References in the text (very partial)

Note: images didn't copy from my original document. Damn!

QUESTIONS (formulated pre-rehearsal):

1) Substitution for White Dwarf? Or actor pretending to be a dwarf? Or something else entirely? (mistake to make over racial statement here?)

2) Based on Humana production (and given the fact that I'm working with student actors, mostly), what are some acting pitfalls I should watch out for? I'm thinking that speaking and thinking exceptionally clearly and precisely are among the most important suggestions to give them--true?

3) I'm also thinking that we would attempt very little movement except when movement is clearly called for (and then strong, choreographed movement); sound right?

4) Why the family name "Ring" (or "Outermost Ring")? Suggests...? Disputant asks, "You are the fourth Ring to bear the family name of Ring?" (33)

Page 3: "Scene[Steam ]:" title of scene? (1st entr'acte "Steam") Scene 2:[Snowey ]
What is "steam" meant to suggest?

Page 9 of pdf: Moth: "... to greet the new century, and yes, the new millennium, yes..." Deliberate conflation of 19th-20th and 20th-21st centuries? Another meaning? (Am I being to literal here?)

Page 11 of pdf: Fraser: "I, the photographer, be damned." -- confused by the "I"

Page 27: Julia hopes that names are "... not mere slank appelatives." slank? not a typo for "rank"?

Page 46: "...the white triangular cake of St. Wolof." I can find no reference to Wolof beyond the people and language spoken in Senegal. Related to "Gift of Ivory"? Deliberate African reference? Significance to "white triangular cake"? Also: Significance of "Long White Man"? Reference?

Page 51: Stage directions say the White Dwarf enters and "narrates of the stage directions which follow"; is that intended to say "narrates some of the stage directions.."?

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References:

FRASER:
Simon Fraser (20 May 1776–18 August 1862) was a fur trader and an explorer who charted much of what is now the Canadian province of British Columbia. Fraser was employed by the Montreal-based North West Company. By 1805, he had been put in charge of all the company's operations west of the Rocky Mountains. He was responsible for building that area's first trading posts, and in 1808 he explored what is now known as the Fraser River, which bears his name. Simon Fraser's exploratory efforts were partly responsible for Canada's boundary later being established at the 49th parallel (after the War of 1812), since he as a British subject was the first European to establish permanent settlements in the area.
Contents

STAGE DESCRIPTION: "a Malevich white-on-white target"

Kasimir Malevich
Suprematist Composition: White on White (1918)

Gallery label text
2006

Malevich described his aesthetic theory, known as Suprematism, as "the supremacy of pure feeling or perception in the pictorial arts." He viewed the Russian Revolution as having paved the way for a new society in which materialism would eventually lead to spiritual freedom. This austere painting counts among the most radical paintings of its day, yet it is not impersonal; the trace of the artist's hand is visible in the texture of the paint and the subtle variations of white. The imprecise outlines of the asymmetrical square generate a feeling of infinite space rather than definite borders.



Publication excerpt
The Museum of Modern Art, MoMA Highlights, New York: The Museum of Modern Art, revised 2004, originally published 1999, p. 85

A white square floating weightlessly in a white field, Suprematist Composition: White on White was one of the most radical paintings of its day: a geometric abstraction without reference to external reality. Yet the picture is not impersonal: we see the artist's hand in the texture of the paint, and in the subtle variations of the whites. The square is not exactly symmetrical, and its lines, imprecisely ruled, have a breathing quality, generating a feeling not of borders defining a shape but of a space without limits.

After the Revolution, Russian intellectuals hoped that human reason and modern technology would engineer a perfect society. Malevich was fascinated with technology, and particularly with the airplane, instrument of the human yearning to break the bounds of earth. He studied aerial photography, and wanted White on White to create a sense of floating and transcendence. White was for Malevich the color of infinity, and signified a realm of higher feeling.

For Malevich, that realm, a utopian world of pure form, was attainable only through nonobjective art. Indeed, he named his theory of art Suprematism to signify "the supremacy of pure feeling or perception in the pictorial arts"; and pure perception demanded that a picture's forms "have nothing in common with nature." Malevich imagined Suprematism as a universal language that would free viewers from the material world.



