LET’S HOPE……………….
Thanks to Serge Baeken for this great New Year’s sketch
I colored his black pencil 15 minute portrait
which is something my brother said comes naturally because
my grandfather made his living coloring black & white
photographs at his home studio in Brooklyn
PICASSO’S MUSKETEERS
WITH CARTOON FACE AGAPE
EYES SPACY GREEN
EARS CAULIFLOWERED
TWO NOSES IN BETWEEN
SMILE OF GOLD SMOKE
BREATH OF BURNT BIRCH
WHO COULD BE ANYTHING
BUT AMUSED BY YOU?
VIOLET CAPE SHATTERED
SHIRT FRACTURED BLUES
SLIVERED SWORD SILVERED
PATCHED MAROON PANTALOONS
RIPPED ORANGE LEGGINGS
ANDALUSIAN BOOTS
WHO COULD BE ANYTHING
BUT AMUSED BY YOU?
PLUMED FEATHER WHITED
HAT LOPSIDED BLACK
LOCKS OF GRAPES ON VINES
STRING BEAN BEARD TO MATCH
FINE MOUSTACHE UPTURNED
ROTTEN TEETH REVEALED
WHO COULD BE ANYTHING
BUT AMUSED BY YOU?
PUNCH DRUNK MUSKETEERS
STONED QUIXOTES
NOW TILTING TORSOS
SPREAD LEGS HIGH
BENEATH A RED BORDELLO SKY
SIDEKICK SANCHOS
O SO LECHEROUSLY LOYAL
TICKLING PINK LIPS
BENEATH HIS MASTER’S THIGHS
WHO COULD BE ANYTHING
BUT CONFUSED BY YOU?
TRADING PLAYFUL JABS
& MUSTACHIOED QUIPS
THROUGH LOPSIDED GRINS
SAUCY TALES, SPICY SINS
MEMORIES
TARRED & FEATHERED
& PICKLED
ON BORDELLO JUICES
KNIGHTS OF LANGUID SWORD
& RANDY SPITTING COCKS
THE DAYS OF DAMSELS SAVED
& PICKED CHASTITY LOCKS
TICKLED PIPES,
SMOKING FLOWERS
BURNING BUSHES,
STRUMMING GUITARRAS
JUICY LADIES
OF THESE NIGHTS
OUR POUCHES SMACKING
TO THEIR BOTTOMS’ DELIGHT
OUR SWEATING STEEDS
THEIR MOUTHS ENGORGED
THUS SANG SANCHO
WITH AN EIGHT STRING LYRE
FROLICKING BETWEEN
TWO BEAUTIFUL WHORES
WHO COULD BE ANYTHING
BUT AMUSED BY YOU?
WHO COULD BE ANYTHING
BUT CONFUSED BY YOU?
WHO COULD BE ANYTHING
BUT AMUSED BY ……..YOU!
**********
THE TRIAL OF PABLO PICASSO
“daddy was a bankrobber,he never hurt nobody,
he just loved to live that way”–the clash
INQ
Mr. Picasso, I understand a number of subversive American artists asked you for their support against this committee and you refused.
PICASSO
That is true, Senator.
INQ
Thank you for your understanding.
PICASSO
I refused them because I am a thief.
INQ
We have worked with thieves before, Mr. Picasso.
PICASSO
Not a thief such as .I A thief as old as the Greek Prometheus.
INQ
A Greek-American?
PICASSO
No, an ancient Greek,The original
INQ
What did he steal?
PICASSO
Fire! Fire from the gods.
INQ
There is only one God, Mr. Picasso.
PICASSO
But there are many impostors.
INQ
Mr. Picasso, I am told that you believe that art is subversive.
PICASSO
Of course art is subversive.
If art is ever given the keys to the city,
it will be because it’s been so watered down,
rendered so impotent, that it Is not worth fighting for.
INQ
We believe much of modern art is part
of the worldwide Communist conspiracy to take over the world.
PICASSO
And the Communists believe that modern art
is the symptom of Western capitalist decadence.
INQ
Well they’ve got that right!
