Pleroma

By Derek Strahan

Soprano Claire Sinclair complains to her composer boy-friend, Dylan Shaw, that art reviewer and musicologist Professor Livak Rigor has tried to blackmail into appearing in one of his university productions by threatening her with bad reviews if she doesn’t. Annoyed, Dylan confronts Livak during a live TV event accusing him of various kinds of bias and manipulation. Claire, now furious because Dylan has ruined her chances with Livak, leaves him. Dylan conspires with his wily manager, Sven Thorlberg, to fake his own death so as to increase the financial value of his music. Three years later Claire is an internationally famous soprano, and Dylan is busy composing in secret on Soladore, an obscure Pacific island. TV journalist Eve Longburn suspects Dylan may not be dead for various reasons including the increasing modernity of newly discovered “old” works that Sven keeps publishing. She girlie-bonds with Claire and together they discover a clue to Dylan’s whereabouts in one of his recently published works. Meanwhile Sven, getting nervous about the possible discovery of their fraud, assign to enforcers Wally and Crunch the task of assassinating Dylan. All participants converge on Dylan’s beach hut at Soladore, but impending confrontations re interrupted by a hurricane, forcing them all the take shelter in the island’s only church, Surprising outcomes eventuate.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jul 20, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483501574

Derek Strahan

Derek Strahan is a Springfield resident and the author of the blog "Lost New England." He is a graduate of Westfield State University with degrees in English and regional planning, and he teaches English at the Master's School in Simsbury, Connecticut.

Book preview

PLAYS

PLEROMA - NOTES ON THE MUSIC

It would be presumptuous of a writer to prescribe what incidental music should be used in the staging of his/her theatre play. Choice of music, rightly, should be the prerogative of the director, as with all other aspects of staging over which he/she has control. A writer owes a debt of gratitude to a director and to the theatrical company for putting on the play! This debt is repaid by handing over control. The only exception to this rule is in the case of music theatre, in all its genres, where, by definition and intent, the music is at the core of the created work. With these priorities in mind I offer the following suggestions – may I say recommendations? – regarding the use of my own music for this play. Because of the nature of the drama, music is embedded in the story, and in one case (the music for Soladore) a series of four notes is as much as part of the plot as the dialogue. In my own mind, this play therefore verges on music theater. I can best put forward my case by providing notes about usage for each of the four named pieces that are listed on the title page.

String Quartet No I (The Key. (CUES 1 & 2 in Act 1, Scene 2)

This is the piece (2 extracts from it) about which my feelings are the most proprietarial, and this is because, in reality, this work (and its companion piece, a Clarinet Quintet) attracted exactly the kind of negative comments from academics that are expressed in the play about the music of the character of Dylan Shaw. These two works also, I’m glad to add, achieved numerous plays on radio. Each of the nominated extracts is strongly melodic and, even if not used, can serve to act as a guide to the kind of music that a director might (I trust) choose to he heard. Moreover, if my own music is regarded as intrinsic to the drama, a recording of my String Quartet is available to be used, and without payment of additional performing right fees. It is featured on the CD album Today-Yesterday on the Revolve label, RDS002. It is available directly from myself, gratis, as a physical album or as digital download. It is also available online at CDBaby (at cost). .

Twelve Angry Notes – for String Quartet, (CUE Act 1, Scene 2)

Any contemporary atonal work for string quartet would serve here, but only if it meets the following specifications:

** duration of approx. x.00’

** sparsely scored with single notes or chords separated by long intervals

** performed at low volume

** non-intrusive as it is heard under Narrator’s dialogue.

I have written a short work that follows these prescriptions, but not one that I take too seriously, as it is intended as a satire on the kind of music it represents.

Catacombs for solo piano (CUE in Act 2, Scene 6)

This is intended as a straightforward 32 bar melody, lyrical and also sombre, to be played on the piano by the actor who plays Clara. I can provide both the piano score (for use as a prop) and a digital recording of it. The duration is approx 2’00".

Whatever music is used should sound as though derived from a hymn tune.

‘SOLADORE". (CUE in Act 2, Scene 6)

Really all that’s required for this is four notes either sung or sounded on the piano. They are (in the key of C) GACD. The work in which the motif appears is not heard.

PLEROMA

THE CHARACTERS

NARRATOR – A non-dramatic persona whose role is to comment on events and so provide linking segments between scenes.

DYLAN SHAW – A composer, mid-30s, who has had some financial success writing music for commercial use, in ads and for film. When branching into serious music he finds resistance to his work from the mainstream music community and from academia, because he does persists in following his own path. This involves use of extended melody.

LIVAK RIGOR - An influential. older academic who is also a prominent arts reviewer. He uses his influence as a critic to make or break careers of composers who do not obey his edicts about style and content; and of performers who resist his demands to appear in his university concert and opera events.

SVEN THORLBERG – A successful personal manager, also branching into PR, who maintains a book of creative and performance artists of proven earning ability. He is a middle-aged, wily, a corpulent bon viveur and a dealmaker.

CLARA SINCLAIR – A strikingly beautiful and gifted young soprano, extremely ambitious, who places personal advancement ahead of personal relationships.

EVE LONGBURN – An attractive TV presenter, mind-30s, specializing in arts programs, who found a niche in TV after a much wilder time in her 20s in the surfie community.

WALLY – an enforcer who undertakes illicit paid assignments involving threats of violence or actual violence to achieve specific aims for clients. He maintains self-esteem by taking a keen interest in the graphic arts, especially painting.

CRUNCH – Wally’s partner and constant companion, who is perhaps more conflicted than Wally about the nature of their profession. He also maintains an interest in the arts, in his case music. He is a fan of Dylan Shaw’s work Both Wally and Crunch prefer non-violent solutions, and pride themselves on mainly being able to apply this preference.

MILLARD WRIGHT – a non-speaking character who could be doubled by an actor playing either Wally or Crunch. He is a composer of hirsute appearance who is compliant to Livak Rigor’s prescriptions for contemporary composers. He appears only in the first scene.

STRING QUARTET: Optional. Its presence in Act 1, Scene 4 can be implied.

PLEROMA – SYNOPSIS

ACT 1 Fission. Dylan Shaw, a composer, has done well in the commercial area writing film music and jingles for ads. His move to writing serious music has met resistance from academia, due to his melodic writing style, especially from influential musicologist Livak Rigor, who reviles Dylan for writing accessible music instead of difficult modern music. Livak is also a music reviewer for a mainstream newspaper. He uses his power base to affect the careers of musicians, and also to obtain the services of singers for his University opera productions. Dylan’s girl friend, gifted soprano Clara Sinclair, complains to him that Livak has threatened her with bad reviews unless she agrees to join the cast of his latest production. Dylan decides to retaliate. This he does during a live TV broadcast of a music recital. Clara quarrels with Dylan for "ruining her