2025-03-21 - The Discotheque at the End of the Universe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE DISCOTHEQUE AT

THE END OF THE UNIVERSE

An Entheotrainment in Five Acts

by Sean Manseau

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright 2023 by Sean Manseau

seanmanseau (at) gmail dot com

 

CAST OF CHARACTERS

AKASHA:	The Holy MA, feminine hypostasis of the Trinitarian Godhead, in Her aspect as God/dess of the Future
DR. SHONDA FREUDE:	A Phonomancer with a Ph.D in Western Popular Culture Studies (and a Jung Institute dropout)
PA DAMMIT:	Phonomancer Primus and Founder of Popular Psionics
SANTA MUERTE:	“Most Holy Death,” a Mexican folk saint who is a syncretic mix of the Virgin Mary and the Aztec death goddess Mictēcacihuātl
SYZYGY STARDUST:	The Herald of the Holy MA and a fractal of KA, the hermaphroditic Child aspect of the Trinitarian Godhead
PHONOMANCERS:	Cadre of Entheogenic Fitness Training Instructors/Demo Models onstage who play the roles of AKASHA, DR. SHONDA FREUDE, SANTA MUERTE, and SYZYGY STARDUST
RHYTHM PHONOMANCERS:	EFT Instructors on the Dance Floor who demonstrate correct participation for CADETS and PARTICIPANTS
CADETS:	Those engaged in Entheogenic Fitness Training
PARTICIPANTS:	All those in attendance without explicit ceremonial tasks beyond having fun

Place

The St. David Bowie Entheogym occupies a renovated warehouse. Its workout floor is a hexagonal space about 50 feet in diameter. Situated around it are 6 elevated go-go platforms with a microphone on a stand. Behind each small stage is a curtained exit. Between the stages are 10’ video screens. Hanging from the ceiling and walls is a state-of-the-art sound system and rigging from lights and special effects devices. The workout floor has multiple rings of chairs, with 6 at the center, then 12, 24, and 48. These have been divided into 6 sections of 15 chairs, with an aisle in between. Each section faces a go-go stage.

 

Time

The Future.

 

Act I - Primer

Scene 1

As the lights in the Entheogym go down, the video screens say, PLEASE TAKE YOUR SEATS. Text scrolls up from the bottom of the screens. Welcome, friends, to the St. David Bowie EntheoGym, and our weekly game of Phonomancer™! Tonight's entheotrainment is THE DISCOTHEQUE AT THE END OF THE UNIVERSE. The Discotheque is not a performance. It's a form of experimental, participatory theater designed to create a direct and immediate experience of the Sacred. Begin by imagining it's the year 2223. You're an adherent of a psychedelic religion that believes that starting in the mid-20th Century, the Divine returned to Earth in the form of popular music to save our civilization from its suicidal nosedive. By working with the songs in the Discotheque, you'll connect to Akasha, the God/dess of the Future, channel Her energy into the world, and help humanity survive the myriad existential threats we face as we build our glorious destiny, the science fictional Suffragette City. Here are the rules of the game! 1. For the duration of this ceremony, we are creating a sacred space together. Please respect that. 2. Please keep conversation to an absolute minimum. 3. Do not touch anyone without asking for and receiving permission. Listen for and respect a NO, which is anything that isn't a clear and enthusiastic YES. Violate this rule and you'll be asked to leave immediately. 4. The music will be at nightclub volume. If things get a little too rocking for you, there are ear plugs and industrial ear protection available. 6. Tonight we are doing ritual magic together to prevent the end of the world. Please deep-play make-believe just as hard as you can and help us succeed! 7. To that end, do your best to feel the emotions the songs are intended to evoke. 8. Please contribute to the information density in the room by dancing and singing along to the best of your ability. Don't know what to do? Imitate the Phonomancers up on their go-go platforms around the Dance Floor! They are here to model how to engage in this wild new form of participatory theater. 9. The more you get into it, the wilder and more moving your experience will be, and you'll be contributing to your neighbor's experience, too. We're in this together. 10. Last but not least, HAVE FUN!

Scene 2 – Teach Me to Do Magick, Pa Dammit!

As the last lines scroll up, a streaming starfield fades in. Superimposed over the stars is a sacred phonomantic symbol: a stylized 45 RPM record pierced vertically by a double-ended arrow. Then PA DAMMIT appears on the screens. He is a middle-aged man with short, side-parted hair and a neat gray goatee. He is wearing a black clerical shirt with a blue LED dog collar. Around his neck hangs a heart-shaped locket on a chain. PA DAMMIT Before we get started, I need to offer a quick primer about what magic is, and how you can experience it. Magic is an irruption into everyday reality of a capital-M Mystery that is eternal. That Mystery is experienced as meaning; it's a feeling, an emotion. When emotion gets strong enough, you'll know that Magic is real. PA DAMMIT demonstrates as he instructs. Put a hand over your heart. Doesn't matter which. Now hold it about a foot away from your body. Extend your index and pinky fingers while tucking your middle and ring fingers under your thumb. This gesture is commonly known as the "heavy metal horns." Now. I'm going to count to three. On the silent count of four, say, "FUCK YEAH!" nice and loud while brandishing the horns. Ready? One, two, three... ALL Fuck yeah! PA DAMMIT Did you feel a little psychic oomph? A little thrill that made you grin? Let's try it a couple more times. Really say it like you mean it. One, two, three... ALL FUCK YEAH! PA DAMMIT One, two, three... ALL FUCK YEAH! PA DAMMIT Great job! Understood correctly, that's a taste of actual, literal magic. To experience a big walloping dose of magic here tonight, all you've got to do is play along and have fun.