P. 3
WHITED SEPULCHERS:
Matthew 27-33
27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. 28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, 30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. 32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
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P. 3
BLENCH
blench 1 |blen ch |
verb [ intrans. ]
make a sudden flinching movement out of fear or pain : he blenched and struggled to regain his composure.
ORIGIN Old English blencan [deceive,] of Germanic origin; later influenced by blink .
blench 2 |blɛntʃ| |blɛntʃ|
verb chiefly dialect
variant spelling of blanch .

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fugleman
n. soldier standing in front of others to demonstrate drill, etc.; model.

References: Frontenac Bay

From LoveToKnow 1911
FUGLEMAN (from the Ger. Flügelmann, the man on the Flügel or wing), properly a military term for a soldier who is selected to act as "guide," and posted generally on the flanks with the duty of directing the march in the required line, or of giving the time, &c., to the remainder of the unit, which conforms to his movements, in any military exercise. The word is then applied to a ringleader or one who takes the lead in any movement or concerted movement.


The Expedition Leaving Fort Frontenac on Lake Ontario. November 18, 1678
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References:
Telegu (pronounced TEL-egu) (also Telugu)
Telugu Islands
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
telugu
noun
1. a member of the people in southeastern India (Andhra Pradesh) who speak the Telugu language
2. a Dravidian language spoken by the Telugu in southeastern India

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P. 13
FLEA CIRCUSES: http://www.flea-circus.com/ (includes a great video!)
A flea circus refers to a circus sideshow attraction in which fleas were attached to miniature carts and other items, and encouraged to perform circus acts within a small housing. Fresnel lenses were mounted on all sides of the housing to allow visitors to view the attraction.
A number of electrical, magnetic, and mechanical devices were used to augment the exhibit. In some cases these mechanisms were responsible for all of the "acts," with loose fleas in the exhibit maintaining the illusion. Some "flea circuses" do not contain any fleas at all and the skill of the performer convinces the audience of their existence.
The first records of flea performances were from watch makers who were demonstrating their metal working skills. Flea circuses were first advertised as early as 1833 in England, and were a main carnival attraction until 1930. Some flea circuses persisted in very small venues in the United States as late as the 1960s. Since the flea circus has largely become a lost art form, much information about them is anecdotal or steeped in lore, and is not authoritative.
-- wikipedia
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P. 13
Lepidopteran:
lep·i·dop·ter·an (lěp'ĭ-dŏp'tər-ən) Pronunciation Key
n. An insect belonging to the large order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths, characterized by four membranous wings covered with small scales.
- Cite This Source - Share This
lepidoptera
1773, "insects with four scaly wings," the biological classification that includes butterflies, coined 1735 by Swed. botanist Carolus Linnaeus (Karl von Linné, 1707-78) from Gk. lepis (gen. lepidos) "(fish) scale" (related to lepein "to peel") + pteron "wing, feather" (see petition).
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P. 13
Neman River:
is a major Eastern European river rising in Belarus and flowing through Lithuania before draining into the Curonian lagoon and then into the Baltic Sea at Klaipėda. It is the border between Lithuania and Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast in its lower reaches. The 14th largest river in Europe, the largest in Lithuania and the 3rd largest in Belarus, it is navigable for most of its 900-kilometer length.

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P. 14
dioptrical silver plate
dioptrics: the branch of geometrical optics dealing with the formation of images by lenses.
"silver plate photograph": Daguerreo-type
(see history of photography in file)

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P. 15
Diophantine Challenge Box:
Diophantine: \Di`o*phan"tine\, a. Originated or taught by Diophantus, the Greek writer on algebra.
Diophantine analysis (Alg.), that branch of indeterminate analysis which has for its object the discovery of rational values that satisfy given equations containing squares or cubes; as, for example, to find values of x and y which make x^{2} + y^{2} an exact square.
Diophantine Challenge:
Problem: Given that x, y, and b are positive integers, prove that the Diophantine equation, x2 + (bminusx)y = plus or minus1 in x and y, has at least four solutions for all values of b.

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P. 19 Wandering Albatross
The Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans), is a large seabird from the family Diomedeidae which has a circumpolar range in the Southern Ocean. It was the first species of albatross to be described, and was long considered the same species as the Tristan Albatross and the Antipodean Albatross (in fact a few authors still consider them all subspecies of the same species). Together with the Amsterdam Albatross it forms the Wandering Albatross species complex. The Wandering is the largest member of the genus Diomedea (the great albatrosses), and is one of the best known and studied species of bird in the world.

