- Goon River-Spoon River
Synonyms
Spoon River. Voices From Heaven. Death Con.
Introduction
Can we get from the audience the name of a fictional small town, and an occupation for each of the players on the stage please. You will now see a long form scene that will tell the stories of these people and their interactions in their small town.
Description
This is a very structured long form. It can only really work well as a handle if it is given the time to develop as a long form. The premise is that all the players weave a story about how all their lives interact in this small town, and how that interaction leads to their untimely death. The players are all lined up on stage. The first time through each player takes a minute to introduce themselves. They must be sure to cover all aspects of their character, it is a good choice to develop a physicalization that represents your character when it returns to your chance. The next wave through the players tell a little bit about their day and start to mention other characters on the stage. These will be the only characters mentioned. The characters come on in no particular order, but it is essential that all the characters speak. The next wave through some conflict is brought up, or there is some kind of foreshadowing of gloom. Whenever an event takes place most of the characters should comment on how it impacts them from their perspective. This can go on for sometime as long as the story is interesting. Ultimately the last words from all the characters either describe the death of themselves or another character from the story.
Gimmicks
None
Variations
Obviously it does not have to end up in death. If your troupe is big enough the players may speak their pitch while other players act out the scene.
Credits
This is a take off on a piece of literature called Spoon River by Edgar Lee Masters.
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