 

ACT II - Processional

Scene 1 - Invocation of the Angels of the Cardinal Directions

The screens say, PLEASE STAND. PA DAMMIT Please face south. The words to this Invocation are displayed. When PA DAMMIT speaks, RHYTHM PHONOMANCERS and CADETS recite the lines in perfect sync. PA DAMMIT Michael, Lightsaber of God, Divine Weapon of Transformation, please extend to us your protection as we labor tonight. ALL Protect us! PA DAMMIT Please face west. Gabriel, Messenger of Divine Light, Application of Loving Grace, please open in this space a high-bandwidth channel between us and the mind of God. ALL Help us see! PA DAMMIT Please face north. Uriel, Light of God's Wisdom, Rendering Engine of Transcendent Knowledge, please help us understand the information encoded in the blessings we receive tonight. ALL Help us understand! PA DAMMIT Please face east. Raphael, Medicine of God, Technologist of the Soul, please help us find here and now the healing we need, so that we may rise tomorrow ecstatic to face the prospect of a new day. ALL Help us heal! PA DAMMIT Please address the ground. Gaia, Mother Earth, four-and-a-half-billion-year-old spaceship, you are the source of our physical being. Your solid support provides us grounding in space/time, and we need never fear becoming lost, because we are always safe at home with you. ALL Support us! PA DAMMIT Turn your faces to the sky. To our extraterrestrial cousins in near-Earth orbit, and those scattered through local interstellar space, we invoke your benevolent attention, and offer a hearty, "Why dontcha drop by sometime?" We aspire to be like you one day. Please help us use our experiences tonight to accelerate our evolution. ALL Guide us!

 

Scene 2 - Invocation of the Divine Mother

PA DAMMIT Preparations are complete. Now the ceremony begins with three songs dedicated to the Divine Mother. Here's what I want you to understand about the way we are using the following songs in this ceremonial context: We are repurposing them, and in doing so, making what was mundane, sacred. By filtering the songs through consciousness, embodying them with our voices, we imbue them with specific meaning, for a specific purpose. In this Invocation, we invite the HOLY MA, the feminine face of the Godhead, to accompany us on our journey, to offer her protection and comforting embrace. If you're an atheist or an agnostic, that's fine. Nobody's going to try to foist any beliefs on you. Just try to be open to a sense of Presence, a sense of deep meaning, or a connection to a larger reality.

 

Scene 3: “Lady-O” by The Turtles

Music plays: gentle guitar arpeggios. On the screens, PA DAMMIT is replaced by a music video. The video features scenes from Disney's Fantasia and AI-generated images of science fictional goddesses. The chyron in the lower left corner of the screens identifies the song as "Lady-O" by The Turtles. Figures emerge from the curtains to stand on the dark stages. All are wearing cowled cloaks, with an LED heart glowing red against their chest. Although their cloaks are closed, we can see they are wearing white go-go boots. These are the PHONOMANCERS. Each leads the ceremony for the PARTICIPANTS seated in the section before them. When the recorded vocals begin, the PHONOMANCERS sing along in perfect precision, as do the CADETS when lyrics appear on the screens. PHONOMANCER While you sit and seek, A crescent moon is laying at your feet With hope that's made of sand, You don't think you can, But you have held it all in your hand, Lady-O   I've been trying hard to keep from needing you But from the start, My heart just rolled and flowed I've seen where it goes And still somehow my love for you grows, Lady-O ALL So on my heels I'll grow wings Gonna ride silver strings But I'll see you in my holiest dreams, Lady-O PHONOMANCER I've been trying hard to keep from needing you But from the start, My heart just rolled and flowed I've seen where it goes And still somehow my love for you grows, Lady-O ALL So on my heels, I'll grow wings Gonna ride silver strings But I'll see you in my holiest dreams, Lady-O

 

Scene 4: “Explain” by Jeremy Egnik

A new song begins. It's called "Explain." The new video features the Virgin Mary in a white, sleeveless, circle-A "Anarchy" t-shirt. She is lighting a Molotov cocktail from Her cigarette. PHONOMANCER If I could move the weight of everything Blind the skies and change the 'tomic role Here I am and not the answers Only scars can show this time I'm still wandering round your door ALL How can I explain dear You've been gone for some time But I still believe you'll be here oh no Again

 

Scene 5: “Mother of Love” by The Velvet Teen

Another song, another video. This one is built around William-Adolphe Bouguereau's famous painting, "La Vierge au lys." PHONOMANCER He tries to play it safe like he knows he should But he lives inside his mind and his heart's in Hollywood And she'll never know that every corner of his mind Holds a picture of her so he won't forget   Down into his heart he's consumed with her Like a parasite looking for a host in him And she'll never know 'cause she's too far away And he's still a boy so he should just forget ALL Holy Mother of Love we exalt thee Unto you all praise and we thank thee And we'll live out each day to its fullest extent It's just what we meant to do from the start

 

Scene 6 - Invocation of the Future – “The Thunder: Perfect Mind”

Intense white lights blaze behind the PHONOMANCERS, putting them in silhouette and sending rays through swirling stage fog. The effect is a heavenly realm. An organ begins playing. It’s the opening to Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy.” But instead of the familiar words “Dearly Beloved…” we hear a pre-recorded, echoing voice reciting the Gnostic prayer “The Thunder: Perfect Mind” as the organ continues to play. The PHONOMANCERS recite the words along with the recording as they attempt to possession by the HOLY MA in her aspect of AKASHA, God/dess of the Future. CADETS recite along with them. PARTICIPANTS are probably wondering what is going on. AKASHA I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End Honored and scorned, Whore and Holy One, Wife and Virgin, Mother and Daughter, I am barren, and many are my children I am the silence incomprehensible, the idea frequently remembered I am hearing that is attainable, speech that cannot be grasped I am the letters of the word and the spaces in between I am the utterance of my name Listen then and give heed, you hearers And you also, you angels and those who have been sent, you spirits who have arisen from the dead I am one, alone No one can judge Me For many are the pleasant forms that exist in numberless sins, and myriad incontinencies, and disgraceful passions, and fleeting pleasures which men embrace until they become sober and go up to their resting place And there they will find Me And there they will live And there they will not die again For mine is the power to make glorious story, now and forever ALL FUCK YEAH!

