The Ninth Challenge
Repetition
I’m not a music
expert. Like I know enough to be inspired and feel things a little more than if
I didn’t know those things- so caveat on the below.
Numba nine. Numba
nine. Numba nine. The Beatles had Revolution 9 on The White Album- a sound
collage John Lennon said where he was trying to paint a picture of a revolution
using sound.
The Rolling Stones
would tune their guitars (like a banjo I believe) to have an open “drone
string” that played the same note no matter the chord (G).
Fundamentals: One of the “inherently theatrical”
energies that playwrights don’t usually have the guts to play with is
REPETITION. Repetition is inherently theatrical because of its tyranny. It’s
brutal. It’s dominant and restricting. It affects everything around it and make
us want to break free- to revolt.
When it ends, there
is relief and release. When it varies, we are drawn in.
Repetition is part of trance- part of “rain
dance”- part of transporting oneself from the mundane into another realm, a
better future, the distant past.
Structure: Write a personal monologue- a
biased, dogmatic, angry monologue. Do NOT walk the middle line. Irresponsibly
feed your worst desires to flatten and burn and rip up your opposition. There
is no justice, only victory. Use facts if you like, but lie about them. Don’t
look them up, that’s not what today is about. Use personal testimony if you
like, but exaggerate.
Then- ADD A DRONE CHORUS or tech element
that interrupts and interjects and interludes.
Make it compelling.
Make it a little girl
with a frilly dress holding flowers and asking you if you can play with her.
Make it a violin
Make it the sound of
traffic.
Make sure it makes
EMOTIVE sense in relationship to the other subjects on stage.
Probably you should
write in two columns but do whatchu want
Hasty example:
Today I want to talk
to you about my mother
(strong violin)
She used to play the
violin in public
(strong violin)
Before the accident
with the knife.
(violin trill)
I was just a boy
(strong violin)
and was disobeying
(strong violin)
Like usual
(violin trill)
(for now, onward with the Cymbeline
riff)
ACTOR 1 reanimates CLOTEN on his puppet arm to move
things along, because CLOTEN, of course, is impatient (and dressed in a puppet
version of Posthumus’ clothes).
ACTOR 1 (CLOTEN,
puppet) (cont’d)
Back
to the story!
ACTRESS 2 (GUIDERIUS,
puppet)
See? Rude!
ACTRESS 1 (IMOGEN)’s cough seems worse. Her coughing fit conveniently prevents her
from getting a look at CLOTEN as ACTOR 1 shrugs the puppet off his arm.
ACTOR 1 (ARVIRAGUS)
Come
inside, Fidelis. You really look like
you could use some rest.
The lights shift as ACTOR 1 (ARVIRAGUS) guides ACTRESS
1 (IMOGEN/Fidelis) to another pool of light.
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis)
Thank
you, my new friend. I'm sure I'll be
fine if I just lie down for a bit, here in this cave, out of the cold.
ACTOR 1 (ARVIRAGUS)
It's
not much, but we call it home.
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis)
It
is a welcome sight for a lonely, weary traveler.
Suddenly, CLOTEN's little severed puppet head goes
awkwardly bouncing by.
ACTRESS 2 (GUIDERIUS, puppet) calls from off in the
dark.
ACTRESS 2 (GUIDERIUS,
puppet)
Uh,
brother? I could use a little help with
cleanup out here.
ACTOR 1 (ARVIRAGUS) looks reluctant to leave ACTRESS
1 (IMOGEN/Fidelis).
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis)
I'll
be fine. Go help your brother. It would seem he has a headless corpse to
deal with.
ACTOR 1 (ARVIRAGUS)
We'll
be right back.
ACTOR 1 (ARVIRAGUS) goes.
ACTRESS 1 (IMOGEN/Fidelis) gets out the vial of
"poison"/medicine that Pisanio gave to her.
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis)
The
servant said this medicine would help me rest.
ACTRESS 1 (IMOGEN/Fidelis) drinks from the vial.
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis) (cont'd)
Hmmm. That feels odd.
ACTRESS 1 (IMOGEN/Fidelis) falls down in a heap
quite suddenly and is still.
