Sound Cue

Welcome to the Cosmix, a Multidirectional Exploration of Technology and Art
Brought to you  by the Bishop Planetarium and the Ringling College of Art

it is time to depart on our brief cosmic journey through five visualizations of  the cardinal directions.
This vehicle will pause at each station along the way so that passengers can board or disembark.
Passemgers are free to rejoin the journey at any stop.
  
Passengers are advised to stay seated while the vehicle is in motion and please do not poke at the transdimensional wormhole residing under your seat. Our first station is just a short trip over the nearest horizon, so please, tilt back, breathe deeply and relax,
[Sounds of doors closing…]

Click Here for Mp3 of East Soundtrack as Recorded

[Image Mixes: are prerecorded into the seven dome projectors, each projector plays from its own hard drive. The dome is covered by 6 projectors around the perimeter and one for the cap of the dome. Format for dome images is mpeg-2. An image mix is made up of 7 image programs all in the same length mpeg-2 to be started simultaneously. We think the best result will be if the mpeg images are framed or vignetted in black to help with overlap and the odd fit of the dome slices. Single images can be used, but must be part of the mpeg-2 file. The image mix as described here is the seven image programs in mpeg-2. If any group or single projector should be not showing an image during any particular part of the image mix, then it needs to run black through that time frame.]

The room dims to dark, it is night, the starfield is visible and there is the ambient sounds of crickets and other insects. The mood is relaxed. The sound of soft leather shakers starts to suggest a rythymic theme within the background of insects. More shakers as sun rises (time for this planetarium effect is approx. 3 minutes.) Music is ambient sound and soft percussion increasing in complexity. Flute begins over Awakening motions. Awakening motions finish with simultaneous hand clap. Images turn on in various banks and delays over what follows. Images begin.

Narrator: Humans live in space. Whether that space is physical--outer--space, or virtual--inner--space. We locate ourselves within space by taking a fix on the cardinal directions.

The cardinal directions in this space are East, South, West, North, Up, Down and Inward.

We will begin at the Eastern edge of the day with the sun coming up. All night it has been as if we were at the center of the universe and that the earth was the hub turning within the wheel of the zodiac. But now, from our dreams, we must carry an expanded point of view into the waking world. We must now see the world in ways that can glide instantaneously along the continuums between the large and the small, the cosmic and the microcosmic, from galactic arm to cricket's leg..

The earth is turning to face a new day,

We must see things differently than we have seen them before. We must give up the way things seem to be.

The face of the sun rises over the receeding hairline of the earth.

Resolve, then,to avoid any comparison of Days.

Narrator: We stand in the East, the place of the new Sun,
the place from where the roads rise and the rivers run.

This morning, if we are to be awake to the world,
We must stand on the riverbank of intuition
preparing to cross against the heavy current of our own expectations.

Go with the flow.
Hesitation is just the space between the inhale and the exhale,
the night and the day;

Go with the flow,
hesitation is just the spot of silence before
the idea flames.

Music Cue. Sunrise finishes and then Images start at eastern end of the dome. By Approx. 5 minutes. images have increased and are all around the dome.

Life is breath,
and all things seemingy different--
at first glance either word or image--
are brought together telling the same story
on the comic book page of the universe.

The inhale and the exhale,
We are caption, we are speech balloon,
we are figures drawn in motion.

Our destiny is to turn the page.

Comic Book Page of the Universe unfolds.

Image Mix: Clouds by Dee Hood.

Sound Cue

The Vehicle has paused so that passengers may board or disembark at their convenience. Mind the gap in the virtual space/time continuum. The next station will be the South. Please board for the South now. Passengers are advised that they should kindly keep their umbrellas out of the aisles.

If you are continuing your journey please keep your seat, as the vehicle will be departing momentarily.

MP3 of South Soundtrack as Recorded

Time: Midday sliding into afternoon.

Narrator: This is the South.
One can do a lot gathering in this place.
But this is also and easy place to lose your head--
to become so detached
that the body separates from the head.

Avoid such extreme detachment
but observe rather than judge,
consider without comparing
keeping your head in the clouds...

