 |
|
WRITING | SUNDAY |
|
|
|
|
sunday
an enchanted chamber opera
A One-Act, Fantasy Drama for all ages / 1 W, 2 M
Sunday transposes the Japanese tale The Crane Wife and tells the story of a Carolina fisherman who saves the life of a heron that becomes entangled in
his net. When a young woman appears at his home offering a magical sail, he takes her in and the two fall in love. The sail attracts the attention
of a businessman, who convinces the fisherman to ask his wife to make another one. She resists, knowing it will cause her to lose her human
form, but finally acquiesces, asking him not to look while she is weaving. He breaks his promise to her, watching her make the sail and turn back
into a bird. The fisherman vows to find her and their unborn child.
Musical score and orchestrations by composer, Bruce Monroe. The score is lyrical and through composed, reflecting the story’s
otherworldly tone. The libretto drives the narrative momentum and like traditional opera, the music tells the story as much as the text does.
Sunday may be presented along with Mermaid, a musical tale, as an evening of two related one-acts. Sunday will place actors in magical,
physical worlds and will use shadow puppets, animation and projections to give life to the full aesthetic range of the folktale genre.
In Sunday, birds will be puppets and the piece will use puppetry and animations to show Sunday’s gradual conversion back into a heron at the end of the play.
The Darkness and The Light, Photographs by Doris Ulmann, published by Aperture, 1974, inspired the images in the text. Please consult this
text for costume and production design. The set does not have to be naturalistic.
Workshop: The Public Theater (2000) with the support of the Yip Harburg Foundation; Reading: New Work Now! Festival of Readings:
The Public Theater (2003) Director, Michael Montel (both readings).
|
