Although I am quite fond of all four ideas that I discussed in my previous blog post, the one that stands out the most is "The Box" idea. I believe that if I had a larger budget, I would be able to make the ideas about Glencoe and "Men Should Weep" a reality. However, I chose to put those ideas aside mostly due to practicality. When meeting with my professor, she pointed out something that I hadn't noticed before, but did make me feel a little better about letting go of certain ideas. She mentioned that both concepts for The Box and Glencoe centered around objects. With this thought, I felt that I was at the very least able to address the essential idea importance of an archeological dig - which is really discovering the stories that lay hidden within objects. A few years ago I heard a short radio play on NPR. I believe it was a series of spooky radio dramas played as part of a Halloween series. I have searched for quite awhile, but I am unfortunately unable to find it. In one particular radio drama, a character has invented a machine that collects samples from objects, and then feeds them into a machine. This machine then plays audio clips that were embedded in the samples. The crowd would bring objects up to the speaker to see if he can extract sounds from these objects, to act as audio recordings. At one point he plays a sample that he had taken from Abraham Lincoln's bedpost. The recording was fuzzy, but you could hear a conversation that Lincoln had with Mary before they went to the theatre. A woman then brings up a wooden horse, and explains that it was her daughter's favorite toy, which she played with just hours before her death in a car accident. The presenter took a sample of the object, and was able to play the memory of the last verbal exchange between the mother and child. This piece of fiction has stayed with me for years. It was such an original and interesting concept to me. In a way, I believe this piece had some truth to it. I believe that objects carry vivid stories, maybe just not in the way that the radio play had stated. These objects can make us smile, make us yearn for someone or someplace, make us giddy with nostalgia, or trigger crippling anxiety. The power that we give to objects is remarkable, even when we don't mean to. My fears for my project at this moment are that my story will not be multi-dimensional enough, that it won't have as many layers or twists as I would like. I want it to feel different that the pieces that I typically enjoy, and I also want to make sure that I am challenging myself stylistically. One of my goals is to also scratch a dramaturgical itch, if you will. I have always loved period pieces, and I have been toying with the idea of somehow incorporating this too, particularly to add depth and to further challenge myself. In summation, I am aiming to include the following things / create an outline or structure using the following things: - Examine our relationships with objects - Tell stories using objects as the mediator - Utilize aspects of non-linear narrative to allow the audience to step into the role of "social scientist" or observer - Acknowledge that our relationships with objects is age old, and not at all a new phenomenon. I've included some images that I find inspiring and speak to the mood that I am aiming for. We shall see how it goes!