PICASSO
I encourage you to continue your work, Senator.
Discourage the artists. Chase them, impede them, suppress them.
Only under that kind of pressure will we create seers.
Only after crossing the maximum number of boundaries
can one truly become an artist.
INQ
I’m glad you share my beliefs, Pablo.
PICASSO
Indeed, Senator. The artist is an anti-social being.
And you have every right to oppress them – –
from your point of view.
There is absolute opposition between the creator and the State –
– between the individual and the State.
INQ
We have a meeting of the minds then, Mr. Picasso?
PICASSO
Anything new, anything worth doing, can’t be recognized.
People just don’t have that much vision. Do what you must do.
The artist must do what he has to do.
Art and liberty, like the fire of Prometheus,
are things one must steal.
INQ
Have a nice day, Mr. Picasso. Thank you for coming.
from Tightrope see webpage
and youtube
Tightrope 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUpXqoe5HnI
20:49
Apparently, according to Bob Dylan ,
it was Butterfield’s birthday on the 17th December
He died in 1987 and would have been 82
Butterfield was an inspiration
and I met him in NYC in 1981 I think
I WAS FILLING IN FOR MY FRIEND STEVE
AT THE MILLS TAVERN ON BLEECKER ST
ONE NIGHT
IT WAS WHAT WE CALLED A DIVE BAR
JACO PASTORIUS AMONG OTHERS
USED TO GO THERE LATE AT NIGHT
AND COP THEIR MEDICATIONS
CHARLIE OWNED MILLS TAVERN
HE WAS ALWAYS IN A BAD MOOD
AND WHEN PEOPLE WHO HE DIDN’T LIKE
CAME INTO THE BAR HE WOULD BRANDISH A 2×4
THAT HE KEPT BEHIND THE BAR
AND YELL “GET OUTAHEAH YA LOUSY COCKSUCKERS”
SO, AFTER THE SET
PAUL BUTTERFIELD ,
WHO HAD BEEN LISTENING AT THE BAR
COMES UP TO ME AND SAYS
“JUST KEEP PLAYING FROM THE HEART
AND DON’T WORRY WHAT EVERYBODY IS SAYING”
WELL I DID’NT KNOW WHAT EVERYBODY WAS SAYING
BUT YEARS LATER A MUSICIAN FRIEND
WHO WAS A BIG FAN OF BUTTERFIELD
AND POSSIBLY INTRODUCED ME TO HIS MUSIC
WOULDN’T EVEN JAM WITH ME
SO, THANKS, PAUL BUTTERFIELD,
FOR THE ENCOURAGING WORDS
YOU SAID TO ME
ALL THOSE YEARS AGO
HAPPY ……….BIRTHDAY
KIFF DA RIFF
from The Opening Act 2003
see poetry page for lyrics
live with Lenny North,Kris van Daele & Jean Kowalski
youtube clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4WHmq8u74U
THE TRIAL OF BESSIE SMITH
“THERE’S 12 GATES TO THE CITY, HALLELUJAH”
INQ
Bessie, you know why you’re here?
SMITH
Just my luck, a skinny little white boy at this gate
Ah, this must be a mistake. You gotta let me in the gates.
INQ
Bessie, you don’t fit through the gates. You’re too fat.
How come you’re so fat?
SMITH
Wel, honey, maybe you ought to start thinking about
widening your pearly white gates
So that I can sashay my big ass right on through.
INQ
Bessie, why are you soooo fat?
SMITH
I get too much attention from men when I’m lighter.
INQ
Too hot to handle?
SMITH
A girl’s gotta protect herself, you know.
INQ
What else do you think is going on?
SMITH
Sometimes I think it’s just a protection
from all the suffering and pain that I see.
INQ
And other times?
SMITH
Other times I think I’m so fat because my spirit is so light —
and I would disappear without being grounded.
INQ
Ah, the unbearable lightness of being Bessie!
Surely there are better ways of grounding yourself
SMITH
Sure, but there are other times
that I think I was a prostitute in another life I was so grounded.
