NARRATION I see the Raves as a religious ritual. The God is technology. The music is Techno. Techno music is the only place that technology is used for the benefit of primal man. The beat of Techno is made to match the beat of his primal heart. The rhythm is made to match the rhythm of his primordial soul.
The Rave experience is a spiritual cleansing from the stressed out politically correct technological society. Dayton Ohio's first Raves coincided with the full moon.
Those that felt the vibrations cleansed their soul as primal man had done a million years earlier. But it was different! this time there were two Gods. One was represented by the moon the other by technology.
about one minute
THE PLAY IS ABOUT EVARAVE. SHE IS ATTENDING HER FIRST RAVE.
THE CURTAIN OPENS WITH EVARAVE ON THE RIGHT AND DEATH ON THE LEFT. THEY ARE NOT MOVING. IN THE MIDDLE IS A ROTATING COLORED WHEEL. RED. AS THE MUSIC STARTS (VERY SUBDUED IN THE BEGINNING) THE COLORED WHEEL BEGINS TO TURN AND THE NARRATION BEGINS.
EVARAVE BEGINS TO DANCE. DEATH BEGINS TO MOVE AROUND. THE MUSIC IN THE BACKGROUND IS INCREASED IN VOLUME.
EVARAVE SAYS "I would like to dance all night. This is clearing out all my negative feelings. But I don't have the energy to dance all night. I worked all afternoon and evening at my McJob. It drained me."
DEATH SAYS "I can help you. I have magic in my pocket. It will keep you dancing all night."
EVARAVE SAYS "But the magic. Will it help clear out my negative feelings.
DEATH SAYS "No. It will just keep you dancing all night. "
EVARAVE SAYS "But it is not a real dance if I do it with magic. It is like a fake dance"
DEATH SAYS "It may be fake but you can dance all night.
EVARAVE SAYS "I don't know. Let me dance awhile and ask me later"
DEATH SAYS "OK. I am always close by"
MUSIC GETS LOUDER AND EVARAVE STARTS TO DANCE. DEATH MOVES OUT OF THE SCREEN AREA.
about one minute
EVARAVE SLOWS IN HER DANCING. DEATH RETURNS TO THE SCENE. EVARAVE STOPS AND DEATH DANCES SLOWLY.
DEATH SAYS "See I still have the energy to dance" AS HE SPEEDS UP HIS MOVEMENT.
EVARAVE SAYS "I am so tired. That McJob is killing me."
DEATH SAYS, "Would you like some magic now. So you can dance all night?"
EVARAVE SAYS "My friends say that the magic will leave holes in your brain. Is that true."
DEATH, "Perhaps but why not have holes in your brain. You don't need all your brain to work at your McJob and to dance all night"
EVARAVE SAYS, "But what if my world changes? I may need all my brain then."
DEATH, "If you take enough of the magic your world will not change and you will not even want it to change"
EVARAVE SAYS, "I don't know. I can still dance. So I think I will dance some more."
DEATH, "OK I am always close by"
DEATH EXITS THE SCENE AND EVARAVE STARTS SPEEDING UP THE DANCE
about one minute
EVARAVE SLOWS TO A STOP AND DEATH ENTERS THE SCENE
DEATH SAYS "Are you ready for the magic now?"
EVARAVE SPLUTTERS "yes. ....no....yes....no.....maybe"
DEATH "Well which is it?"
EVARAVE "I don't know......Logic tells me that you can never get more out of life than is in it."
DEATH "And what does that mean??"
EVARAVE "It means that if you speed up your life now it will only cut it short in the end."
DEATH "And. What is wrong with that? You are only going to be rocking in a chair in old age anyway."
EVARAVE "Old Age is an honorable thing. I don't mind rocking the end away"
DEATH "I am not getting anywhere with you. The sun will come up in a couple hours and I will have to leave with my magic"
EVARAVE "Wait...Don't go yet...I don't know if I can dance a couple hours."
DEATH "Does that mean you want the magic?"
EVARAVE "Yes and no. My mind is so fogged already that I had better dance some more...for awhile."
DEATH "I will be back. I am always close by."
EVARAVE CONTINUES TO DANCE AND DEATH EXITS THE SCENE
about one minute
DEATH ENTERS THE SCENE. EVARAVE IS DANCING SLOWLY
DEATH SPEAKS "Only a short time till sunrise. Are you ready for magic?"
EVARAVE "But at sunrise I will not need it and you will be gone."
DEATH "I did say a short time. The first law of evolution states that 'he that survives the night is good and he that does not is evil"
DEATH PAUSES AND SAYS "What makes you think you can survive till sunrise?"
EVARAVE "I can't think. I am too tired"
DEATH "Then you need magic"
EVARAVE "I don't know. I am too tired"
EVARAVE STARTS DANCING AGAIN AND PERFORMANCE ENDS WITH BOTH DEATH AND EVARAVE ON THE SCREEN.
about 45 seconds
NOTE: THIS IS BASED ON INDONESIAN SHADOW PUPPET THEATER "WAYANG" AND A WAYANG DOES NOT RESOLVE THE CONFLICT BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL AT THE END. THEREFORE, THIS IS LEFT UNRESOLVED.
© Jack Bowman