Closer to Mona

CLOSER TO MONA Libretto by Amy Beth Kirsten Music by Ruby Fulton

©2008, Amy Beth Kirsten

Prologue: A photograph when turned in air becomes transparent; the thinnest side becomes the atmosphere. That’s me. They imagine they know.

Frozen.

Can you will you dare you do you should you must you like you see me. They imagine.

Silent.

Sit for me, you are beautiful Let my eyes complete you Let the motion of my brush, my breath Release you from your death Imagine. Know.

Captured.

In one moment he knew he was to capture you In one moment, one second Something in your gaze, your face, your walk, your laugh made him want to create you from the inside out From shadow and shape To motion and form From piece and part To blood and heart They know...

Rendered.

From shadow and shape to motion and form From piece and part to blood and heart Imagine.

Eternal.

Why do we hide? Why do we look away? What would you be in another color? What would you be without your eyes? What would you be if only that smile had been caressed in another direction? Why do we hide? Why do we look away? Know...

Invisible. Š2008, Amy Beth Kirsten

She is as I am.

Frozen, silent, captured, rendered, eternal, invisible.

They imagine. They know.

[There are different versions of the same girl, each having a relationship to the Mona Lisa. Each of them feels invisible, neglected, absent from herself and from the rest of the world. Each of them feels as if she cannot be seen by anyone. Each of them is obsessed at the notion that one woman, one painting of a woman, can cause hordes of people to flock to see her, to catch a glimpse of her. Each of them wonders what it must be like to be so loved. Each of them, in love with the Mona Lisa, plots to have her, to become her, to become the very thing that everyone looks at, that everyone admires.

Each of them is actually her, the Mona Lisa, although we don’t know that.

On the stage is a larger than life frame. The frame contains, at certain points, an image of the Mona Lisa, and at certain points it is transparent, open and Bonnie is framed within it.

One of them is a Janitor - here One is a visitor – in transit One is a curator – unpacking upon return One is an artist - there One of them is a thief – packing to go Each of them is obsessed with her somehow. ] 1. Janitor: See how they stare See how they breathe you in See how they admire See how they want to touch you See how they feel oblivious See how they remain anonymous In your presence In your presence We are all anonymous What would it be like, do you think, To become you for just a minute To live behind your eyes behind your smile To experience all of the admiration To embrace all of the love To have to hold still for so long And let it come to you ©2008, Amy Beth Kirsten

I walk the halls here And no one notices No one can see me But they see you I walk home from the train 6pm I pass the same faces And no one notices But they see you I pass the gates, the shops, the guards All of them the same All of them oblivious But they see you It is me who is breathing Me who is living Me who has life vibrating Blood underneath my skin But they see you You the inanimate You the silent belligerent Telling me that I should dare To be you for a day Be you For a day What would it be like to Be you For a day A minute Just once To feel An audience To feel their eyes Staring Groping Wishing Loving Talking In their minds To me alone

Š2008, Amy Beth Kirsten

2. Visitor: Did you love him?

Did he love you?

He painted you for Christs sake Don’t tell me there was nothing there Did you sleep with him?

Did you let him sleep with you?

Or did you simply sit there and pretend To be inanimate Did he come to you in a dream and say Sit for me you are beautiful Did he arouse you in your wakefulness And say Let me capture you as you are now In this very moment as you are now For all eternity I traveled for 15 hours By train Forget exams Forget about it Next year, next year But you are only once in a lifetime If only I could see what you see For christs sake Just once Once in a lifetime If only your eyes were my eyes And I could see what you see For christs sake Just for once If only she would stop watching me Uniform so crisp She’s watching me She knows what I am thinking I want to see life from your eyes Just once Once in life ©2008, Amy Beth Kirsten

3. Curator: I unwrap you like a bandage Gauze so light and stuck to the important points Draping over the armchair over the emptiness Draping over the aching Of my thighs Little one You traveled A journey in complete darkness Did you wonder at what images you passed Did it occur to you? – the clouds from the plane The landscape from the train They look at you Even when you are wrapped in gauze Hiding As if from shame of too much beauty Too much meaning They try to imagine what it was you were thinking While paint was smeared and caressed in your image They imagine they know 4. Artist: motion breath the strokes have sound the music of the painter the sound of him the breath of you and now, the sound of me a delicate ring a motion you can hear breathing you in breathing you painting you all over again with my eyes your eyes if only to touch, touch you brittle face, lips if only to see what you see of me you are eternity you see through me I am just a motion, a breath Š2008, Amy Beth Kirsten

a delicate ring a blink soaking the brush you are soaking motion breath someone’s breath -hisbreathing, soaking, motion, breath breath like ice at midnight your secret eyes outline in the distance every motion, breath, soaking, outline in the distance between us there is only one other soul in the way 5. Thief: Trip the wire Snap soft the lock Clip the strand Holding you Disarmed Go, breathe, go You belong with me I have room A room Drip the liquid Clog fast the beam Flip the power Watch the clock Timing you Unarmed Go, breathe, go You belong with me I have room A room Alone For you alone And there we will sit together And you will tell me everything Tell me everything Tell it to me Only me Alone Grip the pliers Š2008, Amy Beth Kirsten

Cap off the glue Dip out of view Holding you Disarmed Go, breathe, go You belong with me I have room A room Skip the charming Jog past the beam Rip the paper Watch the clock Timing you Disarming Go, breathe, go You belong with me I have room A room Alone For you and me alone And there we will sit together And you will tell me everything Tell me everything Tell it to me alone 6. [Together] Janitor In your presence we are all anonymous We are motion

Visitor Just once in life

Curator Go

Artist

Thief Go, breath, go

Motion breath Alone We are all anonymous

Trip snap clip

Anonymous The strokes have sound

We are Breath

Sound

In your presence anonymous Breath We are breath We are motion Tell it to me Me alone

Go Alone Š2008, Amy Beth Kirsten

Go, breathe, go

Anonymous

Anonymous Tell it to me

Breathe Alone

Motion me alone

Me alone

In the distance between us there is only one other soul in the way

In the distance between us there is only one other soul in the way

In the distance between us there is only one other soul in the way

Tell me breathe alone

Motion alone

In the distance between us there is only one other soul in the way

In the distance between us there is only one other soul in the way

Š2008, Amy Beth Kirsten