 

Act III - Rite of Mythopoeia

Scene 1 - The Herald Arrives – “Moonage Daydream” by David Bowie

When the last echoes of the voice of THE HOLY MA fall away, the power chords introducing “Moonage Daydream” come crashing down. The screens say, PLEASE RISE! The hooded figures tear off their cloaks, revealing multiple DR. SHONDA FREUDEs. They are dressed identically in knee-high white vinyl go-go boots, white mini skirt, wide white belt, white sports bra, white elbow-length gloves, white heart-shaped sunglasses, a white wig, and under a blue cloak, a gossamer cape studded with sparkling lights. A bespoke music video begins playing on the TVs. It combines images of David Bowie in performance, various Goddesses, and clips from the film “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” Lyrics appear on screen when PARTICIPANTS are asked to join in singing. DR. SHONDA FREUDE I’m an alligator I’m a mama-papa comin’ for you! I’m the space invader I’ll be a rock ‘n rollin’ bitch for you Keep your mouth shut You’re squawkin’ like a pink monkey bird And I’m bustin’ out my brains for the words ALL Keep your ‘lectric eye on me, babe Put your raygun to my head Press your spaceface close to mine, love Freak out in a moonage daydream, oh yeah DR. SHONDA FREUDE Don’t fake it, baby Lay the real thing on me The church of man, love Is such a holy place to be Make me baby Make me know you really care Make me jump into the air ALL Keep your ‘lectric eye on me, babe Put your raygun to my head Press your spaceface close to mine, love Freak out in a moonage daydream, oh yeah During the long, fadeout guitar solo, the lights go down, the PHONOMANCERS lift their arms to make wings of their flashing, starry capes, and they go into a trance state with the intention of achieving Enthusigasm live on stage. When “Moonage Daydream” is over, the screens say, PLEASE BE SEATED.

 

Scene 2 - Revelation

DR. SHONDA FREUDE Dearly beloved, welcome to the First Church of David Bowie, Phonomancer! You are all so terribly attractive. I am Dr. Shonda Freude, Ph.D in Western Popular Culture Studies, Jung Institute dropout, and it will be my great pleasure to lead you in tonight’s entheogenic workout, THE DISCOTHEQUE AT THE END OF THE UNIVERSE. Think of it as CrossFit for your spirit. Each song we’ll dance to has an associated meditative exercise that will develop your capacity to feel specific emotions. These are opportunities to deepen and complexify your character. But as in any exercise class, you’ll get out of it what you put in. At the FCDB we proclaim two truths: the God/dess (or God, or Brahman, or Allah, or the Ein Sof, or Buddha-nature, or the Universal Mind, or whatever you wish to call it) is real. However, religion is MAKE-BELIEVE. That is, all religions are based on stories. Stories that were first written down decades or more after the supposed fact by people who were not even present to witness the events they claim to describe. Are these stories true? Until someone invents a time machine, there’s just no way to know for sure. The best we can say is that they are quasi-fictional. They are imaginally true. But that is all they need to be! By acting as if these quasi-fictional stories are true, followers of traditional religions immerse themselves in games of make-believe that enable and condition experiences of the Sacred while simultaneously generating community. In other words, they get results–-or at least, they used to. This insight—that religion is a game to be played, a game that becomes reality when it gets you up-close-and-personal to the Sacred—is important. If religion is a game, then perhaps we are free to create new and ever more sophisticated and efficacious games. Games that not only work as vehicles for experiencing the Holy but are actually fun!

 

Scene 3 - Covenant

DR. SHONDA FREUDE At the First Church of David Bowie, we play such a game. It is called Phonomancer™. A phonomancer is a shamanic entertainer. They use singing and dancing along to popular recorded music to enter altered states of consciousness and experience visions. This is possible because during the 20th Century, after a long absence, the God/dess returned to directly influence historical events here on Earth. She took the form of popular music, and more specifically, the intense emotions such music can convey. She did so to provide us the means to evolve our consciousness, integrate our collective Shadow, and prevent the end of the world. In this next song, the God/dess promises that no matter what happens, we are always safe at home with her. A heavy hip hop beat begins playing. The song is “Umbrella,” by Rihanna. The screens say, PLEASE RISE.

