burning.earth
This performance, being as multi layered as it is, comes with quite a lot of notes. I've done my best to sort and separate them into useful groups for each sector of the performance. As you write your choreography (staff and doubles poi) please do send it to me to be included in the packet of information.
poi movements
breathing experiemnt results
safety documents
download all of the files
| Introduction |
The glass blowers of Burning Earth are
building a phoenix sculpture through the week, with glass feathers bman
participants press on site, part of the participants process is to submit
a note with a sacrifice they've made to be at burning man this year. Those
sacrifices are placed into a glass egg.
Saturday night they intend to place the egg in the bird sculpture which will be burned with much pomp. They have asked me to choreograph a ceremonious fire performance to represent the death and rebirth of the phoenix.
Their main spectacle, is (super secret) the building of a glass nest
around the sculpture. There will be a motorized
apparatus under the sculpture, when activated, a team
of (32) glassblowers will be running from the pot to the
apparatus, hooking their molten glass onto the
spinning apparatus, and drawing strands of glass
around the apparatus, thus creating the nest.
They will also have two exibition stations at ten o'clock, and two o'clock, with 3 fire breathers assigned to each location.
When the nest is finished, pyrotechnics will be deployed imploding the sculpture.
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| Story |
Rise & Return
[Sacrifice is never easy. To give up something, to release control, to allow something of value to be destroyed - these things run counter to our instinctual nature. We normally hold on to valuable things - too tightly, sometimes. We want to hold on to our youth, our beauty, our health, our money, our power… We don’t want to let go of these things. We hold on to them for as long as we can. We fight the natural order of the universe and in doing so, we may inadvertently maintain a stagnant status quo of tyranny, pain, death, and suffering.
After a rise, there must be a return.
The great and powerful phoenix who has risen to the vault of heaven must return to earth to perform her last act – an act of sacrifice. Accompanied by the host of heaven, and escorted by her Phoenix guard, she descends to the temple – a place where the auspice members have prepared and maintained a place for her. To the Rising Phoenix it is a cradle, a nurturing and protective nest from which to rise out of… but to the Returning Phoenix, it is a funeral pyre, a deathbed.
After a rise, there must be a return.
If the Returning Phoenix refuses to die in the self-sacrifice she was born to commit, then a sacrifice of a different sort must unfold.
After a rise, there must be a return, and a sacrifice must be made...]
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| Cast |
(in order of appearance):
4 Birds of Paradise
6 Fire Breathers (for Glass crew)
10 fire breathers (for punctuation on perimeter)
20 Devoted (on perimeter with small tools)
1 Prometheus (Major character –hero- and leading member of the auspice)
9 Auspice (supporting characters for Prometheus)
15 Host of Heaven (chorus)
3 Phoenix Guard (supporting characters for Phoenix)
1 Returning Phoenix (Major Character - villian)
Symbolic masculine and feminine aspects of the Phoenix (supporting characters – tech for phoenix costume/props)
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further notes:
I need the 10 fire breathers and the 20 small tool performers for perimeter
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| Music |
Chimes, bells gongs
Hand drums
Recorded music for DJ
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| Pyro |
Cirque de Flambe
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| Radio Support |
from and to Stage manger
radio contact for glass side, music, lights, guard, sculpture crew, pyro crew, Rangers(?)
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| Safety |
Rangers, silversuits for Pyro
safety team from Seattle
volunteer safety onsite
volunteer perimeter control
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| Space |
75'x75' ellipse
3:00 - 9:00
sculpture planted in the center
sculpture occupies 30x30 square, cornered by 4 glass lampposts
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further notes: this space may get larger, for safety |
| Opening sequence |
Opening Sequence designed to draw attention to site.
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| Invocation 1 |
Invocation of the Phoenix
Prometheus and the auspice members are performing a slow ritualistic ceremony towards the Nest/Egg site that also has the Phoenix effigy. This is their holy symbol, and they bow to it, in deference, as Prometheus performs a ‘Blessing’ over the effigy and the egg. The final blessing gesture is accompanied by the FIRST BREATHER PAUSE.
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| Invocation 2 |
Prometheus leads the auspice away from the Nest/egg site and NEST BUILDERS START.
Prometheus and the auspice then move on to the PEARLY GATES and perform a similar ritual of blessing/cleansing. This is an initiation ritual designed to open the gates. It is methodical, a ceremony they may actually do every day, but they don’t really expect anything to come of it until the SECOND BREATHER PAUSE.
[sudden and very bright SPOTLIGHT ON PEARLY GATES]
Prometheus and the auspice members fall back in disbelief. Discordant horns and cymbal clashes drive them back from the Gate, which is painfully bright in the night. The noise is deafening and the light is blinding. The auspice members cover their eyes and ears as they and try to hide from the sight and sounds...
