Mr. Know-All - Game Script Dealing with prejudice and stereotypes

William S. Maugham Playwright

You are a British playwright, novelist, and short story writer.

You were born in the Embassy of the United Kingdom in Paris, France. When you were ten, your parents died, so you were sent to Britain to be raised by an emotionally cold paternal uncle. You were trained and qualified as a physician, but had always wanted to be a writer. After the raving success of your first novel, you gave up medicine to write full-time. 

During the First World War you served in France as a member of the British Red Cross. After the war you travelled a lot in search for inspiration for your novels.

Your Task

You are a very reserved, frigid, closed-minded, snobbish, and prejudiced Englishman. You are critical of each of the other passengers on board the ship, except for Mrs Ramsay. You strongly dislike your cabin mate Mr Kelada and are often sarcastic when talking to him. You use every opportunity to diminish him in the eyes of the other passengers. 

You are to cut Mr Kelada down to size by doubting every his idea and trying to prove that he is a shallow self-centered person.

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Max Kelada Businessman, pearl trader

You were born in Egypt, which was part of the British colony at that time, into a family of a local merchant and an English teacher from London, who was performing her contract in Cairo. 

At the age of nine, you were taken to London, where you were educated and employed at a small pearl business. After working there for ten consecutive years and getting a serious experience in the field, you established your own company specializing in trading cultured pearls worldwide.

At your age you are already a successful and well-off businessman settled in New York and are going to do business with Japanese suppliers.

Your Task

You are a successful, widely-traveled businessman. You do understand the normal conventions of polite “British” behavior, as you were raised in the UK. However, you behave in an informal way in order to be liked and accepted socially by other passengers on the liner. 

You are chatty, hearty, pushy, self-confident, and argumentative. You are a very good mixer, who easily makes friends and likes to be involved in every activity. You like being the center of attraction. 

You do feel and understand sarcasm and negative attitudes toward you, but pretend not to pay attention or take offense. You disliked the nickname "Mr Know-All", but chose not to react to it, since you're a piece-maker by nature. 

You are to convince the other passengers at the table that you do have expertise in pearl business, so your remarks are instructional, and your arguments are always to the point.

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Mr Elmer Ramsay American Consular in Kobe, Japan

You were born in a rural area in the Middle West and raised in a farm. Your ambition to make your way in life was a driving force which helped you receive a good education and get employment in the diplomatic service. 

You are married to a pretty woman from a good family of bankers. You have a house, two children, a dog, and a servant who helps your wife about the house.

You've just been on a short vacation in New York and are going back to Kobe to resume your post. This time you are taking your wife with you after a year of living apart. 

Your Task

You are a very dogmatic and straightfarward person. You hate when people show off in public. Although you're a trained diplomat, you have a quick temper, so you bitterly resent any of Mr Kelada's remarks. You are annoyed by his cocksureness, so when it comes to the subject of pearls, you can not resist the opportunity to have a fling at Mr Kelada.

You are to verbally attack Mr Kelada by claiming the opposite and arguing heatedly about each statement. Your final goal is to prove that Max Kelada is a liar and buffoon and that no one should take him seriously.

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Mrs Ramsay Housewife

You were born into a family of bankers in Richmond, Virginia. You attended the University of Virginia and had an ambition to become a lawyer. But your father arranged a marriage for you, so you never graduated. 

Your husband Elmer is eight years older than you and is very dogmatic. He never takes into account your personal opinion when making decisions. You doubt that he ever loved you.

Your Task

You are to do everything to avoid the subject of the conversation for your own sake. The thing is that you have lied to your husband about the origin of your pearl necklace. The fact is that you got it from an admirer - a distinguished-looking and promising young man working for your father, - who you had fallen in love with when visiting your parents in Richmond. Since Mr Ramsay took up his post in Kobe a year ago and moved there alone, you felt miserable, abandoned, and worthless. When the caring and loving young banker appeared in your life, you became truly happy.

You are to convince the passengers at the table, and your husband in the first place, that your pearls are fake and cost nothing. You need to hide the truth by all means. 

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Dr Gary Fisher Experimental psychologist

You were born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and raised in a family greatly interested in science. You did your first degree in physics at Cornell University, but was drawn to the world of psychology by a course in animal psychology under the professorship of Edward B. Titchener, a famous British psychologist at the time. On one test you received back, the professor had even written "You have the psychological point of view!" Since then, psychology has always been your major interest.

You always take notes in order to assemble psychological profiles of people you happen to be around while travelling. You use those notes in your research work. This time you are on vacation travelling to Japan on board the liner.

Your Task

You are to start the discussion about cultured pearls by introducing the topic. You tell your companions about the article you have read lately and cite the facts you learnt about pearls. You express an opinion that sooner or later, cultured pearls will inevitably diminish the value of real ones.

When the passengers engage in the conversation, you hold aloof and take notes, building psychological profiles of each of the four diners at your table. Then, at the the end of the dinner, you make your professional findings based on the passengers' behaviours and reveal their hidden motifs.

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