SCREAM OF THE BUTTERFLY
Based on the book by Sean Mcgrath - Version 8 – 8.6.12
The Scream of the Butterfly is a young man's physical and spiritual journey of adolescence.
His journey takes him to a mysterious monk in Burma, an adventure with a lion man in Kenya and on to a spiritual awakening in the Himalayas.
THE ACTS
Act 1 – Burma and Kenya – 1988 page 4
Family background includes frequent moving as father works for the United Nations. Source of permanence and impermanence. Contact with the monk. Love with Nadya. Adventure in Kenya.
Act 2 – Comoros and Bangkok – 1989 page 27
Exposure to cultures and values of conflict, warfare, revolution and suffering. Rejection and failure to achieve a purpose in life. Nadya again. The New Messiah.
Act 3 – Phillipines and Release of the Butterfly – 1991 page 54
Cultural rejection. Psychic healing. Nadya again. New values. Encounter of enlightenment.
THE PLAYERS
Steve – SEARCHING ADOLESCENT - who moves to a different country and culture every one to three years. Seeks love, home and stability, but fears responsibility. Intelligent, emotional, adventurous, willing to try drugs or anything to find answers.
Nadya – STRONG & SEXY - adolescent girl, beautiful, sexually attractive, seeking adventure and love in international environments. Highly emotional and intelligent. Strong values.
Boris– CAREFREE ADVENTURER - Adolescent. Adventurous. Many years in Asian countries. Heavy drinker. Tough character.
Marie – GENTLE – nature girl, caring for others. Adventurous. Experienced.
Other parts: Monk, Kurt, Mercenaries etc.
Act 1 – Burma and Kenya – 1988/9
Scene 1 START THE PLAY WITH THE BEAUTIFUL YOUTUBE SLIDE SHOW OF BURMA CALLED - "BEAUTIFUL MYANMAR"by planetbeautiful - STARTING AROUND 1.56 WITH THE AUDIO OFF
Steve is sitting in a chair in a spotlit stage.
S- I was pretty lucky growing up !!….traveling to many exotic countries while my father worked forthe United Nations. Changing scenery all the time! The only drawback was...that when a strange new place started to feellike home…with familiar places, sounds, smells…and friends, the tour of duty would be over, and we would pack up and move on.
My most vivid memories are of three small children huddled among old battered suitcases like refugees, waiting at airports, train stations or bus depots to move on to another hotel …another apartment … another house … another country.
By the time we graduated from high school I had attended 9 schools, my sister 10 and my brother 12
As a child, I thought a nomadic life was normal...as all my friends lived the same way. Very often any friends we thought we had lost by changing a posting, reappeared in later postings or during holidays, in the designated ' rest and recreation' posts for UN personnel .
End the video for "BEAUTIFUL MYANMAR"by planetbeautiful here.
While I enjoyed the discovery of these new cultures - their wonderful food, music, art, dance, and festivals – I also discovered their very sad realities … the existence of malnutrition, poverty, hunger, lack of hygiene, disease, drug addiction, suffering and war.
We had been living in Burma for two years when I began to experience strange dreams, fears and nightmares. Friends recommended some herbs and drugs, but nothing seemed to help and things went from bad to worse. This may actually be the point where my long involvement with drugsactually started. Our cook who was like part of the family, and a bit of a mystic, suggested that I go see a wise monk who was renowned all over Burma for his powers to heal.
SCENE 2 THE MONK – BURMA 1988
STEVE AWAITING THE MONK. IN THE BACKGROUND ON A LARGE SCREEN BEHIND HIM PLAYS THE YOUTUBE VIDEO ‘BURMESE BUDDHIST MONK CEREMONY’ WITH THE AUDIO ON IN LOW VOLUME.
STEVE SEEMS UNEASY. HE SITS DOWN IN A RICKETY WOODEN CHAIR. HE CROSSES HIS LEGS AND LOOKS AROUND. HE SEEMS VISIBLY NERVOUS
ENTER THE MONK. STEVE RISES TO GREET HIM RESPECTFULLY. THE MONK MOTIONS HIM TO SIT DOWN AND THEN SITS IN A LARGE ARMCHAIR ON A SLIGHT PLATFORM ABOVE HIM.
M – Da gah lay!!! Welcome, young man.
