Death Without Weeping – The Third Bank of the River – Rituals and Celebration
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| Scene by Scene | ACT III |
| Act III Scene 1 | A Feira | Street Market |
(not yet premiered)
Morning. Street-sellers prepare the merchandise for the day. Slowly people start coming in.
Everyone is selling something. The dance of the crowd with their shopping bags and the shouts and different refrains of the sellers. Everything is for sale.
Peter Abazia, percussion. MSU, 2009.
| Act III Scene 2 | Duel | Duelo |
(not yet premiered)
Aruanan is walking with José through the street markets and they run into Pedro. They argue. The crowd gathers around them. Jose and Julia try to talk them out of fighting. Carol doesn’t know what to do.
Pedro points his gun to Aruanan. People dodge. Pedro smiles. He gives his gun to José, puts money on the counter, grabs two knifes. Throws one knife to Aruanan. The people form a circle for the fight. They fight with knives, Maculelê. Aruanan gets wounded and kills Pedro.
MSU, 2009.
| Act III Scene 3 | Run Away | Fuga |
(not yet premiered)
Police sirens. Aruanan tries to escape. Chase.
Joao MacDowell. Amazonia Exhibit, 2008.
| Act III Scene 4 | Despedidas | Farewell |
(not yet premiered)
Duet.
Aruanan and Julia say goodbye. He will have to go into hiding for a while. Sofia runs in and they hug. He kisses her and leaves. Julia holds Sofia.
Casa do Brasil, NY, 2008.
| Act III Scene 5 | The Law | A Lei |
(not yet premiered)
Aruanan tries to meet Carol before he leaves. The police catch him at the Central Station.
They think the killing is drug related. Aruanan dies after interrogation.
Joao MacDowell and Jeffrey Gall. Dress Rehearsal. MSU, 2009.
| Act III Scene 6 | Death Transition |
Instrumental.
MSU, 2009.
| Act III Scene 7 | Uêremen | A Tribal Chant |
Séance.
The spirit of Aruanan descends; he is in a new robe, a different light. Everyone knows that he is there, but they don’t look directly at him. Carol has her head buried in her hands. As Aruanan begins to sing, she raises her head, but she doesn’t know what she hears.
Aruanan’s sould crosses to the third bank of the river.
Jeremy Brauner as Aruanan. MSU, 2009.
Ueremen – a spirit from the forest, one who is bigger than Nature’s cycle of life and death. The spirit overcomes the biggest wave, the wave of thunder, when the river meets the ocean.
Theme based on a chant from a tribe of the Amapá region, collected by Camargo Guarnieri. It communicates with the Pororoca, the spirit of when the water of the Amazon meets the ocean.
The Third Bank of the River is an image collected by João Guimarães Rosa. It is a place of spiritual meetings.
The scene can also be done as a duet for Aruanan (baritone) and the Professor (bass). As the Professor would be channeling the spirit of Aruanan. The Professor in not Aruanan’s father, but there is a similar kind of bond between them.
16 Ueremen 2009
| Act III Scene 8 |
| Ela Deseja Possuir As Nuvens do Céu |
| She Wishes for the Clouds in The Sky |
Julia grieves for the death of Aruanan. And then, as she meets the other women, she realizes that life will need to go on.
Kimberly Prins-Moeller as Julia.
17 Ela Deseja Possuir as Nuvens do Céu 2009
Kimberly Prins-Moeller as Julia. MSU, 2009.
| Act III Scene 9 | Sofia |
(not yet premiered)
Vocalize. Female Chorus.
The girl is playing by the river. Carol and Julia join her.
Yara, spirit of the rivers passes by, dancing over the waters.
MSU, 2009.
| Act III Scene 10 | Lavadeiras | The Laundry Women |
Julia and Carol join the laundry-women in their song of change, transformation by water.
A song of hope and light beyond the tunnel, life beyond death.
Cycle of the elements. Let the water take these souls to the third bank of the river.
Paige Sandusky as Julia. MSU, 2009.
| Finale |
MSU, 2009.
An End…
Joao MacDowell and Andrew Lulling. Dress rehearsal. Alexander Kasser Theater. MSU, 2009.
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