Friday, December 20, 2013

"Chess" (9) One Night In Bangkok



Chess involves a romantic triangle between two players in a World Chess Championship, and the woman who manages one and falls in love with the other.
Reference:  Chess in Concert.

Script
Anatoly:
No man, no madness--
Though their sad
Power may prevail--
Can possess, conquer,
My country's heart.
They rise to fail.
She is eternal--
Long before
Nations' lines were drawn.
When no flags flew,
When no armies stood--
My land was born. 
And you ask me
Why I love her
Through wars,
Death and despair--
She is the constant,
We who don't care.
And you wonder
Will I leave her--
But how?
I cross over borders,
But I'm still there now. 
How could I leave her?
Where would I start?
Let man's petty nations
Tear themselves apart.
My land's only borders
Lie around my heart.
Anthem
Bangkok, Oriental city
And the city don't know that the city is getting
The creme de la creme of the chess world in a
Show with everything but Yul Brynner
Time flies, doesn't seem a minute
Since the Tiralinan spa had the chess bars in it
All change, don't you know that when you
play at this level there's no ordinary venue
Like Iceland -- or the Philippines -- or
Hastings -- or -- or this place!
One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster
The bars are temples but the pearls ain't free
You'll find a god in every golden cloister
And if you're lucky then the god's a she
I can feel an angel sliding up to me
One town's very like another
When your head's down over your pieces, brother
It's a drag, it's a bore, it's really such a pity
To be looking at the board, not looking at the city.
Whaddya mean? Ya seen one crowded,
polluted, stinking town, ya seen 'em all.
Tea, girls, warm and sweet
Some are set up in the Somerset Maugham suite
Get Thai'd! You're talking to a tourist
Whose every move's among the purest.
I get my kicks above the waistline, sunshine
One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble
Not much between despair and ecstasy
One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble
Can't be too careful with your company
I can feel the devil walking next to me
Siam's gonna be the witness
To the ultimate test of cerebral fitness
This grips me more than would a
Muddy old river or reclining Buddha.
Thank God I'm only watching the game,
Controlling it.
I don't see you guys rating
The kind of mate I'm contemplating
I'd let you watch, I would invite you
But the queens we use would not excite you.
So you better go back to your bars, your
temples, your massage parlours...
One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster
The bars are temples but the pearls ain't free
You'll find a god in every golden cloister
A little flesh, a little history
I can feel an angel sliding up to me.
One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble
Not much between despair and ecstasy
One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble
Can't be too careful with your company
I can feel the devil walking next to me
One Night in Bangkok

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

"Chess" (8) Florence Quits



Chess involves a romantic triangle between two players in a World Chess Championship, and the woman who manages one and falls in love with the other.
Reference:  Chess in Concert.

Script
Frederick: [Spoken]
Five games to one. It's all over. 
[Sung]
So you got
What you want.
What a nasty ambition.
Set me up,
Pull me down,
Then exploit my condition.
I should have guessed, woman,
That if pressed, woman,
You're on nobody's side
But your own.
And you're behaving
Like a mere woman,
It's so clear, woman,
It's your sex!
Once they start
Getting old,
And getting worried,
They let fly,
Take it out
On the one
Who supports them--
That's you
I'm talking about.
Florence:
Who'd ever guess it?
Such a squalid little ending--
Watching you descending
Just as far as you can go.
I'm learning
Things I didn't want to know.
Frederick & Florence:
Who'd ever think it?
This would be the situation.
Frederick:
One more observation--
Frederick & Florence:
How'd we ever get this far
Before you showed me
What you really are? 
Florence:
You'll be lost without me
To abuse like you're used to. 
Frederick:
Go away!
Just get out!
Be someone else's
Parasite!
Florence Quits
Frederick:
I'm not the kind
To be vindictive--
Holding some childish grudge.
How could I be?
I'm in the spotlight--
Half of the world my judge. 
All I demand
Is those I work for,
Those I give all my skills
All my time, and pain,
Those that I entertain.
Give me the same
Compassion in return

But the fools never learn.
Pity the Child 1

[a stretch of no lyrics]
Embassy Officials:
Oh, my dear how boring,
He's defecting
Just like all the others,
He's expecting
Us to be impressed
With what he's done here,
But he hasn't stopped
To think about the paperwork
His gesture causes--
We've an embassy to run here.
If these people can't strike
Blows for freedom
With a valid visa,
We don't need 'em.
If we seem offhand
Then please remember
This is nothing very special--
He's the fourth we've had
Since last November.
Who do these foreign
Chappies think they are?
Official #1:
And when he's safely in the West
He'll be the hero to discuss.
The media will lionize him,
Fame and fortune plus,
Officials:
No-one will recall it's
Thanks to us. 
Official #1: [Spoken]
You have a wife? 
Anatoly: [Spoken]
Yes. 
Official #3: [Spoken]
You have two children? 
Anatoly: [Spoken]
Yes. 
Official #2: [Spoken]
And they're not coming with you? 
Anatoly: [Spoken]
No, not for the moment. 
Official #4: [Spoken]
You play chess. You are good at it? 
[Official #3 whispers in #4's ear]
Oh. I hear you're world champion. 
Anatoly: [Spoken]
Since yesterday. 
Officials: [Spoken]
That's still good. 
[Sung]
Have you an appointment
With the consul?
If you don't
We know what his
Response'll be,
He will not see you--
With respect it buggers up
His very taxing schedule,
Pushing peace and understanding.
Let us hope this won't affect it.
Far too many joker
Cross the border,
Not a single
Document in order.
Russia must be empty
Though we're all for
Basic human rights,
It makes you wonder,
What they built the Berlin wall for--
Who do these foreign
Chappies think they are?
And when you've
Filled in all the forms,
And been passed
Clear of all disease,
Debriefed, debugged,
Dedrugged, disarmed,
And disinfected, please
Don't forget the guys
Who cut your keys.
Embassy Lament
[FLORENCE]
If it were love I would give that love every second I had
And I do
Did I know where he'd lead me to?
Did I plan
Doing all of this for the love of a man?
Well I let it happen anyhow
And what I'm feeling now
Has no easy explanation
Reason plays no part
Heaven help my heart
I love him too much
What if he saw my whole existence
Turning around a word, a smile, a touch? 
One of these days, and it won't be long,
he'll know more about me
Than he should
All my dreams will be understood
No surprise
Nothing more to learn from the look in my eyes
Don't you know that time is not my friend
I'll fight it to the end
Hoping to keep that best of moments
When the passions start
Heaven help my heart
The day that I find
Suddenly I've fun out of secrets
Suddenly I'm not always on his mind 
Maybe it's best to love a stranger
Well that's what I've done -- heaven help my heart
Heaven help my heart
Heaven Help My Heart
Reporter #3: [Spoken]
Excuse me, Mr. Sergievsky, why are you leaving
Russia? What about your wife and family? 
Reporters:
How long was this planned?
What made you defect?
Did anyone help you?
And do you expect
To be joined in your exile
By loved ones, e.g. your wife?
Or are you starting again
In all aspects of life? 
Reporter #7: [Spoken]
Will you be defending your title next year in Bangkok? 
Anatoly: [Spoken]
Walter, you bastard, you never told me you and
Global would fix all this! 
Walter: [Spoken]
Welcome to the West, Anatoly. 
Reporter #6: [Spoken]
Why did you leave Russia? 
Anatoly: [Spoken]
I don't leave anything!
Anatoly and The Press