The Wandering Albatross has the largest wingspan of any living bird, with the average wingspan being 3.1 metres (10.2 ft).
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P. 19
Imp Obsidian
Imps were the common name given to familiar spirits that served witches in the middle ages. Imps were usually kept inside artifacts such as gemstone pieces or vials and summoned for service by magics. An example of such an imp is one that was supposedly under the service of the alchemist Paracelsus, who supposedly kept one locked inside a crystal in the pommel of his sword.[citation needed]

(Obsidian is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics.)
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P. 19
whyd·ah also whid·ah (hwĭd'ə, wĭd'ə) Pronunciation Key
n. Any of several African weaverbirds of the genus Vidua, the male of which grows long, drooping, predominantly black tail feathers during the breeding season. Also called widow bird.

Dahomey:
Dahomey was the name of a country in Africa now called the Republic of Benin. The Kingdom of Dahomey was a powerful west African state founded in the seventeenth century which survived until 1894. From 1894 until 1960 Dahomey was a part of French West Africa. The independent Republic of Dahomey existed from 1960-1975. In 1975, the country was re-named Benin after the Bight of Benin (not the unrelated historical Kingdom of Benin) since "Benin", unlike "Dahomey", was deemed politically neutral for all ethnic groups in the state.
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P. 19
Leucoblast:
Main Entry: leu·ko·blast
Variant: or chiefly British leu·co·blast /'lü-k&-"blast/ noun
: a developing leukocyte : a cellular precursor of a leukocyte —compare LYMPHOBLAST, MYELOBLAST

Leucorrhea
noun
discharge of white mucous material from the vagina; often an indication of infection [syn: leukorrhea]

Leucocyte
blood cells that engulf and digest bacteria and fungi; an important part of the body's defense system [syn: leukocyte]

Leucocytosis
An abnormally large increase in the number of white blood cells in the blood, often occurring during an acute infection or inflammation.

Leucoderma
n. Partial or total loss of skin pigmentation, often occurring in patches. Also called vitiligo.
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P. 20
Sikkimese hangover (Sikkim)
a kingdom in NE India, in the Himalayas between Nepal and Bhutan. 315,682; 2818 sq. mi. (7298 sq. km). Capital: Gangtok.
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P. 23
Shrike
1. any of numerous predaceous oscine birds of the family Laniidae, having a strong, hooked, and toothed bill, feeding on insects and sometimes on small birds and other animals: the members of certain species impale their prey on thorns or suspend it from the branches of trees to tear it apart more easily, and are said to kill more than is necessary for them to eat.
2. any of several other birds having similar bills, as the vanga shrikes.
3. (initial capital letter) Military. a 10-foot (3-m), 400-pound (180-kg) U.S. air-to-ground missile designed to destroy missile batteries by homing in on their radar emissions.
O.E. scric "thrush," lit. "bird with a shrill call," probably echoic of its cry and related to shriek (cf. O.N. skrikja "shrieker, shrike").
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P. 26
Chiffonnier
3. a shallow, tall, open piece of furniture, of the 18th century, having shelves for the display of china.
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P. 27
Pseudo-Mennipus (no ref.)
Mennipus:
There is another tale, known by both the Greeks and Romans, about the wedding of a young man called Mennipus. At the wedding, the bride was carefully observed by a philosopher called Appolonius of Tyana. Appolonius accused the bride of being a vampire and then, according to a later tale, the bride confessed to vampirism, saying that she planned to marry Mennipus so she could have a fresh source of blood to drink from. (from website on vampires!)

Also: Painting by Diego Velazquez
"Mennipus"
Oil on Canvas
Completed in 1640

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P. 27
Kama-Loka
in Buddhism, the world of feeling.
Arupa-loka is, in Buddhist thought, the highest of the three spheres of existence in which rebirth takes place. The other two are rupa-loka, “the world of form,” and kama-loka, “the world of feeling” (the three are also referred to as arupa-dhatu, rupa-dhatu, and kama-dhatu, the “realms” of formlessness, form, and feeling).

