Aldebaran and The Falling Star is an 'adult fairy-tale' performed as a three-act musical fantasy consisting of fifteen songs interspersed amid text and dialogue rendered in Homeric couplets. 'Aldebaran' is presented by a balladeer, himself a sailor and storyteller who has inherited the role of singing and telling this tale in the oral tradition of ballads. The story of the mysterious Captain Quince unfolds depicting him as the sole survivor of a bizarre ghost ship, the Na He. Claiming to have gone down into a whirlpool with his ship and to miraculously return, Quince appears insane so no one believes his tale. Although shamed and outcast, the once proud Captain Quince recounts his tale and we follow him and a telepathic dolphin over oceans of water and stars.
'Aldebaran and the Falling Star is futuristic myth presented as a folk opera. It is a powerful and highly visual piece that represents an exciting new theatrical concept. 'Aldebaran' represents theater at its most exciting, drawing upon every aspect of the theater arts, from acting to song, to dance and mime, puppetry and storytelling; everything goes together to form a truly theatrical event.' Lynn Britt, Executive Director, National Theater Institute 1983-1989*
*Lynn Britt was the Movement Master and directed over fifty productions at England's renown, Old Vic Theater in Bristol and London before becoming Executive Director of the National Theater Institute in Connecticut in 1983. One of Ms. Britt's first tasks after becoming the Executive Director of NTI was to read a three-foot stack of scripts submitted for possible workshops. There, Ms. Britt discovered Aldebaran and The Falling Star and informed me that she wanted to use it as a workshop piece for students at NTI.
Further Information about Aldeberan
A children's fairy tale for adults,
or an adult fairy tale for children. The three act work is an epic
narrative consisting of fifteen songs interspersed amid text and dialogue
rendered in Homeric couplet.
Presented by a Balladeer, himself a sailor and storyteller. He
has inherited the role of telling of this tale, having heard it from an
old captain, when he was a child. The myth of the mysterious Captain
Quince unfolds. Quince is the sole survivor of a bizarre ghost ship.
Claiming to have gone down with his ship and crew into a whirlpool and
returned. Quince appears insane so no one believes his strange story.
Though shamed and outcast the once proud Captain Quince recounts his tale
to pass it on to the children of the future.
We follow Quince and a telepathic Dolphin on an enchanted journey
over oceans of water and stars.
Captain Quince's epic trek takes him through one lifetime as captain
of the good ship Na He, steadfastly supported by Fleet Starbuck,
first mate and navigator When the ship and its Crew go down in a
whirlpool, they enter the realm of space and are transformed into children
by the wizardry of Aldebaran, Starmaker, Magician of Mars and Maker
of Comets.
Aldebaran appears, disappears, and reappears in a transparent orb, a
cell of light he calls a Varoom. Like a cosmic leprechaun, full of
mischief and pranks, this trickster creates games of universal enlightenment.
Discovering that he is The Falling Star, Quince along with the Crew continue
their amazing adventures of awareness. The Dolphin, following Aldebaran's
instructions, leads them through the Milky Way, into deep space, and to
the Horsehead Nebula. There, the Dolphin tells them, they must get
light for Aldebaran by witnessing the birth of a star, or forever remain
pawns in the Starmaker's illusionary games. Inside the Nebula, The Falling
Star(Quince) and the Crew encounter bizarre, ironic interaction between
Order and Chaos, Perpetual Starchasers forever seeking star birth.
Lost in their own illusion, the Starchasers never see the light. Penetrating
the illusion created by the Starchasers confusion, The Falling Star and
the Crew see the birth of the Star-Key, the key to open understanding.
Their success transforms them in Cosmic Starchildren with Stareyes, giving
Aldebaran the light he needs to make comets. The Falling Star and
the Crew join the wizard Aldebaran in his Varoom for a roller coaster ride
through space, finally arriving at that place where the Starmaker's comets
are made. After teaching the Starchildren to make comets, Aldebaran lovingly
leaves The Falling Star and the Crew. The Dolphin reappears to guide
them into yet another whirlpool, one made of stars and time, flowing directly
into a Black Hole.
Inside the Hole, The Falling Star realizes he has witnessed, yet experienced
his own birth. He also realizes that his consciousness has blended
into a universal "collective unconsciousness", an awareness that he is
everything. As The Falling Star continues on his quest, he experiences
a rapid series of enchanted transformations and incarnations, ending in
the form of a dolphin. He learns from the Dolphin that his joyous
essence is yes. Then the Dolphin tells The Falling Star that he must
return through his own eye, once again as a man, to take his new awareness
back to mankind. Finally, Quince returns to this realm to recount
his wondrous tale to a world bereft of myth.
