FABLE
Narration and Treatment
Act I Scene 1:
A giant tree, gnarled and aged, stands at the center of the land, surrounded by the people of Amala. The tree radiates light over the people, intertwined in a tight embrace of humanity around the tree. (Song: Light of Amala) Two narrators, Hans and Maya, tell the tale of the land of Amala – a land of strength, prosperity and unity nurtured by the Great Tree of Light. At the birth of the land, the people maintained a very close relationship with the tree and with each other. But with the course of time, as is the nature of all people, the Amalans began to take the tree and each other for granted, and inevitably drifted farther and farther apart. Some moved so far away that all that they knew of the tree were the myths and legends passed down from their elders.
Now, with the passing of ages, the days and nights of Amala have grown increasingly alike. The struggling Amalans find it more and more difficult to nurture their crops, tend to their animals, and enjoy life in the ensuing twilight. To ensure their survival, each of the three prevailing villages decides they must send a volunteer on journey to retrieve a piece of the light from the tree, so that each village may have its own light source. Hans and Maya reveal the unique motivations of each volunteer; Maeve of the Western Village because of her desire to help others and because of her large and giving heart, Chance of the Southern Village because she is the most logical choice and her village believes her to be the strongest candidate, and Roam of the Eastern Village because he thinks it will be an adventure, a game, a party. And so, Maeve, Chance and Roam set out for the Great Tree.
Act I Scene 2:
Two weeks into their respective treks, they meet where the roads cross near the center of Amala. They walk the remainder of the journey together and a friendship grows between the three very different people. Hill after hill they climb, hoping that each new vista will reveal the fabled tree. Roam bides his time playing with Maeve's three wolves, Lone, Grey and Runt, while Chance laments the precious hours and days that slip by with no sight of the tree. Though Grey and Runt are sent ahead to scout out the tree, Lone remains ever close to Maeve's side, an inseparable companion.
Finally, they come across what could only be the Great Tree of Light. Though it is withered and barren, it still retains a faint glow. The travelers cautiously and delicately fulfill their mission, each taking a modest glimmering fragment of the tree. They part as friends as each sets out on the long journey home.
Act I Scene 3:
Maeve is the first of the volunteers to return from her journey. Her western village is a green and mystical land filled with enchantment and magic. Her wolves, Grey and Runt, herald her return with their bays and yowls, but as always, Lone remains by her side. It quickly becomes apparent that the choice of where to house the light will be a difficult one, and unable to agree on a location, the villagers ask that Maeve make the final decision.
Though apprehensive and unsure of herself, Maeve takes her new responsibility to heart. She and Lone climb the hill outside the village and sit with the light for hours, pondering how to best serve the needs of the entire village. Every position she can imagine for the light is right for some of the villagers but not for others, and she begins to doubt that she can make a wise decision at all. Feeling hopeless, she hugs Lone and cries. As the two embrace, Lone's heartfelt wish to take the burden from Maeve, and Maeve's belief in Lone's strength, weave a deep and mystical enchantment. The light that Maeve clutches so tightly in her hands pulses and washes over their huddled bodies and when it recedes, there stands a boy, all in white, with a light glowing from within him and radiating out in all directions. His face looks somehow similar to Lone's, and the villagers gaze in disbelief at the miracle that has just occurred. Maeve sees in him all the qualities of a great ruler, qualities she cannot see within herself. And so the young man, Lone, is born of this magic spell.
Act I Scene 4:
Roam is the second of the volunteers to return from his journey to the Great Tree. Basket of light in hand, he swaggers into the Southern village to find his villagers anxiously awaiting his return; they are cold, hungry and worried about their uncertain future. Perplexed by this grave and somber mood, Roam sings to them of the evils of worry and stress, and that life should be one big party. (Song: Slice of Life) As he sings, he reaches into his basket and passes out the light in little colorful bits, bulbs and strings, until the land glows with the joy and radiance of a carnival!
As the villagers dance and sing, they feel their concerns melt away in the festive glow of the party lights. They collapse in joyous exhaustion, only to awake much later to the harsh realities of hunger, cold and darkness, their situation no better than it was before Roam's return with the light. Finally realizing that something must be done, Roam decides that they will set off to the South and live off of Chance's hospitality and abundance.
Act I Scene 5:
Back in the Western Village , Lone is burdened from the very first moment he becomes keeper of the light. Maeve puts all her faith in Lone and worships the ground he walks on, as do all of the villagers, leaving him feeling as if he has to be perfect or he will let everyone down. He withdraws into himself more and more and pushes Maeve and his other friends away, believing that their love and expectations will only cause pain in the end when they discover that he is a failure. It is too much to bear and in desperation he runs away to the North, a desolate and uncharted place. (Song: You Were Loved) Now in near darkness, Maeve sings of the loss of her friend, her love and light. As she sings, she realizes that no one human being can be everything to another and that she was wrong to place such overwhelming expectations on her dear friend.
