There is a fairy tale about a lamppost in 'Frontal Lobotomy.' It has some resonances of Narcissus and Echo about it, and was inspired by a nighttime 'drift' in Berlin. The five weeks in Italy that I have recently returned from, gave me some more opportunities for photographing lampposts, except this time I often had company, and had to try and explain why the lampposts of Bra, Turin, Milan, San Remo and Bologna interested me. People found it funny or were intrigued by the story, so here it is in it's current draft;
Once upon a time there was a very tall lamppost. She stood in a garden, just West of a place near a river. Forgive me, I can’t be any more specific. One Winters night, as she was standing, glowing, she happened to glance down at the river near her base, and saw a circle of amber light looking back at her. She had never seen such a pretty colour, all of the other lampposts were white, and she stared at her reflection in disbelief and wonder for a long time.
As the dawn came, then so did her tears, for the pretty amber light faded, and the river became a mirror for her long, thin body, which she detested, and now was forced to look at during all of the daylight hours, waiting for the night when her amber light would return, and she could gaze at its reflection. Winter became Spring, and the days grew longer, and she began to see her amber light less and less, until it began to fade to yellow, and then to white. Appalled at her pale reflection by night, and disgusted by the sight of her long, thin body, she detached herself from her post, and floated up higher and higher into the sky. But it was to no avail, for wherever there was water, and the Earth had plenty of that, she was confronted by her pale face.
Once a month she turns her face away in relief from the shame, but still the tides in the water pull her back, and for a few nights a month, she faces the full extent of her full and pale light. It is said that those back on Earth who stare too long at her, also lose the colour in their light, float up into the sky and turn away from their reflections. And so there she is, the tallest lamppost in the world.
Once upon a time there was a very tall lamppost. She stood in a garden, just West of a place near a river. Forgive me, I can’t be any more specific. One Winters night, as she was standing, glowing, she happened to glance down at the river near her base, and saw a circle of amber light looking back at her. She had never seen such a pretty colour, all of the other lampposts were white, and she stared at her reflection in disbelief and wonder for a long time.
As the dawn came, then so did her tears, for the pretty amber light faded, and the river became a mirror for her long, thin body, which she detested, and now was forced to look at during all of the daylight hours, waiting for the night when her amber light would return, and she could gaze at its reflection. Winter became Spring, and the days grew longer, and she began to see her amber light less and less, until it began to fade to yellow, and then to white. Appalled at her pale reflection by night, and disgusted by the sight of her long, thin body, she detached herself from her post, and floated up higher and higher into the sky. But it was to no avail, for wherever there was water, and the Earth had plenty of that, she was confronted by her pale face.
Once a month she turns her face away in relief from the shame, but still the tides in the water pull her back, and for a few nights a month, she faces the full extent of her full and pale light. It is said that those back on Earth who stare too long at her, also lose the colour in their light, float up into the sky and turn away from their reflections. And so there she is, the tallest lamppost in the world.
The feedback from the preview in May seemed to point me towards referencing the lobotomy content in more depth, so I have removed three poems that I felt were weakest, and replaced them with some scientific explanation. I intend to perform these new sections as a grotesque caricature of Walter Freeman, this I hope will give more vocal and character variation.
I have looked into presenting the different pieces in a more physical and playful way, and introduced some visual elements. The thought was that I didn't need anymore words; just to play with the words I did have. One suggestion was to have some kind of magic trick, and as there are several moments where light in mentioned during the piece, I ordered some d'lites, and have been watching video tutorials, like the one below;
I have looked into presenting the different pieces in a more physical and playful way, and introduced some visual elements. The thought was that I didn't need anymore words; just to play with the words I did have. One suggestion was to have some kind of magic trick, and as there are several moments where light in mentioned during the piece, I ordered some d'lites, and have been watching video tutorials, like the one below;
The next preview is on July 20th at The Rosemary Branch Theatre, and I'm about to enter an intense week of rehearsing, music editing, learning new skills and essentially re-drafting the whole piece. See you on the other side xx
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