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mark dion
anatomy
theater
anatomy
theater
Commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects, Ridge Theater, Justus & Helen Schlichting, Linda & Stuart Nelson,
Paul King, Marla Mayer & Chris Ahearn. Additional commissioning support provided by BRIC, Nancy & Barry
Sanders and Miles & Joni Benickes. anatomy theater is funded, in part, by an award from The National
Endowment for the Arts – Art Works, and by public funds from The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
in partnership with the City Council. Additional funding was paovided by the Multi-Arts Production Fund (MAP),
the Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts and New Music USA.
Thanks to: Bob McGrath, Bill Morrison, Laurie Olinder, Beth Morrison, Jecca Barry, Jesse Heffler, Kristin
Marting, Kim Whitener, Christopher Koelsch and everyone at LA Opera and at REDCAT, Rachel Chanoff,
Sue Killam and everyone at Mass MoCA, Christopher Rountree, wild Up, Claire Chase, Joshua Rubin,
Ross Karre and all the great musicians of ICE, Peabody Southwell, Marc Kudisch, Robert Osborne, Timur,
Myungwon Kim at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, Lawson White, Denise Burt, Amanda Ameer, James Egelhofer,
Colin Manjoney, Kenny Savelson, Philippa Thompson, Tim Thomas, Sruly Lazaros, Mike McCurdy, Brian
Petuch, Bill Murphy, Adam Cuthbert, Michael Gordon, Julia Wolfe and Suzanne Bocanegra.
anatomy theater
CAST
SARAH OSBORNE: Peabody Southwell
JOSHUA CROUCH: Marc Kudisch
BARON PEEL: Robert Osborne
AMBROSE STRANG: Timur
SCENE 1: The Confession of Sarah Osborne At the age of fifteen, I began my career of wickedness by
(The prisoner SARAH OSBORNE, with a noose around her improper connection with my mother’s husband, he not being
neck, and accompanied by a hangman, whose face is hid- my natural father. He was a wanton rascal, often drunken,
den under a hood.) and in this state did overpower me. I took to bedding him to
avoid beatings.
Soon I too began to frequently find myself in the condition of
SARAH OSBORNE
intoxication, to which shameful vice I attribute my wretched
I, Sarah Osborne, having slaughtered my husband and two slide into degenerate life. I confess that I have been very wild
children, and wishing to make known the motives which led and ungrateful. After my cruel mother closed her door to me,
me to this deed do come before you, on bended knees to I was forced to make my way on the streets.
confess. Neighbors and good Christians, open your ears to
Having become addicted to drink, living in open as a harlot,
the dreadful misfortune that hath befallen me, and hearing my
associating with abandoned characters, I became a person
words let pity move your hearts. I shall now recount how I re-
most hardened.
solved to commit this crime, what my thoughts were, and what
was my intention. I shall also tell what went on in my mind At this low time I did meet John Sadler, who did wed me and
after doing this deed, and detail the miserable life I led. pimp for me. Now I see him as the cause of my overthrow,
but when we met he seemed the only kind person I had Farewell to all present.
encountered in my wretched life. With him I trifled away the (The prisoner SARAH OSBORNE is hanged by the neck until
hours, the days, the months and years. dead. The hangman removes his hood and reveals himself to
We had two children. be the caretaker JOSHUA CROUCH.)
Even while walking the streets I became warmer and softer,
while John became colder and harder. The more tender I, the
more cruel he became. He took to beating me, beating me,
(spoken): “Justice is Delivered!”
and sent me with more haste to the streets. This way I was
cheated of my life.
(spoken) JOSHUA CROUCH
My love for him turned to contempt and I did meditate the Justice is delivered! My fine fellow citizens, don’t you feel
most dreadful revenge on the monster, and made the horrid safer now? Won’t you sleep better knowing there is one less
resolution of murdering him. I did devise to make him drunk- evil beating heart in the world? And how exciting, yes. The
en, although he always treated me abusively when in this snap of her neck under the gravitas of her actions. How thrill-
state. As he drank I added laudanum to his gin and soon he ing! Thank you. Thank you all, citizens, for participating in
was overcome. I ki(lled)……. extinguished him by suffocation, this public execution of the law.
once drunken I placed myself on his body and did hold a Now, for those of you who are still concerned about what the
pillow over his mouth and nose. The deed done I looked up, future may hold for Sarah Osborne, fear not. Both her body
only to spy my babes watching with wide eyes. I comforted and her soul are on their way to a peaceful rest. I’m jesting,
them, put them back to bed and smothered each in turn. of course. For as the Good Book tells us the soul of this mur-
(sung) deress of innocents is on a speedy descent to Hell, to burn in
sulfurous and tormenting flames, for all eternity.
