The Circus Behind the Mill (Karina Cowperthwaite)

The Circus Behind the Mill

Karina Cowperthwaite

Characters:
THE MAN
THE RINGLEADER/THE MAYOR
THE CLOWN/MRS. POTTS
THE MAGICIAN/YOUNG JOHNNY
THE TIGHTROPE WALKER/MISS MARY
THE FIRE EATER/DR. JAMESON
DANCERS/TOWNSPEOPLE

Setting:
A sleepy, rural town in the continental US.

Scene Breakdown:
Scene One: The Messenger
Scene Two: Revelation
Scene Three: The Morning After
Scene Four: Truth
Scene Five: The Child
Scene Six: Liberation
Scene Seven: The Rapture
Scene Eight: The Woman
Scene Nine: Revelation Part Two
Scene Ten: Transformation


Notes to the Director:

While the direction and interpretation of this play lies with each respective director, I will provide some specifics and guidelines of how I imagined certain scenes to be interpreted and received.

THE ENSEMBLE:

Members of the ensemble are required to play two roles. Each actor should play a member of the circus and a member of the town. The five main circus roles have specific townsperson correspondents (see below). It is imperative that these 5 part pairings are played by the same actor. The rest of the ensemble are dancers that correspond with general background townspeople. MAN OF CHANCE will be played by a separate actor and will not have a corresponding part. 

Members of the Circus                                                         Members of the Town
THE RINGLEADER………………………………………..THE MAYOR
THE CLOWN……………………………………………….MRS. POTTER
THE MAGICIAN…………………………………………...YOUNG JOHNNY
THE TIGHTROPE WALKER……………………………...MISS MARY
THE FIRE EATER…………………………………………..DR. JAMESON                                                        
DANCERS…………………………………………………..TOWNSPEOPLE

SCENE ONE AND SCENE SIX

This scene uses dance and movement to represent the circus. The creative license of the specific choreography lies with the director and/or choreographer of the production. However, the loose guidelines of the stage directions should be followed with specific emphasis on the placements and actions of THE CLOWN, THE MAGICIAN, THE FIRE EATER, THE TIGHTROPE WALKER, and THE RINGLEADER.

Act One

Scene One: The Messenger

The stage is empty and the lights dim. MAN sits at a kitchen table. The table is simple and made of sturdy wood. There are two chairs at the table. There is a spotlight on MAN. He is leaning back and appears to be dozing off. The lights change around him. They morph into dark tones of reds and blues. A piano chime begins to play, slow and quiet, almost akin to circus music. DANCERS lurk in the wings. They start to crawl out. Their movements should be slow. They surround the MAN. Some are below the table, some are above, some are wrapped around his chair and some are wrapped around him. MAN does not wake. THE CLOWN sits with her back against MAN’S chair. THE MAGICIAN lies underneath the table at his feet. THE FIRE EATER crouches down near the front of the table scrutinizing MAN. THE TIGHT ROPE WALKER slowly sits in MAN’S lap wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing it. THE RINGLEADER slowly approaches from behind MAN. From his coat pocket, he withdraws a heavy cream envelope. He wraps his arms around MAN’S body careful not to touch him and places the envelope on the table in front of him. At this point, the music has been increasing in tempo and volume. The lights have become more frantic, changing and switching as the DANCERS approach MAN. Suddenly the stage goes black and the music cuts off. Silence. Lights down.

Scene Two: Revelation

The transition from Scene One to Scene Two should be immediate. Lights up and MAN suddenly wakes up. DR. JAMESON is sitting in the chair next to him with a clipboard. The letter is still on the table, however, DR. JAMESON cannot see it. It is in MAN’S mind.

DR. JAMESON: That’s all you remember? The man who gave you this...letter, you said he was wearing a top hat? And there was a...clown?

MAN: You told me to tell you what I remember. That’s what I remember. I didn’t agree to see you for your judgment.

DR. JAMESON: I’m afraid you didn’t agree at all. These sessions are required.

MAN: My cooperation isn’t.

DR. JAMESON: No, but it is appreciated. This is the only way to get better. I’m here to help, not harm. Now, this letter...do you still have it?

MAN: No...I don’t. It was stolen from me.

DR. JAMESON: Stolen.

MAN: (interrupting) I KNOW what you’re thinking. No letter? No proof. It doesn’t make a difference though. I remember exactly what it said.

DR. JAMESON: What DID it say?