 

Scene 4 – “Umbrella” by Rihanna

DR. SHONDA FREUDE No clouds in my stones Let it rain, I hydroplane in the bank Comin' down like Dow Jones When the clouds come, we gone We Roc-A-Fella We fly higher than weather In G5's or better You know me In anticipation for precipitation stack chips for the rainy day Jay, Rain Man is back With Little Ms. Sunshine, Rihanna, where you at?   You have my heart And we'll never be worlds apart Maybe in magazines But you'll still be my star Baby, 'cause in the dark You can't see shiny cars And that's when you need me there With you I'll always share Because   ALL When the sun shines, we'll shine together Told you I'll be here forever Said I'll always be your friend Took an oath, I'ma stick it out to the end Now that it's raining more than ever Know that we'll still have each other You can stand under my umbrella You can stand under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh Under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh Under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh Under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh-eh DR. SHONDA FREUDE These fancy things will never come in between You're part of my entity, here for infinity When the war has took its part When the world has dealt its cards If the hand is hard Together we'll mend your heart Because ALL When the sun shines, we shine together Told you I'll be here forever Said I'll always be your friend Took an oath, I'ma stick it out to the end Now that it's raining more than ever Know that we'll still have each other You can stand under my umbrella   You can stand under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh Under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh Under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh Under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh-eh DR. SHONDA FREUDE You can run into my arms It's okay, don't be alarmed Come into me (there's no distance in between our love) So gon' and let the rain pour I'll be all you need and more Because ALL When the sun shines, we shine together Told you I'll be here forever Said I'll always be your friend Took an oath, I'ma stick it out to the end Now that it's raining more than ever Know that we'll still have each other You can stand under my umbrella   You can stand under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh Under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh Under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh Under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh-eh DR. SHONDA FREUDE It's raining, raining Ooh, baby, it's raining, raining Baby, come into me Come into me It's raining, raining Ooh, baby, it's raining, raining You can always come into me Come into me It's pouring rain It's pouring rain Come into me Come into me It's pouring rain It's pouring rain, come into me

 

Scene 5 - Prophecy

DR. SHONDA FREUDE Phonomancers believe the God/dess is an omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent emotional gestalt. This can be expressed in the simple formula EMOTION = ENERGY = SPIRIT. Thus, by concentrating on the emotion invoked by a given song, we can unleash the energy it contains. This energy--the Spirit of the God/dess--empowers us to do actual, literal magic. Magic we can use to transform ourselves. Magic we can use to transform our society. Now! You may not believe that. But I invite you to act as if you do! For the length of tonight's ritual, let go and get into it. Be a phonomancer. You may find that by the time our game of make-believe concludes, your belief is no longer quite so ersatz. And you will have taken a step into a brighter, wilder, and altogether more meaningful existence. Can I get a "FUCK YEAH"? ALL FUCK YEAH! DR. SHONDA FREUDE In the game of Phonomancer™, terrible times are coming. We have an Enemy; he seeks to destroy us. He would lead our civilization into squalor, misery, troglodytism, and madness. His name is Apathy. His name is Nihilism. His name is Despair. He is behind the multiplying existence crises that have put humanity on the verge of a collapse into a post-apocalyptic nightmare. We might even face extinction. But there's also a slim chance we may discover a way to reorganize our societies to adapt to those stressors and evolve into an interstellar species. In other words, our future will either be "Mad Max" or "Star Trek: The Next Generation." By gathering tonight to party like it's 1999, we can overcome the terrible Enemy hell-bent on our destruction. Join me know in doing magic that prevents the end of the world.

 

Scene 6 – “1999” by Prince

Crashing synthesizers announce the beginning of "1999." All PHONOMANCERS do synchronized dance steps that mimic the choreography in the song's iconic music video. CADETS and PARTICIPANTS do the same, taking care not to violate the assigned hex space of those around them. DR. SHONDA FREUDE I was dreamin' when I wrote this Forgive me if it goes astray But when I woke up this mornin' Could've sworn it was judgment day The sky was all purple There were people runnin' everywhere Tryin' to run from the destruction You know I didn't even care ALL Say, say, 2000 zero zero, party over Oops, out of time So tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999 DR. SHONDA FREUDE I was dreaming' when I wrote this So sue me if I go too fast Life is just a party And parties weren't meant to last War is all around us My mind says prepare to fight So if I gotta die I'm gonna listen to my body tonight, yeah ALL They say, 2000 zero zero, party over Oops, out of time So tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999 Yeah, yeah DR. SHONDA FREUDE Let me tell ya something If you didn't come to party Don't bother knockin' on my door I got a lion in my pocket And, baby, he's ready to roar Yeah, yeah Everybody's got a bomb We could all die any day, ow! But before I'll let that happen I'll dance my life away, oh-oh-oh ALL They say, 2000 zero zero, party over Oops, out of time We're runnin' outta time So tonight we gonna party like it's 1999 Say it one more time 2000 zero zero, party over Oops, out of time, no, no So, tonight we gonna, we gonna, whoa! Alright, it's 1999 You say it, 1999 1999 Oh, 1999 DR. SHONDA FREUDE Don't stop, don't stop, say it one more time ALL 2000 zero zero, party over Oops, out of time Yeah-yeah So tonight, I'm gonna party like it's 1999 (we gonna, whoa) 1999 Don'tcha wanna go (1999) Don'tcha wanna go, oh (1999) We could all die any day (1999) I don't wanna die I'd rather dance my life away (1999)

 