Monday, December 16, 2013

"Chess" (7) Mountain Duet


Chess involves a romantic triangle between two players in a World Chess Championship, and the woman who manages one and falls in love with the other.
Reference:  Chess in Concert.

Script
[FLORENCE]
This is the one situation I wanted most to avoid
Nothing I say will convince him this isn't a trick. 
[THE RUSSIAN]
A drink on a clear moonlit night -- I relax, she smiles
There's something peculiar going on. 
[FLORENCE]
So with immaculate timing, I'm left to carry the can
Embarrassed, outnumbered, marooned -- 
[THE RUSSIAN]
Now she can't be working for them -- I mean us --
She seems so very straightforward -- but where is he? 
[FLORENCE]
He has to come back -- he wanted this meeting, well didn't he? 
[THE RUSSIAN]
Maybe he's scared -- just as scared as he was in the game. 
[FLORENCE]
Oh, I just couldn't care less
He can go right ahead, go and wreck his career, I know I've done my best 
[THE RUSSIAN]
Well at least she's a good-looking spy. 
[FLORENCE]
What if my Russian friend thinks that my plans
Are more of an intimate kind?
If I don't say something else soon
He'll go -- Nobody's on nobody's side! 
[THE RUSSIAN]
Listen, I hate to break up the mood
Get to the point, begin the beguine
Haven't you noticed we're a protagonist short
In this idyllic, well-produced scene? 
[FLORENCE]
All I can say is moments ago
He was right here ready and waiting 
[THE RUSSIA]
Never mind him -- I haven't missed him so far. 
[BOTH]
Maybe it won't do any harm
To struggle on without his charm
Funny how all at once I feel that he can go jump off the mountain
I won't care 
[FLORENCE]
This is the one situation I wanted most to avoid 
[THE RUSSIAN]
My dear opponent -- I really can't imagine why 
[FLORENCE]
So I am not dangerous then? -- what a shame! 
[THE RUSSIAN]
Oh, you're not dangerous -- who could think that of you? 
[BOTH]
You -- you are so strange -- why can't you be what you ought to be?
You should be scheming, intriguing, too clever by half -- 
[THE RUSSIAN]
I have to hand it to you
For you've managed to make me forget why I ever agreed to this farce. 
[BOTH]
I don't know why I can't think of anything
I would rather do
Than be wasting my time
On mountains with you.
Mountain Duet

[a stretch with no lyrics, chess match taking a dramatic turn]
The Arbiter: [Spoken]
At the end of today's session, the challenger,
Sergievsky leads five wins to one.
Chess Game 2

Friday, December 13, 2013

"Chess" (6) Florence and Molokov


Chess involves a romantic triangle between two players in a World Chess Championship, and the woman who manages one and falls in love with the other.
Reference:  Chess in Concert.

Script[a stretch with no lyrics]
Florence:
You wanna lose your only friend, well keep it up you're doing fine!
This humiliation, why treat me like a fool?
I've taken shit for seven years and I won' t take it anymore! 
Freddie:
I'm only teasing soviets
with gentle bon ami
And you've got better reason
to be anti them than me. 
Florence:
There's a time and there's a place! 
Freddie:
Well how 'bout here and now?
Are you for me or are you for them? 
Florence:
There's a time and there's a place!
Florence and Freddie
Chorus:
1956 - Budapest is rising.
Freddie:
I'd have thought you'd support {Chorus:}
Any attack on these people. {1956 - Budapest is rising.}
On the people who ran
Mindlessly over your childhood.
Don't let them fool you
For 30 years on,
They're the same.
Chorus:
1956 - Budapest is fighting.
1956 - Budapest is falling.
Freddie:
They see chess as a war {Chorus:}
Playing with pawns just like Poland. {1956 - Budapest is dying.}
If you walk out on me
You're really betraying you father.
Were he alive now he'd surely
Be dying of shame.
Florence:
You know that there's nothing I've done
That he'd be ashamed of
In my whole life!
Why'd you have to do this to me?
1956 - Budapest is Rising
Florence:
What's going on around me
Is barely making sense,
I need some explanations fast!
I see my present partner
In the imperfect tense,
And I don't see how we can last.
I feel I need a change of cast
Maybe I'm on nobody's side,
And when he gives me reasons
To justify each move,
They're getting harder to believe.
I know this can't continue,
I've still a lot to prove,
There must be more I could achieve.
But I don't have the nerve to leave!
Florence & Chorus:
Everybody's playing the game,
But nobody's rules are the same,
Nobody's on nobody's side.
Better learn to go it alone,
Recognize you're out on your own,
Nobody's on nobody's side.
Florence:
The one I should not think of
Keeps rolling through my mind,
And I don't want to let that go!
No lover's ever faithful,
No contract truly signed,
There's nothing certain left to know.
And how the cracks begin to show!
Florence & Chorus:
Never make a promise or plan,
Take a little love where you can,
Nobody's on nobody's side.
Never stay too long in your bed,
Never lose your heart, use your head!
Nobody's on nobody's side.
Florence:
Side!
Never take a stranger's advice,
Never let a friend fool you twice, {Chorus:
Nobody's on nobody's side. {Nobody's on nobody's side.}
Florence & Chorus:
Never be the first to believe,
Never be the last to deceive,
Nobody's on nobody's side.
Florence: {Chorus:}
Never leave a moment too soon, {Never leave a moment too soon,}
Never waste a hot afternoon, {Never waste a hot afternoon,} {Nobody's on nobody's side,}
Never stay too long! {Never stay a minute too long.}
Florence & Chorus:
Don't forget the best will go wrong,
Nobody's on nobody's side!
Nobody's on Nobody's Side!