Act II Scene 1:
In the tribal and orderly Southern Village, Chance and her villagers toil over their crops, livestock and other daily chores. Though they have just enough food to survive, it is not much of an existence. Roam arrives to find Chance and her fellow villagers chanting as they work in precise and mechanical rhythm, each worker an emotionless cog in a much larger machine. Chance, although happy to see her new friend, knows that logically there is no way she can house and feed Roam and his entire village, as they barely have enough for themselves. (Song: March Your Feet) She sings to Roam of the need to play it safe, to color within the lines, to plan, prepare, and organize. It becomes obvious to her that he is not ready to heed her words, and she knows in her heart that she must turn him away. Undaunted, Roam sets off to the West, certain that answer now lies with Maeve.
Act II Scene 2:
A desolate scene awaits Roam and his friends in the Western Village ; a mere shadow of a land lit by the dim specter of a distant light to the north, a palpable chill hanging in the air. Walking in disbelief among the gaunt and hungry villagers, they finally locate Maeve, a frail silhouette on her lookout perch on the hill, her eyes scouting the horizon for any sign of Lone.
The sight of his friend, now a hollow shell of her former self, stirs strange and unfamiliar feelings of worry and sadness in Roam's heart. He instructs his villagers to pass out their party lights to keep their friends warm. Maeve recounts the story of Lone's transformation and of his flight to the North, and they realize that the only way to ensure their survival is to set out in search of their luminous friend.
Act II Scene 3:
Lone sits, quiet and unmoving, among the snow and ice of the cold and barren North. With heavy heart and troubled mind, he had come to this land to be alone, but most importantly to think. Perched on a rock, he had thought about his life, his friends and loved ones, his future. He thought so hard and for so long that the ice had grown up around him and sealed him in.
Maeve and Roam arrive devastated to see what has become of their friend, and Maeve begins to cry, overwhelmed with guilt. Her tears and the depth of her love for Lone melt the ice until he is able to break free in a shower of shattered crystal. Lone consoles his grief-stricken friend, telling her that his time alone has taught him something invaluable. (Song: Reach Out) He sings to them that no one can make it on their own, that people must find strength in each other in order to survive. As they sing, a large flock of penguins begins to make itself known. One by one they peer over blocks of ice, slowly joining in the fun. Their jovial nature and sense of family and togetherness lead Maeve, Roam, Lone and the others to realize that they have been looking at things all wrong; rather than taking pieces of the tree to the villages, they must take the villages to the tree. For the first time, they understand that if they nurture the tree and each other, the tree will nurture them in return. Jubilant, the villagers set out once again for the Great Tree, with the penguins following close behind.
Act II Scene 4:
Meanwhile, things have been slowly but surely deteriorating in Chance's Southern Village. Though her frugal rationing and careful organization had allowed the village to eek out an existence thus far, even her thrifty ways were not enough to make it last. They sit around a faint light, dividing their last meal among the tired and broken villagers. Though they beg to journey to the Great Tree and its light, Chance worries about the risks that would entail. She insists that more planning is needed, more organization, more conversation; but the uncertainty in her voice surprises even herself. Just then, a hungry cheetah lurking nearby pounces on their precious meal. In desperation, the villagers surround it, intending to kill it, but Chance stops them just in time. She asks the cheetah why it would attempt something so foolish and so risky as to try to take the last meal from a group of hungry villagers. The cheetah responds that it was a risk worth taking, as she was only trying to feed her two hungry cubs hiding nearby.
With this, Chance realizes at long last the value of risk taking. She decides then and there that their village must journey to the Great Tree and restore the light to its branches. The villagers erupt in a chorus of cheers, ready for whatever perils await them as they set out for the tree.
Act II Scene 5:
The tree, faint and frail, is surrounded by the people of Amala. They gaze silently at the tree, their manner heavy with both reverence and concern. After a brief reunion, Roam and Chance hold their portions of light high, returning them ceremoniously to the tree. Maeve looks worriedly at Lone, knowing full well that since the light is now a part of him and he a part of it, returning it could end his life. They embrace and Lone approaches the tree, receiving the heartfelt gratitude of each villager as he passes. Ascending into the tree, he makes one last plea: That everyone remembers the lessons they have learned and takes care of one another as well as the world around them. With that, he vanishes into the tree.
The Amalans are stunned and silent. For what seems like an eternity, nothing happens. Maeve, Rome and Chance quietly begin to sing a lament for their departed friend. As they sing, a faint light begins to pulse from deep within the tree when suddenly, a small, grey figure emerges from behind the tree – it is Lone, the wolf! The villagers cheer and Maeve hugs her old friend, with Grey and Runt leaping and yowling in tight circles around them. (Song: Light of Amala – Reprise) The Amalans, a tightly-woven quilt of humanity nestled around the tree, sing of the joys of this new day, as the tree grows brighter and brighter, washing over them in ever-growing waves of brilliance.
Celebrate the light of Amala!