Scene 7 - Exegesis

DR. SHONDA FREUDE We can avoid this terrible fate, but we must purchase our future by paying for the collective sins of our past. So in tonight’s game of Phonomancer™, we perform a Rite of Atonement called “The Anne Frank Working.” It is a story of death and rebirth told in five songs. “The Anne Frank Working” is an ordeal. On the far side of that ordeal lies your reward: a glimpse of the Divine Plan that justifies the horrors of history. You will be reminded that despite the sometimes unbearable awfulness of the world, everything is going to be okay. Better than okay: a glorious destiny awaits us. In that future, all broken hearts will be healed. Can I get a “fuck yeah”?! ALL Fuck yeah! DR. SHONDA FREUDE All it takes is letting go and getting into the moment, right here, right now. Sing along if you know the words. When requested, stand up and dance. Turn music into magic. Be a phonomancer. During the first song of this Rite of Atonement, “Oh Comely,” allow yourself to feel shame and sorrow as you contemplate the terrible fate of the young writer Anne Frank, who fell victim to the Holocaust. If that is not enough to bring up horrified revulsion, imagine it happening to someone you know and love. You must make it personal. For the magic to work, it must hurt. There will be a moment when you will come face-to-face with absolute evil; the highly sensitive are duly warned. When the TV screens say, DON’T CLOSE YOUR EYES, close your eyes. What follows is shock and horror. Not everyone is ready for that confrontation. In the second song, “Ghost,” rejoice in the knowledge Anne is now a little boy in Spain, playing pianos filled with flame. She knows she lives forever, as do we all, and thus there’s no need to ever be afraid. Can I get a “fuck yeah”?! ALL Fuck yeah! DR. SHONDA FREUDE In the third song, “Untitled,” exult in the part you are playing in life, this greatest of dramas. And in the fourth, “Two-Headed Boy Pt. 2,” feel saudede, the exquisite pain of knowing that everything you love and cherish will someday slip away. Our willingness to love in the face of loss is a sacrifice we can offer the Goddess to give thanks for the gift of our existence. She derives aesthetic pleasure from all human emotion, but courageously suffered heartbreak most of all. Not out of cruelty or sadism; it is simply so achingly beautiful to Her. It’s in our brave submission to the inescapable that we can transcend ourselves. Can I get a “fuck yeah”? ALL Fuck yeah! DR. SHONDA FREUDE In the last song, “Release,” commit to the struggle for the future with ferocious joy. We shall overcome our Enemy and achieve our bright science fictional destiny. Suffragette City awaits. And now, my friends, with courage, gaze into the abyss.

ACT IV - Rite of Atonement

Scene 1 - The Black Wall

The DR. SHONDA FREUDEs exit their stages, which go dark. On the screens appears PA DAMMIT. PA DAMMIT It’s been estimated that over the last six centuries, something like four hundred million people have been murdered by conquest, genocide, slavery, colonialism, and imperialism. It’s been an unprecedented orgy of human beings visiting pain on other human beings. The energetic mass of that murder and rape is like a black wall that’s preventing us from evolving, from realizing our true birthright as children of the God/dess. Imagine it as built of blocks six feet long, two feet high, three feet wide. Calculate the cubic volume of that block, multiply it by four hundred million, then arrange that any which way you want. That’s what we’re up against. It has stopped us in our collective tracks. I think we can all feel it. Politically, culturally, even technologically, our progress has slowed drastically, if not halted or even gone backwards. But the momentum of evolution is still running up against us. The pressure is building and building. There’s a ticking clock. Under the lash, the gun, the barbed wire, humanity has screamed, collectively, for its mother. And so the feminine aspect of the Eternal Godhead, the Holy MA, is coming at a run to see what the matter is. Perhaps the first stirrings of her energy could be felt in the abolition of slavery. Then the Suffragette Movement. It grew during the struggle for Civil Rights in the U.S. The rise of ecological consciousness, the popular efforts to end the Vietnam War, Women’s Liberation, the anti-nuclear movement, gay rights, #metoo, and more. The Holy MA grows closer. What happens next depends on what she finds when she gets here. We’re toppling at the edge of something. Tip one way, and it’s going to be “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Tip the other way and it’s going to be “Mad Max.” If, when the full blast of her energy arrives, our metaphorical rooms are clean, it’ll be the former. If she gets here to find we’ve been finger painting the walls with our own shit, well…there will be a rupture. All that pressure that’s been building will blow. The result might be a nuclear war, or total climate catastrophe, or a superflu epidemic, or an out-of-control inhumanly intelligent AI, or take your pick. It won’t be pretty. It’ll set us back ten thousand years. We must get past that wall. And there’s only one way to do it: tear it down, one block at a time. Now. Josef Stalin once said, “One murder is a tragedy, but one million murders...that’s a statistic.” And Stalin was right. You cannot grasp a million murders, let alone four hundred million. You just can’t. Your mind won’t allow it. But what you can do is think about one person. One face, one name, one story that you know like she told it to you herself, because she did, in a book you read when you were in seventh grade. It was called “Diary of a Young Girl,” and the author was Anne Frank. PA DAMMIT is replaced on the screens with a school portrait of a smiling Anne Frank. An ineffably sad string quartet begins to play as the camera slowly zooms in on her photo. PA DAMMIT Anne Frank lived in fear in Amsterdam for two years, until she was dragged out into the street under the eyes of her neighbors, who did not protest, and shoved into a car, and taken to a building where she waited without being allowed to pee, and then pushed onto a railcar, and then taken to a camp, and in that camp, she withered away until she died of typhus. Then she just was another dead naked adolescent girl, heaped on the corpses of other teenagers, because a particular guard had a fetish for that sort of thing, and he liked to take photographs. So, during this next song, think about Anne Frank. Bring her to life in your consciousness and go through that experience with her. You must own it, live the terror, feel the true crushing weight of her loss. Suffer and do penance for our collective wrongs. When you’re done, there’ll one less six-foot by three-foot by two-foot block in that wall. Maybe that will be enough that a little of that pressure can escape. Maybe you’ll have bought us a little more time. If enough of us do this Shadow work, we can finally grow up as a civilization. We can become the citizens of the transcendent we are meant to be. So do this Rite with me. ALL It means something. It’s our responsibility. It’s all up to us.

