Rip Van Winkle falls asleep for 18 years after drinking something from a stranger at a club. When he wakes up, he finds his neighborhood completely changed and learns from his now-adult daughter Judy that 18 years have passed. Judy helps Rip adjust to modern times by helping him get a job and introducing him to her boyfriend. Though confused by the changes, Rip is able to fit into this new world with Judy's support.

1. RIP VAN WINKLE
SCRIPT
by
CAROLINE HOPKINSON
(Based on Washington Irving’s
“Rip Van Winkle”)

2. CAST OF CHARACTERS
*
(1)
NARRATOR (Christian Gianni)
*
(2)
RIP VAN WINKLE (Case Cikanowick)
*
(3)
DAME VAN WINKLE (Caroline Hopkinson)
*
(4)
WOLF THE DOG (Taylor Otto)
*
(5)
MAN WITH ALCOHOL (David Dong)
*
(6)
TOWNSPEOPLE (Caroline, Taylor, David)
*
(7)
JUDITH “JUDY” VAN WINKLE (Taylor Otto)
*
(8)
JUDY’S BOYFRIEND (David Dong)

3. SYNOPSIS OF SCENES
Time: Late 1980’s/Present Time
ACT ONE
Scene 1: THE VAN WINKLE HOUSHOLD
Scene 2: THE CLUB
Mid -afternoon
Early night
ACT TWO
Scene 1: POP ULOUS AREA
Scene 2: VAN WINKLE’S OLD HOUSE
Mid -morning
Around noon

4. ACT ONE
SCENE 1
The VAN WINKLE Household .
NARRATOR
Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, there was a family. You know,
a typical American family -- one dad, one mom, a couple of kids. The head
of the household was named Rip Van Winkle. He was one of the friend liest
people you could ever meet, but he had one major flaw —his inability to
work. Now, his children had no problem with it. They were exactly the
same. But his wife, however, felt differently. She was through with his lazy
antics…
(DAME VAN WINK LE storms in, fuming)
DAME VAN WINKLE
Rip Van Winkle! You come here right now!
RIP VAN WINKLE
What do you want? I’m watchin’ the game!
DAME VAN WINKLE
I KNOW! That’s exactly the problem! Yesterday, you promised you’d go out
and get a job. Yet, here you are, watching the game. As always.
RIP VAN WINKLE
Whatever, don’t worry about it! I’ll do it tomorrow!
DAME VAN WINKLE
That’s what you said yesterday!
RIP VAN WINKLE
You know, all you do is nag. Nag, nag, nag. I’m sick of it. I’m going out.
DAME VAN WINKLE
Don’t you dare! You stay here and look for jobs! Rip! RIP!
(As she speaks, RIP VAN WINKLE w alks out with
WOLF.)

5. ACT ONE
SCENE 2
Local dance club. SCS appropriate.
NARRATOR
Now, Rip leaving wasn’t an unusual occurrence; it happened nearly every
other week. He normally went out to go clubbing —the sound of funky music
was much more appealing to him than the sound of his wife’s shrill voice.
He was enjoying his time there, when something happened…
(MAN WITH ALCOHOL approaches RIP VAN WINKLE,
clearly intoxicated.)
MAN WITH ALCOHOL
Hey, man! Isn’t this jam so rad!
RIP VAN WINKLE
Totally! It’s giving me all those good vibes that I love.
MAN WITH ALCOHOL
You know what would make it even better?
RIP VAN WINKLE
No, what?
MAN WITH ALCOHOL
Somethin’ to drink, yo! Here, take this.
(MAN WITH ALCOHOL hands RIP VA N WINKLE a glass
of something, which RIP VAN WINKLE d rinks. RIP
VAN WINKLE waits a moment before smiling.)
RIP VAN WINKLE
Dude, you were right! This stuff did make it better!
(RIP VAN WINKLE gets up to dance, and he begins, but he begins to feel
drowsy. MAN WITH ALCOHOL leaves with a smirk.)
RIP VAN WINKLE
Man, I’m so tired…
(Wanting to go back home to sleep, RIP VAN WINKLE l eaves with WOLF and
leaves the club. However, only shortly afterwards, he is overcome with
exhaustion, and he decides to just rest against a tree for a minute. He falls
asleep.)

