Paul Gets Eaten By A Dragon
A New Musical by Bjorn Berkhout
A New Musical by Bjorn Berkhout
What if the only thing stopping a monstrous dragon from eating you was a Japanese princess and a hot Texas cowboy? Well, that’s what happens in ‘Paul Gets Eaten by a Dragon’.
Paul appears on the stage, surrounded by the people in his life, all of whom are trying to ‘help’ Paul by pushing him to finish his dissertation.
Paul appears on the stage, surrounded by the people in his life, all of whom are trying to ‘help’ Paul by pushing him to finish his dissertation.
Paul knows he should be writing his dissertation, but instead, he starts sketching an imagined comic book ‘Jake, the Renegade Gun Slinger’.
Suddenly a mysterious girl appears, who seems to have stepped out of a Japanese manga comic. She seems to know Paul, but he has no memory of who she is. This encounter starts a chain of events where Paul is eventually eaten by a dragon.
The girl, the gunslinger, and two toys from his childhood -the gender nonconforming Miss Thang and the foul-mouthed Pookie Bear- come to his rescue. They help him recover a memory he’s been suppressing since he was seven.
The revelation of the memory is the emotional high point of the show, but let’s not spoil the surprise. Suffice to say that once he remembers, he recognizes the dragon for what it is, confronts and defeats it, and in so doing both discovers his confidence and regains his childhood creativity.
The show covers two timely topics: What it means to be an adult and the power gender norms have within our culture. The musical can be staged with a cast of nine and allows for a ‘less is more’ approach, favoring the suggestive over spectacle. Though whimsical and fantastical, the subject matter and approach to the materials is adult in nature with a harmonically rich score that plays around with several different styles.
Suddenly a mysterious girl appears, who seems to have stepped out of a Japanese manga comic. She seems to know Paul, but he has no memory of who she is. This encounter starts a chain of events where Paul is eventually eaten by a dragon.
The girl, the gunslinger, and two toys from his childhood -the gender nonconforming Miss Thang and the foul-mouthed Pookie Bear- come to his rescue. They help him recover a memory he’s been suppressing since he was seven.
The revelation of the memory is the emotional high point of the show, but let’s not spoil the surprise. Suffice to say that once he remembers, he recognizes the dragon for what it is, confronts and defeats it, and in so doing both discovers his confidence and regains his childhood creativity.
The show covers two timely topics: What it means to be an adult and the power gender norms have within our culture. The musical can be staged with a cast of nine and allows for a ‘less is more’ approach, favoring the suggestive over spectacle. Though whimsical and fantastical, the subject matter and approach to the materials is adult in nature with a harmonically rich score that plays around with several different styles.
If interested in learning more about this musical and its development history or have an interest in workshopping or performing this musical, please send me an email.
| Script |