Arwen's storyboard suggestions Sunday night meeting

PRESHOW — THE AUDIENCE TAKES A DIFFICULT EPIC JOURNEY
The audience is given sheep puppets. They are lead on a journey through the woods where they encounter many sheep piñatas, some are actually real people, some are full of seed, some of blood. Along this path, they also see the children dressed as Argonauts (whatever that means). They are occasionally stopped and told they cannot continue until they sacrifice a sheep at which point they have to give up their puppets. They pass or pass through many maps which help them know how far they have traveled. There is music which suggests water to help them understand they are on a ship. They also encounter the harpies coming out of the trees. Potential for other tree dwelling creatures.

IN THE SPACE AS PEOPLE ARRIVE — MEDEA WORSHIPPING HECATE
Medea is making potions and worshipping Hecate who is a giant goddess who runs through the woods with dogs and carries a staff of snakes which ball up and huddle and separate in a slithery magical way. There is a pile of sheep heads of different scales and the piñata ruins and fleece in the background. The chorus of Isadora Duncan dancer/singers helps to tell the story a little.

SCENE 1 — HONOR YOUR MOTHER The children are all stranded and thirsty off the boat and stuck pushing the boat and trying to sail it, they try sacrificing a sheep but are still stuck. The sheep parts end up on the pile. Hecate comes and tells them to honor their mother or they will never get anywhere. They realize the boat is their mother and they carry a beautiful boat decorated like the earth and entreat the audience to help them honor their mother and pass the boat back towards the river. The chorus of Isadora Duncan dancer/singers helps to tell the story and transition us forward in time.

SCENE 2 — PLANTING THE SEEDS AMONG THE FIRE BREATHING BULLS Adults dressed same as kids in last scene get a potion from Medea which gives them the strength to brave the fire breathing bulls. This is the opportunity for burning bulls of all sizes and bulls breathing fire and general fiery things. The adults plant little children as seeds and then out grow soldiers and there is an enormous battle in which everyone ends dead and in the pile with the sheep stuff. The chorus of Isadora Duncan dancer/singers helps to tell the story a little.

SCENE 3 — WE GET THE FLEECE AND IT IS NOT WHAT WE THOUGHT An enormous serpent talks to the fleece pile. The adults dressed as Argonauts come with a potion from Medea which makes the serpent sleep. The adults try to carry off the golden fleece and find that it is a pile of carcasses and not the beautiful thing that they had hoped. The pile moves in a slow parade lump downstage and disintegrates. The adults take what they can. The chorus helps tell this story.

SCENE 4 — MEDEA MURDERS, YOU CANNOT RETURN AFTER MURDER This is the chorus’ big moment. They tell the story in cliff-note style of Jason and Medea leaving, Medea chopping up her brother (giant body parts get strewn on stage) of Medea killing the king (more body parts) of Medea killing Jason’s wife (maybe flaming wedding dress) of Medea killing her children (more body parts). None of this is gruesomely acted out, instead there is flow-y interpretive dance punctuated by body parts thrown onto the stage. There is a group song in which we learn that you cannot return home after killing, that your only redemption is to honor the dead. Everyone is holding oars upright with part of paintings on each side. They are held together to make a single image painting depicting violence at sea which they ultimately turn around to reveal a picture of crops and growing things.

SCENE 5 — PART THE VEIL, HONOR THE DEAD, CALL THE NAMES The audience is invited to notice the veil is parted between the worlds of the living and dead, to honor the dead by calling their names. Body parts previously strewn about the stage rise into one human form strung from trees and puppeted.