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

"Chess" (5) Global Television


Chess involves a romantic triangle between two players in a World Chess Championship, and the woman who manages one and falls in love with the other.
Reference:  Chess in Concert.

Script

Global TV Fanfare [no lyrics, to date]

Chess Game 1 [no lyrics, to date]
The Arbiter:
I'm on the case,
Can't be fooled.
Any objection
Is overruled. 
Don't try to tempt me,
You've no hope.
I don't like women,
And I don't take dope.
I'm the Arbiter,
My word is law. 
The Arbiter & Soloists:
From square one--
From square one
I'll be watching you.
The Arbiter (Reprise)
[MOLOKOV]
We wish, no, must, make our disgust
With this abuse perfectly clear
We're here for chess --
Are the U.S.?
If so, why foul the atmosphere?
[FLORENCE]
I must protest -- our delegation
Has a host of valid points to raise.
[ARBITER]
It's not just black and white
If I may coin a phrase
As any neutral would attest.
[FLORENCE]
But we concede
The fact his masters bend the rules is not your fault
We’ll overlook your crude political assault
Then under protest he'll proceed.
[MOLOKOV]
If your man's so sweet
Then why his fighting talk?
If he says we cheat
Then why on earth did he go take a walk?
[FLORENCE]
I am not surprised he wanted fresher air
Once he realized there was no hope
Of your guys playing fair.
[FLORENCE & ANATOLY]
How sad
To see 
[MOLOKOV & ARBITER]
It's very sad to see
The ancient and distinguished game that used to be 
[ALL]
A model of decorum and tranquility
Become like any other sport
A battleground for rival ideologies
To slug it out with glee.
[ANATOLY]
I would say with regard to
Him it is hard to
Rebut
Ever-growing suspicions
My opposition's
A nut.
[FLORENCE]
I would have said
You'd understand the strain and pressure getting where he's got
For then you'd simply call him highly strung and not
Imply that he was off his head.
[ANATOLY]
But how on earth can someone even
Half as civilized and nice as you
Be part of such a self-destructive
Point of view?
I hope he pays you
What you're worth.
[FLORENCE]
I'm not getting rich
My only interest
Is in something which
Gives me the chance
Of working with the best.
[ANATOLY]
I can only say
I hope your dream comes true
Till that far-off day
I hope you cope
With helping number two.
[FLORENCE & ANATOLY]
How sad
To see
[MOLOKOV & ARBITER]
It's very sad to see
The ancient and distinguished game that used to be
[ALL]
A model of decorum and tranquility
Become like any other sport
A battleground for rival ideologies
To slug it out with glee.
Quartet (A Model of Decorum and Tranquility)

Monday, December 9, 2013

"Chess" (4) Difficult and Dangerous Times



Chess involves a romantic triangle between two players in a World Chess Championship, and the woman who manages one and falls in love with the other.
Reference:  Chess in Concert.

Script
Molokov & Diplomats:
No one can deny that
These are difficult times.
No one can deny that
These are difficult times.
Molokov: [Spoken]
Miss Vassy. 
Florence: [Spoken]
Mr. Molokov. 
Diplomats:
It's the U.S. versus U.S.S.R.
Yet we more or less are.
No one can deny that
These are difficult times.
To our credit putting all that aside
We have swallowed our pride.
These are very dangerous,
And difficult times.
Florence:
It really doesn't matter
Who comes on top. 
Molokov:
Who gets the chop. 
Molokov & Diplomats:
No one's way of life
Is threatened
By a flop.
But we're going to
Smash that bastard.
Make him wanna
Change his name.
Take him to the cleaners
And devastate him,
Wipe him out,
Humiliate him.
We don't want
The whole world saying
"They can't even win a game." 
Walter:
We have never reckoned
On coming second. 
Molokov:
There's no use in
Losing.
It's the red flag up against
Stars and stripes,
But we're peace-loving types. 
Diplomats:
No one can deny that
These are difficult times. 
Florence:
It's a sweet
Hail-fellow-well-met
Affair. 
Walter:
For both eagle and bear. 
Diplomats:
These are very dangerous
And difficult times. 
Molokov:
For those who say that
This is not a friendly clash--
Don't be so rash.
I assure you, comrades,
That is balderdash. 
Molokov & Diplomats:
What a load of
Whingeing peasants!
Thinking they can win--
They can't!
What an exhibition
Of self-delusion.
This one's a forgone
Conclusion.
But enough of all this beating
Round the bushes of detente.
We intend to collar
The Yankee dollar.
We shall thrash them! 
All:
Trash them! 
Molokov:
How good to feel that
As this great event begins
it underpins
Our quest for peace--
The bonds of common interest
Of East and West. 
All:
As long as our man wins.
As long as our man wins.
Difficult and Dangerous Times
The Arbiter:
I've a duty as a referee
At the start of a match--
On behalf of all our sponsors
I must welcome you
Which I do-- there's a catch:
I don't care if you're a champion,
No one messes with me.
I am ruthless in upholding
What I know is right,
Black or white, as you'll see. {Soloists:}
I'm on the case, {I'm on the case,}
Can't be fooled. {Can't be fooled.}
Any objection {Any objection}
Is overruled. {Is overruled.}
Yes, I'm the Arbiter
And I know best.
Soloists:
He's impartial,
Don't push him,
He's unimpressed.
The Arbiter: {Soloists:}
You got your tricks, {You got your tricks,}
Good for you, {Good for you,}
But there's no gambit {But there's no gambit}
I don't see through. {I don't see through.}
Oh, I'm the Arbiter,
I know the score.
The Arbiter & Soloists:
From square one
I'll be watching all 64.
The Arbiter:
If you're thinking
Of the kind of thing
That we've seen in the past
Chanting gurus, walkie-talkies,
Walkouts, hypnotists,
Tempers, fists,
Not so fast.
This is not the start
Of World War Three--
No political ploys.
I think both your
Constitutions are terrific,
So know you know,
Be good boys. {Soloists:}
I'm on the case, {I'm on the case,}
Can't be fooled. {Can't be fooled.}
Any objection {Any objection}
Is overruled. {Is overruled.}
Yes, I'm the Arbiter
And I know best.
Soloists:
He's impartial,
Don't push him,
He's unimpressed.
The Arbiter: {Soloists:}
You got your tricks, {You got your tricks,}
Good for you, {Good for you,}
But there's no gambit {But there's no gambit}
I don't see through. {I don't see through.}
Oh, I'm the Arbiter,
I know the score.
The Arbiter & Soloists:
From square one
I'll be watching all 64.
The Arbiter:
Oh, I'm the Arbiter,
I know the score. 
The Arbiter & Soloists:
From square one
I'll be watching all 64.
The Arbiter
The Arbiter: [Spoken]
And now let us dedicate ourselves to the spirit
of chess. 
Chorus:
We are one united family,
Black and white.
The game--
Our one true guiding light,
Sweeping through
The darkest corners
To express
Countries, classes,
Creeds as one,
In love of chess.
Hymn to Chess
The Soloists:
Whether you are pro or anti,
Or could not care less,
We are here to tell you
We are here to sell you chess.
Not a chance of you escaping
From our wiles,
We've locked the doors,
We've blocked the aisles,
We've a franchise worth exploiting
And we will, yes we will!
When it comes to merchandising
We could kill.
Female Soloists:
When you get up--
Male Soloists:
When you get up in the morning-- 
Soloists:
Till your bedtime book,
You will have to live your life
With bishop, knight, and rook. 
Male Soloists:
Clean your teeth with
Checkered toothpaste,
Wear our vests. 
Female Soloists:
Our kings, and queens
On bouncing breasts.
Soloists:
You could even buy a set,
And learn to play.
We don't mind,
We'll sell you something
Anyway.
We've done all
Our market research,
And our finding show
That this game of chess
Will be around a month or so.
Maybe it's a bit confusing
For a game,
But Rubik's cubes
Were much the same.
In the end
The whole world bought one--
All were gone,
By which time
We merchandisers
Had moved on!
By which time
We merchandisers
Had moved on!
The Merchandisers