I was grounded all the time
Makes me think I better not enjoy my body so much in this one.
That’s a good one. Maybe you’re gay and can’t face it.
SMITH
No. As you see I AM too big to hide in a closet.
INQ
Maybe you’re embodying the Trinity?
SMITH
Yeah, the maiden, the mother and the crone!
Well, I think there are even more than three spirits inside of me.
I’d just like to get rid of their bodies!
INQ
Well, maybe you’re punishing yourself?
SMITH
For what?
INQ
Well, maybe you were abused as a child?
SMITH
What woman ain’t been abused?
INQ
Wel, maybe the Goddess is punishing you?
SMITH
Them women goddesses love me even more than the men do.
Anyway, why would they wanna punish me?
INQ
For receiving a gift from Her –
abusing it -not using it — not sharing it!
SMITH
Baby, I share enough. I’ve got other gifts besides singing.
I am a healer.
INQ
Bessie, you have many selves but only one body.
Your mind has the ability to convince itself of anything.
Only when you have convinced your body
can you be sure you are not deceiving your selves.
When your actions and your motives coincide,
that is called “right livelihood,” and you will become healthy.
Until then I must dub thee “Queen of Denial.”
BESSIE
At least your making me queen of something.
INQ
…and I don’t mean the river in Egypt, baby. Don’t make light of that.
When you sing again, you will be acclaimed
as the boddhisatva of the blues …
BESSIE
I will?
INQ
and the gates of heaven will disappear.
BESSIE
Disappear? Wait a minute.
These are the gates of heaven aren’t they?
I am in the right place?–aren’t I?
INQ
laughter–Right place, wrong turn
SMITH
Wait a minute, wait a minute, now,
that might not be so bad after all…
**********
see tightrope web page and
Tightrope 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUpXqoe5HnI
20:38
A WOMAN CAN BE LIKE COFFEE
By Bonnie Burns
A WOMAN CAN BE LIKE COFFEE
STRONG AND HOT
OR LIGHT AND SWEET
IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHO IS DRINKIN’
AND WHAT HE NEEDS
CAUSE SOME LIKE THEIR WOMEN FOXY
SOME LIKE THEIR WOMEN LEAN
SOME LIKE THEIR WOMEN DIRTY
AND SOME LIKE THEIR WOMEN CLEAN
SOME LIKE THEIR WOMEN NASTY
SOME LIKE THEIR WOMEN MEAN
SOME LIKE THEIR WOMEN SWEET AS WINE
AND GENTLE AS A QUEEN
BUT A WOMAN CAN BE LIKE COFFEE
STRONG AND HOT
OR LIGHT AND SWEET
IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHO IS DRINKIN’
AND WHAT HE NEEDS
YES, IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHO IS DRINKIN
AND WHAT HE NEEDS
SOME MEN TAKE THEIR WOMEN PRISONERS
SOME LIKE THE THRILL OF THE CHASE
SOME LIKE A WOMAN IN LEATHER
SOME LIKE A LADY IN LACE
SO DON’T YOU BE SURPRISED, HONEY
AT ANY CHANGES THERE MIGHT BE
CAUSE ALL THE DIFFERENT SIDES
ARE JUST THE DIFFERENT SIDES OF BESSIE
THE TRIAL OF CHARLIE PARKER
“Bird’s fly over the rainbow, why oh why can’t I?”-E.Y.Harburg
INQ
Mr. Parker, how do you plead?
PARKER
No contest.
INQ
The City of New York is suspending your cabaret license.
PARKER
You’re denying me the right to blow my saxophone?
INQ
In licensed public places.
PARKER
You mean hte joints where they selldistilled liquid spirits?
INQ
Yes.
PARKER
You’re denying me the right to make a living.
INQ
We have a right ot protect our citizens–our children.
PARKER
From my music?
INQ
From your example. You’re not a good role model.
PARKER
Because the chord changes i play or the melodies i improvise
are beyond your comprehension or the intoxicants
that I like are not legal at the moment?
INQ
There are laws, Mr. Parker. We are a nation of laws.
