"Sinister Vain...or; Water, Wine and Words. A Poetical Play of Purgation in 33 steps." by Mark S.P. Turvin Copyright (c) 1989, 1993-Mark S.P. Turvin and Goldfish Publishers Following is a Summary Information File for the experimental two- act performance art piece "Sinister Vain..." by Mark S.P. Turvin. The play is rated PG-13. There are sexual situations and language. A NOTE ABOUT THIS PLAY. Be warned: it deals with sexual- and triangle-relationship-oriented themes, and uses elements of music, dance and poetry to portray them. One of the times that it was performed, in Boston, Massachusetts, it was picketed and closed by the (unnamed) university. We performed it anyway, in the basement of the theatre. The average running time of this piece, with intermission is one hour and ten minutes. Characters: Michael Vincent Ferrelli-A senior Creative Writing major at N.Y.U. Ingrid Christiansen-A sophomore Education major at N.Y.U. Deborah Ann Donnari-A sophomore Acting major at N.Y.U. The Maitre de. The Matron. Place: In and around New York University, Greenwich Village, and Bellvue. Time: A year in the eighties. The first twenty pages of the script are available in the file SV.TXT. A bad experience and fear of copyright infringement keeps me from uploading the rest. If you are interested in producing this script, and would like to see more, you can contact the playwright by e-mail. My address is mspt@asu.edu. I am negotiable about fees, depending on your circumstances (i.e., small, college or community theatres, etc.) and I'm sympathetic to budget constraints. I am a member of The Dramatist's Guild, and can use their contracts if needed. I can also be reached by snail mail at: Mark S.P. Turvin Goldfish Publishers, LLC 3106 North 22nd Street Phoenix, AZ 85016-7348 As a last resort, you can also call me between the hours of 8 am and 8 pm MST at (602) 912-0117. I hope you enjoy the piece, Mark S.P. Turvin +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Advertising Description: Mike is a writer studying at NYU. Debby and Ingrid, also studying at NYU, are his girlfriends. He balances his way through this nasty triangle relationship through the manipulative use of words. The world that he has created for himself revolves around a dormitory bed, an Italian restaurant, and his metaphoric chair of torture, where he binds the women to him using his sentiments and poetry as chains and leashes. As he tortures these two women in a frenzy of lies and deceit with a mixture of self-adulation and self-hatred, Mike slowly discovers how his own chains can wind up being used against himself. This memory play, using music, dance, poetry and visual images, explores three seperate psyches joined by the desperate desire for love and acceptance in a situation that offers little hope of either. While happiness may never be gained by these three people, a lesson awaits each of them by the time their joined dance is done. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Synopsis: The unit set consists of a fancy Italian restaurant table for two set up SR, a chair with chains and a camera on a tripod facing it SL, and a dormitory bed with restraining straps and a white satin sheet over it hung as a projection screen CS. These three parts of the stage make up the NYU, Bellvue, and Greenwhich Village locales that are incorporated within the lead characters mind. The cast consists of Mike, a senior at NYU majoring in writing, Debby, a sophomore acting major, Ingrid, a sophomore Elementary Education major, and the Maitre de and the Matron, who play various roles. The play centers on the triangle relationship between Mike, Debby and Ingrid. Throughout, Mike, who is represented by words, is constantly waxing poetic about the proceedings, expelling beautiful bits of poetry and prose that contrast the brutality of the situation. Ingrid, who is equated to water, remains silent until the last line, always doing as Mike bids her to do. Debby, equated to red wine, expresses herself and her position through dance, and as she is driven insane by the cruelty of the torture inflicted on her, so, too, does her dance style change, charting her self-destruction. At the start, Mike explains through a poetic monologue his current position, then moves back into the past to relive once more his mistakes. Mike explains how things were in the beginning, when it was just he and Ingrid, and his need to find something new. Along comes Debby, and he sets about in a courtship dance of wooing and winning her. By the next scene, he is back to Ingrid, and he sets up the scene as though it was for a movie script, with Debby listening to them through the door to the room. Debby locks herself in the chains on the chair SL while this goes on. Mike returns to Debby, and pleads forgiveness,while checking her chains. Since she's chained herself in, she grants it. From here on in, there is a series of movements back and forth by Mike, until he goes one step too far, causing Debby to finally say "I hate you." She doesn't leave, though, and Mike reflects on the moment, ending Act One. At the opening of Act Two, the three perform the "Masque of Indecision", a recapping of the prior act, and the introduction of an engagement ring that Mike offers Debby. Through the dance, Debby tells Mike that Ingrid has to go, which he does, dancing with her and sending her into a spin right into a chair. The rest of the act is devoted to Mike's attempt to set things right with Debby, his honestly trying to keep away from Ingrid, but the feelings that he has set forward in Debby are too much, and he cannot stop her fear and distrust. She finally winds up, after a suicide attempt (a dance entitled "Still Life with Pill Bottle and Cause"), at Bellvue. Upon her release, she leaves Mike, who preceeds to lock himself into the chair, offering himself, desperately. After Mike's pleas, Debby retorts, "You use words so well, but you're much better when you're moaning." She leaves, but not before checking the chains, making sure they're secure. Mike talks about his life after Debby, using the image for her that he's used throughout of her as red wine. He then talks of Ingrid, using her image of water. He finally decides "It doesn't matter whether it's wine or water, you still drown." Mike calls to Ingrid to let him out of the chains. Ingrid has been sitting at the table and watching this, and has picked up the engagement ring left by Debby, She drops the ring into a glass of red wine and downs the contents. She smiles and slides back in her chair, not making a move to let Mike out. She says the closing line, which is the word most used by Mike throughout the show: "Stasis."