Production Script

by Jonathan Josephson

Freely adapted from the “La Llorona” myth and historical events

PRODUCTION SCRIPT

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INTRODUCTION In Wicked Lit terms, when one refers to a “body,” they’re generally talking about a corpse; oftentimes a charred carcass looming in the back of a chapel or a hanged dummy thrown from the roof of a mausoleum, that sort of thing. But now, as the three of us producers recover from the final performances of Wicked Lit 2016, our eighth annual production, we have a new body to discuss— a body of work. We started the theatre company Unbound Productions and the project Wicked Lit in 2008 as a regional reading festival. Since then, we’ve produced 30 world premiere short plays under the banner of various Lit projects, all of which are adaptations of classic literature or folktales produced as immersive, site-specific theatre events. Twelve of those plays are included in this collection, all adapted by one of the three founders of our company. Since 2010, Wicked Lit has been in residence at Mountain View Mausoleum and Cemetery in Altadena, CA, and since 2013, we’ve sold out every ticket for every performance of our annual fall production. We have benefited from the extraordinary talent and efforts of hundreds of actors, technicians, managers, designers, directors and playwrights who have given artfully and selflessly of themselves over those years, oftentimes in the rain, in the dark, and oh yeah, in a cemetery. We’d especially like to acknowledge our Resident Costume Designer Christine Cover Ferro who has costumed literally everything we’ve ever done since 2008, our Resident Makeup Artist Julie Pound who likewise has been with us from the beginning, and Board Member/Sound Designer Drew Dalzell who not only brings an incredible design aesthetic to all of our events but also changed the way that we approach the technical aspects of our show irrevocably for the good. It takes a village to make a play, and battalions to make Wicked Lit, but the impact that these three have had on our processes and productions is truly irreplaceable. Wicked Lit is now regularly included on lists of “Top Theatre Events” and/or “Best Halloween Events of the Year” from the likes of Time Out Los Angeles, LA Magazine, Thrillist and others; and wins awards ranging from Ovation Awards, curated by LA Stage Alliance (in categories with LORT theatres such as Center Theatre Group and the Geffen Playhouse), to Halloween Event of the Year from Hollywood Gothique (ahead of multi-million dollar attractions such as Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios and Dark Harbor at the Queen Mary). Our plays have moved on from Unbound to be produced in schools and theatres throughout the United States as well as England, Scotland, and Cameroon. And all of this from three guys sitting around in a living room one day, wondering what might happen if we started a theatre company. Part of the idea behind this collection is that producers can mix and match plays as they see fit— for cast size, thematic ties, or plays that fit a certain size or type of theatre. We also greatly encourage site-specific productions of these plays but that is by no means expected. The plays can be produced as one-offs with a cast of three or a 12-play extravaganza with a cast of dozens; it’s totally up to you. For reference, Unbound Productions has produced Wicked Lit in two different ways— either in sets of three (our annual “fall show”) with intentional theatrical diversity, or as single plays (our “installations”), sometimes accompanied by a staged reading of a second play.

INTRODUCTION (CONT’D) As you peruse this collection, you’ll get insights and anecdotes about past productions of these plays and also suggestions and ideas for how to make them come alive as site-specific theatre events, should you choose to go that route. For example, all of our productions have had “Storyguides” as a part of their presentation. These are actors who literally guide the audience where to go throughout the performance (“follow me,” “stand here,” “five to a bench— move down!” etc.) and then sometimes, they also step into the play to perform as a part of the ensemble. Storyguides generally play smaller roles in 1-2 scenes, but not always— sometimes they are principle characters. In some productions, numerous characters act as Storyguides, breaking the fourth wall to instruct the audience and then stepping back into the scene to continue with the play. We encourage you to think creatively about how you use the Storyguide motif and also what implications those performers may have for the production. We’ve written and produced these plays for the last near-decade for a multitude of reasons. We love the underlying source material and wanted to see these wonderful short stories, and the work of some of the globe’s most iconic authors, come to life in a fresh new way. We love the theatre and wanted to contribute something that is unique and bold and daunting and haunting and fun. We wanted to work with creative people we like and respect and make memorable moments together. We wanted to celebrate the Halloween season because, hey, Halloween is just plain cool. Sometimes we want to scare the pants off of people. Sometimes we want to make audiences laugh, other times we want to break their hearts. It’s all about striving to understand and contextualize the human condition and provoke/inspire/frighten our audiences into feeling something bigger than themselves. Enjoy the plays! Enjoy Wicked Lit. Keep us posted as to what you’re doing with #WickedLit across social media. And if you have questions about a play or a production, drop us a line at [email protected]. Best of luck, and have fun. Jonathan Josephson, Jeff G. Rack & Paul Millet

DEDICATION To Jay Brown and the staff of Mountain View Mausoleum and Cemetery. Thank you for your trust, patience and friendship!

