Caught by the torrent of life

(the stage setup and first act)

Scene setup:
The scene is set up on the rim of an active volcano. You can see a barren side of the volcano, descending from left to right (directions are given from the audience point of view). The top left shows the small trace of a lava river, starting up. The steepness of the mountain is quite high, the slope begins on the top left and “ends” at the center of the stage. On the right side there’s a small rocky platform standing out, resembling a “landing area”. The stage is filled with black pieces of rock, dust and ash. On the landing platform there’s a circle of ash, with a big X inside. The corners of the X shine brightly, and so do several spots on the mountain side, presumably diamonds.
As for depth-of-field, the same arrangement is used: the mountain “begins” in the far back and “ends” at the center of the stage. In front of the “mountain”, on the left side, there’s a study desk of medieval-renaissance origin. Behind the desk there’s a throne-like chair of the same manufacturing. The arrangement is placed so that the “writer” is facing the audience at a low angle, also being able to see what is going on the right side of the stage.

Lighting setup:
The mountain is covered in darkness, with some orange/red/yellow lighting coming up from time to time, to invoke the lava that boils inside the volcano. The back of the stage and the top are lighted from time to time in violet and blue, while white stroboscope light could imagine random lightning in the sky. Blinking white light bulbs covered with acrylic could stand for the diamonds in the mountain side and in the landing area.
The writer is dim-lit, while the landing area is totally dark (except for the diamonds, of course). Same orange/red light shines from time to time on the writer.

Sound setup:
The scene is silent. In spite of the lightning in the sky, the storm is far, far away. At best, the sound of thunder can be heard very low…
As soon as the curtains rise, the sound changes completely. The thunder sounds that were heard before are now a bit louder, and accompanied by roars and shrieks. In a couple of seconds the audience realizes they were not really thunder sounds, but the battering of dragon wings. The lightning in the sky is actually light reflected by the dragon scales.


The writer is a so-called DragonMaster - a human (*) that "works" with Dragons. There are several stages in working with Dragons:
- Dragon Summoner: the lowest level of the Dragon Guild. Such a person can summon a Dragon, meaning he/she can wake the Dragon up from its sleep. Yet, such a person is only an apprentice.
- Dragon Tamer: one should never wake up a Dragon unless he/she is a Dragon Tamer. Once the Dragon is awake, the one who woke it up should get away with it :D.
- Dragon Lord: such a person can not only awaken a Dragon, but he/she can also control the magnificent creature on low levels. For instance, they can ride the Dragon.
- Dragon Master: Dragon Lords who are very close to their Dragons become Dragon Masters. Usually a Dragon Lord is able to awaken several Dragons, but eventually he/she only becomes Dragon Master of only one. At this level the Dragon is no longer reluctant to the Dragon Master's needs or orders. From the outside this may be seen as total submission by the Dragon, yet it is nothing like it. All Dragon Masters that have tried to turn Dragons into submissive creatures have found out it is actually the Will of the Dragon to "listen" to them. Dragons usually develop human-like traits at this stage and can take, for short periods of time, humanoid shapes.
- Dragon Fueler: At this stage a human and a Dragon are best friends. They provide for one another, they take care of one another. You should fear great consequences if you take on one of them. Dragon Fuelers usually start borrowing Draconic features. Dragons find it hard to live without the Fueler (for instance, if the connection is broken at this level, Dragons usually go to sleep for millennia).
- Dragon Breeder: the highest form of connection: mind, heart, body and soul. The Dragon Breeder and the Dragon are one and the same.
- Dragon. It is only a myth, but it is said that Dragon Breeders can connect to such an extent with their Dragon, that they transform into one themselves. Such morphs have not been witnessed, yet they are plausible explanations of great Dragon Breeders.

(*) actually the "writer" is not human. He is only a representation of the Volcano, just like the Dragon is shown in its humanoid shape. The dialogue, as in the previous Dragon Tales, is between the Orange Volcano and the Turquoise Dragon. In this particular play, the Volcano is personified by the writer sitting at his writing desk. His name is not mentioned,at best he is referenced as the Volcano, the Writer or DragonMaster. The Dragon’s name is, in lack of a better imagination, Turqõï’Azûl (pronounciation: [t’urk’oasul]).


Curtains rise

As the curtains are rising, you can see the writer sitting at the desk. He’s got ink and paper, all he writes is hand-written. He is just finishing some pages, and is proof-checking them. He has a lot of sheets, all bound with string.

The writer himself looks very untidy. From distance he seems old, wrinkled, but a closer view shows he is only unshaven and has many ink marks all over his face. While reading he has the habit of biting the pen, or even gesticulating from time to time, correcting words, reciting dialogues, adding phrases.

He is not wearing clothes, only some rags around his waist. Around his forehead is something that resembles a silver diadem, with a central large stone. The stone seems black or dark blue, but as soon as the Dragon lands, it will turn… turquoise…

As the writer is deciding upon the last writings, the audience can hear a low moaning, resembling a deep purr, smoke invades the stage on the “landing area” and battering of wings can be heard at a slow rate, as if a Dragon is hovering above the stage.

As the Dragon descends, it morphs, and the audience realizes it is actually a female Dragon.

(All fantastic features could be shown on a large display at the top of the stage, with a few CG…)

The woman is also naked, apart from similar rags around her waist. She is not very thin, on the contrary, she is quite voluptuous. She is not what most people would call top-model, yet her curves are a delight to the eye, and has a robust constitution: her legs are slightly muscular. She has straight hair, down to her shoulders, of an attractive dark-brown-light-black color.
On her body the audience can see tattooed dragon scales: her feet are purple-violet, her hands are fiery red, while the shoulders are a bit orange-brown. The scales on her hands, feet and shoulders are only contoured, while her back is colored in turquoise and light blue scales, with dark green shades. All the colors of the scales combine greatly with her pinky-white skin.

She also wears a thin necklace, with the same kind of black gemstone, which turns bright orange as she approaches the DragonMaster.

As she “lands” on the large X on the platform, she needs to kneel just a bit, with dragon-like moves, folding her hands. She rises immediately, and steps towards the writer, with unbelievable cat-like moves, making sure she doesn’t walk on any of the debris surrounding the landing area, as if she wouldn’t want to disturb the rocks of the Volcano…

She is looking straight at the DragonMaster, yet he seems not to have noticed her arrival.

ACT I
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(bear with me for a few days, i've got the dialogue in my mind, it only needs to be put on paper)