That is the explanation of the crime. I await the fate which is
destined for me. I doubt not that when the thread of life shall As for the body, it has been decreed it shall be subject to an
be cut, my soul will be received into that Glory which no anatomy demonstration, in my own personal theater. I am,
tongue can express. The Lord hath wrought great works and your humble servant, Joshua Crouch. Distinguished gen-
been merciful, but if my Lord and Savior should be so cruel tlemen shall be there, my fine fellow citizens, some of them
to me as men and women have been, I had better burn in the among us even now, in which case, gentlemen, have your
flames of Hell. money ready. For the rest of you, yes, you, the ruffians, the
low prostitutes, thieves, vagabonds, and of course, women, should I just say rascals and charlatans?
leave the shadow of the gallows now. Return to your mis- I can’t say I care who you are just as long as you have paid.
chief, educated I hope by what has transpired in this place. Gentlemen. Gentlemen.
For the grisly expression of the law is not so much to avenge
But today is a special day. Today is a special day. La la la la
past crime as it is to prevent its recurrence.
la la la la la la.
And now, for those of you that have money, distinguished
gentlemen all, I beg your patience. The body shall be read-
ied before it gets cold. But first, indulge me in a poem: No doubt you’ve marked the dear and extra cost of entrance
to the dissection theater. We have a corpse, a fresh corpse,
For what you are about to see
for anatomizing. Not two hours ago this heart was beating.
You chose to pay my heavy fee
It’s still warm, on the inside I’d wager. But the best thing of
And however you value morality
all is it’s legal, direct from the gallows. Hanged by the neck
I remind you, not one of you did cry out for her mercy.
and brought by the sheriff. Still has its teeth (for now at least).
Not one.
And..... it’s a woman. Gentlemen.
Thank you.
And now, as promised, the anatomy lesson will begin.
The corpse is a she – a right proper murderess. It is not often
that we get a young and healthy female in here. A child is six
shillings for the first foot and nine pence for each inch for all it
SCENE 2: Good Morrow and Welcome measures more in length. But for such a fresh quality female, I
seen the price go as high as twenty.
(We are now in the operating theater. We see the outline of
the body of SARAH OSBORNE under a sheet or shroud.) But this body I tell you is so fresh and lovely that I would not
dare to leave it alone with you, gentlemen.
JOSHUA CROUCH
(The shroud is removed, revealing the body of SARAH OS-
Good Morrow and welcome to you young gentlemen.
BORNE)
Gentlemen. Welcome young masters. Come in, and quickly
be seated, gentlemen. So many fresh faces, so many new She looks like an angel, so lovely and so pure. But in life it
monsters, gentlemen. From the looks of this crowd one was not so. Her heart is darker than the blackest dye.
would guess that the city is populated with nothing but future
surgeons, physicians, dentists, barbers, artists, sculptors. Or
(spoken): “Now, Gentlemen” the humors in such a man run clear and pure. The organs in
such a man show not a sign of corruption.
Now, gentlemen, my fine, young honest gentlemen. I assure This woman here did not lead an upright existence. She cared
you this woman was guilty of the most heinous of crimes, that for no one. She thought of no one’s pleasure but her own.
of being poor and desperate. But when all is said we must When we shall cut this woman open we will see that inside
admit her greatest crime was that of being born woman. From her are all of the signs of a wasted life. Her punishment is to
the day she was born we men lorded over her. We put her to reveal to science the good that she can only show us with her
work, we put her in her place, we put her to death. death.
And no matter, for we are not done with her yet. (laughs) (spoken): “Mr. Strang!”
For tonight gentlemen, we have with us an eminent visiting BARON PEEL
scholar – Baron Peel. He is a distinguished anatomist of both Mr. Strang!
talent and experience. They say he performed a vivisection (PEEL’s assistant AMBROSE STRANG enters, carrying a tray
on the family dog as a boy of eleven. They say, he is so of surgical instruments.)
practiced that two out of three graves in his home province lie
empty. They say that he dissected his own father, sister and
stillborn child. Post mortem, of course.
Gentlemen – Dr. Peel. (claps) SCENE 4: Presently I Shall Reveal
(BARON PEEL enters, slowly and pompously.)
BARON PEEL, and AMBROSE STRANG
Presently I shall reveal and explicate the instruments neces-
sary for our demonstration.
SCENE 3: Man Seeks to Know
Presently I shall reveal. (Presently he shall reveal.)
Revealing the array instruments and appliances for an anat-
BARON PEEL
omy is rather different from doing so before a surgery, in that
Man seeks to know the truth, about himself, how all his parts we can and have no fear that our subject will suddenly jump
make up his whole. Inside a man you can see the kind of life off the table and bolt off, as so often happens in the operation
that he led. An upright man who’s strong and steady, who theater.
works hard, who remembers the Lord who gave him his life –
BARON PEEL, AMBROSE STRANG, That serves the eye
and JOSHUA CROUCH It is the knife
And
Presently I shall reveal BARON PEEL, AMBROSE STRANG,
Presently he shall and JOSHUA CROUCH
He shall reveal
The knife must be an extension of the anatomist.
Presently
It must embody his hand and will.
The knife must feel with the sensitivity of his fingertips
and see with the acumen of his attentive eye.
SCENE 5: The instruments / Where is Evil? As in love, it is sweeter to penetrate the flesh with tenderness
than with force.
