"Mystery-Bouffe..." was not the first play I wrote for FronteraFest Short Fringe 2017. The first play was a longer version of a 10-minute play I wrote for a 48-hour play ScriptWorks playwriting event know as "The Weekend Fling," called "Pancakes & Pussy (Life is Not All) #DeadMommyJokes."
I'm ready for next year. :)
The original "Mystery-Bouffe" was a Soviet propaganda play written by Vladimir Mayakovsky and performed at the first anniversary of the Russian Revolution in 1918 and revised in 1921 and ran for 100 performances in Moscow.
In his preface to the 1921 edition Mayakovsky wrote "in the future, all persons performing, presenting, reading or publishing Mystery-Bouffe should change the content, making it contemporary, immediate, up-to-the-minute."
I took him at his word.
I considered several other possibilities for topics and themes for my FronteraFest piece.
I have been making notes for several years now for a play about what happens to the personal belongings of soldiers who are killed during a war. I thought I might make a stab at writing a one-act.
I consider a piece on gun violence and made a few notes. (I have a great title that must remain secret.)
I made notes for a one-act about why Americans are over-weight.
There were other ideas for a FronteraFest piece.
But after the election, only one thing seemed to matter.
Before the notes, I need to say one more thing. I began reading about Post-Dramatic Theater, first in a book "Theatre of the Unimpressed: In Search of Vital Drama" by Jordan Tannehill. Loved it. Now in "Postdramatic Theatre" by Han-Thies Lehmann. The ideas presented don't seem revolutionary to me. They seem to be extensions of ideas that have been around since before Aristophanes. What's different is the degree to which these ideas are now dominating so much of modern theatre. I was in New York a couple of weeks ago and saw "Paramour" by Cirque du Soleil. The techniques and ideas have leaked over onto the Broadway stage.
These ideas remind me of how Impressionism, then Surrealism, then Abstract Expressionism, etc. sweep through painting with the development of the camera. Realism didn't die out, but the camera does it so much... better? Better is the wrong word. Drama on stage won't die out, but movies and TV do it... if not better, more realistically.
I love the new direction theatre is going and I am being dragged along... not unwillingly.
Notes for my play:
Mystery-Bouffe 2017: A Comedy in Six Acts
Issues:
1. Post-Truth - Flood of Feces, only elites smell
2. Immigration - Earth Quake, Banker & Machinist
3. Misogyny - A Pink Hole, Men
4. Jobs - Rats, only poor
5. Elitism - Swamp Monster, Rich
6. Racism - Darkness, one of each
Branding
Conflict of interest
Characters:
Unclean
Machinist (Male, older),Out-of-work, used to make small parts for an automobile plant in Ohio. Job outsourced to Mexico. Angry, hates Mexicans and all other immigrants. Urban poor. Build the Wall! Trump Supporter.
Small town farmer’s wife (female), small town girl who has never known a black person. She’s afraid of them. Thinks they are all drug dealers. Too many of her friends have gotten addicted to opioids. Several have died, including her sister who dated a black man. She blames black people. Evangelical. Thinks gays are evil. Against gay marriage and abortion. Trump supporter.
Clean
Banker (female), rich, fiscal conservative, but cultural liberal. Has a gay son that he is proud of. New Yorker. Acted and spoke as though he hated Trump, but secretly gave him money and voted for him.
College Professor (Male), teaches literature, worries about climate change and the accumulation of wealth in the hands of few, supports the Native Americans, pro-abortion, anti-death penalty, peace activist. But all this is mostly supported by talking to her friends and re-posting stuff on social media. She’s to busy to actually get involved. Voted for Jill Stein.
Tech, African-American, nerd who provides sound effects and lighting and holds signs, helps with costume changes.
Woman - Producer/Commentator
Plagues
Does the size of my... hands scare you? Trump’s expressions turned on their head.
Grab her by the pussy.
Mocking the disabled
Build the Wall
Muslims
(going to Machinist)
Who did you vote for?
MACHINIST (ACTOR 1)
Ah... Trump
TECH
(calmly)
Fuck you.
(going to Farmer’s Wife)
Who did you vote for?
FARMER'S WIFE (ACTOR 2)
(sheepish)
Trump.
TECH
Fuck you.
(goes to Banker)
Who did you vote for?
BANKER (ACTOR 3)
(asserting his rights)
There’s a reason it’s a secret ballot.
TECH
So Trump.
(Banker gives a noncommittal but affirmative head nod)
Fuck you.
(goes to College Professor)
Who did you vote for?
COLLEGE PROFESSOR (ACTOR 4)
Jill Stein.
TECH
Especially fuck you!
Plagues clearer.
Why grampa lives in argentina.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/kassycho/signed-by-trump?utm_term=.eryV7vq82#.lxjdJ6e40
Ask the black person
Props:
Pink Flashlight
Digital Timer
Mice
Signs
Script
3x5 cards
Large Paper bag
Swamp monster mask
Speakers
Power
Music player
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