vērtigo

of love and letting go

a poetica in four acts

Libretto: Analog de LĒON

Music and Adaption: Sean X. QUINN

Commissioned by Forest Collective for 2020-2021

CONTENTS

Act One: rooftop of the world

Overture of the steaming mountain
Prologue of the Stars [segue]
Beacon

Interlude – Atlas of Stars and Comets

Act Two: vērtigo at midnight

Entr’acte de lune
Pathless Roads – Celestial Skies
Sailboat in a Cathedral

Interlude – Transept Transmissions

Palette de nuit
Tidal Waves
Supernova in Paradise

Interlude – Silk of my Dreams

Act Three: Giving into Silence

Submissive Silences
Incantative Colours
- RED
- VIOLET (Violent)
- BLACK
BLUE blue

Interlude – Silence is like Vērtigo

Act Four: wellsprings

Oceans of Time
Beyond Stars
Codetta Aqua
Celestial Aqueousness

CHARACTERS:
Lighthouse: Sprechgesanger – Neutral Gender [voice-over and onstage presence]
Vērtigo: Dancing Role – Female
Mōon: Dancing Role – Male
Nīght: Mezzo Soprano - Female
INTRUMENTATION:

Flute – Alto Flute – Bass Flute – Contrabass Flute

Cor Anglais [onstage]
Bass Clarinet in Bb

3 Horns in F [offstage] – muted always

3 Harps [in three sections of the ensemble]

Piano – Celesta
3 Percussionists: [all travel between ensemble, onstage and offstage]

I. Vibraphone, Waterphone, Hemispheric-bowl filled with water;

stones, coins and wooden spoons should be paired with this
object.

II. Chimes, Crotales, Waterphone, Hemispheric-bowl filled with

water; stones, coins and wooden spoons should be paired with
this object.

III. Bass Drum, 4 Burmese Gongs [C, D, Bb, G], Waterphone,

Hemispheric-bowl filled with water; stones, coins and wooden
spoons should be paired with this object.

4 Violins
2 Violas
2 Cellos
2 Basses

Notes:
The ensemble should be spaced out beneath or in front of the stage. Players must have access too and from the stage.

In regards to winds, only the Cor Anglais is used offstage. The 3 Horns should be positioned in the distance “offstage”;
ideally they should be like silhouettes on the stage, but if this is not possible then in a separate booth would be
acceptable.

Percussionists should follow directions given in the score. Strings remain in place during the entire performance
unless interaction is desired with cast.

The harps are to be placed in three separate locations within the ensemble.

Items specified for various instruments are highly recommended, but if more suitable (and safer) subsitutes are passed,
they may be used.

Strings each have separate parts. There is to be no doubling of any voices.

 act one
rooftop of the world
There is a secret written in the
stars and the mountains.
- Analog de Lēon

Overture of the Steaming Mountain: Ensemble

SCENE ONE: Prologue of the Stars

A deathly silence as the overture ends. Let it ring.

Enter LIGHTHOUSE, a sense of mystique about her.

LIGHTHOUSE
When a mountain begins to smoke,
rest assured an ancient fire has begun
a holy pilgrimage to the surface.

LIGHTHOUSE walks across stage slowly. Blue light following her. A large screen
illuminates a moving image of <<Amy Purifoy’s>> illustrations from the original text. It
emerges slowly from the dark.

LIGHTHOUSE
I step out, curious, onto the rooftop of the world.
My compass spins violently, along with my vision.

Beat.

LIGHTHOUSE
I can see her reflecting… [beat]

A flicker of light backstage-right, VĒRTIGO appears briefly. Then vanishes.

LIGHTHOUSE
like the moon… [beat]

Same as previous, except up stage left, MŌON appears. Then vanishes.

LIGHTHOUSE
between hurried breaths
and blinks. She followed me.
To the top.

LIGHTHOUSE freezes. A brief silence. The image fades.

 LIGHTHOUSE then moves downstage, gazing outwards; on cloud-nine.

no pause - segue

SCENE TWO: Beacon

The image changes to the <<Lighthouse>>, it spins slowly; celestially.

Lights are dimmer and a yellowy one circulates the stage around LIGHTHOUSE.

LIGHTHOUSE
(dreamily)
I go stand higher to see the full picture.
I pause [beat]
until I am aware of myself,
marinate in the moment
and find a dwelling in the silence,
above the n o i s e.

Moderately Long Beat.

LIGHTHOUSE
(taking a step forward, not breaking her gaze)
I am the narrow gate that
leads inward, and the tower;
standing beacon in separation.

LIGHTHOUSE gasps, their face closing; as though they are having a vision.

LIGHTHOUSE
(eyes-closed, voice quivering)
I reach in and unearth the false agreements,
that have walled up my secret places
for so long… [beat]
then I step back from the edge.
Silence. LIGHTHOUSE exhales with relief, stepping backwards once.
LIGHTHOUSE
Change begins with one step…

LIGHTHOUSE begins to walk frontstage-right.