ACTOR 2 (PISANIO) lowers his puppet arm and joins
ACTRESS 3 who is taking on the CORNELIUS puppet temporarily for this sequence
to discuss the plot twist.
ACTOR 2 (PISANIO)
I
thought you said it wasn't poison!
ACTRESS 3 (CORNELIUS,
puppet)
It
wasn't. It isn't. But if you're going to put one over on the
queen, it has to look good.
ACTOR 2 (PISANIO)
That
doesn't look like restful sleep.
ACTRESS 3 (CORNELIUS,
puppet)
Looks
like eternal rest, doesn't it? Wink
wink.
ACTOR 2 (PISANIO)
Would
you please cut that out?!
ACTRESS 3 (CORNELIUS,
puppet)
Well,
you have it admit, it works fast.
ACTOR 2 (PISANIO)
So
now what?
ACTRESS 3 (CORNELIUS,
puppet)
She's
among friends. I'm sure they'll take care
of her.
ACTOR 2 (PISANIO)
What
if they think she's actually dead and try to bury her?
ACTRESS 3 (CORNELIUS,
puppet)
I'm
sure she'll wake up in time.
ACTOR 2 (PISANIO)
You're
sure?
ACTRESS 3 (CORNELIUS,
puppet)
Reasonably
sure.
ACTOR 2 (PISANIO)
That's
not very reassuring.
ACTRESS 3 (CORNELIUS,
puppet)
It
all depends on how quickly they find her.
I'm sure enough time will pass that -
ACTOR 1 (ARVIRAGUS) and ACTRESS 2 (GUIDERIUS,
puppet) appear, carrying the headless puppet corpse of Cloten, dressed in
Posthumus' clothes.
ACTOR 1 (ARVIRAGUS) sees the lifeless-looking
ACTRESS 1 (IMOGEN/Fidelis) and drops his end of the corpse.
ACTOR 1 (ARVIRAGUS)
Oh
my God! Fidelis is dead!
ACTRESS 3 (CORNELIUS,
puppet)
Well,
crap.
ACTOR 2 (PISANIO)
We're
not really in this scene. We should
leave.
They do.
ACTRESS 2 (GUIDERIUS,
puppet)
It's
really hard to hang onto friends out here in the wilderness.
ACTOR 1 (ARVIRAGUS) tries, in vain, to get ACTRESS
1 (IMOGEN/Fidelis) to awaken. When he
shakes her, she just flops around - as awkwardly and comically as possible.
(But both actors are careful not to do anything that would give away the fact
that she is actually a woman under those men's clothes.)
ACTOR 1 (ARVIRAGUS)
Don't
leave us so soon, Fidelis!
ACTRESS 2 (GUIDERIUS,
puppet)
Sorry,
brother.
The
boy is lost to us.
Since
we're already digging a grave for old headless here, I suppose we should bury
Fidelis as well, so the wolves don't get him.
ACTOR 1 (ARVIRAGUS) gently arranges ACTRESS 1 (IMOGEN/Fidelis)
on the ground.
ACTRESS 2 (GUIDERIUS, puppet) and ACTOR 1
(ARVIRAGUS) then take the headless Cloten puppet corpse and plunk him down
carelessly beside ACTRESS 1 (IMOGEN/Fidelis).
He can't feel the rough treatment at this point anyway, and they
certainly don't respect the guy.
ACTRESS 2 (GUIDERIUS, puppet) (cont’d)
We’d
best dig a second grave so we can bury them both.
ACTRESS 2 (GUIDERIUS, puppet) and ACTOR 1
(ARVIRAGUS) turn to go and dig the graves, but ARVIRAGUS hesitates and turns
back to look at ACTRESS 1 (IMOGEN/Fidelis).
ACTOR 1 (ARVIRAGUS)
We
should say something, brother.
ACTRESS 2 (GUIDERIUS,
puppet)
You're
right. We should.
This is the place in the original play from whence
those words came:
ACTOR 1 (ARVIRAGUS)
and
ACTRESS 2 (GUIDERIUS,
puppet)
Fear
no more the heat of the sun,
Nor
the furious winter's rages;
Thou
thy worldly task hast done,
Home
art gone, and ta'en thy wages;
Golden
lads and girls all must,
As
chimney-sweepers, come to dust.
