I had a dream...
In short, I've been having very memorable dreams lately. I have clue why, but this is my third dream in little over a week which I very intensely remember. I'm not complaining, they've been mostly good, or at least emotionally driving.
This one, however, was about theatre. About a musical, specifically. The kind of musical I'd DIE to be in. It had some very specific characters defined in the dream and a bit of a plot line. I think I want to write it. It's odd, because I generally have dismissed myself as any sort of playwright, but it came to me that way and I think it could be something. Anywhere, here we go, if you're interested:
First, we'll start with the actual dream and then I'll copy down the brief notes/ideas I wrote about it to use in the possible formulation of a play or musical. A warning, this is all horribly, cliched and noir. Which is why it might not work in the first place (There is already a WONDERFUL Cliche/Noir musical out there called "City of Angels" not to mention Sunset Boulevard, etc).
The dream began backstage in what -looked- like my old high school auditorium, opening night of the show. The audience was packed and we were scrambling around behind the curtain to get the CD to play right and be hooked up to our microphones. For some reason, we were using hand held mics (a throw back to the show I did two weekends ago where we DID use hand held mics, UGH). Mine wasn't working. So our stage manager replaced mine with this tiny plastic thing which looked even stupider. And then we had to go. Someone hit play on the CD player (which was in the middle of the stage at the very edge right next to the audience).
I guess the CD player was set on random or something, because the first song in the show didn't start playing. Instead, it started playing a song that comes later on in the plot. Fortunately, it was me and the private detective (in his shabby suit, fedora and trench coat) on stage for that song too, so we just went with it. The song was actually "Lost and Found" from City of Angels. The femme fatal sings it to the detective while trying to seduce him so he doesn't squeal on her. ~Mr. Detective, you've been looking too hard, you should have started looking in your own back yard. Lost and found, lost and found, wanna play lost and found? Well here I am, on the lamb. You've been assigned to find out where I've been and now ya found me in your bed. And though my daddy said to turn me in, why don't I turn you on instead?~
Anyway, I pull the song off rather well even micless. I'm worried about the audience possibly not completely able to hear me. Still, I really throw myself into it even though it's the wrong song. I remember fondling the detective's tie while coming onto him, and then while he was distracted I threw something out of my pocket to an audience member at the first table. I guess we were suddenly doing dinner theatre? And I guess my character (who's name was distinctly Bella, I remember, not Mallory as in the song) had something to hide from Mr. Detective. Anyway, the song finished and the curtain came down. The stage manager scrambled on stage to stop the CD player which had our background music on it and it came out that we sang the wrong song. We were supposed to sing the opening number which was entitled "Shadow Song". Oh well. I scamper off stage in my red high heels (I remember the red high heels) to look over the script to find my next scene.
While I'm coming off stage I encounter the girl who is playing the wife left at the alter in the show. I don't say much to him, but she is distressed I sang the wrong song with the detective. She has to go onstage soon. We don't discuss any of this, but I know that: she plays a woman who was left at the alter by her husband in the play. She is currently wearing a frilly, pale pink Vegas Show Girl get up including a massively pink headdress and rhinestones on her ass. She goes onstage and I go off.
Studying my script, I realize the next song is sung by a character named Christopher Dobbson. He is a worn out, exhausted business man. His first song takes place while he's sitting on a plane and looking over client's files. It's a dramatic, poignant, bittersweet piece and he keeps repeating the name of his client (sounded like a law firm) and the word plot. Like the lawfirm is in a plot he disapproves of or is stressing him out. The audience is introduced to Christopher Dobbson, then he disappears away.
Alas, the rest of the dream is slightly more falling apart. It's like my brain knew I'd wake up soon and it just wanted to get more plot points at me. Frank Sinatra came next. He was a big part of the dream, playing a Vegas crooner but also a talent manager. He was my/Bella's boss but he ended up hiring someone to replace her (Amusingly, it was Kristen Johnson from 3 Rock From the Sun, awesomely comic actress). I remember being disgruntled that my replacement was getting more stage time than I was. I'm not certain if I felt that way as Bella the character, or Ericka the actress. Probably a bit of both. And there was a girl named Angel. I just remember the name, maybe she was my replacement? I can't recall.
I then woke up from the dream, my heart racing in real life, with the driving need to write it down. I couldn't go back to sleep, though I desperately wanted to return to resting so I could reclaim more of the dream/ideas. Instead, I rolled over and grabbed a pen from my bedside stand and a discarded receipt from my trash can so I could write down the ideas before they slipped off into dream haze.
This is what I have written:
"BELLA: Femme Fatal, hunted by private investigator
DETECTIVE: PI, Taken in by Bella. 'Shadow song'
JOY: Abandoned wife
ANGEL: ???
CHRISTOPHER DOBBSON: Business man, exhausted and wearied by the world. Sings song on airplane about plots and clients
FRANK SINATRA: Manipulative crooner. Uses and then replaces BELLA. Maybe mob ties."
I have no clue if it's anything, but I'm glad I got it all out/down on paper before the dream faded. Writing them the moment you wake up really does help. All I know is that this dream woke me up a full hour and a half earlier than my alarm was set or I meant to wake up. I was wide awake and couldn't go back to sleep. So who knows!
