The Bad Birthday

by Rick Balian and Lucila Moctezuma

Chon and Chona, a twin brother and sister in rural Mexico, decide to bake themselves a cake to celebrate their birthday. But there’s a big problem: They don’t have the ingredients. When the twins ask their neighbors for help in return for all the favors they’ve done for them in the past, the greedy neighbors agree to donate the ingredients in exchange for pieces of the cake. Soon, all of the cake is promised to other people. But before the twins’ birthday is over, everyone in town learns the value of cooperation.

Available in English or Spanish

“The mix of puppetry and live actors kept my class EXCITED. It was a fabulous performance!”  – M. Kruger, PS46

“When I asked teachers what assembly program they wanted this year, the answer was unanimous! They all wanted NPT’s World Voices program to come back.”  
– T. Callieri, PS22

Characters

Chona: A young Mexican woman
Chon: A young Mexican man; Chona’s twin brother
The Mayor: The pompous head of Chona and Chon’s village
Doña Rosa: The owner of the local bakery who’s not as sweet as her pastries
Don Nacho: A chicken farmer who can’t stop clucking
Arturo: Don Nacho’s friendly dog companion
Doña Lola: An older woman who owns a local store and is crippled with stinginess
Padre Juan: The jovial and philosophical village priest

Minimum cast: 4, if puppets (for the Mayor, Doña Rosa, Don Nacho, Arturo, Doña Lola, and Padre Juan) are used in conjunction with onstage actors. Except for Arturo, the dog, the show can be produced with all onstage actors.

Running time: approx. 40 minutes

World Voices

This play is part of New Perspectives Theatre Company’s World Voices program. World Voices uses stories and fables from around the world to illustrate the strong common bonds among us all. The shows run 50–60 minutes and include a participatory game or activity related to the story. Each play can be performed with puppets and actors or actors only. 

If you’d like to book a production or produce a show yourself, contact Rick at theateroftheobvious@icloud.com or New Perspectives Theatre Company (newperspectivestheatre.org) at newper37@gmail.com.