Every Idiot Is a Sleeping Sage (R&C): a play
Sage and idiot wear masks. They are a man and a woman, but you cannot tell by looking at them. Their figures are disguised in robes. The witch and the rainman are sitting and watching the idiot and the sage, detached, as if they are watching television.
The rainman: They live in a world which is similar to ours. It looks like a graveyard. Their job is to dig the graves. They lie to the people around them.
The witch: They say they don’t lie. They say they decorate their lives.
The rain man: There is a sage. There is an idiot. Every idiot is a sleeping sage. There is the RAIN.
Dance where the rain is introduced through sound. Half of the 5:58 track from Excursions in Ambience. A slow, gentle, waking dance is performed. The rain symbolising the dawn of their consciousness, it brings the sage and idiot to life. Allows them to speak to the audience. A light goes onto the sage and the idiot after the dance
A (Idiot) I THINK THIS PLACE IS EXCELLENT ...
B (Sage). WHAT DO YOU MEAN ?
A (Idiot) I FEEL LIKE I WANT TO EAT SOMETHING SWEET .
B (Sage) JUST OPEN YOUR MOUTH AND LET THE DROPS FULL IT .
A (Idiot) I DON'T LIKE THE TASTE ...
The idiot is hungry, wants something, but is unsure what. First, he thinks he wants to eat something sweet. The sage, suggests that the idiot try the drops (doesn’t say rain yet), let the drops fill him up.
(Witch) SOMEONE MUST SAY SOMETHING , SOMEONE MUST DO SOMETHING
(Rainman) I DON'T LIKE WHAT THEY SAY , I DON'T LIKE WHAT THEY DO ...
Second half of the track and the dance of the idiot and the sage. As they are dancing, two shadows appear and take their places behind the idiot and the sage. It is now that the idiot realises his need. Where before they were satisfied to simply be conscious, now they are wanting more. Being braver. The shadows symbolise the desire that was always there, that they are now aware of.
A (Idiot shadow). I want to eat something.
I want to open my mouth and feel the drops filling it
B. (sage shadow) What do you mean?
A. (idiot shadow) Filling it with the taste of the world.
The world around me that is so busy
and salty
and sweet.
B (Sage shadow). I told you before, just open your mouth.
A. (Idiot shadow) What do you mean?
B. (Sage shadow).You know, we are not in heaven.
A. (Idiot shadow) How come my mouth is full of the drops?
B. (Sage shadow) It is raining dear.
Rain man comes closer and blesses both the sage and the idiot w/a pine branch dipped in water. As he anoints them, this is the rain trying to satisfy them.
C: The Rainman (still sprinkling water on the idiot and the sage)
IT IS ALL RAINING ON US
RAINING ON MY DEARS
RAINING ON THE LIFE YOU LEFT IN THE CLOSET
RAINING ON THE SHAME AND THE
JOY AT THE RAIN
BECAUSE WE HAVE WAITED
WANTING IT TO WASH MY DEARS
WANTING IT TO WASH THE LIFE YOU LEFT IN THE CLOSET
WANTING IT TO WASH THE SHAME.
IT RAINS
BUT IT DOES NOT CLEAN THE SHAME
JUST LEAVES IT SOGGY.
MY SOGGY DEARS.
The Rain man is still there. Now standing on a chair next to the idiot. No longer using a branch, he is now sprinkling the idiot directly (with a watering can?) into the idiot's mouth.
A. (Idiot standing with his mouth open, his tongue is hanging out) Something is wrong. I don’t think the taste of the rain is the same.
B. (Sage) What do you mean?
A. (Idiot) Or maybe something is wrong with my tongue…
B. (Sage) What do you mean?
A. (Idiot) Do I sound stupid?
B. (Sage) And the heavens?
A. (Idiot) Do you mean somebody put salt in the rain?
B. (Sage) Ah, good!
Dance. Track 2. Dancing is a bit more physical, a bit jungle fever.
The idiot and the sage are beginning to change. The shadows change places, but the sage and the idiot do not. The shadows step forward to speak.
A. (Shadow of idiot) THIS PLACE IS EXCELLENT.
B. (shadow of sage) I LIKE IT, ITS OK.
A. (shadow of idiot, a big realisation, starting to understand, ) Somebody put salt in the rain. Somebody spilled it on your cheeks.
In saying this, the idiot now approaches the sage. Before there was a constant distance guarded between them
B (shadow of the sage, knowingly, accepting the approach of the idiot) Someone put salt in the rain. They felt it needed to change.
A (shadow of idiot, curious) What did rain taste like before?
B ((shadow of sage, surprised) Before?
A (shadow of idiot, squeezing the sages arm, anxious) What was wrong with the rain?
The witch approaches now to taunt them both, tempting them to the other side, creating desire for something different. Trying to pull them apart, take them back to where they were before in understanding. A return to Babylon. Attempting to dry the rain off them with a white sheet.
The witch: Let’s sit and wait. Let’s sit and wait for it to stop raining. We will know then, that the right moment has come. It must be the right moment. We can bide our time, bite our nails and wait. We will not wait passively. There will be much anticipation. There will be electric currents behind our knees, ready to be triggered at the slightest suspicion. The slightest intimation that IT is coming. Conditions are favourable.