Lose Your Head: [The Dagger Chest Illusion]
The segment begins at Midday. The sun is bright. A young woman carrying a large umbrella steps into the center. The lights dim down to feature her in a spot light. The magician comes to center with a box. An assistant caries a display with a set of 7-10 largish daggers. The magician has two panels. The box, which is open to front and back is placed on the young woman's head. We can see her head clearly in the box. The magician puts the panels on each end, back first, then front, closing up the box. Taking the daggers from the display one by one, the magician thrusts them into the box, there are a few yelps from the box as this happens but the magician takes out the dagger after the worst yelp and ascertains that there is no blood, so no problem. The blade is reinserted along with the two that remain, the last one going into the top and coming out the bottom of the box. There is a magical gesture and the front of the box is opened to show the box full of the daggers but no head is visible.

As theillusion is being performed, people with clouds enter the room. Just a few at first and softly and subtly, but by the time the head disappears from the box, the group of clouds has gathered. Lights dim. Perhaps there is a light in the box that helps illuminate it in the gathering dark. On a cloud positioned several feet in the air above the box an image of the young woman's head is projected. She reacts in various ways to having her head in the clouds. The music that has played quietly underneath the illlusion now becomes more lively and more prominent. Other clouds are illuminated and there is a dance of images in the clouds from slide projectors. The montage halts when there is suddenly a thunderclap and then a long run of rolling thunder. The head in the clouds looks alarmed. The magician reacts, closes the front of the box again and quickly gestures her back. The blades are removed quickly, one by one, the box is opened and the young woman's head has returned. The box is lifted from her head and the young woman begins the Umbrella Dance which unfolds during the Image Mix: The Rain of Beauty with rain sound and ambient music. As the Umbrella Dance unfolds, the clouds at first dancing with the umbrella gradually leave. As the go they mist the audience with portable misters like families carry in theme parks during the summer. The dome erupts in a Rain of Beauty..

Piece concludes with a thunderclap and a dribbling away, some lightening in the room, enough to leave the room with and then lights cycle into Rik Tweed's performance.

Stars Umbrella Monologue

(Woman enters carrying an open umbrella and a large traveling bag, she sets bag down, twirls umbrella, performs a sequence of movement, then speaks.)

This is quite a spectacular place. I’ve never seen anything like it. Are we outside? Are those the real stars? (A star moves) That one it just moved, a shooting star, my first shooting star in years. Did you see it? No? Well, maybe I’m just seeing things.

(Referring to bag)
I’ve been carrying this around for years. Trying to get rid of it. They say people have baggage from their past. This is mine. It’s right here! I carry the important things with me; you never know when you might need something from your past.

(Kneels down, picks up invisible binoculars – movement section)

I used to count the stars when I was little. Look right up, see how many I could see. I’ve been looking around for years with these (mime binoculars). I see far out into the universe but I’m still missing something. (Fidgeting with bag) I keep filling up my bag, hoping something will stay with me. (Stands up holding bag and umbrella) This place is amazing. I’ve really never seen anything like it. Or maybe it’s just been a long time since I had a reason to look up.

I’m trying to find my way home. I’ve been in every direction. I think this is a sign. I’ll just follow the stars. You never know where they might lead you.

(Opens umbrella, exit with movement, End)

Sound Cue

The Vehicle has paused so that passengers may board or disembark at their convenience. Mind the gap in the virtual space/time continuum. The next station is the West, board for the West now.

If you are continuing your journey please keep your seat, as the vehicle will be departing momentarily.

MP3 of West Soundtrack as Recorded

Sunset. Planetarium effect.

The Parable of the Six Quarks
(Accompanies a version of Dai Vernon's Symphony of the Rings routine)

We are standing in the West
and while waiting for the sun to set
let us consider the parable of the Six Quarks.

Some, maybe, time , not long after the beginning,
which after all is just a convention anyway,
there were six quarks, the smallest bits of anything
that could be bits, and each of these most micro of possibilities carried within it its own reality. The largest of all possible things, a universe,
existed within each of these quarks,
within the dimensions of what were the smallest spots that could be spots.

The six little quarks were called East, South, West, North, Up and Down. [Ring Count]

Each of these realities appeared quite solid and self-contained. [display and twist is hands] much like if not exactly somemaybetimes like a solid steel ring.

But appearances are always deceptive and sometimes these quarks would find themselves in just the right set of harmonic relationships and so, while vibrating together, two separate realities would become linked. [first link]

It wasn't long before they found out they liked hanging out together and fooling around. [display and spin each ring]

Saddness entered the quarky universe just to express the feelings they had when they were once again forced to part [unlink]

The quarks began to seek out opportunities to create the necessary harmonics involved to unite with one another. [sound the rings]

Somemaybetimes they could even get pushy about it. [crash link]

But there alwaysmaybe followed the inevitable pain of being ripped away again. [pull-through unlink]

Finally there came a maybetime in which they all were maybe occupying close to the same maybespace [twist all] when a possibly brand new idea occurred to maybesome of them.

