149/487 21 Feb 90 19:13:54
From:   Elise Krueger
To:     Mike Arst
Subj:   Re: Folk tales
Attr:   
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   I remember a lovely and hilarious retelling of Cinderella done by some folks 
in the All Hallow's Eve Players.  (written by some company member  I believe)  
In it, when the Fairy Godmother appears, she's talking self-help jargon.  
Cinderella's beautiful ball gown is made of gauze and sequins artfully draped; 
when she turns sideways, you see that it's all glued on to a piece of cardboard 
and hung by hooks from her shoulders: literally "two-dimensional, a cardboard 
character".   (Cinderella comments, "But it's got no BACK!"  F.G. replies that 
at balls people generaly don't look farther than surface impressions.)   At the 
crux of the story, after the slipper is found to fit and the Prince offers to 
take Cindy away with him to the palace, F.G. freezes time for her to think it 
over.
   Cindy finally says, "Well.... I don't know if I WANT to go away to the 
alace.  I mean, I've got a life here.... my garden is just coming up, and... 
everything that means anything to me is here."   F.G. snaps her finges and 
starts time again.  The prince looks a little taken aback when she announces 
her decision firmly.   She tells him that he's welcome to stay, but she has 
work to do.  He gazes at her retreating back, looks around at the woods.  A new 
expression grows.  
   "Right,"  he says.  Beginning tentatively, "I'll just.... stay here then.   
(to himself)  I wonder if she could use a hand with supper?"  He turns to 
follow her path.
   "Hey, Cindy!  Cindy!"   he calls, going after her in an exuberant 
little-boy-let-out-from-punishment run.
 
   It was a lovely piece.  Steve Schoenbaum, the man who acted the Prince, 
could make the whole audience cry for gladness with that last scene.
 
   I agree that to an extent, fairy tales are what you make them, and yet.... 
tales belong to the past AND the present AND the future.  They are fossils of 
old ways and keys to dreams and hieroglyphs of what might be.  We need the 
skill of talespinning like we need revolutionary poets and sculptors and people 
who give good massage.... to refresh us on the journey, that we might live 
already in the land we are seeking.   (Which is, of course, the only real way 
to dream revolution.)  


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 * Origin: The Terraboard, Minneapolis, MN (Opus 1:282/341)