We will watch the Weather. We will read the news. We will hope there to discover clues. Changes. The slightest shift in world consciousness. Because it will signal chains of events.
Probability is with us. We will recognise the sign as we sit in expertly manipulated conditions.
The witch then puts the white cloth over all of their heads to protect them from the rain, to create almost an indoor, perfect cave for them. Draws them in.
Witch: Together.
Expecting.
Time.
Change.
Next.
A. The sage. (Now converted away from the rain, going along with the witch now, wanting the idiot to start craving sweet things once again) DO YOU FEEL LIKE EATING SOMETHING SWEET ?
B.(idiot) DO YOU HAVE ANY ?
A. (Sage, attempting gently to approach the idiot and open his mouth, but not following through) WHAT ABOUT … OPEN YOUR MOUTH AND FILL IT …
B. (Idiot) I cant open my mouth.
I don’t want you to see!
A. (Sage, getting braver, more determined, tempting) What is inside that you are scared of? Are you worried something might fall out?
B. (Idiot, getting protective of the sage, feeling pity for the sage who is failing. Says this wisely) I could never be afraid of my own mouth.
I’m afraid for you. For your sake.
A. (Sage) What will happen to me?
Why don’t you just try it?
B. (Idiot) Don’t force me. That would... (the sage steps forward and forces his mouth open, angry) —aaaahhhhhh... (the idiot stands there with his mouth open)
Pause for a few seconds while they recollect themselves. It is clear that a line has been crossed. Both are feeling uncomfortable with each other. As if a sin has been committed.
A.(Sage) Why aren’t you answering my questions. I’ve been asking you questions for days. Hours. Years even. And still you sit there watching me.
B. (Idiot) You think that I’ve not spoken a word because you’re watching, waiting for my mouth to move, not listening for the words. The words are there for you. Whenever you’re ready to hear them.
A. (Sage) Why aren’t you answering my questions.
B. (idiot) Because it rains. Because there are stars. These are all very good reasons for the way I behave. You see them as excuses. I see them as clues.
The shadows leave quietly, and the idiot and the sage sit down cross-legged, facing each other.
B.(Idiot) DO YOU LIKE THIS PLACE ?
A.(Sage, defeated) DO YOU THINK THE RAIN WILL STOP ?
The witch who had been standing there all along, unnoticed, suddenly slips and makes a loud noise. Both the idiot and the sage turn and suddenly notice that she has been standing there all along.
B. (Idiot) IT DOESN’T JUST RAIN BECAUSE OF YOU AND ME …
The rainman: They live in a world which is similar to ours. It looks like a graveyard. Their job is to dig the graves. They lie to the people around them.
The witch: They say they don’t lie. They say they decorate their lives.
The rain man: There is a sage. There is an idiot. Every idiot is a sleeping sage. There is the RAIN.
Dance where the rain is introduced through sound. Half of the 5:58 track from Excursions in Ambience. A slow, gentle, waking dance is performed. The rain symbolising the dawn of their consciousness, it brings the sage and idiot to life. Allows them to speak to the audience. A light goes onto the sage and the idiot after the dance
A (Idiot) I THINK THIS PLACE IS EXCELLENT ...
B (Sage). WHAT DO YOU MEAN ?
A (Idiot) I FEEL LIKE I WANT TO EAT SOMETHING SWEET .
B (Sage) JUST OPEN YOUR MOUTH AND LET THE DROPS FULL IT .
A (Idiot) I DON'T LIKE THE TASTE ...
The idiot is hungry, wants something, but is unsure what. First, he thinks he wants to eat something sweet. The sage, suggests that the idiot try the drops (doesn’t say rain yet), let the drops fill him up.
(Witch) SOMEONE MUST SAY SOMETHING , SOMEONE MUST DO SOMETHING
(Rainman) I DON'T LIKE WHAT THEY SAY , I DON'T LIKE WHAT THEY DO ...
Second half of the track and the dance of the idiot and the sage. As they are dancing, two shadows appear and take their places behind the idiot and the sage. It is now that the idiot realises his need. Where before they were satisfied to simply be conscious, now they are wanting more. Being braver. The shadows symbolise the desire that was always there, that they are now aware of.
A (Idiot shadow). I want to eat something.
I want to open my mouth and feel the drops filling it
B. (sage shadow) What do you mean?
A. (idiot shadow) Filling it with the taste of the world.
The world around me that is so busy
and salty
and sweet.
B (Sage shadow). I told you before, just open your mouth.
A. (Idiot shadow) What do you mean?
B. (Sage shadow).You know, we are not in heaven.
A. (Idiot shadow) How come my mouth is full of the drops?
B. (Sage shadow) It is raining dear.
Rain man comes closer and blesses both the sage and the idiot w/a pine branch dipped in water. As he anoints them, this is the rain trying to satisfy them.