PARKER
One nation under God. Isn’t that right? And God created
everything in six days and six nights – – and ti was good.
INQ
Mr. Parker?
PARKER
And it was very good.
INQ
I’m not following you.
PARKER
Then follow the yellow brick road.
INQ
Excuse me Mr. Parker?
PARKER
Powders & flowers & funghi, oh my!
INQ
Speak up Mr.Parker.
PARKER
And God created hops for beer, and grapes for wine,
and if Jesus Christ himself had smoked hashish,
ti would be legal and alcohol prohibited –
– like in Moslem countries.
INQ
Mr. Parker, the law is the law and must be respected.
PARKER
I am technically a free man in this land
and you are making choices for me
because my choice of plant refreshment
does not coincide with yours.
INQ
This is neither a theological – nor a gastronomical – inquiry, Parker.
PARKER
Until thirty years ago the State did not interest itself in what plants
were cultivated in this country. The founding fathers cultivated hemp.
And the women of the temperance movement used to relax
with a poppy tea called laudanaum.
INQ
Mr. Parker, the City of New York wil not tolerate your behavior.
Your cabaret license has been revoked.
PARKER
Al kinds of grapes are legal — but some weeds and flowers are not.
YOU CAN’t make it stick.
INQ
Of course we can – and we will! Just watch us.
**********
Tightrope 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nigOrDoH-T8
48:39
SHADES OF BLUE
BIRD BLEW
SHADES OF BLUE
BLACK SHADES
BLOOOOOOO
BIRD BLEW
SACRE BLEU
PARISIAN SHADES
CHAT BALLOU
BIRD BLEW
INDIGO
BEAT SHADES
IN DIG OHHHHS
BIRD BLEW
IN THE GHOST
EERIE SHADES OF
VAN GOGH
BIRD BLEW
ORE ANGELS
FRUITS OF HIS MINE
BOSCHIAN SHADES
OF MIND
BIRD BLEW
MINDS
SHADOWS INTO ORBIT
SPACY SHADES
OF TIME
BIRD BLEW
SPARE SILENCE
ELOQUENT SHADES
OF MIME
BIRD BLEW
VIOLETS
FROM TULIPS
MAGICAL LICKS
FROM TWO LIPS
********
from tightrope see webpage
and see you tube
Tightrope 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUpXqoe5HnI
00:00
16071 days ago John Lennon was murdered
on the streets of New York where he felt comfortable
walking around, meeting street musicians like David Peel
and where he became a protest singer
one of the songs he wrote helped get a man out of jail-
that man was John Sinclair who was serving 10 years for
sharing 2 joints with an undercover police agent
there is a recording of John Sinclair, Leni Sinclair, John Lennon & Yoko Ono
speaking on the phone after Sinclair’s surprise release from prison days after
the concert that Lennon sang his song
Lennon also mentions producing David Peel’s album “The pope smokes dope”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zABnHi6Navo
On that Monday night in New York City
I was at the dugout cafe on bleecker street
waiting to perform at the open mic when Neil, the host ,
told us that John had been shot and killed
outside his apartment at the Dakota
******
I met Lennon once, a typical nyc story as
i was handing out leaflets for a midtown shop
when he and yoko and the kid walked by
i had recently returned from San Francisco
where the poets were talking about a new
constitutional convention so I said hello
and asked him what he thought about that.
“Dunno, he replied, never thought about it.”
and that was that and they all hopped into a cab.
here is sinclair’s poem after Lennon’s murder
mark ritsema accompanies him
In 2011 I did a few gigs in Belgium with Sinclair
and I would sing the Lennon song as part of
the opening act
David Peel died a few years ago
Sinclair passed away a few months ago
but like Lennon,their work ,
fortunately ,lives on ……….
The free Sinclair song performed in Leuven, Belgium
THE TRIAL OF CAMILLE CLAUDEL
«you better not shout,you better not cry,
you better not pout i’m telling you why »anon
INQ
Are you Camille Claudel?
CLAUDEL
Yes. And, who are you?