In Theosophy, Kamaloka (derived from Sanskrit) is the semi-material plane, subjective and invisible to humans, where the disembodied "personalities", the astral forms, called Kamarupa remain, until they fade out from it by the complete exhaustion of the effects of the mental impulses that created these eidolons of human and animal passions and desires. It is associated with Hades of ancient Greeks and the Amenti of the Egyptians, the land of Silent Shadows; a division of the first group of the Trailõkya. (See "Kamãdhatu")

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P. 30
Melanesian
1849, in ref. to Melanesia, one of three large divisions of Pacific islands, from Gk. melano-, comb. form of melas (gen. melanos) "black" (see melanin) + nesos "island." Modeled after Polynesia and meant to signify "the islands inhabited by blacks."

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P. 32
Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House (http://www.newporthistorical.org/sites_wlhh.htm)
The oldest surviving house in Newport, the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House was built for Stephen Mumford in ca.1697. Mumford was a merchant and a founding member of Newport's Seventh Day Baptist congregation.The house passed to Mumford's son, Stephen Mumford, Jr., and then was sold to Richard Ward, a lawyer who became governor of the colony of Rhode Island in 1741. During the Revolution, Ward's son Samuel also was elected to that office.

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P. 35
"Shake shake shake
Shake the devil off
in the name of Jesus" -- gospel tune--check out this clip on UTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOoU-gbAXqE

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P. 35
"Taji...Yillah"
From Melville's Mardi:
From a blog (http://rodneywelch.blogspot.com/2003_06_01_archive.html):
Our protagonist is joined by a Nordic Sailor named Jarl and, eventually, a couple they meet on what appears to be a deserted ship, Samoa and Aleema. Along the way they encounter a group of savages who are about to sacrifice the beautiful maiden Yillah, whom they also rescue.
The five eventually land on the archipelago of Mardi -- whose geography I have not quite mapped out in my head, and which if I'm not mistaken is ruled by King Media -- where the protagonist is recognized as the god Taji. Yillah suddenly goes missing, and a search for her ensues amidst the surrounding area -- a long and somewhat loping search in which Melville gazes and dreams and thinks and philosophizes on a great deal.

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P. 50
The Winter War (Finnish: Talvisota, Swedish: Vinterkriget, Russian: Зимняя война, also known as the Soviet-Finnish War or the Russo-Finnish War began when the Soviet Union attacked Finland on November 30, 1939, three months after the invasion of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union that started World War II. Because the attack was judged as illegal, the Soviet Union was expelled from the League of Nations on December 14. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin had expected to conquer the whole country by the end of 1939, but Finnish resistance frustrated the Soviet forces, who outnumbered the Finns 4:1 in men, 200:1 in tanks and 30:1 in aircraft[4]. Finland held out until March 1940, when the Moscow Peace Treaty was signed ceding about 10% of Finland's territory (excluding its population) and 20% of its industrial capacity to the Soviet Union.
For two and a half years following the offensive period, December 1941 until June 1944, the Continuation War was conducted as a stabilized war in the trenches. The Finns had assumed Germany’s success in their war plans. They expected a relatively easy advance following the retreating Soviet troops to Finland’s new frontier - where that was may not have been so clear in the beginning. The war that was supposed to be a short one continued and seemed to turn into something else as the winter came and the Germans were still far from their objectives. The Soviets had already achieved some local successes forcing the Germans to retreat in places. The Finns had already lost more lives than in the Winter War. By December fighting stabilized into trench warfare in all parts of the front line. Continuous field fortifications formed across the Karelian isthmus.

Karelian Isthmus is bridge of land between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga joining Russia and Finland
Map of Karelian Isthmus: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Karelian_Isthmus.png
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(Scene Three)

WHITE WATER CROW FOOT

Common water-crowfoot - Ranunculus aquatilisCommon water-crowfoot - Ranunculus aquatilis
UK distribution - East Anglia, Midlands, North, South East, South West

Common water-crowfoot can be seen either floating or submerged in ponds and ditches. It has deeply dissected submerged leaves and dark green three-lobed floating leaves. The floating leaves appear just before the papery white, yellow-centred flowers, which can very attractively cover the surface of a pond in early summer.

Water crowfoot provides cover for most aquatic life including water spider and the larvae of dragonflies and damselflies. Some species of beetle are attracted to the flowers.
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