The Mask of Madness Upon a barren
stage, there appear two women, one
dressed in red, the other in green. Both
are lovely and ageless in appearance. There
is nothing about them to mark their era, or their age.
The one in green has red hair and green eyes, The one in red has blonde
hair and blue eyes. They walk on to the
stage together and stand, facing the audience. As they speak various parts of the set are moved in place by
figures dressed in black, totally, not even their eyes can be seen.
The one with red hair is named Wisdom, but known
as Eillaine, her sister, the blonde is named Reason but called
Laural. Though their hairs are different colors, it is obvious that they
are in every other way, twins. Directions
will be in italics. LAURAL:
Deckers a charming man, Eillaine, I can see why youre infatuated
with him. EILLAINE:
Infatuated? I doubt it, but
I do care about him. You do, too, for
that matter. LAURAL:
Of course, but as much for your sake as his own. EILLAINE:
I suppose, if it came down to it, I do care for him more than I like to
admit, but not enough to want him in the sense that most women would mean
want. LAURAL: What amazes me,
then, is that for so many years youve watched him and protected him.
It has always been as though you viewed him as your lover. EILLAINE: Strange,
isnt it? Of course, as we are, I
cant remember half of what Ive done, or perhaps less? How could I tell? LAURAL: Perhaps coming
here was mistake? EILLAINE: Laural,
would it help if I could remember why we thought coming to this place would
accomplish anything to begin with? Was
it so I could meet Decker? For why?
Would the Gods have caused all those events just so we could sit around
Bay City while I find myself fascinated with a human male that I cant find
any deep emotions for? There must
have been a reason? O, there he is
now. Decker Powell is a
man in his late fifties. At first
glance, his face appears younger, but the eyes tell us that he is far older than
he seems. Tall, only very slightly
stooped, but not bent, dressed in worn but expensive clothes, tan slacks and
jacket over a dark green turtle neck sweater. As he enters the
stage, various trees and bushes, along with a flat painted to look like a
1950s small town neighborhood street, are pushed out right with him, stopping
as he stops, moving as he moves. When
he reaches the sisters and stops, the scenery stops. As they talk, other figures, moving from the sisters side
of the stage, bring in a white metal ice cream table and four chairs, and a flat
painted as a small town downtown. Four small shops
are there, the important one being an ice cream parlor.
The table and chairs are placed in front of the parlor. TOGETHER: both
smiling Hi Decker, DECKER: Hi, Laural,
Ella, smiling warmly at the women. Howre
you two this beautiful morning? TOGETHER:
Great, how about you? DECKER: Pretty good so
far, its a lovely day, no political persecutions scheduled in the paper, no
inquisitions in the church bulletins, so it might even be a great day. EILLAINE:
Not even one auto de fey? Dont
you hate it when theres no torture? No
Joe McCarthy this morning? DECKER:
Nope, I guess he hasnt heard of Bay City yet.
Wait till he hears a Russian freighter tied up here a couple of times.
Well make the Detroit Times yet. He gestures to the ice cream table, as the sisters sit down, the figures in black pull the chairs out for them, then slide them back under themno one seems to notice that the chairs have moved. Just warm enough
for a malt for me, how about you two? EILLAINE:
A strawberry sundae sounds good LAURAL: Id love a
lemon aide. A
figure in black wearing an apron appears and puts the chosen items on the table
just as they finish speaking. They
do not notice that the drinks seem to have materialized as they spoke. EILLAINE:
Decker, are you still dating Sheila? If its none of my business, just
say so. DECKER:
No, that ended rather quickly, Im afraid.
LAURAL: She may spend
a long lonely spinsterhood then. Ah
well, her loss is anothers gain. DECKER:
You two are amazing, Seems
like weve known each other forever, doesnt it? Yet, I know its only
been about a year since you moved here. EILLAINE:
It feels like Ive known you for a lot longer , Decker. LAURAL:
I have a similar feeling, but I dont think its as strong as
Eillas, maybe you two knew each other in a different life? DECKER:
To quote an old joke: I dont believe in reincarnation, but I did in
a previous life. He falls suddenly silent, then a sigh escapes him. EILLAINE:
Whats the matter? DECKER: Its
nothing, really EILLAINE:
Come on, Deck, why the heavy sigh of resignation? DECKER: I guess its
just life in general. Ive been
working a lot, with little time off. And
..no,
damn it, its not. Its about
her. LAURAL: Her? DECKER: This woman in my night school history class EILLAINE: Yes, Decker? What
about this woman in my night school history class?