INQ
My name it means nothing.
Camille, are you capable of understanding the charges against you?
CLAUDEL
I don’t see why not. What are they?
INQ
Camille, you are charged with borrowing a guitar without permission and returning it to its owner untuned. You could end up in the asylum.
CLAUDEL
It was tuned.
INQ
Your mother said she couldn’t play it in the condition it was returned.
CLAUDEL
Yeah, my mother. It was open D Tuning.
INQ
She said it sounded like a witch had been playing it.
Are you into the devil’s music?
CLAUDEL
I forgot to tune it back to standard.
INQ
Have you been forgetting many things lately?
CLAUDEL
Look, it’s been a difficult time. After 13 years, Rod and I are separating.
INQ
Your husband needs you now. Why are you abandoning him?
CLAUDEL
I gave him my youth, my love, my sweat. I helped him.
But now he’s too old to satisfy my needs.
INQ
Your needs? What about his?
CLAUDEL
He doesn’t acknowledge my contribution.
He doesn’t want me to do my own work.
He might be scared he’s peaked and I’ve surpassed him.
INQ
A Woman surpass a man? A master!
Do you really believe that is possible?
CLAUDEL
Is that a rhetorical question?
INQ
Good answer. Have you been well lately, dear?
CLAUDEL
Fuck off.I feel unappreciated.
INQ
Another good answer.
Your mother says you’ve been playing on the street.
CLAUDEL
IT’s as good a place as a concert hall,sometimes –
not that I’ve ever played in a concert hall.
INQ
The police have been bringing you home.
CLAUDEL
Does a bird need a permit to sing?
INQ
We are not birds.
CLAUDEL
Does a canary request flight time to warble at a certain frequency?
INQ
You are not a bird.
CLAUDEL
Am I n o t a s f r e e a s a b i r d ?
INQ
No you are not as free as a bird.
CLAUDEL
I am not as free as a bird?
INQ
She’s repeating herself.
CLAUDEL
He’s repeating himself..(Camille pirouettes)
INQ
Do you think you will fly if you spin fast enough?
CLAUDEL
ARGHHHHHH!!!!
INQ
Or sing like one?
CLAUDEL
Do the lilies of the field work 8 hours a day to look pretty?
INQ
No, but some women do.
CLAUDEL
Does a parrot need a bill of rights to soar to satirical heights?
INQ
You’re getting better at this!
.Camille Claudel you have a wonderful imagination.
Do you believe in the tooth fairy?
CLAUDEL
No
INQ
Witches on broomsticks?
CLAUDEL
No
INQ
or Santa Claus?
CLAUDEL
Not anymore-
INQ
Ah, but we do! Take her in for observation.
The usual medications
Keep her there for at least a month and as long as necessary
CLAUDEL
I guess there is a sanity clause after all
INQ
Bzzzzz. Good answer but time has expired–bye bye.
*******
PANDORA’S JUG
PANDORA, PANDORA
THEY SAY I DID
WHAT I SHOULDN’T HAVE OUGHT TO
I USED TO CARRY WATER IN A BEAUTIFUL JUG
WHO BROKE/STOLE MY PITCHER
WHO REPLACED IT WITH A BOX?