MAN picks up the letter on the table. It is as if he is opening it for the first time. DR. JAMESON cannot see the letter.

MAN: (reading)

You have been chosen specially to receive this invitation. The information you are about to receive is of utmost importance. You are to be the receiver and conveyor of this information. Those who hear and see the truth are the ones who will be rewarded the most.

There is a place that exists that feeds your deepest desires. There is a world devoted to your liberation from the mundane trials of this one. We cordially invite you to this kingdom.

Wednesday, February 2nd, 12 am. The field behind the old mill. Come alone.

DR. JAMESON: Did you go?

MAN looks up. Lights down.

Scene Three: The Next Morning

Transition to a dingy diner. It is the morning of Thursday, February 3rd. MRS. POTTS, the owner of the diner, is behind the counter wiping down the display cases. MISS MARY, a waitress is pouring coffee to customers. THE MAYOR walks in having a conversation with a TOWNSPERSON. YOUNG JOHNNY is at the counter reaching for a slice of pie. MAN sits alone at a booth staring longingly at MISS MARY. TOWNSPEOPLE fill the rest of the diner. Light chatter.

MRS. POTTS: Mr. Mayor! Brr. Isn’t the wind chill biting? Can I interest you two in some hot cocoa? It’s fresh off the stove.

MR. MAYOR: That’s all right Sheila, two coffees will be plenty.

MRS. POTTS: Coming right up honey bug. MARY! TWO COFFEES TABLE TWO.

MISS MARY hurries over to the table.

MISS MARY: (smiling) How are you two handsome gentlemen doing today? Staying warm? Anything exciting happening around here yet? I’m itching for a little fun.

MR. MAYOR: Nothing out of the ordinary, Mary. (he winks) I’ll keep an eye out just for you though.

MISS MARY giggles and walks in the direction of MAN’S table as he waves her down for another cup.

MAN: Why do you always do that?

MISS MARY: (startled) Do what?

MAN: Flirt. Flatter him. Let him look at you like that.

MISS MARY: What’s it to you. You stalking me again?

MAN: I was never stalking you, Mary.

MISS MARY: You LURK and watch.

MAN: (changing the subject) Did…did you receive anything in the mail yesterday by chance?

MISS MARY: You mean besides the late notice on my rent? No. Why? You send me something stalker?

MAN: Nevermind.

MRS. POTTS: JOHNNY! Get your sticky hands out of the pie before I call your mother.

MAN gets up and approaches the exit. THE MAYOR stands up to stop him.

THE MAYOR: Now I didn’t catch you bothering Miss Mary did I?

MRS. POTTS: JOHNNY! FOR THE LAST TIME! GET YOUR HANDS OFF THE LEMON MERINGUE!

MAN: Bothering her? Shouldn’t you be asking yourself that?

THE MAN tries to shoulder pass THE MAYOR

THE MAYOR: Are we going to have a problem, old man?

THE MAN: Get out of my face scumbag.

THE MAYOR: Excuse me?

THE MAN: I think you HEARD me. Scumbag. Need me to spell it out for you?

THE MAYOR: You walk around this place in the same old rags and you think anyone cares where you end up? Who do you think you are? You’re nobody.

In sudden outburst, he grabs the collar of THE MAYOR. 

THE MAN: (savagely)YOU’RE GOING TO DIE. YOU’RE ALL GOING TO DIE.

Silence. Everyone stares at THE MAN. Blackout.

Scene Four: Truth

Lights up. THE MAN is back at the table in the spotlight. The rest of the stage is bare. Dr. Jameson sits across from him with the clipboard once again.

DR. JAMESON: Why did you scream those words that day in the diner?

MAN: I told you this already. I slipped up. I didn’t mean it.

DR JAMESON: You didn’t mean to threaten the entire town? Do you understand the weight that kind of statement holds?

MAN: I wasn’t threatening the town.

DR. JAMESON: What were you doing then?

MAN: I was warning them.

DR. JAMESON: Of what?

MAN: I’ve never told you about what happened that night. Wednesday, the 2nd. When the clock hit midnight.

Lights down.

Scene Five: The Child

Lights up. We are back at the diner moments after THE MAN’S outburst. You can see THE MAYOR silently walking off his rage. THE TOWNSPEOPLE are returning to their normal antics. MRS. POTTS is fussing over THE MAYOR. THE MAN sits on the ground outside of the diner leaning against the wall. YOUNG JOHNNY sneaks out with a plate of pie. He stands in front of THE MAN saying nothing. Beat. They stay locking eyes. YOUNG JOHNNY places the pie down in front of THE MAN and sprints back inside. THE MAN turns to say something but he is alone again. He picks up the plate and underneath rests an envelope that looks exactly like the first one he received.