As in love, it is sweeter to penetrate the flesh with tenderness
BARON PEEL, AMBROSE STRANG, and JOSHUA CROUCH than with force.
The instruments commonly required for a practical anatomy As in love, it is sweeter to penetrate the flesh with tenderness
are fifteen in number. The instruments are fifteen in number. than with force.
The knife, the scissors, the hook, the needle, the blowpipe,
the probe, the bellows, the elevator, bone saws, chisels and BARON PEEL
mallet, bone nippers, a whetstone, and various sponges. Where is evil?
These instruments are required. Where is evil?
It is with you
BARON PEEL It is in you
In your body
The knife is the paragon of instruments
In your face and features
The knife is a key
In your blood
The knife is the key to the temple of the Lord our god.
In your bones and sinews
The knife is the key.
You can’t hide it
It is the knife that makes our art possible
You can’t stop it
It is the knife that opens the body
Penetrates the flesh There. There it is. There it is.
(STRANG starts to move the knife into the cadaver, and time Each part of the animal is unique unto itself
appears to stop) and ruled by its own distinctive organization,
which corresponds to the realms of heaven and earth.
Thus the microcosm and the macrocosm are united.
Within the body of a vital being nothing is still or inert.
SCENE 6: Cut If attentive, we can perceive life’s flow within us.
(instrumental) Nowhere is this more manifest than
in the pouch-like receptacle called the stomach.
The stomach is of the fiery realm of Vulcan –
the heat beneath earth’s mantle.
SCENE 7: Gentlemen, We Have Before Us
The stomach speaks – it is the realm of all our appetites;
lets us know when we need food,
BARON PEEL tells us the hour of the day,
Gentlemen, we have before us a fresh and exemplary body. it acknowledges the presence of evil by indignation
This façade of flesh, this empty jewel box, this discarded husk, causing us to vomit poison in the face of illness and trauma
has been vacated by the evil soul that dwelled therein, It pulverizes ingested food like a mill and ferments juice like a
which doubtlessly is on a speedy descent to the torture cham- brewer’s vat.
bers of Hell. Like a wine press the stomach squeezes out precious fluid,
Evil must have left its spoor somewhere, cooks it in heat and sends energy to the heart and limbs.
and detection of treachery is the purpose of this demonstration. While the dregs are conveyed down.
This woman’s depravity not evident on her figure The meat is stripped of power and turned to excrement.
must be conspicuous beneath her skin.
On many a hanged man’s stomach
Satan always leaves a footprint.
I have discovered cankerous ulcers,
Mr. Strang’s first incision has cut from the diaphragm to the open drooling sores and raw wounds,
pubis, which doth bespeak foul deeds and desperate conduct
thus revealing the intestines. with the certainty of confession .
The intestines hold no significance for our demonstration,
Mr. Strang, do you have the stomach?
they are merely the conduit for filth.
Rather, it is the stomach where we shall first apply our gaze.
AMBROSE STRANG (spoken) and thus is naturally the house of melancholy,
I have it, honorable Doctor. The stomach has been extracted. of moodiness, wrath and gloom.
Gentlemen of honorable ambition –
Its function is to produce and regulate black bile,
BARON PEEL (spoken)
the darkest of all the humors.
Mr. Strang, would you kindly examine the organ’s exterior Why should the body require production of fluid
and then bisect it and scrutinize its interior countenance. so caustic and pernicious?
(STRANG slices through the stomach, which spills a filthy liq- For the sake of regulation and balance.
uid with chunks in it over the floors. There is the sound of gas The body itself is a system –
escaping. He winces.) each part does complement all others in equilibrium
We must be on guard against bodily excesses.
AMBROSE STRANG (spoken) These can be remedied by purgings or bleedings.
A person is a system of perfect regulation.
While the gas and fluid are most detestable – it is normal. The
But what about an unhealthy soul?
color, texture and surface betray no scarring, disfigurement or
Is there sign of evil here?
grotesque appearance. It is normal. I estimate the weight to
Squeeze it, Strang, and tell us what you find.
be eight ounces. It is a perfect stomach.
JOSHUA CROUCH
Too bad the doctor didn’t find anything peculiar in this wom-
an. Don’t think that will stop him from looking for it.
Do you? Gentlemen?
anatomy theater is published by Red Poppy, Ltd. (ASCAP)
used by arrangement with G. Schirmer, Inc. as an agent for Red Poppy
A Ridge Theater Production. Developed and Produced by Beth Morrison Projects.
Development support provided by BRIC and Mass MoCA.
executive producers: Michael Gordon, David Lang, Kenny Savelson and Julia Wolfe
label manager: Bill Murphy
sales & licensing: Adam Cuthbert
label assistant: Cassie Wieland
art direction and design: Denise Burt/elevator-design.dk
artwork: Mark Dion
Theatrum Anatomicum
2005
colored pencil and collage on paper in 8 parts
overall installed dimensions: 15 x 92 1/2 inches; 38.1 x 235 cm
Courtesy the artist and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles
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