HOW DID MY GIFTS GET SO DEFTLY TWISTED
WHO CONVINCED ME
TO STOP LISTENING
TO MY OWN INNER WISDOM
YOU’VE INVERTED PERVERTED
REWORDED ALL MY STORIES
YOU’VE REMOVED ME CONFUSED ME
INVENTED A WAR TO WAY LAY ME
YOU DEGRADE ME UPBRAID ME
YOU’RE TRYING TO
MAKE ME GO CRAZY
YOU IGNORE ME YOU DEPLORE ME
I WON’T LET YOU FLOOR ME
I’M ALL ESTRANGED MY LOVES INSANE
WHATEVER TWISTED ME INSIDE OUT
SHOULD NOT BE MINE ALONE TO FIGURE OUT
YOU’VE PUSHED ME DOWN INTO A BOX
TIED, KNOTTED, TWISTED
& SEALED IT WITH A LOCK
GRACE, WIT AND WISDOM
FLOWED FROM YOUR PITCHER
WHO INVENTED THIS BOX
WHO PERVERTED THE PICTURE
WHO REWROTE THESE TALES
UNDER WHOSE ORDERS
PANDORA POURED FREELY
HOPE WASN’T HOARDED
THE LORD IS A CERAMICIST
SHE CREATED THE FIRST JUG
CURVES AND SPOUTS AND HANDLES
THE POET OF THE MUD
SHE LEARNED THE STRENGTHS OF HER SUBJECTS
THEIR WEAKNESSES, TOO
DON’T UNDERESTIMATE HER
SHE WON’T UNDERESTIMATE YOU
GOD IS TIRED OF BEING ALONE
RETURN THE GODDESS
TO HER RIGHTFUL THRONE
LET A CYCLE BE RENEWED
HAND IN HAND, SIDE BY SIDE
PROMETHEUS, PANDORA TWO BY TWO
********
from the play Tightrope see webpage
and youtube
Tightrope 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUpXqoe5HnI
14:05
SALVADOR DALI
“I’m a joker, I’m a smoker I’m a midnight toker”-Steve Miller
INQ
Wel, helo Dali (pronounced ‘dolly’)
DALI
Dali! But call me Salvador.
INQ
Hello, Salvador. Thank you for coming. DALI
Call me a taxi.
INQ
I wont’ fal for that one, Mr. Dali.
DALI
Your wig is bleeding.
INQ
Mr. Dali, some people consider your works blasphemous.
DALI
Some people consider these hearings hippopotamus.
INQ
Hippopotamus?
DALI
No, gracias. A hot pastrami. And don’t forget the pickle!
INQ
Answer the question — or you’ll find yourself in a pickle!
DALI
Piccolo mini picolomini piccolo mini pico Lominipiccolo…
INQ
(HITS GAVEL AND CONTINUES HITTING GAVEL)
Blasphemous — pernicious.
DALI
Rhinoceros – preposterous.
INQ
Don’t waste our time, Mr. Dali.
DALI
Time doesn’t exist, Inquisitor. Don’t waste my space.
INQ
Are your works blasphemous, Mr. Dali?
DALI
No! A thousand times no! But cathedral bells are.
Ringing bells si irritating, like hemorrhoids – or the way you hit that gavel.
INQ
A reminder of what, Salvador?
DALI
That the clock is an invention to keep us out of heaven.
INQ
He’s batty. Lock him in the belfry
and let him hear the bells chime for eternity.
**********
DADA DADDY
THERE ONCE WAS A MERRY, MERRY MERRY,
MERRY MERRY , MERRY PRANKSTER
WHO SAW TIME, TIME,TIME, TIME, TIME
AS A MARAUDING GANGSTER
MELTING & BENDING WIDE EYED & INVENTIVE
DEFYING IT WAS A JOYOUS INCENTIVE
CHORUS:
I”M SALVADOR DALI
DADA DADDY SURREAL DANDY
HE’S SALVADOR DALI
DADA DADDY. SURREAL DANDY
NOW HIS MUSTACHIOED CORPSE
RIDES A HORSE, OF COURSE
JUMPING INTO A CLOCK
AT A QUARTER TO ELEVEN
REMATERIALIZING EARLIER
AT HALF PAST SEVEN
HOLDING ONTO HIS HAT
& A SMOKING CANNONBALL
VELVET THREADS &
BARON MUNCHAUSEN’S
JOYOUS ROAR
LAUREL AND HARDY
SAT ON A CLOCK
STIR FRYING ONIONS BAGELS AND LOX
WHEN UP PULLED A TORSO
HUNGRY? EVEN MORE SO
CURSING IN SIGN WHAT LUCK!
WHAT A WASTE! BOLLOCKS!
WHERE IS IT WHEN YOU NEED IT?
WHERE THE HELL IS MY FACE?