Fear
no more the frown o'th' great,
Thou
art past the tyrant's stroke.
Care
no more to clothe and eat,
To
thee the reed is as the oak.
The
sceptre, learning, physic must,
All
follow this and come to dust.
Fear
no more the lightning flash,
Nor
th'all-dreaded thunder-stone.
Fear
not slander, censure rash,
Thou
hast finished joy and moan.
All
lovers young, all lovers must
Consign
to thee and come to dust.
No
exorcizer harm thee,
Nor
no witchcraft charm thee.
Ghost
unlaid forbear thee.
Nothing
ill come near thee.
Quiet
consummation have
And
renowned be thy grave.
You
were as flowers, now withered; even so
These
herblets shall, which we upon you strew.
The
ground that gave them first has them again.
Their
pleasures here are past, so is their pain.
After a moment of contemplation, ACTRESS 2
(GUIDERIUS, puppet) and ACTOR 1 (ARVIRAGUS) leave to dig the graves.
After they're gone, ACTRESS 1 (IMOGEN/Fidelis)
suddenly wakes up.
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis)
Wow. That peasant was right. A decent nap thanks to that sleeping potion
really perks a lady up.
ACTRESS 1 (IMOGEN/Fidelis) turns to see the
headless puppet corpse lying next to her.
ACTRESS 1 (IMOGEN/Fidelis)
(cont’d)
Egad!
ACTRESS 1 (IMOGEN/Fidelis) notices the clothes on
the corpse.
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis) (cont’d)
Wait
a minute! I recognize these garments.
Posthumus?!
These
are my formerly beloved husband's clothes!
Could
he have been coming to Milford Haven after all, to thwart my assassination?
He
certainly should have.
I
mean, I'm still angry at him.
But
I didn't want him to lose his head.
I
don't want anyone to lose their head.
ACTOR 1 pokes his puppet arm back in with a
non-headless CLOTEN from the nearby dark.
ACTOR 1 (CLOTEN,
puppet)
Not
even me?
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis)
Well,
perhaps you.
You
are annoying, and a little handsy.
ACTOR 1 (CLOTEN,
puppet)
Even
in death I can't get a break. She mourns
me, but only because she thinks it's him.
ACTOR 1 (CLOTEN, puppet) exits in a huff.
Meanwhile, ACTRESS 2 (POSTHUMUS) also pokes their
head in from offstage to watch this.
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis)
Oh,
Posthumus.
Angry
as I was with you, I still wanted a chance for you to apologize for wronging
me.
For
not believing me.
For
hiring someone to kill me.
Your
chances for forgiveness were actually quite slim, but nonetheless, foolish
though I be, I did still wish to give us another chance.
But
now, that chance has been taken from us.
ACTRESS 2 (POSTHUMUS)
Excuse
me?! Do you not recognize my body at
all?!
ACTRESS 3, still subbing in on the CORNELIUS puppet,
and ACTOR 2 (PISANIO) appear to steer ACTRESS 2 (POSTHUMUS) to their next real
scene.
ACTRESS 3 (CORNELIUS,
puppet)
You're
not supposed to be here.
ACTOR 2 (PISANIO)
You're
supposed to be in Rome. They're getting
ready to start a war.
ACTRESS 2 (POSTHUMUS)
But
I have a much better body than Cloten!
ACTOR 1 reappears with the CLOTEN puppet.
ACTOR 1 (CLOTEN,
puppet)
Hey!
ACTRESS 2 (POSTHUMUS)
Well,
I do!
And
now you're going to be buried in one of my best outfits!
ACTOR 1 (CLOTEN,
puppet)
Well,
if you loved it so much, you should have taken it with you into exile!
ACTRESS 2 (POSTHUMUS)
I
wanted to leave my formerly beloved wife some tokens to remember me by.
ACTOR 1 (CLOTEN,
puppet)
Oh
well, your loss.
ACTRESS 2 (POSTHUMUS)
Same
to you, headless!
And
why the hell is she dressed as a boy?!
ACTRESS 3 (CORNELIUS,
puppet)
You're
not supposed to see any of that - yet.
ACTRESS 2 (POSTHUMUS)
Sleep
that others mistake for death?