PRODUCTION HISTORY World Premiere: Wicked Lit 2014 at Mountain View Mausoleum and Cemetery. Adapted by Jonathan Josephson from the “La Llarona” myth and historical events; directed by Paul Millet.

World Premiere: Included as part of Wicked Lit 2014, Mountain View Mausoleum and Cemetery, directed by Paul Millet. October 2-November 8, 2014.

Produced by Unbound Productions Executive Director – Jonathan Josephson Artistic Director – Paul Millet Producing Artistic Director – Jeff G. Rack

Stage Manager – TaShaunna Peterman Lighting Designers – Ric Zimmerman and Hilda Kane Sound Designers – Drew Dalzell and Noelle Hoffman Costume Designer – Christine Cover Ferro Production Design – Jeff G. Rack Choreographer – Angie Hobin Production Manager – Jacqueline Adorni

The Cast El Diablo – Joe Camareno Doña Marina – Melissa Perl Araceli Gonzales – Anna Gabrielle Gonzalez Lady Amélie – Bianca Gisselle Leigh Wilson – Katelyn Gault Pia Faye Thomas – Lisa McNeely The Men – Angel Duran, Sonny James Lira

CASTING REQUIREMENTS Minimum: 5F, 3M (includes the doubling outlined below) Maximum: 15F, 15M (variable casting depending on doubling and use of additional actors to flesh out groups of people)

CAST OF CHARACTERS *Assuming 8-Actor Version EL DIABLO: our dark master of ceremonies. He guides us through this journey in order to dishearten us and convince us to give up on our humanity.

DOÑA MARINA: 20s/30s, a Nahua woman from the Mexican Gulf Coast, mid-16th century. Inspired by La Malinche— interpreter, advisor, lover, and intermediary for Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés. • Happy Maria • Witch (DANCE ROLE)

ARACELI GONZALES: 20s, a Mexican flower-shop girl, early 19th century. Inspired by the iconic representations of the “La Llorona” folkloric protagonist. • The Weeping Woman • Prostitute • Spanish Lady • Soldier • Pia’s Daughter

LADY AMÉLIE: 30s, European royalty living in mid-19th century Mexico. Inspired by Carlota of Mexico, empress consort of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, the former Archduke of Austria. (SINGING ROLE) • Attendant • Maria’s Mother • Prostitute • Council of Aztecs • Midwife • Soldier • Vain Maria

CAST OF CHARACTERS (CONT’D) *Assuming 8-Actor Version LEIGH WILSON: 20s, a mother of two living in 1990s New Mexico. Inspired by Susan Smith who was found guilty of murder in the drowning deaths of her two sons by strapping them in their car seats and rolling the car into a lake. • Young Maria • Lady Amelie Dancer (DANCE ROLE) • Council of Aztecs • Queen of Spain • Soldier

PIA FAYE THOMAS: 30s, a mother of four living in present day Los Angeles. Loosely inspired by Andrea Yates, a convicted murderer who drowned her five children, ages six months to seven years, in the bathtub of her suburban home. • Lady of the House • Attendant • Prostitute • Council of Aztecs • Midwife • Soldier • Pious Maria

THE MEN: (played by at least two actors) ensemble characters who play many parts of varying ages and time periods throughout the play. • Maria’s Father • Young Lord • Council of Aztecs • King of Spain • Soldier • Maria’s Love • Soldier • Mayan Slave Trader • Hernán Cortés • Emperor Frederick III • Pia’s Husband

SETTING Numerous locations, both real and surreal.

RUN TIME 35-40 minutes

SCRIPT NOTE Occassionally, the script provides translations, pronunciation guides, and other information regarding various lines of dialog. This information is formatted under the dialog and in italics. They are not to be read during performance.