 

Scene 2 - A Visit from Santa Muerte

The screens grow dark. Dissonant, unsettling synthesizer drones play. On the screens a message appears: TRIGGER WARNING. The video accompaniment for the first song of this working contains graphic images of wartime atrocities. They will appear on screen in approximately 5 minutes and will be displayed for 30 seconds. After a minute or so, this message is replaced by a photograph of a human skull decked out in jewels and silk scarves. It is a detail from an altar to LA SANTA MUERTE. A minute after that, LA SANTA MUERTE emerges from the backstage curtains to stand before the microphone. She is the negative Madonna, whose womb is the tomb. She wears a black funeral dress, a blue hooded cloak with a white pendant at the throat, a black mantilla, and a crown. She has a skull face and skeletal arms. She is clutching a framed photo of Anne Frank. Now there are six SANTA MUERTES up on the go-go platforms arrayed around the dance floor. In each seating section, CADETS get up to leave offerings at Her feet: a bottle of tequila, a pack of Marlboros, a bag of Mexican candy, and a handful of dollar bills. There is a squall of feedback, and then “Oh Comely” by Neutral Milk Hotel begins to play.

 

Scene 3 – Monstrous Pawn Sacrifice - “Oh Comely”

by Neutral Milk Hotel

On the TVs music video begins. It features scenes from a 1955 black and white film of Anne Frank’s book “Diary of a Young Girl.” We follow Anne and a couple of friends as they enjoy a day of window shopping. However, superimposed over these scenes is the translucent image of LA SANTA MUERTE, who follows them like a hungry ghost. SANTA MUERTE Oh Comely I will be with you when you lose your breath Chasing the only Meaningful memory you thought you had left With some pretty bright and bubbly Terrible scene that was doing her thing on your chest   But oh Comely It isn't as pretty as you'd like to guess In your memory you're Drunk on your awe to me It doesn't mean anything at all   Oh Comely All of your friends are all letting you blow Bristling and ugly Bursting with fruits falling out from the holes Of some pretty bright and bubbly Friend you could need to say comforting things in your ear   But oh Comely There isn't such one friend that you could find Here standing next to me only my enemy I'll crush him with everything I own ALL Say what you want to say and hang for your hollow ways Moving your mouth to pull out all your miracle for me Now the video features newsreel footage of Nazi officials, soldiers, and police pulling Jews from their homes, marching them through the streets, abusing them in town squares, and loading them into trucks. SANTA MUERTE Your father made fetuses with flesh licking ladies While you and your mother were asleep in the trailer park Thunderous sparks from the dark of the stadiums The music and medicine you needed for comforting So make all your fat fleshy fingers to moving And pluck all your silly strings and bend all your notes for me Soft silly music is meaningful magical The movements were beautiful all in your ovaries All of them milking with green fleshy flowers While powerful pistons were sugary sweet machines Smelling of semen all under the garden was all you were needing When you still believed in me The screens say, DON’T CLOSE YOUR EYES. Then appear, in succession, three photographs taken during the liberation of concentration camps. They show human corpses stacked like lumber. These images last for the length of the chorus.   ALL Say what you want to say and hang for your hollow ways Moving your mouth to pull out all your miracle for me The video now shows photos of Anne Frank and her family in happier times. SANTA MUERTE begins removing her costume piece by piece. SANTA MUERTE I know they buried her body with others Her sister and mother and five hundred families SANTA MUERTE removes her mask to reveal the PHONOMANCER beneath. PHONOMANCER And will she remember me fifty years later I wished I could save her in some sort of time machine The video shows Jewish children in concentration camp uniforms. PHONOMANCER Know all your enemies The video shows Japanese-American children in behind barbed wire in internment camps. PHONOMANCER We know who our enemies are The video shows Mexican children in chainlink cages. PHONOMANCER Know all your enemies The video shows Donald Trump from behind, standing in front of an American flag, his clenched fists held high in victory.   PHONOMANCER We know who our enemies are ALL Dah dah dah dahhhh dah dah dah x 3 The video shows the scene from the movie “Schindler’s List” in which a little girl in a red coat flits between the legs of a marching crowd to dart into an abandoned building and then hide under a bed. PHONOMANCER Goldaline my dear We will fold and freeze together Far away from here There is sun and spring and green forever But now we move to feel For ourselves inside some stranger’s stomach Place your body here Let your skin begin to blend itself with mine A sigil appears on screen. It encodes the message, “WE ARE SO FUCKING SORRY.” ALL Dah dah dah dahhhh dah dah dah x 3

 

Scene 4 – She’ll Never Be Afraid - “Ghost”

by Neutral Milk Hotel

“Oh Comely” concludes. The TV screens ask participants to PLEASE RISE…AND DANCE! Then a smiling portrait of Anne Frank appears. PHONOMANCER Ghost, ghost I know you live within me Feel as you fly In thunderclouds above the city Into one that I Loved with all that was left within me Until we tore in two Now wings and rings And there's so many waiting here for you   And she was born in a bottle rocket 1929 With wings that rings around a socket Right between her spine All drenched in milk and holy water pouring from the sky I know that she will live forever She won't ever die And she goes ALL And now she knows she'll never be afraid! PHONOMANCER To watch the morning paper blow into a hole Where no one can escape (Dee dee dee-dee-dee, etc.)   And one day in New York City, baby A girl fell from the sky From the top of a burning apartment building Fourteen stories high And when her spirit left her body How it split the sun! I know that she will live forever All goes on and on and on and She goes ALL And now she knows she'll never be afraid! PHONOMANCER To watch the morning paper blow into a hole Where no one can escape (Dee dee dee-dee-dee, etc.) Ah!