LIGHTHOUSE
I climbed to the edge of terror
to free myself.

A flutter of voices. Lights backstage left flicker; VĒRTIGO appears briefly.

LIGHTHOUSE looks around in fear.

LIGHTHOUSE
(cowering)
How did she find me here?

Beat. LIGHTHOUSE falls to the group, gathers their breath and slowly crosses legs in a
meditative position. Eyes are closed.

LIGHTHOUSE
I close my eyes… I draw into
the stillness of secret. Into the truth
of this eternal moment. This curious,
boundless flame.

Lights emanate blue, and quiver like flames.

LIGHTHOUSE
I remember blue… [beat]
and nothing, a heavenly distortion.
My roots in the whirling wind.

The lights heave. Beat. The image fades off.

LIGHTHOUSE
(eyes open, definitive)
Vertigo is letting go.
Stage plunges into darkness.
Interlude – Atlas of Stars and Comets
A visual display may be employed during the interlude.

Fade as interlude ends.

 act two
vērtigo at midnight
The stars crossed
when they first said hello.
- Analog de Lēon

Entr’acte de lune: Ensemble

SCENE THREE: Pathless Roads – Celestial Skies

Flickering lights, blank. Then LIGHTHOUSE is seen wandering around the stage
soundlessly; wearing a night-gown.

Lights down. The screen shows the <<Path to Vērtigo>>. It occasionally distorts.

Sounds of water echo around the stage.

LIGHTHOUSE
(voice-over)
I follow a brick road for days
until I reach her hollow courts.

Lights flicker. VĒRTIGO stands mid-stage, glaring; pindrop stance.

Black, only image.

LIGHTHOUSE
(V-O)
It seems the masons who built
her kingdom [beat]
erected her castle walls with the
same stones that paved her
vulnerability.

Beat. Lights come-up dimly; a cyan-blue tinge to them.

LIGHTHOUSE is gazing around, cautiously.

LIGHTHOUSE
(V-O)
There is something about
her high places. I learn
to lift scaffolds, to scale
her walls… [beat]
LIGHTHOUSE [cont.]
 (V-O)
But how high are her
arches that hands, and
words are not enough
to reach her.

Image changes to <<Walls of Vērtigo>>. Lights grow brighter. A shadow of VĒRTIGO

passes. LIGHTHOUSE cowers.

LIGHTHOUSE then continues to walk onto stage, huddled in fear.

LIGHTHOUSE
(V-O)
Hands and words are
feeble tools for feeble bodies.

Beat.

LIGHTHOUSE
(V-O)
Fire does not need such institutions.

Lights emanate like the blue fire as before, except a little more feverish this time.

LIGHTHOUSE
(V-O)
I once heard the most beautiful
of all creations lives in the shadow
of a candle on a cave wall… [beat]
It moves across the stone, with
the pulse of some great ocean.
Like a belly-dancer’s hips in
sways of truth in motion.

The light flickers violently. The image changes to the <<Long-shot Boat>>.

LIGHTHOUSE
(V-O)
I can see her reflecting…
 The shadow of VĒRTIGO covers the centre of the stage. VĒRTIGO walks into sight down
middle-stage behind LIGHTHOUSE. A pause...

LIGHTHOUSE
(onstage)
… in the cave light.

Blackout… Long Beat.

slow segue

SCENE FOUR: Sailboat in a Cathedral

Water sounds echoing. Lights gravely emerge, with a maritime ripple through them. The
image of <<Boat in the Night>> appears. From the left-side, in a large paper-boat enters
LIGHTHOUSE, still in the nightgown. The boat moves slowly across the stage.

VĒRTIGO on standby at just offstage-right.

LIGHTHOUSE
(V-O)
She is the sea,
wild and free.

Enter VĒRTIGO, beginning <<Sequence ONE – Dance of the Waves>>

LIGHTHOUSE
(V-O – oblivious to VĒRTIGO)
I know I could never fully
explore her expanse and will
most certainly become lost in
her waves… [beat]
forever.

Beat. Image moves to boat setting sail.

 LIGHTHOUSE
(V-O)
Yet, with a torn sail
and a smile
I set sail anyhow.

VĒRTIGO’s dance sequence continues. Water sounds more wave-like. More echo as bells
begin to chime shallowly.

LIGHTHOUSE
(V-O)
Like a cathedral she coaxes
my light into permanence
in the inner courts of
her soul.

The “Lighthouse” light faintly rings around the stage.

LIGHTHOUSE
(V-O)
No mortal man has ever
unveiled her,
but I press on
as she gives me passage.

The boat passes VĒRTIGO, who gradually moves out of sight.