VENUS DI MILO SAT ON AN ANGEL
SIDESADDLE ON THE SHELL OF A SNAIL
WHEN NAPOLEON SPIED HER
PULLED HIS RHINO BESIDE HER
AND ASKED HER TO SIT ON HIS FACE
NOW VENUS WAS A TAURUS
WITH A CHEST FULL OF DRAWERS
AND GAME TO BE EATEN FOR LUNCH
SO HE STUCK IN HIS TONGUE
AND HE SLURPED OUT HER LUNGS
AND SAID — “OH, WHAT A GOOD BOY…
OH, WHAT A GOOD BOY AM I”
******
from tightrope see webpage
and youtube
Tightrope 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUpXqoe5HnI
31:54
THE TRIAL OF ISADORA DUNCAN
« I’m dancing barefoot, heading for a spin, some strange music
drags me in, makes me come on like some heroine »–patti smith
INQ
Miss Duncan, you are on trial for idealism.
DUNCAN
Are you part of the dream police?
INQ
No, I represent modern commercial interests.
DUNCAN
I don’t think there is a difference.
INQ
How do you plead?
DUNCAN
When all of the arts are again reunited — and only then –
wiill theater truly live again in its true expression. The first actor was a dancer. We must return to the Greek tragedies to be reborn..
INQ
Miss Duncan, this is the 20th century, in a land called America.
We no longer believe in tragedy. We believe in technology.
DUNCAN
(duncan dances & mimes)
INQ
Oh you want to play a game……
Ooh, ooh.sounds like, two words. Wait, wait. Ahhhhh.I’ve got it.
You want to do the same thing for poetry that Walt Whitman did for poetry
AHHH, you think they lack soul.
Miss Duncan, I appreciate your enthusiasm, your compassion ,
but I must tell you – I don’t think America is interested.
The last thing anyone in America wants to hear is that they lack soul.
Even more so, they don’t want to be reminded.
And they will turn on you at the drop of a penny for the slightest reminder
Yes, you want to enrich their lives. But they want to fatten their wallets.
And you think you will find a rich American millionaire,
to help create your school based on the Greek ideals,
perhaps in this audience?
I am afraid not. A prophet is not recognized at home, Isadora Duncan.
How could they possibly recognize a Goddess?
CLERK
Isadora Duncan, telegram.
DUNCAN
THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT ALONE CAN UNDERSTAND YOU — STOP – – COME TO US – STOP. WE WILL MAKE YOUR SCHOOL.
INQ
If you accept this offer, you’ll never dance again in America.
You’ll be called a traitor and a Communist.
You’ll take your chances. Well you always have.
Good luck, Isadora., you’ll need it.
(BLACK OUT AND RETURN)
INQ
Back so soon, Miss Duncan?
DUNCAN
They promised me a school.
They gave me a cold water flat in the Russian winter.
INQ
Here we promise you nothing. But we hold out the hope ………
that anything , anything , can happen in show business.
DUNCAN
That is not exactly comforting dear.
INQ
Ohhh, Isadora. It is not unusual for a revolution to be betrayed.
Yes, I’ve heard the stories
ID
Artists standing in line to kill themselves. Even my husband,
INQ
But how could they have been so naive
as to throw themselves away like that for a revolution?
Warm promises and cold reality.
ID
And then my two children were killed in a car accident on the Seine.
INQ
I’m truly sorry, Isadora. You are living the return of Greek tragedy.
You need some illusions to continue living.
Isadora, return to Europe.
Find a place in the sun – southern France perhaps.
There are many great painters living there.
(ISADORA RISES — DISTRAUGHT — AND STUMBLES)
INQ
Good luck, Isadora. And WATCH OUT for that scarf.
*******
RETURN OF THE GODDESS
Isadora Duncan:
I SEE THE RETURN
OF THE PERFECTLY NATURAL NAKED BODY
IT WILL BE A GLORIOUS EXPRESSION
OF BODY & SPIRITUAL BEING
ONCE AGAIN IN HARMONY
CHORUS:
HOW DARE YOU STEAL YOUR POWER BACK?
HOW DARE YOU DANCE BAREFOOT?