Friday, December 6, 2013

"Chess" (3) Press Conference


Chess involves a romantic triangle between two players in a World Chess Championship, and the woman who manages one and falls in love with the other.
Reference:  Chess in Concert.

Script
Reporter #1:
Does your opponent
Deserve such abuse? 
Frederick: [Spoken]
All Soviets deserve abuse. 
Reporter #2:
But even you must
Concede he can play. 
Frederick: [Spoken]
Sure, he's the best Red on the circuit. I'll
give him that.
Reporter #3:
He hasn't lost
For a long time--
He could be a
Tough nut to crack.
Frederick: [Spoken]
Listen, if he gets one game off me, it's
because I want to keep press interest going. 
Reporters:
Why do you persist
With vicious attacks,
ungracious remarks re:
Opponents?
It smacks of a
Lack of conviction
Admit you're under duress
And that your only skill left
Is for money, not chess.
If Soviet life's as grim
As you claim,
Then how come their boys
Are so good at the game?
Though you swear
The American dream
Is clearly the best,
You're no advertisement
For life and times
In the West.
Reporter #4:
Why did you risk the whole match
Breaking down? 
Frederick: [Spoken]
I don't know what you're saying. What are
you implying? 
Reporter #5:
All your outrageous demands,
Your conceit. 
Frederick: [Spoken]
I don't see anything outrageous about demanding
what I'm worth. 
Reporter #6:
They pay all that you ask for,
And then you demand even more. 
Frederick: [Spoken]
I am the reason you're all here. Who had heard of Sergievsky?
Reporters:
It's hard to believe
What we're reporting.
Why so disparaging? {Frederick: [Spoken]}
Not very sporting. {Are the Communist sporting? My God!}
Tell all this to the
United Nations,
Are you an asset to
East-West relations?
Frederick: [Spoken]
What is this? What have the Russians ever done
for East-West relations? Have you people any serious
questions?
Reporter #7:
Will you be quitting for good
If you lose? 
Reporter #8:
How come your second's a girl,
Lover boy? 
Frederick: [Spoken]
What did you say? 
Reporter #8:
How come your second's a girl,
Lover boy? 
[Freddie storms out pushing Reporter #8 out of his way]
Reporters:
Well, what did I say?
He's out of his tree
He's finally flipped,
And between you and me--
He's no hope of retaining
His crown in his frame of mind.
In fact,
He shouldn't have come here, {Florence:
He should have resigned {Smile, you got your first}
Well, what did I say? {Exclusive story.}
He's out of his tree
He's finally flipped,
And between you and me-- {Now you can bask in his}
He's no hope of retaining
His crown in his frame of mind.
In fact, {Reflected glory.}
He shouldn't have come here,
He should have resigned.
If he is in this frame of mind {"Naked and provoked}
He should be dumped,
He should be resigned.
If he is in this frame of mind {Yankee aggression!"}
He should be dumped,
He should be resigned.
If he is in this frame of mind {Oh, what a credit to}
He should be dumped,
He should be resigned. {Your great profession!} 
Well, what did I say?
He's out of his mind
He's finally flipped,
He should have resigned.
Press Conference
Molokov: [Spoken]
The man is utterly mad. Believe me, Anatoly, you're
playing a lunatic. 
Anatoly: [Spoken]
That's the problem. He's a brilliant lunatic, and you can't
tell which way he'll jump. Like his game, he's impossible
to analyze. You can't predict him, dissect him, which of
course means he's not a lunatic at all. 
Molokov:
What we've just seen's
A pathetic display
From a man who's
Beginning to crack.
He's afraid--
He knows he isn't
The player he was,
And he won't get it back. 
Anatoly:
Nonsense!
Why do you people
Always want to believe
Third-rate propaganda? 
Molokov:
My friend, please relax,
We're all on your side.
You know how you need us. 
Anatoly:
I don't need my army
Of so-called advisors,
And helpers
To tell me the man
Who's revitalized chess
single-handed
Is more or less out of his brain,
When it's very clear
He's sane. 
Molokov:
Listen, we don't
Underestimate Trumper.
We won't get caught
In that trap.
After all, winning or losing
reflects on us all. 
Anatoly:
Oh, don't give me that crap.
I win, no one else does,
And I take the rap if I lose. 
Molokov:
It's not quite that simple--
The whole world's tuned in,
We're all on display.
We're not merely sportsmen. 
Anatoly:
Oh, please don't start
Spouting that old party line.
Yes, I know it's you job,
But just get out and get me
My chess-playing second.
In 36 hours we begin--
That is if you want to win! 
Molokov: [Spoken]
Wanting is not sufficient. We have to know. We have
to make sure. All men have a weakness. His is that
woman. Take her, and you win the game. 
Anatoly: [Spoken]
So you think I can't win otherwise? 
Molokov: [Spoken]
I'm not saying that. I'm just making certain. And she
is attractive. Then there's her intriguing family history--
Hungary, 1956 and all that. 
Anatoly: [Spoken]
I'm a chess player, Mr. Molokov. You go and play
these other games.
Molokov and Anatoly
Anatoly:
Who needs a dream?
Who needs ambition?
Who'd be the fool
In my position?
Once I had dreams,
Now they're obsessions.
Hopes became needs--
Lovers possessions.
Then they move in
Oh so discreetly,
Slowly at first--
Smiling too sweetly.
I opened doors
They walked right through them.
Called me their friend--
I hardly knew them.
Now I'm
Where I want to be,
And who I want to be,
And doing what I
Always said I would,
And yet I feel
I haven't won at all.
Running for my life,
And never looking back
In case there's someone
Right behind to shoot me down
And say he always knew I'd fall.
When the crazy wheel
Slows down,
Where will I be?
Back where I started.
Don't get me wrong,
I'm not complaining.
Times have been good--
Fast, entertaining.
But what's the point
If I'm concealing
Not only love,
All other feeling?
Now I'm
Where I want to be,
And who I want to be,
And doing what I
Always said I would,
And yet I feel
I haven't won at all.
I'm running for my life,
And never looking back
In case there's someone
Right behind to shoot me down
And say he always knew I'd fall.
When the crazy wheel
Slows down,
Where will I be?
Back where I started.
Viigand: [Spoken]
Comrade, Molokov tells me you want to play chess.
Anatoly: [Spoken]
Go to hell.
Where I Want To Be