6. END of ACT ONE

7. INTERMISSION
(ALL ACTORS except for NARRATOR and RIP VAN
WINKLE go to change costumes. RIP VAN WINKLE
remains asleep.)
NARRATOR
While Mr. Van Winkle may have thought he was simply in for a cat nap, he
turned out to be very wrong. Immediately after he closed his eyes, he was
out like a light. Not only did he sleep against that tree all through the
night, but also through all through the next day, and then through the
night again. This process repeated itself many, many times, unt il nearly
two decades had passed…

8. ACT TWO
SCENE 1
Populous area outdoors.
(RIP VAN WINKLE slowl y wakes up, looking very
groggy, and yawns.)
RIP VAN WINKLE
Did I sleep here all night? Oh, man, my wife’s gonna kill me!
(RIP VAN WINKLE peers around, and stands up. He
sees many cha nges in his surroundings which,
to him, have happened overnight.)
Dude…what happened here? Like, where even am I?
(RIP VAN WINKLE checks his watch, only to see
that it isn’t working.)
Well, that’s weird…I only got this thing two days ago. I better get home.

9. ACT TWO
SCENE 2
RIP VAN WINKLE’s old neighborhood.
NARRATOR
As Rip walked home, he only became more and more confused. There were
buildings he had never seen before, faces he didn’t recognize, and the
people were wearing the weirdest clothes. What had even ha ppened while
he was asleep? Upon arriving at his old home, he was surprised to find that
a strange family now lived there. Surely his wife couldn’t have just moved
overnight! He was contemplating what to do about this, when he saw a
small crowd of people…
(TOWNSPEOPLE enter, chatting am ongst one
another and laughing. RIP VAN WINKLE
approaches them; they stop talking and s eem a
bit disturbed by his ragged appearance.)
TOWNSPERSON #1 (JUDY)
Um, like, who the heck are you?
TOWNSPERSON #2
Yeah, seriously. Get away from us, creepy old man.
RIP VAN WINKLE
I’m sorry for interrupting you, but do any of you have any idea what
happened to the family who used to live here?
(RIP VAN WINKLE points to his old house.)
TOWNSPERSON #3 (JUDY’S BOYFRIEND)
You mean the Smiths? They moved, like, two years ago.
RIP VAN WINKLE
(With more confusion) What? No. I was talking about the Van Winkles!
TOWNSPERSON #1 (JUDY)
Um, creeper much? We moved after our dad left us. I’m Judy Van Winkle.
Why do you want to know?
RIP VAN WINKLE
(In shock) Judy? As in Judy Van Winkle? As in my daughter?
(JUDY is a bit “creeped out,” so to say, and takes
a step back.)

10. RIP VAN WINKLE
Judy, it’s me! It’s your father! How — how long has it been?!
(JUDY inspects RIP VAN WINKLE for a moment
before her eyes go wide with realization.)
JUDY VAN WINKLE
Like, oh my gosh. It is you! I should’ve known it when I saw the afro!
TOWNSPERSON #2
Um, like, what’s going on?
JUDY VAN WINKLE
Like, this is my dad! Dad, this is Jenna (she motions to TOWNSPERSON #2),
and this is my boyfriend, Nick.
TOWNSPERSON #3 (JUDY’ S BOYFRIEND)
Hey. ‘Sup.
RIP VAN WINKLE
You have a boyfriend?! How old are you, Judy?
JUDY VAN WINKLE
I’m, like, eighteen, dad. Duh.
RIP VAN WINKLE
It’s been eighteen years?!
JUDY VAN WINKLE
Um, yeah.
RIP VAN WINKLE
Wow. It seems like only yesterday you were a toddler…
(ALL turn to the audience and wink comically.)
END of ACT TWO

11. CLOSING SCENE
(ALL but NARRATOR have left the stage.)
NARRATOR
It took a while for Rip to get us ed to the twenty-first century, but
eventually, he began to fit right in. Judy helped him get a job, ironically, so
he could pay for his own apartment. She and Nick eventually got married,
but like Rip had suspected, it ended in divorce shortly. Rip learned that his
wife had assumed his death and moved away, but he decided it best not to
contact her, as he wanted to spend the rest of his life without her nagging
voice in his ear. He bought a new dog, which he named Wolf, as well, and
while he still struggle d to maintain a steady job, he lived happily ever
after.
THE END