Theseus and the Minotaur (2014)

THESEUS AND THE MINOTAUR A GAME FOR TWO PERCUSSIONISTS

GEORGE TSZ-KWAN LAM (2014)

Draft: May 15, 2014

INSTRUMENTATION THESEUS Two Bells (suspended) or Two Crotales of any two pitches (mounted or suspended) Wood Blocks (set of three) Wooden Bongos (set of two) Two Roto-Toms (tuned at two different pitches) Snare Drum (with brushes or hands) Floor Tom, with rattle (e.g. coins) Cymbals (crash, ride) Saron (10 pitches) THE MINOTAUR Two Bells (suspended) or Two Crotales of any two pitches (mounted or suspended) Pedal Bass Drum Two Tom-Toms Floor Tom, with rattle (e.g. coins) Wood Blocks (set of two) Sandpaper Blocks Cymbals (Crash, Ride) Cajon

GAME COMPONENTS •

25 Labyrinth Map Tiles

•

10 Coordinate Markers (5 Red, 5 Blue)

•

Route Log Sheets

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RULES OF THE GAME TO WIN Theseus has entered the Labyrinth to slay the Minotaur, but the Minotaur is also on the hunt for Theseus.

The players move about the halls of the Labyrinth in complete darkness, and can only hear the sounds of their footsteps as they move from room to room. Both players listen to these sounds to determine each other’s positions. When either Theseus or the Minotaur believes that he is in the same room as the other, he may initiate a battle. The winner of the battle wins the game.

SET UP 1. Decide who will play Theseus and The Minotaur.

2. Position the stations for Theseus and The Minotaur at opposite ends of a 5’ x 5’ playing area, where the Labyrinth will be built.

3. Set up each station to include the player’s percussion instruments, a log sheet and a pencil.

4. Place one of the three “cell” tiles (e.g. with walls on three sides) in the center of the playing area.

5. The two players alternately Labyrinth tile onto the playing area one at a time. Theseus begins by placing a Labyrinth tile to the right of the cell tile, and the two players continue to build clockwise around the center tile. Players are free to choose any tile, and may place tiles in any direction.

6. Place “Red” coordinate markers along the upstage side of the game board, and “Blue” coordinate markers along the side of the game board closest to the Minotaur.

7. The Minotaur determines his starting location by noting the coordinates on his log sheet (See Fig ____). The game begins.

SAMPLE SET UP

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SEQUENCE OF PLAY Each turn includes the following actions, in this order: 1. Theseus charts his course.

2. Theseus draws the clew.

3. Theseus listens for the Minotaur.

4. The Minotaur advances.

THESEUS CHARTS HIS COURSE

Theseus strikes the lowest note on the Saron to signal the beginning of the

THE PULSE

turn. The Minotaur begins a soft pulse on the floor tom. The tempo of the

The Minotaur plays a specific

pulse varies according to the turn (see THE PULSE). Theseus may choose to enter the Labyrinth from any room with an exterior border. Theseus will determine his starting position and his ending position in this turn. The

pulse depending on the turn.

•

Floor Tom •

maximum number of rooms that Theseus may advance is dependent on the turn (see Fig 1). Neither player may move through walls.

Turns 1 - 3: 54 BPM, on

Turns 4 - 6: 72 BPM, on Floor Tom

•

Turns 7 - 8: 100 BPM, on Floor Tom and / or Pedal

Fig. 1 Maximum number of rooms that Theseus can move during each turn.

Bass Drum •

Turn 9: 120 BPM, on Floor

Turn

Maximum number of rooms

1st

2

2

nd

3

3rd

4

Tom, Pedal Bass, and / or

4th and thereafter

5

Cajon.

Tom and / or Pedal Bass Drum •

Turn 10: 138 BPM, on Floor

On his log sheet, Theseus records the types of rooms that he traverses from his starting point to his ending point, as well as the coordinates of his starting and ending positions. Theseus indicates the end of the turn with a diagonal line (See Figures 2 and 3). Note: Along the side of the game board, the two axes used are notated as the red axis and the blue axis; coordinates will follow the format of (red, blue).

