The Lizard in the Fire. Chapters: 01 Story as a script for a play.
I wrote this as a script for a young theater group to act out this story. In this format it would be easy for a person new to the story to use it as the bones of the story or a story board.
The Lizard in the fire.
Michel Meade’s version.
PROPS:
Wood for fire.
Two lizards (one for burning)
Cut away house for boy and mother conversation.
Wilderness
Crone’s hut/house
Village meeting place
Fire
Cast of characters:
Boy
Dad
Mum
Young girl as Soul
Crone (Wise old woman)
community
Lizard
Wood for fire (Prayers, expectations, hopes and wishes)
Geography.
Parent’s house
Wilderness
Deeper into wilderness
Village meeting place
Fire of community
Narrative: There was a family consisting of a young boy, a mother and a father. The boy was about 13…17 years old or so and was acting ugly around the house. Refusing to do what his mother asked, answering back rudely. Generally being dissatisfied with life. His parents once Gods in his life were now an embarrassment. You know how teenagers are they know everything.
Actually he was trying to leave home, the internal clock that we all have was saying “It’s time to leave home”. But you know that is we can’t for all sorts of reasons.
MOTHER: The boy’s mother says to the father “It’s time he went to the wilderness, to the mountain.”
The father agreed and so the next day that’s how that was.
The next day the father takes the boy to the wilderness and they set up camp as the father is leaving, he says almost as an afterthought.
FATHER: “If you ever lay down beside a woman you will die.”
Then the father walks away.
So now the boy is in the wilderness pondering the questions:
Why am I here?
What is the rest of my life going to look like?
What do I want to do with my life?
What do I really love doing,
What brings me pleasure and satisfaction?
This ties back to the field of dreams on Friday night.
But you know how wildernesses are there are always all sorts of people wandering around in them Lost? Or searching for something?
After a short time or a long time, the story says.
A very beautiful girl comes wandering into the boy’s camp and they begin to talk. And talk and talk until nightfall.
Soul: says “It’s getting dark now I have to go I’ll come back tomorrow”
Boy: “Oh no don’t do that my father says if I ever lay down beside a woman I will die.”
Soul says “Oh I wouldn’t want that to happen, I won’t come then.”
Boy: “No, No, No come anyway I’ll chance it” (Testosterone talking).
and so the next day that’s how that was.
Soul came, eventually, they laid down together and the Boy Dies.
Our Soul is older than we are, She Knows that for us to have a relationship with her something within us has to die to be ready for her.
Soul: She picks us up and carries us to the Crones hut. She explains to the Crone what happened.
The Crone: says “This is not a difficulty”
So that’s how that was. She picked up the boy and went back to the village on the way she picked up a large Lizard as well. She walks into the village and speaks.
Soul: “The crone says to build a fire at the meeting place and wait for her”
The Villagers: Respect the crone and set about gathering wood for the fire.
The villagers have done this before and so know what’s required.
The Villagers: As they place each piece of wood, they make a prayer for the coming marriage of these two people.
What the village needs!
What are the village’s hopes, dreams, and expectations for this couple?
How is this union going to keep the village life alive in the future?
Other Prayers, questions? And blessings.
Soul puts the dead boy down,
The mother and father are weeping and wailing their boy is dead.
The Crone. Walks in and says, “This is the situation now”.
Taking the Lizard from the Girl (Soul) The crone throws the Lizard into the fire.
The Crone. says, “This is the situation now If the Lizard dies the boy remains dead, if the lizard lives the boy will come back to life”.
The mother and the father both rush to the fire, the fire is too hot for them. It’s not their fire anyway.
Soul: The young girl jumps into the fire, throws out the Lizard, and jumps out herself.
The boy comes back to life. Everybody is happy now the boy has come back to life.
Much celebration in the village the boy has come back to life.
The Crone: Grabs the lizard and hands it to us, to you and me.
The Crone. says, “This is the situation now If the Lizard lives the girl (Soul) will die, if the lizard dies the girl will live, but your mother will die”.
What are you going to do????
Sam Sleeman 28/3/21
samsleeman.com