A Staging of the World

By Kaleb M Dufel

PROLOGUE

Even so in those older days, there was naught but the Script.  The Script brought forth Life and the World¹. The Script is the firmament upon which the Stage rests.  All that is here is here because of the Script and nothing would be here without it. In the Script contained all the Light and the Dark, all the Hopes and the Fears, all the Horror and the Beauty. All Joys, and All Sorrows. The Script may destroy all ignorance for those who dare witness it. The Script summoned forth one who brought life to the world, the Undirected Director. He himself did not wright² the Script but was called to serve it. No one knows who wrote the Script, but that is of no consequence. The Script required that there be a Cast to live in the world and a Crew to help create it. The Director summoned forth one who may assist him who shall have dominion over the crew while he remains with the cast. This One is the Stage Manager whomst many may call her the Heart of the World.  The Director and Stage Manager joined hands and spoke out their designs and intentions for each other, and in so doing they declared a Production. The Director put forth a call for all those who may live in his world. 12,000 appeared and shared with the Director what they had to give to his world. Only two were selected, the rest were sent off but remembered for the creation of other Worlds. Of the two who were selected, one was of male visage³ and the other of female visage. Many may call them the Leading Man and the Leading Lady. What separated these two out of the twelve thousand was their ability to shift between visages when the Script required, often both and neither at the same time. The Stage Manager summoned forth a crew to create the World. The crew members became known as the Sun, the Stars, the Moon, and the Air.  The director sequestered himself with the cast to undertake rehearsal and the Stage Manager did likewise with the crew. Before they departed, the Director gave the Stage Manager an instrument, whomst many may call “The God Mic”, with which to summon the Director and cast at the appointed time. At such a time, the Stage Manager shall take the power of creation. The appointed time was to be Final Dress Rehearsal, in which all parts of the Director and the Stage Manager were to be unified. The Final Dress Rehearsal shall create the World and the World will create the Show⁴. The Show and the World are one.  And so it was: the Audition. So let it be recorded.

ACT ONE:

“30 minutes to places” said the Stage Manager into the God Mic. A cry of “Thank you 30” reverberated throughout space. The appointed time had come. The Final Dress Rehearsal was nigh. The Director drew himself out of his sequestration to join with the Stage Manager. “Actors to costumes” called out the Director and the Leading Man and Leading Lady descended beneath the Stage to adorn themselves with the Stars. “Lineset 1 GO” said the Stage Manager. There was a veil over the Stage and now it had lifted to reveal itself to the Universe. The Stage was still dark but its form could be seen. “Lights 1 GO” said the Stage Manager. The Sun came forth and illuminated the Stage, its great immensity now in full view. “Wagons 1 and 2 GO” said the Stage Manager. The Air moved across the deck of the Stage and brought forth the Set which took the appearance of mountains, of deserts, and of forests. The Air then encircled the Stage to keep the Set in place. “Rain curtain GO” said the Stage Manager. Water came down from above the Stage and filled the gaps between the set, in the form of oceans, of lakes, and, of rivers. “Alright, Lights 2 GO” said the Stage Manager. Now, The Air had misheard this command and rushed out towards the Sun. This caused some of the mountains to fall into the oceans, which in turn caused the oceans to swell upon the deck of the Stage, flooding the forests and the deserts. “HOLD” called out The Director.  The Moon, in all her grace and helpfulness, came down from her perch to collect the stones that fell into the oceans. The oceans receded and the stones from the mountains were pulled up away from the Stage. They were stored in a far away place that encircled the Stage called The Wings⁵. “Let’s try that again. Lights 2 GO” said the Stage Manager. The Sun’s light began to dim as the Moon’s light began to grow. The Stage was thrust into darkness, save only for the special light of the Moon. And so it was performed; the First Act. So let it be recorded.