Scene 5 - The Return of Syzygy Stardust – “Ghost”

by Neutral Milk Hotel

“Ghost” concludes with cacophony and a long, sustained chord. PHONOMANCERS exit their stages. CADETS and PARTICIPANTS all stand still with elbows tucked into their sides and hands raised in the universal hand sign for “Heavy metal!” or “Fuck yeah!” but in this instance stands for a wildchild affirmation of the idea EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS IS PERFECT. They hold this position as a synthesizer riff opens the next track, “Untitled.” The screens say: PLEASE WELCOME... SYZYGY STARDUST! When the drums kick in, everyone explodes into dancing. On every go-go platform, SYZYGY STARDUST takes the stage. They are the Cosmic Christ done up in glittering purple spandex with a magenta mullet and red platform boots. Emblazoned on their chest is a superhero emblem: a red heart cracked open by a black lightning bolt. On the TV screens is footage of NMH performing a 1996 living room show in Athens, GA. The music video climaxes with clips from the movie “Stormy Weather” of Lena Horne and Ben “Bojangles” Robinson dancing. The song ends with a whole chorus singing, “AH!” The PHONOMANCERS use this as an opportunity to invoke the Holy Ma, their version of the Great Goddess. ALL MAAAAAAAAAA!

 

Scene 6 – Where Some Holy Spectacle Lies –

“Two-Headed Boy Pt. 2” by Neutral Milk Hotel

“Untitled” transitions into “Two-Headed Boy Pt. 2” with a warbling trumpet and a singing saw. The screens say, PLEASE BE SEATED. SYZYGY STARDUST Daddy, please hear this song that I sing In your heart there's a spark that just screams For a lover to bring A child to your arms That could lay as you sleep, And love all you have left Like your boy used to be Long ago wrapped in sheets warm and wet   Blister please, with those wings in your spine Love to be with a brother of mine How he'd love to find your tongue in his teeth In a struggle to find Secret songs that you keep Wrapped in boxes so tight Sounding only at night as you sleep   And in my dreams you're alive and you're crying As your mouth moves in mine, soft and sweet Rings of flowers ‘round your eyes And I'll love you For the rest of your life (when you’re ready)   Brother see we are one and the same And you left with your head filled with flames And you watched as your brains Fell out through your teeth Push the pieces in place Make your smile sweet to see Don't you take this away I'm still wanting my face on your cheek ALL And when we break We'll wait for our miracle God is a place where some holy spectacle lies And when we break We'll wait for our miracle God is a place you will wait for the rest of your life SYZYGY STARDUST Two-headed boy She is all you could need She will feed you tomatoes And radio wire And retire to sheets safe and clean But don't hate her when she gets up to leave

 

Scene 7 - Offering the Boon – “Release (a capella)” by Pearl Jam

When “Two-Headed Boy Pt 2” ends, there is 30 seconds of silence. The SYZYGY STARDUSTS remain at their microphones, heads down. Then an a capella rendition of Pearl Jam’s song “Release” begins with vocalist EDDIE VEDDER droning OM. The SYZYGY STARDUSTs join him on the second OM, then all RHYTHM PHONOMANCERS come in on the third. The TVs display a streaming starfield with the sacred phonomantic 45. EDDIE VEDDER OM… OM… OM… SYZYGY STARDUST I see the world Feel the chill Which way to go Windowsill I see the words On a rocking horse of time I see the birds in the rain Ommm…   Oh dear dad Can you see me now? I am myself Like you somehow I'll ride the wave Where it takes me I'll hold the pain Release me ALL Om, om aye SYZYGY STARDUST Oh dear dad Can you see me now? I am myself Like you somehow On the TVs an animation plays. It is based on an Alex Grey visionary painting. A man is laying on his deathbed. His spirit exits the top of his head as a whole dimension of spirits avidly await his arrival home. ALL I will wait up in the dark For you to speak to me I'll open up Release me Release me Release me Release me Ommmmmm…

ACT V - Recessional

Scene 1 – Credo

"Release" ends with a keening falsetto note that everyone hits in unison. There is a pause in the action for a moment as the PHONOMANCERS, CADETS, and PARTICIPANTS give themselves a raucous hand for another job well done. SYZYGY STARDUST The Anne Frank Working is complete. By bravely bearing the terrible weight of a stolen human life, you have removed a block from The Black Wall. You've opened a way for the momentum of history to begin carrying us toward Metropolis... New Atlantis... Suffragette City... whatever you wish to call the future, we have saved it! We have saved the world! For another day, at least. But the world needs so much more than saving. It needs YOU. Your curiosity, creativity, and courage could secure the brightest of tomorrows. So please join our Legion of Shamanic Superheroes by reciting with us the Phonomantic Oath. Our dedication to each other and the future of humanity is the “why” that makes bearable any “how.” ALL We are Phonomancers. We shape reality in accordance with the True Will: All broken hearts must someday be healed. Stalwart, indomitable, implacable, we engage challenges with ferocious joy, because each is an opportunity to prove ourselves worthy of our desires. This is our troth: No matter how long it takes, no matter how much it hurts, we swear on our lives we will achieve our Purpose: to reunite with our beloved Akasha, the Holy MA, Celestial Mother of Heaven, in the Discotheque at the End of the Universe. Our love gave birth to the stars. Our love is the churning sea of fire at the heart of the sun! Her call to us reverberates through infinite space-time. We have heard it, and baby, we are coming home! Scene 2 – “Moonage Daydream” reprise This recitation is followed by an a-capella rendition of one verse and chorus of Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream." As the SYZYGY STARDUSTs sing the verse, they pull toy ray guns from holsters on their hips. CADETS also produce ray guns. When the chorus arrives, everyone sings along and starts blasting away. The only accompaniment to their voices is the futuristic zapping sounds of flashing lasers.