Accidental
burials of the living?
Headless
corpses mistaken for living people based on what they're wearing?
Women
dressed as men?!
ACTOR 2 (PISANIO)
This
happens a lot in Shakespeare.
ACTRESS 2 (POSTHUMUS)
And
just why haven't you killed her yet?
ACTOR 2 (PISANIO)
You
don't pay me enough.
ACTRESS 2 (POSTHUMUS)
I
don't pay you anything.
ACTOR 2 (PISANIO)
There
you have it.
ACTRESS 2 (POSTHUMUS)
I
guess if you want to have your unfaithful wife killed, sometimes you just have
to do it yourself.
ACTRESS 3 (CORNELIUS, puppet)
You're
not in this scene. You're not even in
this country. You're back in Rome, about
to get your marching orders.
ACTOR 2 switches out the BELARIUS puppet for the LUCIUS
puppet and re-enters the scene.
ACTOR 2 (LUCIUS,
puppet)
I,
however, am in this scene and this country.
The rest of you clear the stage.
They do.
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis)
Oh
Posthumus.
Against
my better judgment, I am a bit sorry that you're gone.
ACTOR 2 (LUCIUS,
puppet)
Boy!
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis)
Who
are you calling a - oh, wait, that's right.
Yes! Boy I am. With what can I assist you, noble sir?
ACTOR 2 (LUCIUS,
puppet)
You
seem distracted by this headless personage.
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis)
I
knew them once. When they had a
head. My formerly beloved master.
ACTOR 2 (LUCIUS,
puppet)
Beloved?
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis)
I
am a very devoted person.
ACTOR 2 (LUCIUS,
puppet)
Formerly
beloved?
ACTRESS 1 (IMOGEN/Fidelis)
Well,
he lacks a head, so -
ACTOR 2 (LUCIUS,
puppet)
This
is true.
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis)
But
when he had a head, I would have done anything for him.
ACTOR 2 (LUCIUS,
puppet)
What
was your master's name?
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis)
Posthumus.
ACTOR 2 (LUCIUS,
puppet)
Doesn't
that mean "after death"?
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis)
Yes,
but it's not in common parlance yet, so, you know, play along.
ACTOR 2 (LUCIUS,
puppet)
Gotcha.
I
admire a peasant with such devotion to their master. Even - after death.
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis)
What
is to become of me?
ACTOR 2 (LUCIUS,
puppet)
What
is thy name, pretty youth?
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis)
Fidelis.
ACTOR 2 (LUCIUS,
puppet)
Doesn't
that mean - ?
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis)
Yes,
that one you can take at face value.
Moving along - ?
ACTOR 2 (LUCIUS,
puppet)
Well,
since you're in the market for a new master, I happen to be in the market for
additional assistants. I'm starting a
war.
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis)
Where?
ACTOR 2 (LUCIUS,
puppet)
Here.
I've
sent word ahead to Rome, they'll be sending reinforcements.
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis)
Why?
ACTOR 2 (LUCIUS,
puppet)
Does
one really need a reason for war?
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis)
Yes,
I think one does.
ACTOR 2 (LUCIUS,
puppet)
Money.
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis)
Oh.
ACTOR 2 (LUCIUS, puppet)
So,
will you join us?
ACTRESS 1 (IMOGEN/Fidelis) gives one last look to
the headless puppet corpse.
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis)
Well. Sure.
Why not?
ACTOR 2 (LUCIUS,
puppet)
Off
we go, into battle!
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis)
(under her breath)
Men.
ACTOR 2 (LUCIUS,
puppet)
What
was that?
ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis)
Nothing,
my liege.
Into
battle we go!
ACTOR 2 (LUCIUS, puppet) and ACTRESS 1
(IMOGEN/Fidelis) exit.
ACTOR 1 (ARVIRAGUS) returns, sees Imogen/Fidelis is
gone.
ACTOR 1 (ARVIRAGUS)
Damn
wolves!
ACTOR 1 (ARVIRAGUS) grabs the headless puppet
corpse by the foot and drags it back offstage with him for burial, muttering –
ACTOR 1 (ARVIRAGUS)
(cont’d)
They
always eat the one with the head first.
Dang!
(to be continued)
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