you are to me as this blue sky is - you are - yet you are not

This is the first post of what will be a long and fruitful process of discovering the play "Sanyasi."

We are very excited to begin this process - we know we'll be producing it at the DC Fringe, but that will not be the whole life of this show. We are so excited to get to know you! As a brief introduction, below is a letter from the Director, Ameneh Bordi to the DC Fringe.

To the NYC Fringe,

“These birds are word-peckers.” So says Sanyasi, about the endless talking of the villagers. I lead with this to say that I hope my words can persuade you, but in the end, I can only hope that you choose this production to have a life in the festival because I believe it is truly beautiful.

I, Ameneh Bordi, am proposing to do a production of “Sacrifice” by Rabindranath Tagore, an Indian politician, musician, and playwright of the 19^th century. The play is about an ascetic who has rejected the world and everything in it – not because he thinks it will bring him to a higher point of understanding, but because he genuinely hates the world and everything in it. He then meets a young girl who gently shows him the simple beauty of connecting with other people, and though he deserts her out of fear initially, he returns to the village, having seen the truth of her outlook. It’s too late, though – she has died. In between all of these scenes, the daily life of the village plays out, little scenes of humor and mundane exchanges that both show the triviality of our lives and the simple pleasures we live for.

I am working with Keith Adams, an amazing guitarist and composer, who will be creating original music for the piece. In one of our initial conversations, he said to me: “I’ve started thinking about eastern sounds to incorporate.” I asked him – why? You’re not from the East. You’re from America . Let’s create the music that the poetry asks for, that tells our story. I think this play is so lovely because it allows for that – it has a simplicity that leaves so much room for interpretation.

We will be creating this story together, Keith, Evan Sanderson (playing the lead character) and I, along with the rest of the team of actors. The chorus of villagers is about 35 characters, but we will be working with a team of 5, so creating the dynamism required will be an exciting challenge. We will be using the chorus to create the world of the village – they will never leave the stage, switching in and out of character as the parts require, sometimes acting as one, sometimes acting as 10.

I’d like to share the opening and closing images that we have been using as starting inspiration. We think this world is one of cloth and texture – in the ideal production there would be thick swaths of cloth draping the playing space, perhaps with the audience sitting on different levels, even on cushions or in the round. Sanyasi (the ascetic) would emerge from the audience at the start of the play – the house would go dark, and from the back he would begin to speak, emerging from his cave. The beginning of the play is an out breath – the chorus is sitting either scattered through the house or on the play space breathing the play into existence. The last line of the play is: “She can never be dead.” When you are reading it, you want to turn the page, but the page is blank. To get this feeling, the play will end with a sharp intake of breath, and the disappearance of all the actors from the play space, and hopefully with all the fabric falling to the ground.

We greatly appreciate your consideration, and we hope to bring this show to the festival as an example of the beauty of classical work done by contemporary theater artists.

Sincerely,

The Sacrifice Team