 

Scene 3 - Suffragette City Awaits

When the chorus of "Moonage Daydream" is finished, Bowie’s “Suffragette City” kicks in. SYZYGY STARDUST Thanks for coming out! We’ll see you next week. SYZYGY STARDUST raises both hands to bless the crowd with the sacred “heavy metal horns." SYZYGY STARDUST Let your heart become a star burning with gratitude to the One who makes it all possible. Let the Holy Fire fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes, then superconduct that energy into the world. In so doing, you ransom us all. Remember, your Ma loves you. Remember! Scene 4 - “Suffragette City” by David Bowie SYZYGY STARDUST Hey man! Aw, leave me alone you know Hey man, Oh Henry, get off the phone, I gotta Hey man, I gotta straighten my face This mellow-thighed chick just put my spine out of place Hey man, my schoolday’s insane Hey man, my work's down the drain Hey man, well she's a total blam-blam She said she had to squeeze it but she then she ALL Aw, don't lean on me, man, 'cause you can't afford the ticket I'm back on Suffragette City Oh, don't lean on me, man 'Cause you ain't got time to check it You know my Suffragette City Is outta sight she's all right SYZYGY STARDUST Hey man, oh Henry, don't be unkind, go 'way Hey man, I can't take you this time, no way Hey man, dear droogie don't crash here There's only room for one and here she comes, here she comes Oh, don't lean on me, man, 'cause you can't afford the ticket ALL I'm back on Suffragette City SYZYGY STARDUST Oh, don't lean on me, man 'Cause you ain't got time to check it ALL You know my Suffragette City SYZYGY STARDUST Is outta sight she's all right Oh, hit me (Guitar solo) SYZYGY STARDUST Oh, don't lean on me, man, 'cause you can't afford the ticket ALL I'm back on Suffragette City SYZYGY STARDUST Oh, don't lean on me, man 'Cause you ain't got time to check it ALL You know my Suffragette City SYZYGY STARDUST Oh, don't lean on me, man, 'cause you can't afford the ticket ALL I'm back on Suffragette City SYZYGY STARDUST Don't lean on me, man 'cause you ain't got time to check it ALL You know my Suffragette City SYZYGY STARDUST Is outta sight she's all right SYZYGY STARDUST A Suffragette City, a Suffragette City I'm back on Suffragette City, I'm back on Suffragette City   Ooh, Suffragette city, ooh, Suffragette City Ooh-how, Suffragette City, ooh-how, Suffragette City Everyone stands still with both hands raised in the heavy metal horns. Projected above the heads of the crowd is a six-sided hologram of the Holy MA in Her aspect as Akasha, God/dess of the Future. Everyone turns towards Her and opens their heart.  ALL Awwwwwww, WHAM BAM THANK YOU MA’AM!   Then it’s back to singing and dancing. ALL A Suffragette City, a Suffragette City Quite all right A Suffragette City Too fine A Suffragette City, ooh, a Sufragette City Oh, my Sufragette City, oh my Suffragette City Oh, Suffragette Suffragette!

 

Scene 5 - The Discotheque at the End of the Universe

The familiar piano intro of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" rings out. PHONOMANCERS descend from their platforms to join the CADETS and PARTICIPANTS on the floor. People are laughing and exchanging warm embraces to express gratitude to each other for their efforts to contribute to the aesthetic and spiritual experience they've all just enjoyed. But everyone on the dance floor quickly sorts themselves into concentric rings that alternate facing out and in, so that everyone is facing someone else. Each ring holds hands. By the time STEVE PERRY of Journey begins singing, all are in position. There's no singing along in this exercise until the final chorus. It's based on pure phonomantic appreciation: simply listening to the music and allowing it to evoke a response. The more you relax, the stronger the emotion grows. The goal is to maintain eye contact with the person in front of you (you're allowed to close your eyes for up to five seconds if you become overwhelmed) and keep a straight face (much hoarder than it sounds) as you transcend self-consciousness, remaining completely open while the music puts you into a state of ecstasy. Scene 6 - “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey STEVE PERRY Just a smalltown girl Livin' in a lonely world She took the midnight train going anywhere   Just a city boy Born and raised in South Detroit He took the midnight train going anywhere   A singer in a smokey room A smell of wine and cheap perfume For a smile they can share the night It goes on and on and on and on   Strangers waitin' Up and down the boulevard Their shadows searchin' in the night Streetlights, people Livin' just to find emotion Hidin' somewhere in the night   Workin' hard to get my fill Everybody wants a thrill Payin' anything to roll the dice Just one more time   Some'll win, some will lose Some are born to sing the blues Whoa, the movie never ends It goes on and on and on and on   Strangers waitin' Up and down the boulevard Their shadows searchin' in the night Streetlights, people Livin' just to find emotion Hidin', somewhere in the night ALL Don't stop believin' STEVE PERRY Hold on to that feelin' ALL Streetlights, people STEVE PERRY Oh-oh-OHHHHHHHHH!   ALL Don't stop believin' Hold on Streetlights, people Don't stop believin' STEVE PERRY Hold on to that feelin' ALL Streetlights, people, ohhhhh! Don’t stop!