Act II


Momentum – Conflict, Intoxication – Torn Between Two Worlds

 

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|   Scene by Scene    |        Act II      |

 

|     Act II scene 1   |    On a Clear Morning  |    Na Manhã Clara    |

Claudio Mascarenhas as Aruanan, Amy Buckley as Carol. Amazoniz Exhibit, 2008.

Claudio Mascarenhas as Aruanan, Amy Buckley as Carol. Amazonia Exhibit, 2008.

The Sun rises and Aruanan takes Carol around his city. He grabs the morning paper, they notice kids sleeping on the sidewalk. In the train to his neighborhood, they cross paths with the crowds who are going to work.

07 Na Manhã Clara – On a Clear Morning 

Brittany Silver as Julia. MSU, 2009.

|     Act II Scene 2   |  Tá Vendo Demais   |  I’ve Seen Too Much   |

Julia is Aruanan’s ex-girlfriend and mother of his daughter. She comes out of the crowd, stares at Aruanan and Carol and sings a song of anger and jealousy. She talks about her  visions of past and future.

Abby Powell as Julia. Amazonia Exhibit, 2008.

08 Ta Vendo Demais 2008

 

|     Act II  Scene 3     |    Movimento.     |

Joseph Wilson as Pedro. MSU, 2009.

Pedro wants to be an international drug dealer.
He plans to buy from Brazilians and sell to Americans.
He hesitates to approach the deal but trusts his fate to the protection of higher spirits.
He gets to the major dealers, gives them the money and gets the cocaine. They talk about life, the risk of death, the passing of time, in and out of jail, and the aimless direction of their lives. Then Pedro daydreams about the American woman, and how she may open some doors for him.

Joseph Wilson as Pedro. MSU, 2009.

09 Movimento 2009

Guto Bittencourt as Pedro. Amazonia Exhibit, 2008.

|    Act II Scene 6    |   You Are Mine   |

Quartet.

Aruanan sings a song for Carol, an expression of his possessive love. It’s the height of their romance and at the same time the moment when Carol realizes she will need to move on.
Meanwhile Julia expresses her need for Aruanan and Pedro his desire to have Carol.

Michael Sandor as Aruanan, Jennifer Paragano as Carol. MSU, 2009.

10 You Are Mine 2009

|    Act II  Scene 7    |   Dia a Dia       |

(not yet premiered)

Activity, heat, traffic, horns. Multiple actions taking place. Routine life of those who work.
Carol makes coffee and drinks in front of her computer, she writes e-mails; she describes her new life, her first impressions, Aruanan, and Pedro.
The different themes of the characters in overlapping counterpoint. Everyday life, a game of motifs. Julia is taking care of her daughter. She works on the laundry, she starts hanging big sheets of cloth across the stage, the dancers and chorus join her.  On the other side Pedro is giving money to the police. Aruanan meets Jose, they chat.

Jeremy lamb and Joao MacDowell. Rehearsal, 2008.

|    Act II Scene 8    |   The Beach     |

(not yet premiered)

While the city works in the background, at the beach a different life flows parallel. Surfers, artists, drunks and pot-heads, girls in bikinis, teenagers, beach-sellers, the unemployed beggars, tourists. The outsiders join in a life devoted to the Sun, the water and the salt.
Aruanan and Pedro hang out. They smoke together and joke about their different visions of the world.

Raymond Carega, percussion. MSU 2009.

|    Act II Scene 9    |   A Tempestade   |   The Tempest  |

Evening. Aruanan is alone at the beach.
He sees a storm gathering in the horizon and foresees his own death. He sees men in the sea, facing the tempest. He puts his destiny in the hands of Yemanjá, spirit of the ocean and of Inhansã, spirit of storms.

Jeremy Brauner as Aruanan. MSU, 2009.

11 A Tempestade 2009

|    Act II Scene 10    |    Morningside Park   |

Pedro takes Carol out for dinner.
They establish a connection as they share their dreams and memories of New York.
Carol is open for new adventures. They have sex.

Max DeFrancesco as Pedro, Andrea Covais as Carol. MSU, 2009.

12 Morningside Park 2009

|    Act II Scene 11   |  A Lenda do Tamanduá  |   The Anteater Fable  |

Evening. Sofia’s bedroom. It rains outside. Julia plays with her daughter and sings to her, trying to put her to bed. A wind blows through the curtains and Julia perceives death in the air.

Lorene Henderson as Julia. MSU, 2009.

13 A Lenda do Tamanduá 2009

|    Act II Scene 12    |  Um Murmúrio   |   A Song of  Rumors   |

Night. Light Rain.  Suspicion, confusion.
People gossip, sheltered by buildings and umbrellas. Characters go different ways.
Aruanan is in his room. He senses that something has happened. He is hurt not so much because he senses that Carol had sex with Pedro, but by the fact that people are talking.
Carol walks dreamily, lost in her own thoughts. Towards the end of the scene she gets to Aruanan’s place and reluctantly walks up the steps to his room.

We don’t see their conversation after that, but we may assume that it doesn’t go very well.

Alex Houser as Aruanan. MSU, 2009.

14 Murmurio 2009

|   Act II Scene 14 |

|   Os Ingredientes   |    The Ingredients    |

|   Their Last  Meal  |    A Última Refeição    |

(not yet premiered)

As Bruxas: Sabine, Debora, Laudicéia and Suzie. Amazonia Exhibit, 2009.

The women, led by the witches, stir the caldron, they sing. Actors, singers and dancers serve the soup to the audience.

End Of Act II

Casa do Brasil, 2008.


Go to Act III