AUTHOR NOTES This was not an easy play to write. The subject matter alone was difficult, and then I went and made the playmaking of the piece that much more challenging by setting the play in six different worlds, ranging from the modern and literal, to the historic and heightened, to the surreal and horrific. But there are very few plays that I look back upon with more pride than Las Lloronas— my ladies in white. The idea of looking into the Mexican folktale “La Llorona” came from a Wicked Lit patron. At the end of each one of our fall shows, we send out a survey to solicit feedback about the previous year’s event and always ask “Is there a story that you’d like to see us tackle for a future Wicked Lit?” The title “La Llarona” kept coming up, year over year. So I set out to find the definitive “La Llarona” story— but surprisingly to me, there isn’t one. The legend has roots as old as the 16th century and has been reinvented into short stories, epic poems, novels, songs, films, music videos, video games, and horror attractions in numerous countries and dozens of languages. Each adaptation is as different as the next, but they all have roots in something that most horror literature does not— history. I became fascinated with the links that the legend had to the Conquest of South American by Cortes and then later, instances of “La Llarona” appearing in modern day life. Somehow, as I connected these dots— it appeared that whatever actually happened historically (and who can know) gave birth to this legend, which somehow put on the table that a mother drowning her children… was a thing. It’s a terrible, horrendous thing— but it has a name: “A Real World La Llorona.” And that name somehow makes it easier to understand, though no less forgivable. This play is a combination of my passion for literature, the research that I undertook as I explored this fable, and real world stories of dark actions taken by desperate mothers throughout history

SITE-SPECIFIC INSIGHT Las Lloronas is one of the most epic, consuming theatrical experiences that we’ve ever created. The foundation for that overwhelming scope of design was born out of the scope of the play. The piece spans five centuries and is guided by El Diablo himself, clad all in white. The play is big, intense and terrifying as the horror revealed by each retelling of “La Llarona” gets closer and closer to the present day and closer and closer to the audience’s reality. One magnificent aspect to this production was its sound design, which established a completely new level of execution that we hope to accomplish in future shows. As the play is made up of five distinct vignettes (six if you include the introduction), there is a natural pace and timing for how and when the audience should move from location to location. Our sound designers did an incredible job of having the sound design— namely haunting, taunting whispers in both English and Spanish that pull and claw at the audience’s consciousness— pull the audience through the space, almost as much as their Storyguides. As the audience moved, they were also greeted by a soundscape of their new world and new story— 16th century Mexico became the 18th century, which became a 19th century High Court, which became a 90s dive bar and then a present day home. Allowing sound and other design elements to drive the transition from physical place to place as well as time period to time period was enormously impactful for this play.

LAS LLORONAS – PRODUCTION SCRIPT 1

Darkness. A mournful melody— “La Llorona”— can be heard being played on a Spanish guitar. WHISPERS begin to infiltrate the scene— a mixture of memory, regret and foreboding. WOMEN’S VOICES (whispered, overlapping) Mother… witch… harlot… virgin… betrayer… crazy… Puta… locura… virgen… traidor… madre… bruja… In the distance, a WOMAN can be heard crying softly. The sounds of the guitar begin to fracture and twist— feint cries of anguish can be heard all around. MEN’S VOICES (whispered, overlapping) Siren… murderer… beauty… mother… criminal… Criminal… belleza… madre… asesino… sirena… The crying intensifies to a moan as we approach the source of the tears. Figures— SHADOWS— dance along the walls, taunting her— beckoning her. The VOICES repeat as the music contorts, mixing with howls from the Shadows. WOMEN’S VOICES (whispered, overlapping) Mother… witch… betrayer… monster… Puta… monstruo… virgen… criminal… MEN’S VOICES (whispered, overlapping) Crazy… murderer… Belleza… madre… Finally, we reach the crying figure, a WEEPING WOMAN, draped in a large, dark, cloak, her head covered, her back to the audience. WOMEN’S VOICES Harlot… virgin… Madre… bruja… MEN’S VOICES Beauty… mother… Asesino… sirena… Suddenly, from behind the audience, a dark figure with red eyes wearing a white suit and hat steps out of the shadows. He pounds his cane onto the floor. All goes quiet. A spotlight hits him in stride. This is EL DIABLO. EL DIABLO Oh hijos mios…ya ha llegado vuestra destruccion. A donde os llevare? (he translates) Oh my children… your destruction has arrived. Where can I take you?