S – Kaung bar de phaya. Thank you.
M – Is this your first visit to our monastery?
S – No I’ve been here several times ...for the festivals.
M – Where are you from?
S – I'm American….a sophomore at the International High school here. My father works for the United Nations.
M – I have visited America several times. Mostly California and Oregon…to promote Buddhism and set up meditation centers.
S – Meditation centers?
M – Yes. Getting popular in America. Meditation transcends afflictions of physical reality ....transports one to a land of bliss in the mind. Better than drugs or medication...Is that what you are seeking here?
S – No…not…really. My housekeeper suggested I come see you - said you could help me solve my problem
M – What is this problem you are having?
S – Strange things are going on in my home. Whenever I stay there alone I hear strange noises. Distant wailing or whispers. Then something goes scuttling behind me. At night when I can't sleep, I see distorted, eerie shadows moving across the lawn, at the dark fringes of the garden,…like something is watching me...waiting. A silent menace is everywhere.
MONK CHANTS IN MEDITATION FINGERING HIS BEADS
M – I can see things more clearly now. I have visualized your home ...and believe NATS are present there!
S – NATS??
M – Yes…spirits of humans whose souls are unable to rest because they had passed tragically and unexpectedly from this life. These NATS are unhappy in your house. They areangry and must be appeased ...or your problems will continue.
But I see that more thanone spirit is creating this disharmony...a beautiful NAT who is mourning her separation from a loved one. But the one causing most of the problems seems to be the powerful NAT Aungzwamagyiwho rides a white horse...
S – STEVE CUTS IN TIMIDLY- My mother bought a carving just a few days ago…looks like a Burmese warrior…riding a white horse! Could that be it?
M – Yes. He is very angry because he has a place above the Buddha. This is very disrespectful. He has lost his sword and his riding sash is soiled.
S – What should I do?
M - You mustcleanhim, buy him a sword and put him in his rightful place. When you have satisfied these conditions, harmony will again be restored.
A SERVANT BRINGS A GLASS OF WATER AND A SMALL BOWL TO THE MONK CHANTING SOFTLY. MONK DRINKS THE WATER, MOVES IT AROUND IN HIS MOUTH AND THEN SPITS THE WATER BACK INTO GLASS. THREE BEADS APPEAR IN THE GLASS. MONK POURS WATER OVER BOWL AND REMOVES THE THREE BEADS
M – I take one bead. You take one bead.
MONK SWALLOWS ONE BEAD GIVES THE OTHER TO STEVE
M – I swallow one bead. You swallow one bead.
STEVE GRIMACES AT THE THOUGHT OF SWALLOWING A BEAD THAT HAD BEEN IN MONK'S MOUTH:
S – Really?...What for?
M- It will give you mysterious...powerful energy to resolve problems…Other bead you must put in small container and wear as talisman. Will give you a force that will take you...to places you have never been
STEVE SWALLOWSRELUCTANTLY
MONK LEAVES. THE YOUTUBE VIDEO ‘BURMESE BUDDHIST MONK CEREMONY’ ENDS.
LIGHTS DOWN THEN UP AGAIN
SCENE 3
STEVE AND NADYA. THE YOUTUBE VIDEO ‘NGAPALI BEACH, BURMA’ PLAYS WITH THE AUDIO OFF IN THE BACKGROUND.
N - Do you remember when wemet two years ago…on that beautiful beach…in Ngapali?
S – Sure, the day I first saw you. I sure do remember ! You were strolling along the beach...all alone. You were wearing a turquoise bikini and a flowered tropical sarong tied loosely around your hips. You looked so beautiful.... I think I fell in love with you then.
N – (She laughs.) Remember those lazy afternoons we spent together? …Lounging in the shade of a palm tree.... eating sweet sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves...drinking fresh coconut juice from its husk. They were the best!.
S- Then in the evenings we sat on the beach, our toes buried in the warm sand and just listened to the waves and watched the stars.
N - NADYA INTERCEPTS TO CUT THE NOSTALGIA:Some of our best times though were spent at the American Club.... swimming, playing baseball..... or just hanging out with friends.
S. SIGHS NOSTALGICALLY-Those sure were some great times!
LIGHTS DOWN THEN UP AGAIN.
