Grimmly Inspired

2w, 1 either (optional)
2w 20-60; 1 either any age

The Grimm Brothers' story "The Golden Key" is a short tale that describes a boy in the snow who clears out a spot on the ground to start a fire, finds a tiny golden key, then digs in the ground below it, finding a chest to which the key belongs. The story ends as he is about to open the chest, imagining the treasures it might contain. Grimmly Inspired uses this tale as inspiration, changing the venue to a theatre in which a tiny golden key has been found by theatre employee Keely. Its matching box is under a chair, and the person finding the box (Dora, short for Pandora) insists that it be opened in front of the audience, before changing her mind, saying she prefers the anticipation of endless possibilities within the box. The ending adds a subtly political, hopeful touch.

Grimmly Inspired is written as an extemporaneous interruption during a short play festival. This impression can be underlined by the optional character of an announcer who introduces the plays, being interrupted by Keely's announcement of the discovery of the key and then by the irrepressible Dora's shenanigans. With no set requirements and just the props of a key, a box, and a booklet, Grimmly Inspired is easily produced, with the fun of audience participation possible when a gifted improvisational actor is cast as Dora.