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The Stonecutter's Dream

(Angel comes out onto ladder, shaking cloth, with spotlight and music as before)

ANGEL:
     Night becomes day. Day becomes night.
     Everything changes in Allah’s sight.
     Everything always remains the same.
     But now as-Shams is your real name.
     Now you’ve got flames instead of a head.
     Now it is so. You are what you said!

(Stagehands take headdress off sun, take crown off of the Queen, place sun-head and streamers-cape onto Stonecutter-Sun, and move throne off stage left. Two figures come out onto stage left back and unroll a single bolt of bright sky-blue cloth behind stage, from left to right, making a sky background. Sun now dances and bobs happily in the “sky.”

Sun Dancing With Cloth Stretched Behind

SUN:
     Burning, combustion, explosions, flames!
     Light, and warmth to nurture the Names
     Of Allah on earth and make them grow
     As plants and animals, humans, and sow
     Bent sunrays in air and make them fly
     As rainbows arcing across the sky!
     Nothing is as powerful now as I!

(Sun dances happily around, shooting out rays; the flowers come dancing out again, and the sun makes them wither, the sun laughing)

FLOWERS:
     Oh sun, you make us grow so tall,
     Don’t make us dry up, wither and fall!
     We’re under your spell, we’re in your power...

ONE OF THE FLOWERS:
     After all, I’m just one small flower!

(Flowers wilt and are chased away. Sun becomes more maniacal in her power. Then clouds start coming across stage. Two, or three. They hold cloud-shapes by handles in back of the clouds, making swimming-along cloud motions. Then out comes a larger cloud, who speaks:)

CLOUD:
     I fly so free in skies of blue
     With absolutely nothing to do
     But block the sun from hitting earth
     To humble that sun’s mighty worth!
     Looks, rays bounce right back in her face!

Mad Sun With Cloud Person

SUN:
     Get out of my way, cloud, make a space!

CLOUD:
     No! I’m full of cloudy vapor!

SUN:
     Then you should burn up like old newspaper!

(What ensues is a pitched battle between The Sun and The Cloud, as they shout lines back and forth to each other.)

SUN:
     Let my rays through!
     They’ve got work to do!

CLOUD:
     You can’t have your way
     Every day!

SUN:
     I can!

CLOUD:
     You can’t!

SUN:
     I will!

CLOUD:
     You shan’t!
     I must make rain fall down at a slant,
     Makes rivers swell and fields chant
     With stormy water that’s heaven-sent!

SUN:
     Oh how can this little bag of wet
     Be ever so much more powerful yet
     Than the sun in all its fiery blast?
     I WANT TO BE A CLOUD, AND I WANT IT FAST!

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THE STONECUTTER'S DREAM

Cast

Introduction

Scenery and Setting / Beginning

 

 
 

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