Fig. 2. Theseus charts his course on the log sheet.

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Fig. 3. Theseus’s Route

THESEUS DRAWS THE CLEW

Before Theseus had entered the Labyrinth, Ariadne gave Theseus a ball of string (also called a clew), so that he can use the string to trace his steps back out of the Labyrinth and not get lost. According to the route that Theseus takes, Theseus walks the path while drawing the clew through each of the rooms. The clew is represented by short rhythmic figures that correspond to the texture of each room. In the above example: Theseus starts in room (5,5) and decides to advance to room (5,4), and moves through the following textures: wood, stone. Theseus draws the clew by improvising short (i.e. 3- to 5-second) rhythmic figures which may be coordinated (or may go against) The Minotaur’s pulse. The instrumentation for the sounds of each room is determined by the texture of the room as notated on the game board. There are three types of textures: Wood, Gravel, and Stone (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4 Room textures and corresponding instrumentation.

Theseus

Minotaur

Wood

Wood Blocks, Wooden Bongos

Wood Blocks, Cajon

Gravel

Snare Drum (brushes), Floor Tom

Snare Drum (brushes), Sandpaper Blocks

Stone

Two Roto-Toms

Two Tom-Toms

If Theseus is traveling between two rooms of the same texture, he must use a different instrument to represent each room. For example, if moving between two stone rooms, he must play a figure on one of the Roto-Toms, followed by a figure on a different Roto-Tom.

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For the remainder of the game, Theseus sounds the complete trail of his moves through the labyrinth starting with his beginning position, resulting in a longer and longer chain of fragments. The player will refer to the log sheet for the complete pattern as the game progresses.

After drawing the clew, Theseus sounds the saron by striking the note at the start of the turn twice. In our example, Theseus will conclude this first turn with two strikes on the first chime (

). The pattern

on the Saron signifies the number of the current turn. Theseus will sound the saron for all succeeding turns by following the pattern listed below (Fig 5). The saron strikes also end the Minotaur’s pulse.

Fig. 5 Patterns on the Saron.

Turn

Saron at start of turn

Saron after Theseus draws the clew

1

1

1,1

2

1,2

1,2,2

3

2,3

2,3,3

4

3,4

3,4,4

THESEUS LISTENS FOR THE MINOTAUR

After drawing the clew, Theseus has the option of listening through the Labyrinth to try to hear the Minotaur’s location. Theseus may only listen for the presence of the Minotaur in either the Red axis or the Blue axis of the room that Theseus is currently in. In our example, Theseus is currently in room (5,4).

Theseus may choose to listen for the presence of the Minotaur in either the Red 5 axis (i.e. rooms that all include Red 5) or in the Blue 4 axis.

To listen, Theseus sounds either the high bell (Red axis) or the low bell (Blue axis), which will indicate half of the coordinates of his location. Once Theseus reveals this, the Minotaur will check his current location.

If the Minotaur is in the axis that Theseus had chosen to listen to, the Minotaur will sound one of three “roars”: •

Superball mallet “roar” (pressed along the rim of the drum head) on bass drum, piano;

•

Superball mallet “roar” on two tom-toms, mezzo-forte;

•

Cajon foot slide with an accelerating and decelerating “roll”, forte.

If the Minotaur is not in the chosen axis, he stays silent, and the game continues.

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THE MINOTAUR ADVANCES

The Minotaur sounds two bells (low-high) to signal the start of this action. Theseus begins a soft, moderato pulse (ca. 112) on the wooden bongos.

During each turn, the Minotaur may move exactly three spaces in any direction, and may “backtrack” to a previous room. In our example the Minotaur began in room (1,3) at the start of the game. During this phase, the Minotaur will record his next move on the log sheet, and use a diagonal line to mark the end of this turn (see Fig 6).

Fig. 6 The Minotaur’s log sheet.

Similar to Theseus, the Minotaur will also “sound” his move between rooms during this turn. However, the Minotaur will only sound the four rooms of each turn, and will not reveal his coordinates. (Theseus is required to sound the complete trail of his move through the Labyrinth each turn, starting with his beginning position.)