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

"Chess" (2) Merano, What a Scene!


Chess involves a romantic triangle between two players in a World Chess Championship, and the woman who manages one and falls in love with the other.
Reference:  Chess in Concert.

Script
Citizens of Merano:
Oh, light the heart
That lingers in Merano.
Merano! The spa no
Connoisseur of spas
Would miss. {So healthy,}
Highly recommended,
Is this sweet metropolis. {Mental and physical bliss.}
The gods have smiled,
And blessed is Merano.
Merano! There are no
Fitter burghers to be found. {Such vigor!}
Take the time to taste us--
We'll give you a welcome
That's typically Tyrol
For then we are sure
Of our ground.
Right now we're Italian--
We used to be German,
The border keeps {Mayor of Merano:}
Shifting around. {Speaking as one of the patriarchs,} {I don't mind taking your lira or marks.}
Oh, I get high when
I saunter by
The mountains of Merano.
Rosy-cheeked Merano
Flourishing to a fault.
The sparkling streams,
The bracing air,
The therapeutic salt.
I'd have to be carried away
To call a halt!
Oh, I feel great
In this bouncing state.
All hail to thee, Merano
Hearty hale Merano--
Girls:
[Spoken]
Any objections?

Guys:
[Spoken]
Nein!
Where breathing in
Will turn you on.
Where water tastes like wine.
Get up your get up and go
And get in line!
It's living your life in a show
By Roger and Hammerstein.
Oh, sad the soul
Who passes by Merano.
Merano! So far no
Soul has ever passed us by. {They love us.}
Why not stay forever?
Oh, so many reason why, {All those in favor say "Aye"}
Aye!
So sing a song.
Let's hear it for Merano.
Merano! Soprano,
Alto, tenor, bass
Agree! {We're wholesome.}
What a happy haven!
This is a place
Where your arteries soften--
Cholesterol hasn't a chance.
From mountain to valley
The natural goodness {Mayor of Merano:}
Is fighting pollution's advance. {So come to us and feel the force,} {All major credit cards taken of course.}
Oh, I get high when
I saunter by
The mountains of Merano.
Rosy-cheeked Merano
Flourishing to a fault.
The sparkling streams,
The bracing air,
The therapeutic salt.
I'd have to be carried away
To call a halt!
Once in a while
All the gods will smile
On little old Merano.
Humble, shy Merano
Suddenly hits the press.
And I report with all the pride
And joy that I possess:
Half of the world and his wife
Has our address!
Our little town will be rife
With games of chess!
[Whistling]
Get up your get up and go
And get in line!
It's living your life in a show
By Rogers and Hammerstein!
Frederick:
What a scene,
What a joy,
What a lovely sight
When my game is
The big sensation!
Has the mob's sporting taste
Altered overnight?
Have they found
New sophistication?
Florence:
Not yet!
They just want to see
If the nice guy
Beats the bum.
If it's East-West,
And the money's sky high--
Florence & Frederick:
They all come.
Frederick:
You can raise all you want,
If you raise the roof
Scream and shout,
And the gate increases.
Break the rules,
Break the bank,
I'm the living proof
They don't care
How I move my pieces.
Well, I know I'm the best there is,
But all they want is a show.
Well, that's all right,
I'll be glad to oblige--
Florence & Frederick:
SRO
SRO!
Citizens of Merano:
Oh, I get high when
I saunter by
The mountains of Merano.
Rosy-cheeked Merano
Flourishing to a fault.
The sparkling streams,
The bracing air,
The therapeutic salt.
I'd have to be carried away
To call a halt!
Oh, I feel great
In this bouncing state.
All hail to thee, Merano
Hearty hale Merano--
Girls:
[Spoken]
Any objections?

Guys:
[Spoken]
Nein!
Where breathing in
Will turn you on.
Where water tastes like wine.
Get up your get up and go
And get in line!
It's living your life in a show
By Roger and Hammerstein!
Now for the sell:
We put the ice into paradise,
We are the salt of the Earth
Sound as a bell,
Check out the waters,
And check out the hygiene
At which we excel.
Check into a hotel
And schnell
Body and soul get well!
Merano, What a Scene, What a Joy!
Florence:
Well we can't complain
that you've been ignored by the press. 
Freddie:
What'd they say? What'd they say? 
Florence:
They're not too polite... 
Freddie:
They say I'm a shit? 
Florence:
Well, yes. They pulled you to pieces...
In five different languages,
The Times: "You thrive on unpleasantness." 
Florence: (In French)
"Le Monde: Freddie Trumper, La Honte des écheques." 
Freddie:
I can't believe that they don't see my game.
I'm like that tennis player, what's his name?
They love to hate me and for us,
That's dollars! 
Florence: (In German)