LIGHTHOUSE
(onstage)
Like a god, I can see her thoughts
and am privy to the makeup
of each fiber that
holds her together.
Like a priest she gives me
absolution,
while the light unfolds into
flames in the crevices of
her skin.
Inside LIGHTHOUSE’s nightgown, lights begin to shine brightly – the intensity of the
light grows. The boat halts midstage. The image changes to the <<Boat in Water – 15
Feb>>.

LIGHTHOUSE
(V-O)
If God is love,
she must be an
ancient temple.
(onstage)
Sing in me, Muse. [beat]
(V-O)
She is my secret place
where my light
begins…

Lights introduce more wave-like patterns. The COR ANGLAIS player emerges from the
side, moving around the boat as it performs a full 360° pivot [slowly].

LIGHTHOUSE
(V-O - whispering)
Until her, there was
no forever. A fleeting
light – I chase her
in spirals like
the Ouroboros.
[beat]
She flees from me
like Orion, a great
huntress afraid of
scorpions.

The boat halts after the full cycle is complete. Stillness, silence. The COR ANGLAIS
freezes.

LIGHTHOUSE
(onstage)
Is life not an endless ring of motion?
Is love not an endless ring of devotion?
LIGHTHOUSE steps out from the boat and it “sails” back off-stage from whence it came.
The image changes to the <<Boat on the Rocks>>.

LIGHTHOUSE
(onstage – for the remainder of the act)
What if all there ever was with us
was only meant to live for one
brief but perfect moment… [beat]
Like a short masterpiece on
repeat, unfolding again, and
again in frames that have
long since had their
end.

LIGHTHOUSE takes a single step forward, now placed and standing similar to the
opening.

LIGHTHOUSE
I reach out as a chasm
grows between us,
but she is already gone.

The paper-boat, now carrying VĒRTIGO traverses the stage briskly behind
LIGHTHOUSE.

LIGHTHOUSE
Her heart a restless vessel
that has long ago set course
for some distant
ardent
shore.

The lights narrow on LIGHTHOUSE, the “Lighthouse” ring becoming more apparent.

LIGHTHOUSE
I changed everything for her.
I have nothing in common
with the person I have
become.
She is betrothed to another
 LIGHTHOUSE [cont.]
The muse is not always
(doubled by voice-over)
the b e l o v e d.

A sense of anger overcomes the stage. Purple hues twinkle in the lighting. The water
sounds become more chopped. Then suddenly, silence. LIGHTHOUSE stands firmly, with
anger in their stance. The “Lighthouse” ring is on fully, blaring around her.

LIGHTHOUSE
(doubled by V-O, angrily)
There is now only a
hollow ringing in our ears,
that demands one of us
bring the noise to silence,
but I could never leave.
[very short beat]
She will have to break me.

A crash, intense blackout. Flurries of sound as…

Interlude – Transept Transmissions

Image changes to <<Moon above Vērtigo and Boat>>.

longer pause

SCENE FIVE: Palette de Nuit

Screen goes black – then in bold white letters, the following is shown:

I am thrown powerless.
I drown in defiance like Odysseus,
the last soul alive on a great Titanic…

In the darkness…
 LIGHTHOUSE
(V-O)
She says goodbye.
I become an island.
An ocean swells between us.

Three PERCUSSIONISTS holding waterphones, explore with bows around the stage. The
lights are a dull-white, and emerge slowly across the stage, revealing the
PERCUSSIONISTS separately.

LIGHTHOUSE
(V-O)
I drink from the pool of memory,
so I will remember…

The PERCUSSIONISTS continue to circulate. Enter VĒRTIGO and MŌON. They dance
to the <<Sequence TWO – Memory Pool>>. The lights flutter. The image changes to the
<<Stratospheric Ocean>>. The PERCUSSIONISTS gradually disperse.

As the sequence ends, the two leave stage. The lights fade out, the image moves glacially,
showing the boat leave the box of earth into space…

very slow segue

SCENE SIX: Supernova in Paradise

LIGHTHOUSE
(V-O)
No one tells you when you fall
in love with a star, one day
it might burn out and leave
a black hole.

Beat. Lights very slowly emerge, a stratospheric blue. The image is closer to the moon.

LIGHTHOUSE
(V-O)
She is gone…
LIGHTHOUSE, in the paper-boat enters from stage-right, looking out into the distance.

LIGHTHOUSE
(V-O)
Her castle cold.
Her silence sounds like sirens,
as my bones grow old.

The boat moves to the centre and stops.

LIGHTHOUSE
(V-O)
I never let go, even now
it feels like any day a polar shift
could violently reshape the landscape.
melt the glaciers and bring back
spring to this cold place.

Three HORNS appear like distant shadows.

LIGHTHOUSE
(onstage)
I’ve been sleeping in as long
as I can these day, for even
though she is missing from my sheets
when I wake, I have hidden
her…
(doubled in V-O)
beneath the silk of my dreams.

The image changes to the <<Lonely Boat>>