The Minotaur strikes the high bell twice to signal the end of his advance, and the next turn begins again with Theseus charting his next move.

SPECIAL OCCASIONS THESEUS LIGHTS THE TORCH / THE MINOTAUR CHARGES

At the end of “Theseus draws a clew” or “The Minotaur advances”, if Theseus or the Minotaur believes that he is in the same room with the other player, he may light a torch (Theseus) or charge (The Minotaur) and attempt to start the battle. Each player may only perform this action three times during the game.

Theseus lights the torch by playing the following: 1) an upward glissando on the saron, 2) the coordinates of his room on the two bells, and 3) another upward glissando on the saron.

•

If that room is where the Minotaur is, the Minotaur “roars” (see above) and the battle begins.

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•

If that room is not where the Minotaur is, the Minotaur stays silent, and the game continues. If this is the third time that the Theseus has erroneously lit the torch, Theseus has used up all three of his torches and will never be able to find the Minotaur. The game ends and the Minotaur wins.

The Minotaur charges by playing the following: 1) nine notes in quick succession on both toms, with a crescendo and slight accelerando; 2) the coordinates of his room on the two bells, and 3) three notes in quick succession on both toms.

•

If that room is where Theseus is, the Theseus draws his sword by drawing a bow quickly across a suspended cymbal, and the battle begins.

•

If that room is not where the Theseus is, Theseus stays silent, and the game continues. If this is the third time that the Minotaur has erroneously charged, the Minotaur collapses in exhaustion. The game ends, and Theseus wins.

THE BATTLE

In the battle, the player who initiated (either lighting the torch or charging) will begin by playing a pulse in a fast tempo on the floor tom. Once the pulse begins, the other player will join in on the pulse. The pulse will be played for about 6 to 10 seconds.

After the pulse has been established, the initiating player strikes the crash cymbal (fortissimo). Upon hearing this signal, each player retraces their entire journey through the Labyrinth as notated on the log sheets by playing a very short (maximum three notes) figure on each of the textures, separated by two to three pulses on the floor tom between each figure. Each player will gradually crescendo throughout and may accelerate. However, the pulse between the two players must remain constant. Hence, if one player accelerates, the other must match the new tempo. The player who finishes first sounds a crash cymbal and wins the battle.

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SAMPLE GAME The following is a sample score and log sheets that illustrate one possible execution of the game as described above. The Minotaur begins at (1,3) and Theseus begins at (5,5).

Log sheet excerpt for Theseus TURN 1:

TURN 2:

Log sheet excerpt for the Minotaur TURN 1:

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Sample  gameboard:

THESEUS AND THE MINOTAUR (2014) LOG SHEET

Coordinates: Texture: (W / G / S)

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PROGRAM NOTES Theseus and the Minotaur is a game for two percussionists based on the myth of the Minotaur. Theseus was ordered by his father to venture into the Labyrinth and kill the Minotaur. To escape the Labyrinth safely, Theseus draws a clew (a ball of string) from the entrance as he moves around the labyrinth in complete darkness. Only the sounds of footsteps from Theseus and the Minotaur can be heard. The work uses a game board but no game pieces, and all of the players’ moves are communicated through various percussion instruments. Theseus and the Minotaur was commissioned by the Asian Young Musicians Connection, and was first performed at the National Taipei University of the Arts in June 2014. The work was supported in part by a PSC-CUNY Research Fund grant from The City University of New York.

ACKNOLWEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Sean O’Neil and David Jones for their contribution to this project. Mr. O’Neil has been instrumental in helping me create the thematic content for my “chase around the labyrinth” concept, and has been there from the beginning to support my vision for this game. Mr. Jones has generously lent his talent in creating the visual components of the game board, and was a great resource in helping to elevate the audience’s experience of this new work. I would also like to thank Janet Jie-ru Chen for this opportunity to create a new (and for me, quite experimental) work for the Asian Young Musicians Connection.

Draft: 5/15/14

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