I assume you mean the one your teaching?
Here? At 8:00? DECKER: looking uncomfortable Yeah, that class.
The one you two disrupted last
year. LAURAL & EILLAINE: Disrupted? Us? Decker, all we did was
. DECKER: Was walk in together wearing shorts and tank tops and made
every man in the school fall on the floor drooling, while the women started
cursing the gods that made you. LAURAL: Decker, it wasnt that bad, was it?
Really? DECKER: Do beautiful women do that on purpose? EILLAINE: Do what Decker? DECKER: Walk in to mens lives and totally ruin our ability to
think about anything but them? EILLAINE: Tell us about her Decker. DECKER: Shes incredible, the most unusual woman Ive ever
LAURAL: Just incredible and unusual, Decker?
Thats was a rather dramatic sighand is that a love sick look,
I spy on your face? DECKER: Is it that obvious? I
shouldnt talk about her. Really not even think about her. EILLAINE:
Not think about her? Decker,
this sounds rather serious? Have
you finally decided to come of the ivy covered tower of intellect and fall in
love? DECKER: Fall in love?
I dont have that right. LAURAL: Decker, every
human being has the right to fall in love, any time, any place, that they
feel like it. Its what they do
about it that makes all the difference. DECKER:
Laural, shes a student of mine, in night school, but a student never
the less. LAURAL:
So? DECKER: That just
seems, some how, wrong! Besides that, Im too old to be in love.
Too old to even fall in love. EILLAINE: Wrong?
How can the simple unpreventable act of falling in love be wrong? DECKER:
Its not like I want to rush her off to bed, not that way at all. LAURAL:
Thats okay Deck, we just want you to be happy.
Lifes too short to let it stay unhappy.
If you feel that strongly, have you thought of telling her? DECKER:
Laural, shes at least 25 years younger than me,
this is a small town, its a very small college, but its all Ive
got right now. Jobs, especially teaching, are getting harder and harder to
find, even with Nixon telling us theres no recession. Time stops
the
black figures help the sisters from their seats and they talk.
To Decker there isnt even a second in time transpiring. EILLAINE:
We may, indeed, have to do the unthinkable. LAURAL:
We agreed, only as a last ditch, nothing left to lose, desperation
measure. EILLAINE: I am the
Lord your God, you shall have no other Gods before me
, They are once more
seated by the figures in black. Decker
is still smiling from the previous moment. EILLAINE:
We do understand, Decker, really we do. DECKER: Im thrilled
to have her in my class, believe me. Its
as much fun as when you were there, Laural.
Shes smart enough to challenge me on my own level. LAURAL: My God, hes
cracking up, someone call the ego police. Figures begin
moving the sets off stage. DECKER: Its getting
later than I thought, Ive got to get to class or I wont have a job to
worry about losing. He stands, walks
over, and helps each of the sisters rise from their seats, then hugs each
lightly and, moves off quickly. Before
he leaves the stage Eillaine calls to him. EILLAINE:
Deck, whats her name? DECKER: Im sorry,
its Rhiannon, Rhiannon Anwynn. Shes
Welsh, I believe. He turns and
continues off stage. The scenery
that followed him on stage follows him off stage. At the name the sister look at
each other, and then at him as he leaves. Their
expression is one of confusion, tinged with fear.. EILLAINE:
Rhiannon? That names strikes
a chorddeep in my guts, a very uncomfortable feeling! They exit opposite
stage and the remaining scenery exits with them. The man in the business suit steps on to the bare stage. JACK PATCH: Little goddesses playing at being human, how many times must they descend among the sons of men, and get their eternal fingers burned before they learn. I think its time Bay City had its own Coffee House, hmmm, what to name it? Ah yes, The Devils Brew seems like as good a name as any. Speaks directly to the audience, there should be a light red filter in the light shining on him now. The
amazing thing about this era is that they really dont need a devil in Hell,
theyve got so many running the face of the Earth. He exits rapidly
all the way across the stage to follow the sisters. The stage is empty
for a moment, then a tall and extremely beautiful woman, raven black hair, blue
eyes, alabaster complexion, simply crosses to center stage. She is dressed all
in glistening gold. At mid
stage she stops for a moment, looks out over the audience, smiles lightly,
raises her hand, a light seems to land on her pointed finger,
the sound of birds singing is heard.