Freddie:
Hey look here's some piece that
Some idiot's written on you.
"Florence Vassey: petite, Hungarian-born personal assistant."
"His gentle companion..."
Ha! If they only knew. 
Florence:
What do you mean? I'm always gentle with you, Freddie! 
Freddie and Florence:
"She stands
By her champion." 
Freddie:
I like this! 
Freddie and Florence:
"Whose demands
Are so infantile." 
Freddie:
I don't like this. 
Florence:
If you don't like it then it's up to you.
They like the Russian they could like you too. 
Freddie:
Commie newspapers!
Of course the bastards all support
the Russian. 
Florence:
But Sergievsky seems a sweet opponent.
So why do you abuse him all the time?
Freddie, I love you very much but please,
just for once, don't go on about the Russians at the press conference, okay?
Commie Newspapers

Monday, December 2, 2013

"Chess" (1) The Story of Chess


Part one of Chess in Concert, featuring the talents of Josh Groban, Adam Pascal, Idina Menzel, and Kerry Ellis. Recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall. Chess involves a romantic triangle between two players in a World Chess Championship, and the woman who manages one and falls in love with the other.
Reference:  Chess in Concert.

Script
The Arbiter:
Each game of chess
Means there's one less
Variation left to be played. 
Each day got through
Means one or two
Less mistakes remain to be made. 
Soloists 1 & 2:
Not much is known
Of early days of chess
Beyond a fairly vague report-- 
Soloist 3:
That fifteen hundred years ago
Two princes fought,
Tough brothers,
For a Hindu throne. 
Soloist 4:
The mother cried,
For no one really likes
Their offspring fighting
To the death.
She begged to stop
The slaughter
With her every breath. 
Soloist 5:
But sure enough
One brother died. 
Soloists 4 & 6:
Sad beyond belief,
She told her winning son, 
Soloist 6:
"You have caused such grief
I can't forgive
This evil thing you've done." 
Soloist 3 & 7:
He tried to explain
How things had really been. 
Soloist 7:
But he tried in vain,
No words of his
Could mollify the queen. 
Soloist 8:
And so he asked
The wisest men he knew
The way to lessen her distress. 
The Arbiter:
They told him he'd be
Pretty certain to impress
By using model soldiers
On a checkered board
To show it was his brother's fault-- 
All:
They thus invented chess 
Male Soloists:
Chess displayed no inertia,
Soon spread to Persia,
Then west. 
Female Soloists:
Next the Arabs refined it,
Thus redesigned, it
Progressed. 
Soloist 9:
Still further yet,
And when Constantinople
Fell in 1453,
One would have noticed
Every other refugee
Included in his bags a set. 
Soloist 10:
Once in the hands,
And in the minds
Of leading figures
Of the Renaissance-- 
Soloist 2:
The spirit and the speed
Of chess made swift advance
Through all of Europe's vital lands. 
Female Soloists: {Male Soloists:}
Where we must record {Each game of chess,}
The game was further changed-- {Means there's one less}
Right across the board {Variation left to be played.}
The western touch
Upon the pieces ranged. 
Soloists:
King, and queen, and rook,
And bishop, knight, and pawn
All took on the look
We know today--
The modern game was born. 
The Arbiter:
And in the end,
We see a game
That started by mistake
In Hindustan--
And boosted in the main
By what is now Iran--
Become the simplest,
And most complicated
Pleasure yet devised
For just the kind of mind
Who would appriciate this
Well-researched, and fascinating
Yarn. 
[Spoken]
The World Chess Federation, of which I have the honor
of being president, announces that the next world championship
will take place here in Merano, Italy. 
The current world champion Frederick Trumper of the United
States of America will defend his title again Anatoly Sergievsky
of the Soviet Union. 
The first player to achieve six victories will be declared
champion. The first game will begin on March 27, 1979. 
Welcome, world, to Merano!
The Story of Chess

Friday, November 22, 2013

Hazmat Paradox in `Allison



What happens when you go 90% of the way?
She'd be annoying to live with, and he'd be annoying to live with.  But despite Allison's clear frustrations with Jerry, and his obvious lack of responsiveness to her, not to mention their different style of living, we get the feeling that they're well-matched housemates.  The Hazmat may be construed as her suiting up for a toxic relationship.  But in this film, it is a parody of such misconstrual, I'd say.  A quirky film that I like, surprisingly enough.  



Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Menacing Retribution in `Denise


A girl helps a guy untangle his web of lies.
Helps is not quite what this lady does to this guy.  She corners him, and hovers over him, and looms over him, in an emotionally menacing fashion.  Whether or not he actually deserves it, and it looks like he does, it is a necessary confrontation.  Maybe she pours it on too much, and maybe she plays him, in turn.  But it is clear she has a need to.  A brilliant short film.


Monday, November 18, 2013

Forbidden Confessional of `Serena


Lust. Temptation. Forbidden love. All under God's roof. Jennifer Garner and Alfred Molina star in this eternally screwed up short film.
This little description on YouTube is right, I'd say, but it doesn't come close to capturing the brilliance, and nuance, and forbiddenness of this short film.  Garner and Molina act this little script so deftly, all within the confines of a confessional and a tight time frame for plot development.  They give us a glimpse of a sanctuary of sorts for Catholics, and the human desire and awkwardness that, we may imagine, occur now and then in such a sanctuary.


Friday, November 15, 2013

"What the Butler Saw," by Joe Orton








White golliwogs, cross-dressing coppers, bellboy rapists, insanity, incest, and Winston Churchill’s giant member all play their part in this trouser-soilingly funny BBC production of Joe Orton’s farcical, bitingly satirical 1969 play, in which the head psychiatrist of a lunatic asylum, when trying to conceal the attempted molestation of his new secretary from his wife, only succeeds in making himself (and everyone else) look completely round the bend.
Reference: What the Butler Saw (1987)

Partial Text

What the Butler Saw, by Joe Orton

I remember Leonard Barkan, back in my days at Northwestern University.  He was my favorite among the professors I knew, and I was grateful that he taught Shakespeare and also comedy.  Not comedy in the sense we may conventionally expect, but comedy in literature and drama.  I remember him having half-impish, half-scholarly qualities, and such balance helped him bring what he was teaching marvelously to life for us.  He'd do on-the-spot monologues from plays we were studying, for instance.  Moreover, What the Butler Saw was a platform on which to play up his bawdy side.     