C: The Rainman (still sprinkling water on the idiot and the sage)
IT IS ALL RAINING ON US
RAINING ON MY DEARS
RAINING ON THE LIFE YOU LEFT IN THE CLOSET
RAINING ON THE SHAME AND THE
JOY AT THE RAIN
BECAUSE WE HAVE WAITED
WANTING IT TO WASH MY DEARS
WANTING IT TO WASH THE LIFE YOU LEFT IN THE CLOSET
WANTING IT TO WASH THE SHAME.
IT RAINS
BUT IT DOES NOT CLEAN THE SHAME
JUST LEAVES IT SOGGY.
MY SOGGY DEARS.
The Rain man is still there. Now standing on a chair next to the idiot. No longer using a branch, he is now sprinkling the idiot directly (with a watering can?) into the idiot's mouth.
A. (Idiot standing with his mouth open, his tongue is hanging out) Something is wrong. I don’t think the taste of the rain is the same.
B. (Sage) What do you mean?
A. (Idiot) Or maybe something is wrong with my tongue…
B. (Sage) What do you mean?
A. (Idiot) Do I sound stupid?
B. (Sage) And the heavens?
A. (Idiot) Do you mean somebody put salt in the rain?
B. (Sage) Ah, good!
Dance. Track 2. Dancing is a bit more physical, a bit jungle fever.
The idiot and the sage are beginning to change. The shadows change places, but the sage and the idiot do not. The shadows step forward to speak.
A. (Shadow of idiot) THIS PLACE IS EXCELLENT.
B. (shadow of sage) I LIKE IT, ITS OK.
A. (shadow of idiot, a big realisation, starting to understand, ) Somebody put salt in the rain. Somebody spilled it on your cheeks.
In saying this, the idiot now approaches the sage. Before there was a constant distance guarded between them
B (shadow of the sage, knowingly, accepting the approach of the idiot) Someone put salt in the rain. They felt it needed to change.
A (shadow of idiot, curious) What did rain taste like before?
B ((shadow of sage, surprised) Before?
A (shadow of idiot, squeezing the sages arm, anxious) What was wrong with the rain?
The witch approaches now to taunt them both, tempting them to the other side, creating desire for something different. Trying to pull them apart, take them back to where they were before in understanding. A return to Babylon. Attempting to dry the rain off them with a white sheet.
The witch: Let’s sit and wait. Let’s sit and wait for it to stop raining. We will know then, that the right moment has come. It must be the right moment. We can bide our time, bite our nails and wait. We will not wait passively. There will be much anticipation. There will be electric currents behind our knees, ready to be triggered at the slightest suspicion. The slightest intimation that IT is coming. Conditions are favourable.
We will watch the Weather. We will read the news. We will hope there to discover clues. Changes. The slightest shift in world consciousness. Because it will signal chains of events.
Probability is with us. We will recognise the sign as we sit in expertly manipulated conditions.
The witch then puts the white cloth over all of their heads to protect them from the rain, to create almost an indoor, perfect cave for them. Draws them in.
Witch: Together.
Expecting.
Time.
Change.
Next.
A. The sage. (Now converted away from the rain, going along with the witch now, wanting the idiot to start craving sweet things once again) DO YOU FEEL LIKE EATING SOMETHING SWEET ?
B.(idiot) DO YOU HAVE ANY ?
A. (Sage, attempting gently to approach the idiot and open his mouth, but not following through) WHAT ABOUT … OPEN YOUR MOUTH AND FILL IT …
B. (Idiot) I cant open my mouth.
I don’t want you to see!
A. (Sage, getting braver, more determined, tempting) What is inside that you are scared of? Are you worried something might fall out?
B. (Idiot, getting protective of the sage, feeling pity for the sage who is failing. Says this wisely) I could never be afraid of my own mouth.
I’m afraid for you. For your sake.
A. (Sage) What will happen to me?
Why don’t you just try it?
B. (Idiot) Don’t force me. That would... (the sage steps forward and forces his mouth open, angry) —aaaahhhhhh... (the idiot stands there with his mouth open)
Pause for a few seconds while they recollect themselves. It is clear that a line has been crossed. Both are feeling uncomfortable with each other. As if a sin has been committed.
A.(Sage) Why aren’t you answering my questions. I’ve been asking you questions for days. Hours. Years even. And still you sit there watching me.
B. (Idiot) You think that I’ve not spoken a word because you’re watching, waiting for my mouth to move, not listening for the words. The words are there for you. Whenever you’re ready to hear them.
A. (Sage) Why aren’t you answering my questions.
B. (idiot) Because it rains. Because there are stars. These are all very good reasons for the way I behave. You see them as excuses. I see them as clues.
The shadows leave quietly, and the idiot and the sage sit down cross-legged, facing each other.
B.(Idiot) DO YOU LIKE THIS PLACE ?
A.(Sage, defeated) DO YOU THINK THE RAIN WILL STOP ?
The witch who had been standing there all along, unnoticed, suddenly slips and makes a loud noise. Both the idiot and the sage turn and suddenly notice that she has been standing there all along.
B. (Idiot) IT DOESN’T JUST RAIN BECAUSE OF YOU AND ME …
posted by Camille at 9:41 pm
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