This one, however, was about theatre. About a musical, specifically. The kind of musical I'd DIE to be in. It had some very specific characters defined in the dream and a bit of a plot line. I think I want to write it. It's odd, because I generally have dismissed myself as any sort of playwright, but it came to me that way and I think it could be something. Anywhere, here we go, if you're interested:
First, we'll start with the actual dream and then I'll copy down the brief notes/ideas I wrote about it to use in the possible formulation of a play or musical. A warning, this is all horribly, cliched and noir. Which is why it might not work in the first place (There is already a WONDERFUL Cliche/Noir musical out there called "City of Angels" not to mention Sunset Boulevard, etc).
The dream began backstage in what -looked- like my old high school auditorium, opening night of the show. The audience was packed and we were scrambling around behind the curtain to get the CD to play right and be hooked up to our microphones. For some reason, we were using hand held mics (a throw back to the show I did two weekends ago where we DID use hand held mics, UGH). Mine wasn't working. So our stage manager replaced mine with this tiny plastic thing which looked even stupider. And then we had to go. Someone hit play on the CD player (which was in the middle of the stage at the very edge right next to the audience).
I guess the CD player was set on random or something, because the first song in the show didn't start playing. Instead, it started playing a song that comes later on in the plot. Fortunately, it was me and the private detective (in his shabby suit, fedora and trench coat) on stage for that song too, so we just went with it. The song was actually "Lost and Found" from City of Angels. The femme fatal sings it to the detective while trying to seduce him so he doesn't squeal on her. ~Mr. Detective, you've been looking too hard, you should have started looking in your own back yard. Lost and found, lost and found, wanna play lost and found? Well here I am, on the lamb. You've been assigned to find out where I've been and now ya found me in your bed. And though my daddy said to turn me in, why don't I turn you on instead?~
Anyway, I pull the song off rather well even micless. I'm worried about the audience possibly not completely able to hear me. Still, I really throw myself into it even though it's the wrong song. I remember fondling the detective's tie while coming onto him, and then while he was distracted I threw something out of my pocket to an audience member at the first table. I guess we were suddenly doing dinner theatre? And I guess my character (who's name was distinctly Bella, I remember, not Mallory as in the song) had something to hide from Mr. Detective. Anyway, the song finished and the curtain came down. The stage manager scrambled on stage to stop the CD player which had our background music on it and it came out that we sang the wrong song. We were supposed to sing the opening number which was entitled "Shadow Song". Oh well. I scamper off stage in my red high heels (I remember the red high heels) to look over the script to find my next scene.
While I'm coming off stage I encounter the girl who is playing the wife left at the alter in the show. I don't say much to him, but she is distressed I sang the wrong song with the detective. She has to go onstage soon. We don't discuss any of this, but I know that: she plays a woman who was left at the alter by her husband in the play. She is currently wearing a frilly, pale pink Vegas Show Girl get up including a massively pink headdress and rhinestones on her ass. She goes onstage and I go off.
Studying my script, I realize the next song is sung by a character named Christopher Dobbson. He is a worn out, exhausted business man. His first song takes place while he's sitting on a plane and looking over client's files. It's a dramatic, poignant, bittersweet piece and he keeps repeating the name of his client (sounded like a law firm) and the word plot. Like the lawfirm is in a plot he disapproves of or is stressing him out. The audience is introduced to Christopher Dobbson, then he disappears away.
Alas, the rest of the dream is slightly more falling apart. It's like my brain knew I'd wake up soon and it just wanted to get more plot points at me. Frank Sinatra came next. He was a big part of the dream, playing a Vegas crooner but also a talent manager. He was my/Bella's boss but he ended up hiring someone to replace her (Amusingly, it was Kristen Johnson from 3 Rock From the Sun, awesomely comic actress). I remember being disgruntled that my replacement was getting more stage time than I was. I'm not certain if I felt that way as Bella the character, or Ericka the actress. Probably a bit of both. And there was a girl named Angel. I just remember the name, maybe she was my replacement? I can't recall.
I then woke up from the dream, my heart racing in real life, with the driving need to write it down. I couldn't go back to sleep, though I desperately wanted to return to resting so I could reclaim more of the dream/ideas. Instead, I rolled over and grabbed a pen from my bedside stand and a discarded receipt from my trash can so I could write down the ideas before they slipped off into dream haze.
This is what I have written:
"BELLA: Femme Fatal, hunted by private investigator
DETECTIVE: PI, Taken in by Bella. 'Shadow song'
JOY: Abandoned wife
ANGEL: ???
CHRISTOPHER DOBBSON: Business man, exhausted and wearied by the world. Sings song on airplane about plots and clients
FRANK SINATRA: Manipulative crooner. Uses and then replaces BELLA. Maybe mob ties."
I have no clue if it's anything, but I'm glad I got it all out/down on paper before the dream faded. Writing them the moment you wake up really does help. All I know is that this dream woke me up a full hour and a half earlier than my alarm was set or I meant to wake up. I was wide awake and couldn't go back to sleep. So who knows!