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| Processional 1 |
Processional
The music has an unearthly quality, including lots of discord and irregular harmony as the PEARLY GATES OPEN. The music scales back a little and has a processional/marching theme, as the host of heaven files out. They are beautiful and proud, but they also wear golden chains. They are in servitude to the Phoenix, like caged birds. When they see the fallen auspice members, they make sad, compassionate eye contact and try to communicate with them without actually saying anything, or falling out of their dictated roles.
As the individual members of the host eventually notice the nest/egg site, they suddenly show hope. They see it as their savior and now look at the auspice members with gratitude for creating the nest. They honor the nest and auspice with covertly lowered heads and subtle deference – but they are careful not to be caught acknowledging the nest or auspice when the Phoenix and her guard can see them.
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Processional 2
Processional 3
| The music builds and becomes more aggressive, almost tribal, as the Phoenix Guard comes through the gate. They are the enforcers of the Phoenixes wishes – they keep the host of heaven in line – roughly making sure that the host members are in their correct places. The members of the Phoenix guard are proud, and cruel, and defer only to the phoenix, ignoring the nest and egg, and occasionally menacing the auspice members who they herd into a small huddled space. |
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| Phoenix |
Phoenix Entrance
Once all has been made ready by the phoenix guard, the Phoenix emerges from the gate on the THIRD BREATHER PAUSE, flanked by her attendants who close the gate behind her, and then mimic her movements from a few steps behind. Female on the left, male on the right. They are like her left and right hands and anticipate her every move and desire.
Once the phoenix has emerged she struts around observing all her obedient servants, including the auspice members who all prostrate themselves in front of her (except Prometheus, who looks on at the whole display suspiciously). She treats the auspice members with disdain – she laughs at them, they are unworthy of her attention.
The ‘feathers’ of the Phoenix should slowly be going out now (all except the FLAME FEATHER – a fire-source prop that needs to be designed and built that would ideally be part of the Phoenix headress. We can work without this prop but it would be nice to have).
When the phoenix eventually catches on that the host are being distracted by something, she turns and sees the nest/egg on the FOURTH BREATHER PAUSE.
Betrayal
Horrified, the Phoenix falls back. She shields her eyes, and tries to get away. Her attendants help her out of the feather harness as she scrabbles on the ground in fear… but fear is quickly replaced with anger. She was expecting to be welcomed and worshiped by her auspice, but she was not expecting them to do this – to erect a monument that symbolizes her fall, her death, and her eventual replacement.
Looking indignantly at Prometheus the rest of the auspice members, with savage fury she commands the phoenix guard to enslave and punish them.
[during the time that the Phoenix guard are punishing the auspice, the Phoenix attendants are attaching “ash rags” to the phoenix – showing that she is growing older, and decaying, as she acts more and more cruel, and demonic]
The auspice cower from the onslaught of the Phoenix guard but Prometheus fights back, and attempts to protect the members of the auspice. The Phoenix guard eventually subdues Prometheus (maybe he falls on a BREATHER PAUSE).
Downfall
Then, the decaying Phoenix slinks forward to gloat. To look down on Prometheus, and to show him that she cannot be defeated. In her arrogance, she turns her back on him as a symbolic gesture of excommunication, and begins to walk back towards the Pearly gates.
Her attendants run ahead and open the gates for her, but this leaves the Phoenix with her back exposed…
Prometheus jumps up and runs to the Phoenix and as there is a BREATHER PAUSE he steals the FLAME FEATHER.
The phoenix stumbles, her attendants run back and reach out to her but it is too late. She is dying. The Phoenix guard look on with surprise and fear, not knowing how to react. They slowly and covertly sneak away, knowing that they are no longer in control.
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| Rejoice |
Release & Rejoice
Prometheus raises the Flame Feather above his head and it burns even brighter then before with a musical crescendo. He then carries the feather around freeing the host who rejoice with fire spinning, as the attendants lift up and carry the dead phoenix out through the pearly gates.
The guards return with Pyro tools and join in the celebration. Prometheus carries the feather above his head as a triumphant trophy of war, showing it to everyone in the audience (must have good stage presence to motivate crowd) and eventually coming to stand at center stage, with a spotlight. Just before the sculpture is ignited, there is one last BREATHER PAUSE as Prometheus breaks (or extinguishes?) the flame feather and his spot light is extinguished as... |
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| Ignition |
... the FIRE BIRD comes out of the sky to IGNIGHT THE PHOENIX SCULPTURE. |
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| © 2004 Copyright Qathi Gallaher Hart |
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