ACT TWO

“Lights 3 GO” said the Stage Manager. The Moon’s light began to dim as the light of the Sun began to rise. “Trap door GO” said the Stage Manager. A hole opened in the Stage and out from it ascended the Leading Man and the Leading Lady. They were amazed by the beauty of the Set. The Director had told them of it, but it was more wondrous than words. The Leading Man explored the part of the Set which was the forests, the deserts, and the mountains. Wherever the Stars upon his body touched the Set, life was brought forth. They took the form of creatures whomst many may call them lions, tigers, bears, goats, rams; many more too numerous to list. The Leading Lady explored the part of the Set which was the oceans, the lakes, and the rivers. Wherever the stars upon her body touched the Set, life was brought forth. They took the form of creatures whomst many may call them fish, whales, sharks, squids; many more too numerous to list. The Leading Man and the Leading Lady reunited and embraced. Wherever the Stars upon their bodies touched each other, they brought forth life. They took the form of creatures whomst many may call them eagles, chickens, owls, swans; many more too numerous to list. Now, the Stage had become very crowded. The Director called out on the God Mic, “HOLD, this is too much, remove some of these creatures”. The Air heeded this command and took some of these newest creatures, the ones with feathers on, up above the Stage, a place called the Grid⁶ where they still live today. Now, one of these creatures was angered that he was removed to the Grid. This creature was called the Dragon. The Dragon opened up his mouth to roar fire toward the Leading Man, the Leading Lady, and all the other creatures down below. Now, the Air rushed in and pushed the Dragon far away beyond the Stage, into The Wings. The Dragon’s skin and bones fell away to reveal the stars he was made of⁷. He remains in The Wings to this day and can be seen on certain nights. “Let the Dragon be cut from the Script” said the Director. The Director did not have the authority to strike one stroke of a pen from the Script but he did so anyway. Nothing can be cut from the Script, its memory is stored within the Stage. But the Director is powerful, so from thence on, all true memory of the Dragon was distorted, now called Draco. “That’s enough for now. Take 5” said the Stage Manager. “Thank you 5” called out all those capable of speech. The Moon descended from her perch and went over to speak to the Sun, for they had been apart for too long. The Moon obstructed the Sun’s light and cast the Stage into partial darkness. At the conclusion of this interval, the Moon returned to her perch and the light of the Sun was restored. “We’re back, let’s keep going”, said the Stage Manager. Now had come the most important duty toward the Script. “Sound cue 1 GO” said the Stage Manager. There were spheres⁸ that surrounded the Stage and out from them played most beautiful music⁹. The Leading Man and the Leading Lady joined hands and began to dance, for this was the song of their love. With each step, with each turn, their visages changed between male and female, both and neither. The stars that adorned their bodies began to glow brighter of their own accord. Wherever their garments grazed the deck of the Stage, life came forth. Now this life was different from the life that had been brought forth before. This life bore the appearance of the Leading Man and the Leading Lady, but much smaller in stature. This life was made of Flesh and Blood, not of Thoughts and Dreams. Their numbers increased and they surrounded the Leading Man and the Leading Lady to join in their dance. This horde was the Ensemble¹⁰, and they were to support the Leading Man and the Leading Lady; to fill the World with Life. “Lights 4 GO” said the Stage Manager. The light of the Sun began to dim and the light of the Moon began to grow. And so it was, Act Two. “I declare the Show OPEN!” said the Director. So let it be recorded.

[Here the original manuscript contains many fragmented pages. The translation continues from the next complete pages] 