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EL DIABLO (CONT’D) (to the audience) The story of La Llorona is very old, and very new. It took place many years ago and will take place again and again, for generations to come. For where there is fear, there is desperation. And where there is desperation, there is resolve. EL DIABLO straightens his tie and cocks his hat. Érase una vez, once upon a time, there was a young woman who was the envy of her entire village. The WEEPING WOMAN tosses off her cloak revealing a beautiful smile and long brown, curly hair. She wears a white dress and a black sash. This is ARACELI. She crosses through the audience towards EL DIABLO. Once upon a time, there was a castle: Castillo de Chapultepec, and a foreign Lady who rarely smiled. LADY AMELIE enters with her head held high. She wears an elegant black coat as well as a tiara and fancy hair. Once upon a time, in the Southwest United States, there was a young girl whose mother married a wicked man. LEIGH enters the hallway from one of the side entrances. She wears a trashy white top and skirt and long black opera gloves. And once upon a time, there was a mother of four— and her companions, the dark ones— the Shadows. PIA enters, wearing a short white dress and a black skirt underneath. But our tale truly begins many hundreds of years ago. In the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan (te NOCH tit lan). Damas y caballeros, ladies and gentleman, Doña Marina: DOÑA MARINA enters. She wears a white dress and a beautiful black shawl. As she enters, the sounds of wood flutes and hyde- drums wash away the scene revealing early 16th Century Mexico. DOÑA MARINA (Nahuatl) Nopilhuane. amoxitiniliztli onitlapix onlachcic campa ma niquixtia teh. (Pronunciation: No-peel-wan-e. Amo-shee-teen-eel-eestlee on-eetla-peesh. On-lach-seek. Campa ma nee-keesh-teeah-teh.) DOÑA MARINA removes her shawl— which separates into two pieces. These shawls are taken away by two ATTENDANTS. (she translates) Oh my children… your destruction has arrived. Where can I take you? A beat.

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DOÑA MARINA (CONT’D) These are the words of *Cihuacoatl, the Snake-Woman, protector of children and mother to my people. Legend says that she uttered these words upon the death of her own son. But I believe these words were a foretelling of a greater destruction. *(see-wah-co-AH-tl) The scene shifts to DOÑA MARINA’s childhood. I was born in the province of Coatzacoalcos to a good family. Then— war came. While still a young child, I was sold to Mayan merchants, a slave. Despite my station, I grew up happy, worked hard for my masters, and learned Mayan in addition to my native Nahuatl. YOUNG MARINA washes the floor. The lady of the house greets her in Mayan. She responds in Mayan and Nahuatl (Aztec). LADY OF THE HOUSE (Mayan) Unin, wejelih. Nitza! (Pronunciation: Un-in, weh-heh-leeh. Neetsa!) (Translation: “Child, dump liquid from the container. Move it!”) YOUNG MARINA (Mayan) P'hey-Yohp (Pronunciation: P-hey-Yo-hp) (Translation: “Yes”) A YOUNG LORD watches Young Marina clean with detached interest. DOÑA MARINA As I grew older, I was taught the ways of seduction and pleasure. But I was not to serve my own masters in this way. YOUNG MARINA is now in a lineup of PROSTITUTES. HERNÁN CORTÉS, a powerful warrior, inspects the girls. Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, Spanish conquistador and the iron will of the King of Castile would become my proprietor. The YOUNG LORD does not dare match eyes with the conquistador as CORTÉS looks the PROSTITUTES up and down. The Young Lord snaps his figures and all of the girls file out. Cortés throws a small pouch of coins to the ground, then follows after the women. Before YOUNG MARINA leaves, the YOUNG LORD calls to her- YOUNG LORD (Mayan) Ha'achtik (Pronunciation: ha-ahch-teek) (Translation: “You”) She goes to him.