HOW DARE YOU DANCE IN PAGAN DRESS?
BARE BENEATH REVEALING TUNIC?
ID:
A LONG LOST DANCE
THE BODY EMERGING AGAIN
FROM CIVILIZED FORGETFULNESS
HER TWO HANDS OUTSTRETCHED
HER FINE HEAD TOSSED TO THE SKY
HER FOREHEAD SHINING
WITH A CROWN OF A MILLION STARS
CHORUS:
HOW DARE YOU DREAM THE FORGOTTEN DREAM?
HOW DARE YOU VOICE THESE LONG LOST THOUGHTS
HOW DARE YOU BARE YOUR NAKED SOUL?
MUCH LESS YOUR NAKED BODY?
ID:
DANCE IS THE MOVEMENTS OF THE HUMAN BODY
IN HARMONY WITH THE MOVEMENTS OF THE EARTH
ALL FREE NATURAL MOVEMENTS CONFORM
TO THE LAWS OF WAVE MOVEMENT
IT IS THE ALTERNATED ATTRACTION & RESISTANCE
OF THE LAWS OF GRAVITY THAT CAUSES THIS MOVEMENT
FROM THE SOLAR PLEXUS, THE TEMPORAL HOME OF THE SOUL
THE BODY CONVERTS INTO A LUMINOUS FLUIDITY
SURRENDERING TO THE INSPIRATION OF THE SOUL
THE HUMAN SOUL-LIGHTER THAN X-RAYS
CHORUS:
HOW DARE YOU REMEMBER PARADISE?
HOW DARE YOU ENVISION ETERNAL LIFE?
HOW DARE YOU STARE INTO GOD’S FACE
AND SEE AN EYE FOR AN EYE & A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH
ID:
OH WOMAN. WHAT IS THE GOOD OF US
LEARNING TO BECOME LAWYERS & PAINTERS
WHEN THIS MIRACLE WITHIN EXISTS?
LIFE, LIFE, LIFE, GIVE ME LIFE
THE SEA WAS BLUE,THE SUN WAS BURNING
ALL OF NATURE WAS BURSTING INTO BLOOM
THE DAY MY SON WAS BORN
WHAT DID I CARE FOR ART?
I FELT I WAS A GOD SUPERIOR TO ANY ARTIST
WHAT WORDS COULD DESCRIBE THIS JOY?
CHORUS:
PERHAPS SHE HAS HAD SECOND THOUGHTS
PERHAPS SHE HAS RETURNED TO THE FLOCK-
PERHAPS SHE WILL ABANDON HER WILD REBELLION
REPENT & ASK FORGIVENESS?
ID:
MY ART IS NOT FOR THE MUSIC HALL BUT FOR A TEMPLE OF MUSIC
I HAD COME TO EUROPE TO BRING A RENAISSANCE OF RELIGION THROUGH THE DANCE TO BRING THE KNOWLEDGE
OF THE HUMAN BODY THROUGH THE EXPRESSION
OF ITS MOVEMENTS NOT TO DANCE FOR THE AMUSEMENT
OF OVERFED BOURGEOISE AFTER DINNER
ALONG WITH THE ACROBATS & TRAINED ANIMALS
CHORUS:
SHE MUST BE CHASTISED SHE MUST BE PUNISHED
SHE MUST BE SILENCED WE MUST EXACT JUSTICE
STRIP OF HER FULSOME PRIDE LET HER LOVELIFE BE FORSAKEN
NO,NON, NO THAT IS NOT ENOUGH
LET US TAKE AWAY HER CHILDREN
ID:
DANCE IS NOT A DIVERSION
BUT A RELIGION ART IS THE FLOWER
THE SPIRITUAL BREAD OF MANKIND
(ISADORA, IN TURBAN,ROBE & SCARF, SINKS TO THE FLOOR,
WRITHES, & IS STRANGLED BY HER SCARF)
CHORUS: ACCIDENTS HAPPEN
see tightrope web page and YouTube:
Tightrope 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUpXqoe5HnI
7:47