Faust in France 12-21-12.Fdx
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Faust in France by Christopher Shorr An Adaptation of "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus" by Christopher Marlowe Christopher Shorr 1010 N. New Street Bethlehem, PA 18018 [email protected] 484-695-3564 CHARACTERS FAUST, a scientist for the German Army. HABER, Faust's friend and accomplished chemist. Inventor of scientific process used to generate poison gas in WWI. CLARA, Haber's dead wife. Also a chemist. HANS, a male German soldier. Re-animated to play: SIN OF THE TRENCH, FRIAR and ATTENDANT. ANNA, a young female German soldier. Re-animated to play: SIN OF NO MAN'S LAND, THE DUCHESS SOPHIE and FRIAR FRITZ, a waterboy for the German army. Re-animated to play: SIN OF MUSTARD GAS and Faust's puppet JURGEN, a young male German Soldier. Re-animated to play: SIN OF BOY SOLDIER, ARCHDUKE FERDINAND and FRIAR ERNST, a male German soldier. Re-animated to play: SIN OF SHELL SHOCK, THE POPE and ATTENDANT KARL, a male German soldier. Re-animated to play: SIN OF JEALOUSY OF NATIONS, FRIAR and EMPEROR FRANZ JOESPH HAUPTMANN, a male German soldier who outranks the others. Re- animated to play: SIN OF MACHINE GUN, ATTENDANT and CARDINAL OF LORRAIN CHORUS/LUCIFER, king of Hell. MEPHISTOPHILIS, Lucifer's servant in Hell. GOOD ANGEL EVIL ANGEL NOTE: This development of this script included an initial production at Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA, followed by a development workshop and reading at Wellfleet Harbor Actor's Theatre as part of the WHAT Lab series supported in part by Moravian College's Faculty Development and Research Committee. NOTE ABOUT MUSIC: The song "When Day is Done" (and the original German "Madonna, du bist schoner als der Sonnenschein") by Robert Katscher is anachronistic- -written in 1924--and not realistic for a WWI setting. The song works well due the fact that there are popular German and English versions, as well as both slow and up tempo versions. An alternate song may be used, but "When Day is Done" should be a model for style and intent. The Evil Angel Lip sync could be changed to a voiced song. It is the responsibility of the producer to obtain rights to any song/recording not in the public domain. SETTING: France, 1916. A well-equipped German trench during the first World War. Dirt floor, sand bags, racks of guns with bayonets, boxes of ammunition, ladders going up to a ground level "no man's land"--the area between the German and Allied trench lines--that is out of sight, and camouflage netting above. On one side of the trench, a dugout with wooden floor and electrical lighting. In the dugout, Faust's study--desk, lamp, bookshelves, gramophone--and his laboratory-- table with beakers, tubes, vials, etc, chalkboard full of diagrams, calculations and formulas, and sheets of paper tacked to the wall. (CONTINUED) FAUST IN FRANCE / Christopher Shorr / DRAFT 12/20/2012 page 2 CONTINUED: The door to Faust's private chambers is visible. All action takes place in the trench. Even if Faust, at times, believes that he is transported to other locales, the action remains in the trench. PRE-SHOW As the audience enters, CHORUS is positioned near a gramophone on which he plays WWI era German songs, changing records as each song ends. Record selections end up with Richard Tauber singing "When Day is Done." When the house lights dim, CHORUS places a microphone at center, crosses back to the gramophone, and puts on another record (instrumental "When Day is Done"). GOOD ANGEL enters, crosses to mic, and sings a plaintive "When Day is Done" to the instrumental back up. She exits. CHORUS removes microphone. ACT I PROLOGUE The sound of battle: machine guns, cries, the roar of an airplane. Sound fades. Spotlight on CHORUS. CHORUS. We haven't come to tell some lofty tale of noble princes or of ancient Greeks. No more soaring voices full of songs of love. We don't intend to fancy up the stage. Only this, my friends--we must perform The form of Faustus' fortunes, good or bad. (CONTINUED) FAUST IN FRANCE / Christopher Shorr / DRAFT 12/20/2012 page 3 CONTINUED: FAUST enters from his chamber door, and crosses to shelves, pulls out a book, and reads silently, pacing, until he eventually sits down a his desk. Faust. The greatest mind in all of Germany. A man who reached the top of every game, Excelled with ease at anything he tried, 'til swollen with cunning, ambition, conceit, His waxen wings did mount above his reach And, melting, heavens conspired his overthrow. Man's made for earth and when he climbs he falls. But Faust is spoiled; used to reaching heights. Falling? Failing? That option's