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YOUNG LORD (CONT’D) (Mayan) Eilah (Pronunciation ee-lah) (Translation: “Take this”) He hands her two lovely hairpins, which she accepts with gratitude. She places them into her hair. CORTÉS, YOUNG MARINA, and a COUNCIL OF AZTECS enter the scene. Young Marina plays the middleman: YOUNG MARINA (incidental dialogue, Mayan) Masanil, kiimak ‘oolal. Mah D'ho-gli. Cortes, wen omreh. (Pronunciation: Masaneel, keemak ‘oolal. Mah D’ho-glee. core-tess, wehn omreh.) (Translation: “Everybody, welcome. Don't worry. Cortes is a good person”) DOÑA MARINA Because of my gift for language, I served as an interpreter for Cortés and helped him speak with both Aztec and Mayan peoples. I even helped to negotiate peace talks, sparing bloodshed. The COUNCIL OF AZTECS exits. I despised Cortés and his kind for what he was doing to my people and my homeland, but I accepted his mercy as hope. And I welcomed him to my bed. I imagined a life where my people could thrive alongside these strangers from across the sea. CORTÉS circles DOÑA MARINA, caressing her and penetrating her with his eyes. One year later, I gave birth to twin boys by Cortés. Two MIDWIVES enter. Each carries a crying baby boy. They are wrapped in Doña Marina’s black shawls. His conquest continued and I raised our children as a good mother should. I was named Doña Marina and given formal status within the Cortés house. All was good. Until… Cortés became too strong. A short time later, a beautiful Spanish lady arrived at our doorstep to convince him to return home— a gift from the King and Queen of Spain. The SPANISH LADY enters— she is slender and seductive. The MIDWIVES exit. The Spanish lady encircles CORTÉS as he once circled Young Marina. Cortés would arrange to leave our land with our two sons. Leaving me behind. DOÑA MARINA is now alone. It was in this time of despair that Cortés’ lies were made clear to me. The people of my village showed me what he meant by mercy. Cortés had no allies. A light hits the AZTEC COUNCIL— they are mutilated and bloody. I finally accepted the true nature of the sire of my children. The night before Cortés and the Spanish Lady were to depart I took our sons from their beds. The MIDWIVES appear with the two boys in their arms.

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DOÑA MARINA (CONT’D) And I ran. The MIDWIVES run from Cortés’ house. Soon SOLDIERS and dogs can be heard tracking them through the jungle. Cortés sent his men after me. The MIDWIVES give the babies to DOÑA MARINA, and become SOLDIERS. MORE SOLDIERS appear all around Doña Marina. Upon arriving at the lake, the soldiers surround me. CORTÉS appears. The baby boys continue to cry. They demanded that I surrender. Cortés expected me to give in. I had helped him, served him, been his whore, nothing had changed in his eyes. But everything had changed. DOÑA MARINA flicks open the shawls— they are empty. The babies cease crying. CORTÉS screams. I took them from him. His sons. I ended their lives with the needles from my hair. CORTÉS screams in anguish. CORTÉS Oh, hijos mios! Hijos mios! (Oh my children! My children!) Everyone disappears, leaving DOÑA MARINA alone. DOÑA MARINA The soldiers struck me down at the bank of the river. My body was carried away and burned but my spirit never left. I cried and wept for my children, for what I had done. In death I was given the name “La Malinche”— the betrayer. But who did I betray? My family? The father of my children? My people? All of them. And I cried for them all. But for my sons, my children, I still weep to this day. EL DIABLO enters. DOÑA MARINA fades away. EL DIABLO “Heav'n has no Rage, like Love to Hatred turn'd, Nor Hell a Fury, like a Woman scorn'd.” (–William Congreve, from The Mourning Bride) The lights shift. WOMEN’S VOICES (whispered, overlapping) Harlot… virgin… betrayer… Puta… locura… virgen… EL DIABLO History— can be a funny thing. While La Malinche was real, a human being of flesh and blood— same as Cortés— her truth is not what lives on in the hearts and imaginations of mankind.

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MEN’S VOICES (whispered, overlapping) Murderer… beauty… mother… Criminal… belleza… madre… EL DIABLO Over time, the story of “La Llorona,” the weeping woman, has worn many faces— that of a cautionary tale for children— LEIGH Be good, or La Llorona will get you! EL DIABLO Or a cautionary tale for husbands— PIA Watch your back, jack. EL DIABLO She has been re-imagined as a feminist icon— LADY AMÉLIE The strongest female character in Mexican folkloric history. EL DIABLO And a monster— DOÑA MARINA La Llorona will consume your soul. EL DIABLO Whichever the view, you may know the story of “La Llorona” to look something like this: A single light falls on ARACELI GONZALES, 20s, a Mexican flower- shop girl, early 19th century. As she speaks, the other CHARACTERS enact her words with scenes, pantomime and incidental dialogue. On each of the “/” words, one of the FEMALE ACTORS steps forward and embodies the attribute that ARACELI describes. ARACELI Long ago in a humble little village in Mexico, there lived a young woman named Maria. Some said she was— /the happiest girl in the world. /The most vain woman ever to be born. /The most pious daughter ever to walk the earth. And because she was known for this particular quality, Maria— /befriended everyone that she met. /Found love in only herself. /Prayed on her rosary with an uncommon diligence. As Maria grew older, she became the envy of her entire village. She thought— VAIN MARIA When I marry, I will marry the most handsome man in the world—