THE MAN: (reading)

Friday, February 4th, 12 am.

Scene Six: Liberation

THE MAN stands alone at the center of the stage. There is nothing around him. The lights should be dim. THE MAN’S eyes start closed as if he is reliving something in his mind.

THE MAN:

When I first saw the letter, I was skeptical. I thought maybe some punk was trying to pull one over me. That’s how it always has been in this town. When you spend so long hating the people around you, they start to hate you back. I put the letter in the trash and tried not to think about it. It was a prank, a scam and nothing more. That’s what I told myself. When your future contains frozen dinners and tv specials, you stop waiting for the extraordinary to come along and find you.

You have been chosen. You have been chosen. The words were seared in my brain like a hot knife, pulsing under my eyelids and ringing in my ears. What did I have to lose? What was there to ruin? To sacrifice? There was nothing left for me here.

Then I saw the circus. They were right. It was a whole new world. The others? They weren’t chosen. They weren’t worthy of being free.

The lights change back to the circus lights of Scene One. The same music plays except it is at an increased tempo. DANCERS are on the stage. Their movements are quick and lively and pass back and forth in front of THE MAN. THE CLOWN comes on and begins to paint a thick coat of paint on THE MAN’S face.

They gave me a new face. A new identity. A new personality. I could be whoever I wanted to be. They didn’t care about my past, my mistakes, or my life. They cared about my future.

The lights flash more intensely and the music picks up pace. The DANCERS’ movements become more frantic and crazed. THE FIRE BREATHER joins THE MAN blowing a thick cloud of smoke and flame near his head.

(Louder) They burned away the burdens in my mind and the chains that held me down. They sliced the ropes choking me to that town. That diner. That house. That life. I was free from the gazes, the looks, and snarls. I was free from the bills, the rent, the pressure, and the judgment.

Everything increases to a new level. Strobe lights may be added here. THE TIGHTROPE WALKER enters and wraps herself around THE MAN. DANCERS now smoking cigarettes and pouring champagne over THE MAN’S head and body.

They tempted me with sex and booze and drugs. The euphoria coursed through my veins. I reveled in it. The sin. The pleasure. The dizzying feeling of desire. I laughed and I devoured.

The music slows. DANCERS slowly stop and turn upstage. THE RINGLEADER appears and slowly approaches THE MAN holding out a staff.

They gave me power. Power to wield as I wished. I felt it humming underneath my skin. The power to kill, to destroy, to rebuild over and over again until there was nothing but mountains under my name.  

The music stops and everyone on stage freezes except THE MAN.

They believed in a new world and a new order. They would cleanse the world and liberate the ones who could see. They believed in me. I was the bringer of the new order and the end to the old.

Blackout.

Act Two

Scene Seven: The Rapture

Lights up. THE MAN sits with DR. JAMESON.

DR JAMESON: How many times did you visit this circus? Were the invitations regular?

THE MAN: I lost count after awhile. They came with seemingly no regularity. However, the more I went, the more frequently they came.

DR JAMESON: Was your experience the same each time?

THE MAN: No. They were different. There began to be new people and new faces. They shared the gift I did. However, the feelings and the freedom I felt there never dulled. They got stronger with each visit.

DR. JAMESON: The feelings of power? And liberation?

THE MAN: The feeling of importance. This was a bigger picture, a bigger MISSION. I was creating an entirely new world full of people who deserved to be there. The rest were being washed away by the flood. They weren’t chosen.

DR. JAMESON: You speak often about being “chosen”. Who decides who gets the invitation? What makes one person worthy and the other not?

THE MAN: The Ringleader. He decides. The Magician carries out the recruitment.

DR. JAMESON: So you had no say?

THE MAN: I didn’t need one. I trusted their judgment wholeheartedly.

DR. JAMESON: The ones not chosen. The ones “left behind”. You were fine leaving them to, as you call it, an “imminent death”?

THE MAN: (Beat) No. I had one doubt. There was one person. One person, I thought they must have forgotten.

Scene Eight: The Woman

Lights up. MISS MARY is closing down the diner. THE MAN is leaning outside next to the door waiting.

