Commission Ronnie's Eclectic Modern Rock Opera "Simplex One"
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STORY SUMMARY
PROJECT OVERVIEW
“Simplex One” is a series of abstract vignettes. The world this takes place in is a media junkyard complete with trees, newspaper clipping leaves, broken televisions, radios and many rusty and dusty consumer goods. These goods are “manufactured wants” developed to cover the pain of the population’s stagnation of self discovery. Although the scenery will change, the media junkyard world always exists in the background. It is the periphery of the set where the marginalized malcontent characters reside both physically and mentally. The land of the outcasts.
The story centers on malcontents Gadfly and Shaqueefa Flowers. They are hoboes pushed to the periphery because their talents are not necessary in the current industrialized profit-driven society. The establishment is headed up by the Trinity Puppeteer Jackals in the form of a Greek Chorus who puppeteer the figurehead evil Nazi Mad Scientist and his henchman Drill Sergeant as well as the Nazi Mad Scientist’s pop diva creation the Faux Queen (reminiscent of empty modern pop singers.) The mainstream population is represented by Innocent Child, Middle America Man, Mechanic, Smug Low Level Executive, Gadfly’s Parents and the Paper Boy. The Paper Boy lives in the mainstream world but often makes his way out to the periphery. He is curious and sees problems with the status quo.
Act One begins with the introduction of the main characters all involved in their own realms. The Trinity Puppeteer Jackals sit on top of the world controlling the Nazi Mad Scientist who works on his creation the Faux Queen, and the Drill Sergeant who forces the Innocent Child to walk goose step. At the periphery in the media junkyard, hoboes Gadfly and Shaqueefa share poetry indicative of society’s ills. As the act progresses we see how the establishment characters control the general population through propaganda straight from the ideals of the Creel Commission (the propaganda division under Woodrow Wilson.) The Nazi wants to be God, and as a leader figurehead, will lead this world on a downward spiral toward destruction. Through out the Nazi Mad Scientist arrogantly speaks down to the population he controls. The population follows because of deep seeded background assumptions placed in their minds through the inoculation of propaganda using a holy tap water concoction and those ideas are kept in place via the establishment controlled airwaves who devise a powerful propaganda beam. The holy tap water is derived from the Faux Queen’s Sweat. The Faux Queen is there for the population to idolize and spread new trends resulting in the consumption of products instead of free will. Meanwhile we see Gadfly and Shaqueefa having difficulty being assimilated into the population and spend most of act one out on the periphery singing about the flawed society.
Act Two begins with the transformation of Gadfly and Shaqueefa. Gadfly falls into a dream state where his nightmares reveal he was mentally abused by his parents. Painful realizations eventually lead to self awareness and empowerment. Gadfly and Shaqueefa lead a group of malcontents in a revolution through music. This music is called “Gangr’ear” by the establishment and the malcontents begin to raise havoc. The Malcontent musicians love the idea of the establishments given mantle of the aforementioned disease “Gangr’ear.” They say everyone should get a good case of it! The malcontents are perceived to be terrorists. This is fostered by the establishment’s use of propaganda, much like the technique’s used against activist groups who were convicted of crimes they never committed to hinder new ideas and the progress of humanity.
Deep in his lab with heavy pressure from the controlling Trinity Puppeteer Jackals, the Nazi Mad Scientist searches desperately for a cure for the Gangr’ear strain. He concocts the antidote, a potion he calls “parasitus malcontentus.” The antidote potion wipes out the revolution. Because all that is good has been wiped clean of this world, not only do the Malcontents suffer a metaphoric death late in the act, but even the establishment characters lose their power. They never understood that the progressives meant to bring them along to a kind of Promised Land and out of destruction through enlightenment. After this death we see the break down of the third wall. Everyone steps out of character to sing the final two numbers “Round World” and “Bullshit’s What They’re Sellin’ You” to the audience.