GREAT NEWS!

We're excited to announce that "dark is a different beast" just received funding from The Puffin Foundation West to begin our initial stage of development.  Read more here:

Puffin Foundation West Awards Announcement

We also have exciting summer residency plans in the works. Stay tuned for updates in the near future.

Never Been Deader by Andrew Braddock

Excerpt from the script "dark is a different beast" by Andrea L. Hart and Sculptures by Jesse Bercowetz

("Tower" by Jesse Bercowetz)

scene 14: STATIC backstory

BONFIRE and WOMAN walk toward each other across a snowy field. The snow looks like ash falling from the sky. They walk continuously but never get any closer to each other. We hear their voices like in a dream.

woman

Remember how we met?

bonfire

It was cold that night, right?

woman

I was shivering.

You poured your heat inside me like a furnace.

bonfire

And all the fairy tales…

And all the love songs…

But not with us.

woman

I listened to your feet crunch away on the snow.

I try really hard not to be nostalgic.

bonfire

You have to measure these things out carefully.

That’s what they say. I wouldn’t know though.

My mind will have moved on to the next thing.

The next talk. Moments from other moments.

Long pause as they continue to walk. Their feet crunch the snow in rhythm.

("Gallows" by Jesse Bercowetz)

woman

It was like a wasteland inside me.

Trying to define the distance.

One for when we were apart.

Something else together.

But either way

…Destruction.

bonfire

You say that but you don’t mean it.

woman

I thought I’d never see you again.

I thought you’d come back in pieces.

I couldn’t figure out who sent you away:

Me? Or Them? Or the Fire…

And how much waiting

Was meant to equal

…love.

bonfire

When all the rage burns away

—if you listen real close—

You can hear the wind whistle through.

Here…listen…

He whistles the tune to “Blame it on the Rain” by Milli Vanilli.

woman

I’m walking down an endless flight of stairs.

Each landing is another layer of guilt.

Each step another chance to live.

The city erupts outside.

The stairs go on forever.

World ending in fire.

My heart on ice.

His whistling turns to the sound of a siren. The snowy ash whips into a fury. The sound of a huge structure collapsing in on itself.

("Swami Bondage Weekend Query and the Nigh-time Soak" by Jesse Bercowetz)

photo credit: Cristina Saez

In the midst of the chaos WORLD POWER is desperately trying to sell the budget.

world power

This is much more than a long list of numbers,

This is our free way of life!

Hope for the future!

Have you any notion of what

Our defense efforts buy us?

Our ships,

Our tanks,

Our planes,

Our training,

Our spare parts!

All intended for one important purpose -

To Keep the Peace.

We must not be misled by those who would make defense

The scapegoat of the budget.

Those loud voices

Are nothing more than noise

Based on ignorance.

We do not start fights!

We will never be an aggressor!

We maintain the peace through strength.

We maintain strength to defend against aggression.

Weakness invites attack!

Terrorists seek to deliver death and destruction to our doorstep.

Enemies of freedom grow stronger day by day!

Wouldn't it be better to save lives than to avenge them?

We are in the midst of a spiritual awakening!

Whatever sad episodes exist in our past,

We have kept alight the torch of freedom,

For those who live in totalitarian darkness

We have the power to begin the world over again!!

A final scream of iron bending and collapsing. WORLD POWER ducks for cover. Blackout. Silence.

("From Park Avenue to the Park Bench" by Jesse Bercowetz)

scene 14: You Know Aftermath

We hear a buzzer. Lights up. BONFIRE and WOMAN are playing the game “Operation.” They keep trying to grab things with the little tweezers and they keep getting buzzed. Every time the buzzer goes off they jump and laugh hysterically.

voice

Well I think

If you really want to

You know

Dissect the effects

Long term that is

What this has meant

Just on a visceral

Physical level

For so many people

Well then you

Are really going to

Have to look at

Daily habits

Things like diet

Exercise

Personal relationships.

BONFIRE and WOMAN start kissing across the Operation game. It is slow at first. Hesitant. Quickly it gains steam. The buzzer goes off intermittently.

voice

I mean

Are we more wary?

Do we trust less?

As a people

Are we still concerned

With the hallmarks of

The American Dream

So to speak. Things like

Long-range planning

You know

Retirement and things

Like that.

Or are we focusing more on

The here and now.

Immediate pleasures.

I mean, I’m not proposing

Answers. Just suggesting

You know

Methods of inquiry

Or you know

Avenues of investigation.

Things we might look at

To assess long-term

Effects. At an

Indi-VID-ual

Level.

You know?