not for him. No problem yet's been posed he cannot crack. A dangerous pattern no one can sustain For each achievement leaves him wanting more, And glutted now with learning's golden gifts, He'll turn to necromancy for a FIX. Ah, magic, Faustus. Logical next step. But that's not yet. For now he wrestles science Which seems to him the pinnacle pursuit. He can't conceive a goal more grand than this. And this the man that in the trenches sits. CHORUS crosses to a throne set at the edge of the stage, and sits. From his position there, he watches the action unfold and puts on make up, eventually transforming into LUCIFER. SCENE 1 FAUST sits in his makeshift study. Sounds of battle rise and fall throughout the scene. An airplane overhead. An explosion nearby. Faust crosses to the gramophone, puts a record on and turns the crank. He cannot hear the music over the din of the battle. (CONTINUED) FAUST IN FRANCE / Christopher Shorr / DRAFT 12/20/2012 page 4 CONTINUED: He increases the volume until the music vies with the battle for prominence. Richard Tauber sings "Madonna, du bist schoner als der Sonnenschein." Across the stage, HANS enters and sits against the wall of the trench, shovel in hand, exhausted. Distracted by the cacophony, FAUST turns the music down and returns to work. HAUPTMANN enters from above, climbing down a ladder. HAUPTMANN (to HANS) Keep digging, lad! We'll hold this line all year You think the Kaiser pays you to sit down? These trenches ain't been trained to dig themselves. Seeing FAUST, HAUPTMANN hurriedly waves HANS off stage. HAUPTMANN (CONT’D) Most sorry to disturb your work, Herr Wissenschaftler Faust. HAUPTMANN exits. Beat. FAUST (perusing a pile of books) Where do answers lie, To settle questions of this world? This war? So many paths I've trod. These books. I've read them all ...but one. Picks up a volume of Aristotle. I began with Aristotle as a student. What answers did I find? Poetics and Analytics. Logic, dialectic, rhetoric Ick. (reading) "Where the philosopher leaves off, there the physician begins." If so says Aristotle, so it shall then be. (CONTINUED) FAUST IN FRANCE / Christopher Shorr / DRAFT 12/20/2012 page 5 CONTINUED: (2) Tosses Aristotle aside and picks up a medical book. Be a physician, Faustus, get rich quick, And become famous for some miracle cure: Oh, wait--I've done that-- Helped whole cities to escape disease. Mayor of Wittenberg made "Faustus day" My image tops a plaque in the town square. An yet I'm still just Faustus. Just a man. Goodbye disease and dealing with the sick. Could I make men immortal--then maybe... Or, being dead, raise them to life again, Then I'd have stayed a doctor. Yes indeed. Medicine, farewell! Tosses medical book aside, and picks through the pile. And law? Opens a large volume of law, and reads. "A father cannot disinherit his son, unless..." Law. A humdrum life is guaranteed. This path is perfect for a worker drone, With no ambitions higher than the bar. Too servile and conservative for me. Tosses book aside. Picks up a bible. All paths appear to lead here. Divinity is best: The Bible, Faust. View it well. Opens a bible and reads. "The reward of sin is death"-- that's hard. "If we say that we have no sin, We deceive ourselves, and there's no truth in us." Aha! So then we must sin, and so consequently die. Not "die" but "die an everlasting death." What sort of doctrine is this? Che sera, sera, What will be, shall be? I think not. I've plumbed these depths and found there's no way through. A devilish maze is all. Divinity, adieu! (CONTINUED) FAUST IN FRANCE / Christopher Shorr / DRAFT 12/20/2012 page 6 CONTINUED: (3) Tosses Bible aside, and turns to the chalkboard, full of diagrams and calculations. But this... These laws that govern nature are heavenly; Science! Chemistry! Lines, circles, letters, characters; Ay, these are those that Faustus most desires. Oh, what a world of profit and delight, Of power, of honor, of omnipotence, Is promised to the studious artisan of science! A man of science is a mighty god. Here, Faust, spend your energy to solve this riddle. And put this science to the good of war. FAUST attempts a calculation. HAUPTMANN enters with ERNST, KARL and HANS, hauling a piece of small artillery. ANNA walks alongside carrying a satchel. KARL (as he enters) And why does she get light work? I out rank her! JURGEN runs on after them, offering ERNST a small crate. ERNST (to FRITZ) No, Jurgen. The green one. JURGEN runs back off stage. HAUPTMANN (urgently, to FAUST) Excuse me sir, we need to pass through here. Protect your work. Machine gun coming through! ANNA helps FAUST collect his books and papers, then rejoins the group.