THE MAN: Mary.

MISS MARY: Jesus Christ! You scared the daylights out of me.

THE MAN: Sorry. I-

MISS MARY: What are you doing out here? You were banned from diner. That means the sidewalk in front of the diner too.

THE MAN: I need to talk to you.

MISS MARY: Well, I’m busy and it’s late. Goodbye.

THE MAN: Wait. Please, it’s important.

MISS MARY: What could you possibly say that was important?

THE MAN: If you don’t listen to me, you’re going to die with the rest of them. But I like you. You’re special. I know you’re not like the others deep down. I know this is right and you’re right. I feel it.

MISS MARY: You’re freaking me out. Back away or I’m calling the cops.

THE MAN hands her a cream envelope.

THE MAN: Just take this. Think about it. You don’t have much time.

MISS MARY runs off stage. The lights dim

Scene Nine: Revelation Part Two

Lights up. DR. JAMESON walks on with his clipboard.

DR. JAMESON: What did you give her?

THE MAN: My invitation for the night. She was supposed to find us in the field behind the mill.

DR. JAMESON: But she didn’t show up, did she?

THE MAN: No. I was wrong about her. The Ringleader was right, she wasn’t worthy.

DR JAMESON: Who came instead that night? Did you attend the circus?

THE MAN: No. The circus never showed. I betrayed them. They were furious. It was all her FAULT. She RUINED everything.

DR. JAMESON: How exactly did she ruin things. What ACTUALLY happened?

THE MAN grabs DR. JAMESON.

THE MAN: Have you been listening to ANYTHING I’ve been saying? I’m not INVITED anymore. I’m not CHOSEN. I BETRAYED THEM AND I GOT LEFT BEHIND. WITH YOU! WITH THEM! You don’t UNDERSTAND. YOU NEVER HAVE.

DR. JAMESON: Chosen? There was no circus. There were no letters. You know this. You have always known this, yet you refuse to believe. I have shown you the pictures, the police reports, and the explanations. There is no other world and no other kingdom. There is no new order or an end for us left behind. You are not special.
(Beat)
You are sick.

Scene Nine: The New Order

Lights up. The diner. MRS. POTTS is reading aloud from a newspaper. MISS MARY is pouring coffee. YOUNG JOHNNY is stealing pie. THE MAYOR is sitting at his same booth. THE MAN is gone. It is as if life has continued without him and no one has noticed.

MRS. POTTS: Good lord! Did you see the front page of the newspaper today?

(reading aloud)

John Smith, 46, was arrested by the police last night between 12 am and 1 am. Smith was found wandering the fields near the Old Silver Mill in possession and under the influence of multiple illegal and hallucinogenic drugs. Charged for possession and kidnapping, Smith was found and surrounded due to a 911 call from escaped victim: 23-year-old Mary Baker.

Smith, previously having been questioned for multiple public death threats and previous assault charges, has been admitted to a Mental Corrective Facility having been deemed mentally ill.

YOUNG JOHNNY: Wait Mary Baker? As in MISS Mary?

MRS. POTTS: Mary, dear, I had no idea. Are you alright child?

MISS MARY: I’m fine, I’m fine. I’m just glad he’s getting the help he needs.

MRS. POTTS: All that crazy talk about the end of the world! He was even saying we were all supposed to die!

THE MAYOR: Ladies. You have nothing to worry about. He’s locked up now and can’t hurt anyone else.

MISS MARY: Mayor, what did you make of all his ramblings?

THE MAYOR: It was the drugs talking. He clearly was very disturbed.
(beat)
Everyone. Our town is now safe. Mr. Smith has been taken care of. It’s a clean slate now. A new order.

Lights down.

Scene Ten: Transformation

Lights up. THE MAN is lying in a hospital bed sleeping. He has constraints around his wrists. THE MAYOR stands in the doorway and slowly approaches his hospital bed until he is standing over him. THE MAN jerks awake and looks up at THE MAYOR. THEY MAYOR reaches into his pocket, pulls out a singular cream envelope and places it in THE MAN’S hand. Beat. They stare at each other. THE MAYOR turns around and starts to walk out. As he leaves and takes his coat from the stand, he puts on a top hat. It is the exact same top hat as THE RINGLEADER.

Blackout.


End.

