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The Lily’s Revenge Garden Map
SEP 1, 2012
In order to aid you on your journey, here is a garden map, your own guide within The Guide to getting the most out of this one-of-a-kind theater event.
The Lily’s Revenge is a five-act play written in five different styles, bringing together a musical, a verse play, a dream ballet, a silent film, and a wild, mash-up finale. With three intermissions and a cast of over 30 Boston performers, the play draws from history, philosophy, and mythology.
ACT I > The Diety
A Princess Musical
In traditional Japanese Noh Drama, the Deity Play typically starred a god, who would bless the theater and relate an uplifting religious story to the audience. In The Lily’s Revenge, the god is THE GREAT LONGING, though he’s not exactly the blessing kind.
THE GREAT LONGING
THE GREAT LONGING represents Nostalida and is the ANTAGONIST! “Sadness without an object, a sadness which creates a longing that is inauthentic because it does not take part in lived experiences.” – Susan Stewart
Then the Lily jumped through the window. Then the wind swooped the Lily away!
ACT II > The Ghost Warrior
An Act in Iambic, Song, and Haiku
A Ghost Warrior Play traditionally tells the story of fallen samurai engaged in an endless battle in the after life. Suddenly, The Lily is in the midst of a budding floral revolution.
Quick Definitions:
Iambic: Style of verse written in Iambic feet: an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable
Haiku: Style of Japanese poetry with three lines equaling 5, 7, 5 respectively
ATTENDANCE
Guests for the play:
❏ Quentin Crisp
❏ Susan Stewart
❏ Hegel
❏ Felix Mendelssohn
❏ Bayard Rustin
❏ Samuel Beckett
❏ Robert Herrick
❏ The Pope
WHO IS SUSAN STEWART?
A poet and literary theorist. Born in 1962, Stewart has written many collections and holds many awards. She writes so that people will “read more slowly… reread… and see connections.”
Fertilizer 4 Thought
How does a floral revolution begin?
FLORAL CONSUMPTION
In 2011, the retail level for the floriculture industry was estimated to be at $35.2 billion! ✿ The US imported over 1 billion roses in 2009. ✿ The most popular domestically produced flowers are Tulips and Gerbera Daisies. ✿ Top 5 Imported Flowers: Roses (42%), Chrysanthemums (10%), Carnations (7%), Alstroemena (6%), Lilies (4%)
ACT III > The Love Act
A Dream Ballet
The lovers, Bride and Groom, sleep in this act… just like in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The Love Play always features an elegant dance. The Lily’s Revenge incorporates three movement styles.
Quick Definitions:
Lazzi: Derives from the Italian Commedia Dell’Arte and is somewhat like a catchphrase for the actor to use to guarantee laughs
Butoh: Originated in Japan in the 1970s as an Avant Garde performance art. Loosely translated means stomp or earth dance
Modern: Formed as a rebellionagainst ballet and is free and expressive
DIRT is the God of Here and Now, the creator of intimacy, child of Time, and sibling of THE GREAT LONGING.
ACT IV > The Living Persons Act
A Silent Film
The fourth play in a Noh sequence frequently dramatizes an everyday, sometimes banal, event. It zooms in on and celebrates the little things in life. For example, Dirt says to The Lily: “What would it be like if you stopped equating love with equality? What would it be like to stop equating love with loving?”
TIME is a character in The Lily’s Revenge, imprisoned by her son, THE GREAT LONGING. TIME says, “it can heal sadness by becoming the loved experience. Then TIME cannot lack for love. The heart can never be taken from TIME.”
Fertilizer 4 Thought
Taylor Mac (the playwright) says:
“I believe theater is a community action and as a playwright, I am a community organizer.”
ACT V > The Mad Demon
A Pastiche
The final Noh play always has a quick tempo and lots of action. They often come to a sudden and decisive conclusion. The final act is a mash-up of the earlier acts and their constituent parts. Similar to a wedding, Act V ends with a raucous celebration.
INSTITUTION OF MARRIAGE
May 17, 2004: Same-sex marriage was legalized in MA.
In 2012, the average cost of a wedding cake is $591.
Illustration by Boston artist Valerie Arruda with concept from Hayley Sherwood. This image was originally printed in the 2012 Fall A.R.T. Guide.