Now it came to pass that the Ensemble had multiplied into the millions. They divided themselves among different parts of the Set and spoke in different versions of the Script as they remembered it. Now there was one faction of the Ensemble that thought themselves the most important in the Cast. They lived where the mountains and the islands met the sea; where there are forests to the north and deserts to the south. These ensemble members believed they were the ones to wright the Script, only their way of speaking it was correct. They tried to force the others to speak and perform the way they thought was best, sometimes killing each other in the attempt; sometimes in secret, sometimes in the full light of the Sun¹¹. The Director was enraged by this wickedness, for it was not written in the Script. He summoned back the Leading Man and Leading Lady, for he feared for their safety, and because the Ensemble did not deserve their radiance¹². This made the Leading Man and the Leading Lady very sad but they knew it had to be done. Before they departed, they took with them their favorite star garments, the Leading Man took the hunter’s garb and the Leading Lady took a queenly gown. They also took with them two sets of twelve of their favorite creatures. The Director set them far away from the Stage but close enough for the Ensemble to watch them from afar. They can still be seen on certain nights¹³. “Let there be a veil over the Stage, so that they may not corrupt my future Productions” said the Director. “Lineset 2 GO” said the Stage Manager. A veil descended over the Stage, but this was not the same veil that revealed the Stage. This veil was the Scrim, it was such that the Ensemble could view beyond it, but outside the Stage, it was opaque. They did not notice the presence of the Scrim, but they could feel the absence of the Leading Man and the Leading Lady. They were distressed with all their hearts. They immediately set to work on returning the Leading Man and the Leading Lady to the Stage. They attempted to enact the Script as they remembered it from the very beginning, at the start of creation. To no avail, the Leading Man and the Leading Lady did not return. The faction of the Ensemble that started the strife felt so remorseful that they built special houses in honor of the Director in which to call out to him to return the Leading Man and the Leading Lady. However they were not certain of his name. They called him Dionysus, and later Bacchus. They tried calling out to the Stage Manager, but they were not certain of her name. They tried many names such as Thalia and Melpomene. This faction set aside entire days devoted to enacting the Script in hopes of summoning back the Leading Man and the Leading Lady. Every time it was enacted, they made slight alterations, in case they had misremembered the Script. Other factions heard of these attempts and called out names of their own for the Director such as; Ahura Mazda, Yahweh, Allah, God, Odin, Brahman, Marduk, Arceus, and countless others. They developed their own summoning rituals, some of which bore resemblance to enactments of the Script for they all drew on the same source. We are still trying to summon back the Leading Man and the Leading Lady. There are countless different ways the Script has been enacted. Sometimes it is joyful, others mournful. Sometimes we speak, sometimes we sing. Sometimes we walk, sometimes we dance. Sometimes we laugh, sometimes we cry. The Leading Man and the Leading Lady will return to us one day. At such a time, the world will be whole. Let the Great Work continue. So let it be recorded.

A PROPHECY

There will be many among you who will enact their own versions of the Script. Fewer still will ever come close to returning the Leading Man and Leading Lady. They will be lauded for an age and an age. There shall be One, a great Bard, who shall begin his work with two gentlemen and shall end it with a storm. There shall be One, who hails from a forest of metal, where many of the Ensemble melt together. He shall bring angels into the World. There shall be One, whose work shall be the greatest attempt at summoning back Our Beloved Leads. She shall hail from a green mountain and shall draw upon those who called out for Dionysus¹⁴. Read their tomes and see their work for we all must make the world whole.

EDITOR’S APPENDIX

This manuscript has been weaponized against those in ensembles in modern plays. Those who believe the ensemble to be a lesser honor cite who the mythic Ensemble chased out the mythic Leads due to their purported wickedness. They also believe those cast as leads are the most important vessels for connecting to the lost mythic Leads. Modern scholars have since discredited this analysis. They point out that at the moment of the Ensemble’s creation, “most beautiful music” played throughout the Universe, a term of high praise in the Ancient Tongue that appears nowhere else in the manuscript. The Ensemble were also the only living beings created by the mythic Leads with an appointed purpose. The Director and the Stage Manager did not impose any sort of hierarchy among the mythic Ensemble. The removal of the mythic Leads from the world is not a permanent curse but a mission. We all have a duty in bringing back the divine forces of creativity. Let us make the world whole. So let it be done, so let it be recorded. 

Footnotes:

1:  Other translations render this as “Love and the Earth”

2:  Other translations render this as “write”. Hence our division between “playwright” and “playwriting”.

3: Other translations render this term as “gender”. This is faulty due to the word in the Ancient Tongue referring only to outward appearance, and gender is an internal state. This single translation has caused much suffering in the World among those who were shut out from replications of this tale.

4: The word used here in the Ancient Tongue is very similar to the word for “life”

5: The area we now refer to as the Asteroid Belt

6: This word in the Ancient Tongue is where we derive our word for Sky

7: Some translations render “Dragon” as “Dinosaur”. Some of these bones have been alleged to be found, now fossilized

8:  In the Ancient Tongue, this word is remarkably similar to the word from which we derive our word for “planet”

9: In the Ancient Tongue, this word is almost identical to the word for “creation”

10: This word in the Ancient Tongue is where we derive our word “humanity”

11: Some scholars have compared this manuscript to how the Greeks and Romans portrayed violence on their stages, respectively.

12: See the Editor’s Appendix for more analysis of the Fall of the Ensemble

13: Hence Orion and Cassiopeia

14: Scholars believe this prophesied the creation of Hadestown by American musician Anais Mitchell

Kaleb M. Dufel is an actor and writer currently based in the Iowa City metro. He has appeared on many local stages over the past ten years. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Performance at the University of Northern Iowa. His poetry and photography can be found in the 2025 edition of Inner Weather.