Jesse Joyner, PhD

This kid-tested puppet show teaches kids how names have meanings, particularly the meaning of the name given to Jesus Christ.  You may freely reproduce this skit.  Just reference this website if you do….

“What’s In a Name?” (based on Matthew 1:21)

by Jesse Joyner

jessejoyner.com 

note: you may reproduce this skit freely so long as you reference the author’s name and website

Characters and Props Needed:

1. Eddie the Explorer (could be any puppet character)
2. Larry the Lizard (ideally a lizard puppet, but most any other puppet will work)
3. A skunk (use a photograph of one if you don’t have a skunk puppet)

Setting: The Amazon Rainforest

The Skit….

Eddie: Larry, look I see an open field.  We always explore in dense jungles and rivers.  Why don’t we see if we can find any new animal species in the open field over there.

Larry: OK, Eddie, if you say so.

Eddie: You know, Larry, we’ve really discovered a lot of animals out here in the Amazon recently.  I mean, we found the extremely rare Silly Billy Wallabu, the near extinct Ooga Booga Monster, and the endangered Creepy Crawly Caterpillar.

Larry: We also found the “ant”.

Eddie: The “ant”?  That’s not a very impressive name.

Larry: But that’s what they call it.

Eddie: Oh, OK.  Now, let’s wait and see if we catch a glimpse of anything in this field….

(the skunk appears from the covering of grass)

Larry: Hey Eddie, I think I see something.

Eddie: (Looking the wrong way aimlessly), I don’t see anything, Larry, just a bunch of silly looking kids.  Especially those boys in the back row.

Larry: No, Eddie, over there (pointing towards the skunk).

Eddie: Whoa!  Look at that fine specimen.  I’ve never seen such a beautiful example of a furry little zebra.

Larry: We’re not in the Serengeti in Africa, Eddie.  There are no Zebras in the Amazon rainforest.

Eddie: Right.  Well, what is it?  We need to come up with a nice name for it.  Maybe we’re the first humans to ever lay eyes on this fine creature.  It needs a good name.

Larry: How about “The Black Animal with White Stripes”?

Eddie: Not original enough.

Larry: “The Ugly Cat”?

Eddie: Not politically correct.

Larry: “The Furry Armadillo”

Eddie: It might be furry, but it’s not an Armadillo.

Larry: Oh, I got it.  How about “Elephant”!

Eddie: No, that’s already taken, Larry.  We should name it based on what it’s like and what it does.

Larry: OK, let’s see if it does anything.  How about we get a little closer to it and see if it reacts to us.

(the animal sits still)

Eddie: Maybe we should call it “nothing”, because it obviously does nothing!

Larry: He looks friendly and furry.  Let’s pet it.

 (they walk up and pet the skunk, the skunk lets off it’s stink and Larry and Eddie scream in anguish of the smell)

Eddie: That smells like rotten eggs in a stuffed up toilet.

Larry: No, it smells like my little lizard brother after he eats too much Taco Bell.

Eddie: Hey, that gives me an idea.  Let’s name the animal, “Smelly Belly Stinky Face”!

Larry: That’s a great idea.  Except now you and I are both Smelly Belly Stinky Faces too!

Eddie: Hey, that reminds me of a Bible story I once learned at church back home.  They taught us a verse about a woman giving birth to a baby, and God wanted them to name the baby Jesus, because that name means “God saves”, and Jesus was going to save God’s people from all the bad things they have done.

Larry: That’s neat.  So Jesus actually means something!  What do you know, everybody’s name has some sort of meaning to it.

Eddie: What does your name mean, Larry?

Larry: Uh, my parents named me Larry because I’m a lizard, and it kind of rhymes, you know?

Eddie: Yeah, my parents named me Eddie, because I’m an explorer.

Larry: They should have named you “Smelly Belly Stinky Face the Explorer”!

Eddie: Hey, Larry, you’re just as much of a Smelly Belly Stinky Face as me right now.  Let’s go take a tomato soup bath or something….

Copyright 2012, Jesse Joyner

jessejoyner.com

To see Larry the Lizard in action, check out one of his famous videos!