LAS LLORONAS – PRODUCTION SCRIPT 7

HAPPY MARIA When I marry, I will marry my one true love— PIOUS MARIA When I marry, it will be to a man of G-d. ARACELI Then, one day, a stranger rode into Maria's village. MARIA’S LOVE enters. EACH MARIA reacts to him as if he is their perfect match. /He was a dashing ranchero with a cunning smile. /…the son of a wealthy trader. /…a young student, wide-eyed and eager. And she knew just how to win his attentions. Each of the MARIAS strikes a pose. /If the ranchero spoke to her when they met on the pathway, she would avoid his gaze. /…ignore his serenade /…disregard his blessings. MARIA’S LOVE I know I can win her heart. I will marry my Maria! ARACELI Maria’s game of love had worked. Before long, she and her love became were married. Soon after they had two children— healthy and strong. But after a few years… /Her love would venture far and wide in pursuit of knowledge /…return to the wild life of the prairies /…vanish for far-off business, leaving Maria alone with the young ones, But when he did this, he was never alone. /And as proud as Maria was— /As pious /As beautiful She could not help but become consumed with doubt. And the more her husband was away, the more she began to feel resentment towards her children. HAPPY MARIA enters, CHILDREN in tow. /One evening, the ranchero came by Maria and her children in a carriage. An elegant lady sat on the seat beside him. He stopped and spoke to his children, but he didn't even look at Maria. PIOUS MARIA enters. /The pious Maria had been a good girl. She had listened to her mother and father and now she listened to her husband most of all. But now, she heard her husband pounding on her neighbor’s door, demanding a tribute of the daughter of the house. He was a drunk, and a fool. VAIN MARIA enters. /As beautiful as she was, Maria found it impossible to deny every suitor that came to her. With her children sleeping in the next room, she invited men into her bed and loved them there. When her husband found out, he became enraged, and he gave her the back of his hand. The MARIAS form a circle around their LOVE.

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ARACELI (CONT’D) When Maria next saw her Love, she was filled with rage, and that rage was turned against that which her husbands loved most. Each of the MARIAS holds her two CHILDREN, wrapped in bundles, and circles her LOVE. In her anger, she seized her— /two children /her young ones /her two sons Took them to the river, and gave them to the water. The MARIAS unfurl their bundles and the cloth becomes the river, which surrounds ARACELI. After Maria realized what she had done. She ran down the bank, reaching out her arms to her children, wailing and shouting for her little ones to return. But before a few moments had passed, they were beyond her sight. The river disappears and the MARIAS return, one by one: /Her beauty had no sway over the Angel of Death. /Her prayers to the Mother and the Son would not be answered. /Her once hopeful eyes had burnt out and become black and hollow. The MARIAS exit. The next morning, the villagers found Maria, dead, on the bank of the river. That very night, they heard the wind crying in a mournful, painful tone. The howling wind of LA LLORONA builds throughout the following speech: "Where are my children?" the wind said. Some in the village claimed to have seen a woman walking up and down the bank dressed in a long white robe, the way they had dressed Maria for burial— crying. They called this spirit La Llorona, the weeping woman. And by that name she is known to this day. EL DIABLO enters. He gazes upon ARACELI. EL DIABLO “Nobody deserves your tears, but whoever deserves them will not make you cry.” (–Gabriel García Márquez) The lights shift. There is history and there is legend. There is also such a thing as an unsolved history— true mysteries that are quite real, yet unproven. LADY AMÉLIE enters, the sounds of slow Flamenco clapping and percussion can be heard in the distance. La Llorona may have taken another form nearly 150 years ago in the visage of Amélie of Mexico, empress consort of his highness Emperor Frederick III of Mexico, a former European archduke.