TIN SHWE AND MARTIA AT HOME
T - I have something very special just for you, Madame Martia.
HE SHOWS A CARVING OF A WARRIOR ON A WHITE HORSE. MYANMAR/BURMESE MUSIC PLAYS IN THE BACKGROUND.
M– Let me examine it…hmmm...not bad.
T - You will buy it then ?…yes? How much you give? Three thousand Kyat?
M - You must be joking…That's $500? I don't deal on the black market...so I really don't THINK so!
T – Just 2500?
M – How old is it?
T – Very old. 2000 years!!…maybe!!! A very good price.
MARTIA LOOKS AT HIM SUSPICIOUSLY
T – So you no believe?…OK…1000 Kyat!!! Last price …
I tell you true…this very, very old. Very, very old antique. OK! 500 Kyat? Then you say OK? NO? Special price only for you. Because you good customer.
LIGHTS DOWN THEN UP AGAIN
NADYA AND STEVE AGAIN. BURMESE HARP AND CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYS SOFTLY IN THE BACKGROUND
N – So theyfinally settled?
S – Yes...Mom bought this VERY old antique.... HA! ( STEVE LAUGHS) in exchange for the usual popular combination – a carton of Marlboro cigarettes and a bottle of Johnnie Walker red.By the way...the monkis sure that the statue is a NAT.
N –A NAT? You mean one of those...spirits?
S – Yes...after Tim Shwe left, my mom unfortunately placedthe statue, on top of the living room bookshelf, just above the Buddha.
N – So what happened next?
S – Some pretty strange stuff! In the living room the next morning,I was surprised to see that the nat horseman had been moved. A brass bell and a wooden elephant carving had been knocked over to make room for him on a lower, more cluttered shelf.
N – That sounds very mysterious.
S – The weirdest part is that when I placed the nat horseman back on the top shelf, a strange, unsettling feeling came over me. Later that morning, a large painting fell off the mantel...while I was moving a vase of wilted flowers from the shelf in front of a statue of a female nat…a life-size carving of the bust of an elegant Burmese woman petrified in faded teak. My mother had bought her from the same dealer.Unknown to mom it was a carving ofa princess who perished in a raging river, while trying to join him on the island where her father had exiled him - to keep the lovers apart.
N – Now I remember! I heard this story from my mom! They apparently both drowned ! The king was so traumatized for causing the death of his only daughter, that he commissioned the finest woodcarver in the land to reunite thelovers through his art.
S – Yeah…That’s how the legend goes. Anyway..... it seems the pair of carved lovers found their way to the dusty antique store where my mom likes to browse. She was attracted by the serenity of the beautiful woman. The male however was quite damaged so mom convinced the shop assistant to sell her the one piece – and the lovers were separated once again.
N – That's such a sad ...and very strange story...
S - That's not the end of the strange story.... The weekend after mom bought the princess, a couple of friends came to dinner. The wife drank too much wine during the evening and in her drunken state began to speak tearfully....almost hysterically...to the statue about her marital problems. After apologizing profusely for hiswife's peculiar behavior,her embarrassed husbandcut their visit short and took his wife home.
N – Now...that is very strange!
S - The following morning, I saw the statue in a different light.Her powerful aura became so hypnotic…it was so weird, that I decided to pay another visit to the monk. After the ritual with the bead, Iwas sure that my fears would go, but rather than solving the problem, these strange occurrences just made things worse.
N – What do you mean?
S –Well...I began feeling very uncomfortable inher eerie presence. She seemed to captivate and hypnotize me. That night my vision started to blur and the room began to spin. My thoughts became fragmented. It seemed that my personality had splintered into different psyches. I felt I was going mad.
N – Why haven't you told your mom and dad about all this?
S – I'm afraid to tell my parents.... They'd probably send me straight to some shrink!...and I can't say I'd blame them!Prefer to see theold Monk instead.
SCENE 4 THE MONK AGAIN – BURMA 1988. THE YOUTUBE VIDEO ‘MONKS CHANTING IN MANDALAY, MYANMAR’ PLAYS ON A THE SCREEN IN THE BACKGROUND WITH THE AUDIO OFF. BUDDHIST MEDITATION MUSIC PLAYS IN THE BACKGROUND.
M – Welcome back. How are you feeling today?