I was originally drawn to the imagery of a circus because of the mystery and intrigue that often shrouds it. It seemed like a dynamic and interesting front for a gnostic god to draw people in for a dominant world transformation. I was drawn to writing a script because I imagined the allure and intrigue of the circus to be very visual. I wanted it to be incredibly immersive for the audience as it was immersive and overwhelming for the main character. The use of dance and movement translates the emotional toll of the scene in a more magnetic and visceral way. This is another reason why I was drawn to my apocalypse being staged as a play. My apocalypse touches on themes of revelation, a rapture, mental liberation and transformation as well as having an imposing gnostic force. However, the main character (named THE MAN to represent how the “chosen” person could be anyone or everyone and to highlight that the gnostic’s god’s target was not specifically one man or one town but mankind universally) struggles throughout the play on whether or not the “New Order” the gnostic force is imposing has occurred or if it is in his head. This shows that the apocalypse happening is a mental liberation. Therefore, I thought a play could serve as a great platform to show (through lights, music, and dance) the liberation inside his mind in such an immersive way that the AUDIENCE feels the transformation as well.

My play starts with the Man sleeping at a table alone in his house. This creates the question of if the dance/vision is real or a dream? The dance of the circus performers allows the audience to experience the dark allure and world the gnostic god (later in the play revealed as the Ringleader) is using to draw the Man in. He is creating an escape or providing a liberation from the stuffy social structure that the Man feels like an outcast from. This serves as the “Message” sent to the Man from the gnostic god. The message, which is later read by the Man to Dr. Jameson, has elements of the message from the angel to John in the Book of Revelation. It calls the Man the chosen one who has been selected for a new “kingdom” and those who do not hear the message will essentially be left behind. I wanted to play on Christian Apocalyptic themes of a godly messenger speaking to mankind, giving him a revelation and asking him to spread a message for the upcoming rapture or end to mankind. Scene Three serves to show not only that the townspeople seemed to have not undergone the same revelation the Man did and are now in his mind “the ones left behind”, but to also show the townspeople’s’ disbelief in his message. It also keeps the audience wondering if the circus (a whimsical representation of the new world and mental liberation) is real or in the Man’s mind. Scene Six uses dance, lights, and music to once again transform the space into the “new world”. It is a visual representation of the mental liberation happening in the Man’s mind. This liberation is the disappearance of earthy social “politeness” that the Man feels suffocated by. In this new world, he can revel in sex, alcohol, drugs, and power. He can feel free and important. The duality of the casting of certain circus members and townspeople is also very symbolic. The Tightrope Walker who is often portrayed as kissing the Man also plays Miss Mary, the waitress he has a crush on. The Mayor of the town, the Man’s main antagonist, is played by the same actor as the Ringleader. The Ringleader chooses the Man to receive great rewards while the Mayor seemingly takes them away which highlights the power both characters hold over the Man. The magician is also Young Johnny who is the boy who mysteriously delivers the second letter in Scene Five. The duality of the casting also plays into the ending of the play. It is revealed in Act Two, after the man attempts to have Miss Mary be “chosen, that the entire liberation and world were due to drugs. The audience subsequently assumes that the mental liberation that the Man went through only happened to him. How is it an apocalypse then? Scene Nine goes back to the scene at the diner. At first glance, it is as if nothing had changed and the town hadn’t undergone any transformation. The Man is written off as a fanatic who was under the influence of many drugs and now has been hospitalized. However, the Mayor (who is also the Ringleader which draws more parallels between the two worlds) mentions that THIS is the new order. This is exposed in Scene Ten when the two characters are revealed to be the same person. The Mayor is the one who gives the Man the next cream envelope and then puts on the Ringleader’s Top hat alluding to the fact that there was a successful mental transformation of the townspeople. While it wasn’t necessarily physical and maybe many of the townspeople weren’t self-aware of this transformation, an apocalypse did occur under the power of a gnostic god. I was very inspired by the Promethea comic and the “liberation” and “transformation” of the seemingly ignorant people of the town after she had undergone such revelation and transformation herself. While a transformation and liberation had occurred, it wasn’t always as visual to the naked eye. It contrasts nicely with the visceral nature of the circus choreography. I didn’t include certain themes of destruction or an explicit supernatural alien or zombie because I wanted to focus on an apocalypse that was mental and very subtle. I wanted the audience to question whether or not it had occurred and to leave many of the details up to imagination since it occurs within one’s mind. I liked the idea of using so many elements of theater such as casting, lights, music, and staging, to highlight the nuances in the apocalypse.