LAS LLORONAS – PRODUCTION SCRIPT 9

LADY AMÉLIE begins to hum softly to the music. EL DIABLO (CONT’D) History tells us that she had no children, though there are those that do not believe this to be true. Was La Llorona present with Lady Amélie? Did she welcome the spirit or the legend into her life? Only the lady herself knows for certain. EL DIABLO fades away as a single light hits LADY AMÉLIE. She sings the following as the rest of the ensemble perform a dance that translates her story through movement. As LADY AMÉLIE sings, her proxy dances with her husband, the EMPEROR. They are courteous but dispassionate. LADY AMÉLIE (singing) TODOS ME DICEN EL NEGRO, LLORONA NEGRO PERO CARIÑOSO TODOS ME DICEN EL NEGRO, LLORONA NEGRO PERO CARIÑOSO YO SOY COMO EL CHILE VERDE, LLORONA PICANTE PERO SABROSO YO SOY COMO EL CHILE VERDE, LLORONA PICANTE PERO SABROSO After the EMPEROR exits, a YOUNG SOLDIER rushes to LADY AMÉLIE and lifts her high in the air. They hold each other and sway together, deeply in love. NO SÉ QUE TIENEN LAS FLORES LLORONA, LAS FLORES DEL CAMPOSANTO, NO SÉ QUE TIENEN LAS FLORES LLORONA, LAS FLORES DEL CAMPOSANTO, QUE CUANDO LAS MUEVE EL VIENTO, LLORONA, PARECE QUE ESTÁN LLORANDO. QUE CUANDO LAS MUEVE EL VIENTO, LLORONA, PARECE QUE ESTÁN LLORANDO. LADY AMÉLIE tells her LOVER that she is pregnant. He is both thrilled and terrified. What if her husband finds out? But Lady Amélie has a plan. The SOLDIER exits and LADY AMÉLIE visits the EMPEROR. She tells him the good news, and he is happy at first, but he quickly realizes that the child cannot be his— she is simply too happy. He tosses her hands away in disgust, and walks out. AY DE MI, LLORONA, LLORONA, LLORONA, LLÉVAME AL RÍO. AY DE MI, LLORONA, LLORONA, LLORONA, LLÉVAME AL RÍO. TÁPAME CON TU REBOZO, LLORONA PORQUE ME MUERO DE FRÍO.

10 LAS LLORONAS – PRODUCTION SCRIPT

LADY AMÉLIE (CONT’D) TÁPAME CON TU REBOZO, LLORONA PORQUE ME MUERO DE FRÍO. LADY AMÉLIE goes to a WITCH who provides her with a powerful potion. The Witch assures Lady Amélie that the potion will end the child with minimal suffering to its spirit as well as her own body. Lady Amélie pays the Witch and then swallows the potion— she immediately doubles-over in pain. The Witch pulls a blue cloth from Lady Amélie's belly as the child is drowned within Lady Amélie, who screams in anguish— but she does not shed a tear. She stands up strong AY DE MÍ, LLORONA, LLORONA, LLORONA, QUE SÍ QUE NO, AY DE MÍ, LLORONA, LLORONA, LLORONA, QUE SÍ QUE NO, LA LUZ QUE ME ALUMBRABA, LLORONA, EN TINIEBLAS ME DEJÓ. LA LUZ QUE ME ALUMBRABA, LLORONA, EN TINIEBLAS ME DEJÓ. LADY AMÉLIE returns to the EMPEROR, and he knows what she has done. He isn’t thrilled, but he is happier now than when she was with child. The SOLDIER enters and sees Lady Amélie with the Emperor. She turns his back on him, for the good of herself and for the good of her family. When LADY AMÉLIE is finally alone, she weeps, for her lost child. A UN SANTO CRISTO DE FIERRO, LLORONA, MIS PENAS LE CONTÉ YO. A UN SANTO CRISTO DE FIERRO, LLORONA, MIS PENAS LE CONTÉ YO. CUALES NO SERÍAN MIS PENAS, LLORONA, QUE EL SANTO CRISTO LLORÓ CUALES NO SERÍAN MIS PENAS, LLORONA, QUE EL SANTO CRISTO LLORÓ El DIABLO enters. Rough English Translation: They call me black-hearted, Llorona, black-hearted, and one who beguiles. *And like jalapeños burn you, Llorona, you'll pay if you yield to my wiles. (*literally: "I am like the green chile, Llorona, Burning hot yet delectable.") I don't know what's in the flowers, the flowers of the cemetery, that seem to be crying when the wind blows. O pity me, Llorona, Llorona, and down to the river let's go. Hold me closely inside your shawl, Llorona, for I think I shall die in the cold. Alas! Weeping woman of yes and no, the light that illuminated me left me in shadows.

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