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

"Six Characters," by Luigi Pirandello









Complete Text


Six Characters was another play I read as a student at Northwestern University.  Now and then, over the years, I mull over the notion of a piece of art having a life of its own, that is, removed from the artist.  It may not seem so far fetched, when we consider that there are obscure books, paintings or artifacts whose origins are unknown.  They are essentially pieces looking for their creator, aren't they.  But it may also be a child, now an adult, who seeks the parents who put him or her up for adoption.  

Monday, November 11, 2013

"No Exit," by Jean-Paul Sartre








Complete Text
Although many nineteenth century philosophers developed the concepts of existentialism, it was the French writer Jean Paul Sartre who popularized it. His one act play, Huis Clos or No Exit, first produced in Paris in May, 1944, is the clearest example and metaphor for this philosophy. There are only four characters: the VALET, GARCIN, ESTELLE, and INEZ and the entire play takes place in a drawing room, Second Empire style, with a massive bronze ornament on the mantelpiece. However the piece contains essential germs of existentialist thought such as "Hell is other people." As you read the play, put yourself in that drawing room with two people you hate most in the world.
No Exit, by Jean-Paul Sartre (emphasis, added).

I read this play as a student at Northwestern University.  These years heralded a marked transition in my thinking and interests: from chemistry, mathematics and Spanish, to psychology, philosophy and literature.  No Exit crosses two of these areas, as I found myself drawn to the existentialism of Sartre and drama on stage.
So this is hell. I'd never have believed it. You remember all we were told about the torture-chambers, the fire and brimstone, the "burning marl." Old wives' tales! There's no need for red-hot pokers. Hell is—other people!
That notion of hell as being forever locked in a room with people I despise still reverberates in me.

Friday, November 8, 2013

Rainpan 43 Does "The Elephant Room"

Steve Cuiffo, Geoffrey Sobelle and Trey Lyford
Scrape away that veneer, though, and you get three highly accomplished and uncommonly verbose tricksters in Steve Cuiffo, Trey Lyford and Geoffrey Sobelle, aka Rainpan 43, who have been shrewd enough to package a show far removed from traditional magic. They are satiric deconstruction artists, really, poking fun at the David Copperfields and Cirque du whatevers of the illusionist trade by turning themselves into a trio of el cheapo losers with curly top, bouffant and mullet, who practice their trade in a cheesy New Jersey basement with found objects. Built on cinder blocks and designed to put you in mind of some worn-out Shriner-type locale, this cleverly built box of tricks features furnishings and props themed around, well, probably the most accurate referent would be "The Real Housewives of New Jersey," except these characters are guys and have neither money nor women in their lives nor any real hope therefor.
Reference: Louie and friends make the magic happen at Museum of Contemporary Art (emphasis, added).




These guys are wacky funny, and, as we see above, their stuff is muted satire on such out-of-the-blue things as transcendental meditation, stop smoking, and pop philosophy.  They're so funny that even when magic doesn't seem to work, I'm still guffawing at Sobelle's bits.

They're on stage at the Museum of Contemporary Art through this Sunday.  So if you happen to see them, please message me or e-mail me at Ron.Villejo@drronart.com.  I'd love to hear what you think!

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Human Failing and Triumph in "Spider-Man"


(image credit)
In Mastering the building block of strategy, management consultancy McKinsey & Co. speaks less about content, and more about process, of strategy.  Conversation within the corporate team is critical, in particular debate and argument:
Getting executives to grapple with the issues can be a messy process, and the debates may be quite personal. After all, formulating good strategies typically involves revisiting fundamental and deeply held beliefs about a company’s past and future, and people tend not to shift their views without a fight.
From Glen Berger's account of the Broadway staging of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, the creative team may not have had enough of that grappling. Conversation is a two-way street: At any given moment, (a) at least one person has to initiate, allow or facilitate some talking, and (b) in turn one person has to begin talking.  Director Julie Taymor apparently fell short on the former:
Early on, Ms. Taymor, whom the alternately enthralled and smirking Mr. Berger suggests may have won a few too many prizes for being “uncompromising,” falls hopelessly in love with an idea that has few other fans. She clogs “Spider-Man” with a back story about the myth of Arachne that is based on little more than the comic book panels that everybody skips in order to get to the fun stuff. In Mr. Berger’s telling, she is the show’s impossible, transfixed mom-as-Fury.
Berger himself did little of the latter:
Scenes in which Mr. Berger wrestles with what the show’s story should be, or in which he tells his collaborators that their bad ideas are bad ideas, are curiously absent. “Privately, I wondered if maybe narratively it wasn’t the best choice,” he writes at one point (and thinks at many others). Wait, why privately? To hear him tell it, he was star-struck and intimidated — and also shut down by Ms. Taymor, who, he frets, saw him as an obedient dialogue typist rather than a full partner. But years later, when asked by the writer who supplanted him on the show, “If you disagreed with Julie so much from the very beginning, why didn’t you just quit?” he didn’t have much of an answer. He still doesn’t.
The grappling that McKinsey highlights must be constructive, but it didn't even surface sufficiently enough for it to have any meaningful benefit in the case of Spider-Man.  Whatever bubbled up was shut down, internalized, and left to tick in quiet arrhythmia.  

(image credit)
Most musicals are birthed, legitimately, in hope, but “Spider-Man” was conceived in cynicism and born out of deadlock. When it finally opened in 2011, all that its quarrelsome creators could agree upon was that things had gone terribly wrong. That such a craven lunge at commercial success was masterminded by people with little native instinct for musicals and what Mr. Berger calls a “nausea for disposable pop culture” — an odd qualification for creating a comic-book adaptation — might have offered a clue that trouble lay ahead.
Reference: A Spider-Man Caper Full of Broadway Characters, All of Them Real.

In Fantasy and Reality Converge on "Spider-Man," I marveled at the engineering and technology behind the production, and acknowledged, too, that the complexity of staging and the fallibility of people were a recipe for a Broadway disaster.

It's a shame that this human failing had to happen for what I believe was an awesome idea.  Seeing a superhero on stage live must be a thrill to any child-cum-adult.  Alas, the Spider-Man creative team needed a trusted, overarching figure who could surface the underlying tensions, facilitate constructive grappling, and reconcile things adequately enough.

Still, while there are cost overruns, Spider-Man apparently has raked in nearly $200 million of as last summer.  So there is clearly a large audience for this, two years in the running now.  So the production cannot be a categorical Broadway disaster.  I'd say it is also a human triumph.

