mystery person! Do you think it stands for  mystery person ? And who is the mystery person?

OTTO
Let s save a bit for tomorrow, shall we?

(ANNIE moves to the ladder, but stops before she climbs down.)

ANNIE
Jack, promise me. Tomorrow.

JACK
Yep.

ANNIE
We ll come back to the woods

JACK
Yep.

ANNIE
And we ll climb back in the tree house

JACK
Yep.

ANNIE
I can t wait to find out what happens next.

SIDE 4

OTTO
Then everything was still. Absolutely still.

(OTTO exits. After a moment, JACK slowly peeks his head out of the tree house window.)

ANNIE
What happened to us?

JACK
I don t know.

(ANNIE joins JACK at the window.)

ANNIE
Wh-where are we?

(JACK looks at the picture in the book and then out the window.)

JACK
I don t know, but, look& the picture in the book looks like the  picture out there&

(ANNIE looks at the picture, then back outside.)

ANNIE
Yeah, exactly like it.

JACK
This can t be real.

(ANNIE still looking out the window, sees HENRY, the Pteranodon, who flies on stage and lands next to the tree house.)

ANNIE
But he s real, he s very real.

SIDE 5

(ANNIE tickles HENRY)
ANNIE
Look, Jack, he's ticklish

JACK
Annie!

(Three Triceratops, TERRI, LARRY and GARY enter, hiding behind some ferns.)

ANNIE
Jack, do you hear something?

JACK
Yeah, I...

(JACK and ANNIE listen to determine from which direction the sound is coming. It should be clear from JACK and ANNIE s reaction that they do not understand what the DINOSAURS are  saying because the DINOSAURS are speaking "dinosaur" and only they can understand each other.)

TERRI
(Whispering) See, I told you I spotted something.

LARRY
Ouch, you're stepping on my toes.

TERRI
I'm just trying to get a better look. What are those things?

LARRY
They don't look like dinosaurs

TERRI
Probably flying reptiles. Like that weird little Pteranodon.

GARY
One way to find out.

LARRY
Careful! You know what they say, "Curiosity killed the Camptosaurus."

(GARY emerges from hiding and makes a friendly gesture to HENRY.)

GARY
(to HENRY) It's cool, it's cool. Don't mean to be getting in your business. Just wondering what you found here?

SIDE 6

ANNIE
What are those guys with spikes on their backs?

JACK
(pointing to picture in the book) They're called, "Ankylosaurus." (As if in a pageant, each group of DINOSAURS moves to the  spotlight when they are talked about, and address their lines to the audience, as if the information in the book is coming to life.)

ANKYLOSAURUS
(to audience) Don't worry, we prefer ferns to flesh. These spikes are for protection, not destruction. We may weigh four tons, but the only way we can keep a T-Rex from flipping us over and snacking on our soft underbelly is to keep our spikes nice and... spikey.

ANNIE
I like the little ones with the frilly stuff on their necks.

JACK
Those are Protoceratops.

PROTOCERATOPS
We travel in herds because we're what you mightcall the  runts of the dinosaur litter. There's safety in numbers, plus, everything's more fun when you're with your friends.

ANNIE
And look at those!

IGUANODONS
We're Iguanodons. We have spikes for thumbs. Cool, huh? And even though we walk on all fours, if we need to run fast, we can really book it on two legs.

PANOPLOSAURUS
We don't have thumbs, but we have three fingers. We're called Panoplosaurus. Yeah, try and say that five times fast. It means,  completely armoured lizard, but if it's easier, you can just call us,  Tank.