First one orbited out in an exciting new quantum spin. He/she/it was almost immediately joined by another and then, in a moment of what might now be called inspiration, three quarks danced the quantum spin and showed how the infinite possibilities of separatness can lead to the infinite possilities of togetherness. Thus was the simultaneous invention of gravity, magnetism, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and love.

Pretty soon all the quarks in the universe and all the universes in the quarks were tying themselves up in relationships that really mattered...there were trinities, triads and triangles and not longer after that there were electron shells and co-valent bonds. [link two to cloverleaf to chain of three]

All these new links seemed unbreakable yet, the quarks danced indeterminedly between the one and the many, joining together and drifting apart. [Unlink new chain of three. Exchange with the volunteer assistant]

All the separate little universes discovered that they were actually linked one to another in great chains of circumstance and harmony [link through the chain of three, and then unlink from the chain]

One ring could pass throughthe whole length of the universal chain traveling anywhere there was a where or was a once interpenetrating everyting in its path. [Jacob's ladder]

The universes became interlinked in a diverse infinity. [Show infinity link]

Relationships In which all the quarks were infinitely and completely interlocked. [interlocked rings]

All the universes that make up our reality arranged themselves in the figures of eternal balance, the small hung on the framework of the large, the cosmic interpenetrated by the microcosmic. [figures]

The parable of the quarks unfolds the secret of the universes that all things are connected in the great chain of being, [great chain] that all things seem separate and apart is just an illusion. we are all one with one another, hung on the great principle that is being, life, existence, time and space. [finish with all rings on the key]

Kids slide show. Images are slides made by school groups attending museum during run up to event. Images made with sharpies on coin mounts for silver dollars and fifty cent pieces.

Quark Dance by Lance Ford Jones and Claudia Cumbie Jones. Morphs into Rik Tweed performance below.

Sound Cue

The Vehicle has paused so that passengers may board or disembark at their convenience. Mind the gap in the virtual space/time continuum. The next station is the West, board for the West now.

If you are continuing your journey please keep your seat, as the vehicle will be departing momentarily.

North

MP3 of North Sountrack as recorded

Night. Planetarium effect.
The Light the Story fire is lit. Ambient sound of fire crackling.

It is night, we are standing in the North and the sun has set. We light the story fire
to hear one of the world's oldest stories.

Black Light Theater: The story of Shiva:

Narrator: (from the story as told by Eugene Burger)

In the Hindu tradition it is the God Brahma who creates the universe and all that there is. Brahma then retires, and the God Vishnu takes over. Vishnu sustains and preserves the universe in every moment of its existence. And then, at the end of time, the God Shiva appears and dances a weird and terrible dance of fire--the tandava dance--in which the entire universe is destroyed in blinding light, bright with the light of all the suns. Then, if one can even speak of then, the universe is no more. There is only silence, vast cosmic sleep. And out of this vast cosmic sleep, Brahma wakens himself again. He looks about seeing nothing--nothing lovely nor beautiful, he decides to create the universe again. And after creating it, he retires, pleased again at his eternal play.

The outline of the story is told in the Blacklight theater with four-armed Shiva appearing there as she begins the Tandava Dance. Perhaps the dance moves out of the black light theater into the larger image space. Images are projected on the Dome as Shiva shakes the Universe to a soundtrack like for Forbidden Planet.

The soundtrack ends in sustained cosmic buzz from special red light synthesizer which diminshes to silence. The dance concludes, the universe is destroyed and everything is again dark with just the figure of Brahma illuminated. Brahma gestures, The magician steps forward into a spotlight with a rope, quickly cuts it into many pieces. The rope cutting might occur while the Tandava dance is danced. The magician then swallows the cut pieces and then restored whole rope out of his mouth. The figure of Brahma nods, appears satisfied, reclines and returns to sleep. Blackout to dome projection.

Class in Writing for Performance and Installation Group Show

Click Here for Runtime Page

Finale: Theme Music: Up is Down Collaboration with Anna.DeMers. Cast goes behind dome and distributes there during music. The room goes dark into sky field followed by rotating zodiac the rotating zodiac disolves into tableaux vivant of cast behind the dome backlit with house lights.

Applause. Lights up.

Pause, then exit music for audience with soft house lights up.