Monday, November 4, 2013

Layers of Metaphor in "T is for Time"


"Take risks, Marcus.  Try new things, Marcus."  Fuck you, Eva.  
This short film is quite brilliant for its layers of metaphor and complexity.  Marcus goes scuba diving on impulse, mainly because he needs a friend to be with.  It's an odd friendship, though, as the two seem to be of wholly different personalities and alcohol tolerance.  But trapped in a relationship, he finds the underwater to be rather liberating.  Except that he gets trapped in a cave.  Either the scuba diving happened literally, or it's a metaphor to give us a visceral, frantic sense for Marcus in this relationship.
Trapped, just like Eva...  You're free now.  
Marcus sits on a chair in the bedroom, looking rather distraught, a time piece and chain on hand.  As he walks to the bed, we see Eva and her lover, naked and sleeping.  But are they merely sleeping?  Marcus lays the time piece carefully to her side, as if to say `Your time is up.  Did he kill both of them, rendering sleep as both an actual thing and a metaphor for death?    

Perhaps Marcus killed himself as well, which makes the scuba diving, and being trapped in that little cave, a perfect rendition of the experience of dying.

Friday, November 1, 2013

To Fiddle and Meddle in "T is for Table"


Don't touch anything [she instructs].
Of course, one guy touches something.  The other guy touches something.  Then it's finito.

It's that human tendency, I suppose, not to listen.  To fiddle and meddle anyway.  The resulting tragedy, for some, cannot be averted.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

The Sweet and Clever "Seraglio"


Yeah, I wrote this.  I wrote it for you.
A brilliant film - sweet, clever and funny.  This must be a romance writer's fantasy-cum-reality.  I love how Georgia blossoms as a woman, first wearing frumpy overalls, then lovely brown and blue dresses, finally a lush red sweater.

(image credit)

This short film reminded me of Mozart's "Abduction from the Seraglio." 

Monday, October 28, 2013

"Pullman Porter Blues" is our Story


This rollicking, music-fueled trip back in time takes us into the luxurious Pullman trains of the 1930s, where the hidden lives of African American porters emerge to take center stage and classic Blues favorites—including “Sweet Home Chicago”—come to life. 
It’s June of 1937, and the Panama Limited Pullman Train is speeding from Chicago to New Orleans on the night of the Joe Louis/James Braddock world heavyweight championship. Three generations of Sykes men—African American train porters—wrestle with ghosts of the past and dreams for the future as they eagerly await word of the Brown Bomber’s victory. Set to timeless Blues tunes performed by a live, on-stage band, Pullman Porter Blues is a spirited, music-infused ride you won’t soon forget!
Reference: Pullman Porter Blues.



Working 400 hours, for $12, a month was an inequity in the 1930s.  But porters on the Pullman trains were keen to work and provide for their families, and while they felt the blues, the blues as song uplifted them.  


"Pullman Porter Blues" is quintessentially our story, not just for African Americans, but also perhaps for all the good, the bad, and the ugly that make up our story.

Friday, October 25, 2013

Brilliant Irony of "Weighting"


It's not really about couple, but about time. Look closer: outside, she has a big watch under her arm, which means that time matters a lot for her: no time for birthday (the cake), no time for family (she takes one photo, the other ones fall and break), no time for herself or her couple (the tea), she ONLY wants to run, run fast. She prepares her old age with the walking stick. But she lost someone who wants to go with her. And by going too fast, she even lost a leg! Just take your time, people.
This was a comment by miracoulus on YouTube, and I responded:

I think you're right! It's a sad commentary about the pace of modern day life and relationships. He wants to sit, and talk, and think ... and sip tea (the epitome of slowness). She has longer legs, and a faster gait, and he evidently cannot stop her, even with just one leg (literally and figuratively). Ironically, as much as she wants to run away fast, she's weighed down by what she's ambivalent about: Having a settled-down, domesticated life with him.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Nick Offerman and Megan Mullaly in "Annapurna"


Written by Sharr White, directed by SuzAnne Barabas. Out of friends, out of luck, and out of time, Ulysses is resigned to spending the last remaining weeks of his life in solitude with his ungrateful dog and his relentless do-gooder neighbor. That is, until Emma walks in ... much as she walked out on him twenty years ago.
Nick Offerman and Megan Mullaly
Word is, the husband and wife above are set to play Ulysses and Emma, in an off-Broadway production of Annapurna, come spring.  I know Offerman and Mullaly more for their comedic talent, so I imagine they'll bring a good amount of this into the drama.



Monday, October 21, 2013

"And Miles To Go" Has Miles To Go


Disadvantaged students. A disheartened administration. A disintegrated infrastructure. In Chad Beckim's AND MILES TO GO, Adele Priam has seen the very best and worst in her 40 years as a teacher in the classroom of a New York City public school. As the Board of Education considers shuttering the school, this teacher and her community will forever be changed. A play about the frailty of life, the legacy we leave, and our broken education system.
Devika Bhise, with Randy Danson
"And Miles To Go" sounds like a very promising play, but it falls short of that very promise.
In the show’s opening monologue, Adele Priam (Randy Danson), coming upon her 40th anniversary of teaching at the school, issues a juddering jeremiad about the intractability of the institution’s problems and the futility of putting “a Band-Aid on a bullet wound.”
Then the tone shifts jarringly, the first of what will ultimately be two major mood swings in Mr. Beckim’s herky-jerky script.
If the first act was “Dangerous Minds,” the second is “Breakfast Club,” mostly populated by mouthy, unsupervised teenagers unusually inclined to disrobe on school property and break into locked closets.
Reference: Sounds Like a Haven for Troubled Students. It’s Not.

Writer Catherine Rampell gives away that second major mood swing.  So if you plan to watch the play, and don't want to know what happened in that third act, then hold off on reading her article which I reference above.  But below are the films and the poem she alludes to:


Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, by Robert Frost

Friday, October 18, 2013

Creative and Emotional Power of "Losers"



I have a film concept and project idea on Stop Bullying.  But this short film - "Losers" - is so well conceived and so well done that I am in awe.  I am inspired to draw from its creative and emotional power.  Those whom bullies bully are regular boys and girls.  They are like everyone else.  They hurt like you and me.  So much so that I am reminded of that exchange in William Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice," where Shylock asks, dripping with pathos, If you prick us, do we not bleed?

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

A Gathering at "La Piattaforma"



"La Piattaforma" is a meditative film by Laura Chiossone.  Life, as it is, happens on this platform.  Curious and oblivious.  Sensuous and erotic.  Playful and relaxing.  That these casual swimmers gravitate to this platform makes it a piazza at sea, and it doesn't matter that it measures only a handful of square feet.