She continues on across stage slowly and exits, the curtain falls. Rhiannons voice
is heard singing while the curtain descends, it rises again as her song
concludes. Can you hear my birds when they sing? My birds, the birds of Rhiannon, Wait outside my portal, Holy, pure and white. Cant you hear them when they sing? Their songs, so pure, As a cleansing shower, for your heart. Can you hear them now, My lovely birds? The singing
birds of Rhiannon Messengers of the Gods? Do you hear them with your heart? Listen, they will sing you now to life Dont you hear them when they sing? The birds of Rhiannon will call you home, Call you from you from your labours deep, Summon you from your pain Bringing solace o so sweet. Dont you listen when my birds sing? My birds, the birds of Rhiannon, Wait outside my portal, Holy, pure and white. Why dont you listen when they sing? Their song is a cleansing light for the soul. Do you hear them now, my sweet birds? Cant you listen when my birds sing? The birds of Rhiannon call you from your bed, Call you to her bed, Summon you from your doubts, Bring loves affections o so sweet. Will you not listen when my birds sing? My birds of love, the birds of Rhiannon sing Outside your true loves door. Holy, pure and white. Why wont you listen when my darling birds sing? Their pure sweet song is a healing for your love torn
soul. And a cleansing
shower for your heart, A healing light for your shattered soul, Their singing, their love filled singing, Will make you whole again, Fill your joyless soul
again, Cleanse your pain filled heart again, Bring life renewed again, Set you free again. How hard it is for you to listen When the birds of Rhiannon sing. While my sweet birds
sing inside her loving chamber, Outside her portal, pure and white, Why must it be so hard for you to listen to singing of the
birds? The birds of Rhiannon that call you from your loveless
sleep, Lift your heart, fill you with new loves joy. Can you not put down your pride when the birds of Rhiannon
sing? My loving birds, My precious birds, My darling birds? The birds of Rhiannon are calling you, Calling you home, Home from your labours deep, Home to her bed, Home to your true loves bed Cant you hear their soul lifting song, the song of my
birds? My life filling birds, the birds of Rhiannon wait outside my
portal, Holy, pure and white. Is your heart closed to magic? Cant you listen when my dear birds give song? Their singing, is pure,
a cleansing rain upon the heart. Do you hear them now? The singing birds of Rhiannon? You must hear them with your heart. Please listen when my birds sing. The birds of Rhiannon will call you home, Call you from your labours deep, Summon you from your pain Bring loves solace o so sweet. Now will you listen when my birds sing? My birds, my life giving birds The birds of Rhiannon wait outside loves portal, Holy, pure and white, Now will you listen when my birds sing? Their song is a
healing light for the soul. Will you hear them now, my lovely birds? Now will you listen when my birds sing? The birds of Rhiannon call you to your true loves bed, Call you from your empty bed Sing you from your sleep of loveless death, Summon you from your doubts, Bring loves true affections o so sweet. Will you hear them now, my birds? Do you hear them now, the birds of Rhiannon? Can you hear the heart of Rhiannon beating now? Will you hear the soul of Rhiannon weeping now? Do you hear my birds now? Can you hear with your soul now? Will you hear with your heart now? Do you hear how they summon the dead to life? Can you hear the birds of Rhiannon now? Will you hear their joyous song of love. Do you hear them now, Can you hear the messengers of the gods--- and love? Will you hear them now and dare to love? Do you hear how they summon the dead to love? Hear the birds of Rhiannon, And dare to live reborn And dare to learn to love.
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