S – Nottoo good.
M - And why is that?
S – I think I'm losing my mind..... I'm still hearingfrightening voices…seeing vivid colors...strange images…feeling intense vibrations while listening to my music."
M – Hmm. Very strange. Perhaps the bead I gave you has taken you beyond the human plane of existence...and given you a glimpse of the demon and ghost world.
S - I don't understand.
M - Within our universe, everything is interconnected. Man, objects, animals, gods and demons. We learn to see things differently when we extend life to ultimate dimension. It is here we come to terms with who we are. It is here darkest truths are revealed to us.
S – I don't want to see my darkest truths….
M - Then you must fulfill conditions I spoke about at first meeting. You must appease NAT horseman…buy him sword…place him below Buddha.
S – Doesn't make sense to me.
M - You must understand….We cannot ignore the demon and ghost worlds. If we don't give evil spirits due respect, they can make life very difficult for us.
THE YOUTUBE VIDEO ‘MONKS CHANTING IN MANDALAY, MYANMAR’ ENDS
STEVE AND TANYA. THE YOUTUBE VIDEO ‘BURMA: SHWEDAGON PAGODA, RANGOON’ PLAYS IN THE BACKGROUNDwith the audio off.
S - When I left the monastery, I was even more confused than when I came. I decided to walk home to clear my head. I knew it wouldn't be a quick fix, but for some reason I really believed that the beadwould help me .
N – So did you do what the monk told you to do?
S - You bet.... Took a taxi to the Swedagon pagoda and bought a little sword. When I got home I cleaned him up, and gave him his new sword. It may sound pretty crazy…but I felt really calm as I replaced him under the Buddha again. My strange depression lifted and I had a great night's sleep. Even went back to school the next day…calm and confident!
SCENE 6 – INYA LAKE HOTEL
STEVEAND NADYASITS IN A SPOTLIGHT ON SEPARATE SIDES OF THE STAGE LOOKING UP AT THE SCREEN BEHIND THEM AND TALKING INTO A MICROPHONE. THE YOUTUBE ‘BURMESE WATER FESTIVAL 2012 PLAYS WITH THE AUDIO OFF IN THE BACKGROUND
S- The Water Festival, is a giant four-day "wild party" - Very unusual for quiet, demure and restrained Burma! It symbolizes the washing away of the old year and ushers in the new. It is celebrated by the entire country with unbridled enthusiasm and great quantities of water. Hoses, buckets, pots, pans, tin cans, water guns and any item that holds water is filled from any available water source —including stagnant ponds.
A group of ushad rented a jeep from a waiter at the Strand Hotel. Dressed in camouflage, he drove us on maneuvers throughout the city. To prepare for last year’s water war, we had bought plastic squirter guns, painted with saucer-eyed Japanese anime characters, that had a short range and didn’t hold much water. This year we were well-armed! We had found high-pressure, steel pump guns imported from China. To complete the image Iwore Marine fatigues, protective goggles and a cap with flaps hanging over myears. Great protection against stinging water balloon attacks, the worst hits in this kind of urban warfare, especially when thrown from buildings or at high speed from close range.
N – I was huddled at the back of the jeep, to protect myself against some of the drenching attacks . Iwore only a T-shirt and blue jeans, but had brought thick towels for extra protection for the times when we would be stopped at elaborately decorated stages, where seductive dancers and singers lured passers-by into a trap of heavy water drenching. At these “pandals”, manned by village groups armed with high-powered hoses, we were pounded by water and thrashed around our vehicle while being entertained by graceful Burmese dancers.
S - Driving out of the main deluge, we sat like a carload of refugees, huddled in drenched blankets and towels. Nadya'shair was wet and slicked back and shelooked like a water nymph.
N - In the jeep behind us, a man wearing a ski mask with slits for eyes was crouching safely behind a fat man who smiled inanely, unaware that someone had thrown a bucket of pond water...and a large mass of gelatinous frog-spawn was oozing and dripping from his forehead...and down his back..! On the back of a truck, a young man in a Michael Jackson Thriller jacket and punk bracelets, was break-dancing to high-volume rock music. I noticed everywhere that the usually demure, longyi - wearing Burmese girls were today dressed in revealing miniskirts, tiny spandex tops, tight blue jeans or leather pants.