Human Demonology: Salome

By P. Emerson Williams 
And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.
And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.
- (Mark 6:21-29, KJV)
The story of Salome is a familiar one in Western culture, the climax of wich with her lascivious dance and the severed head of John the Baptist has fired the imagination of artists, writers and composers for hundreds of years. Then there's Dracula as an allegory describing Victorian men's fear of female sexuality, Lilith in legend and art... The mythical Salome can be seen as both a product of and a window into the minds of those who told it. Salome was a real historical person, born EV 14, the daughter of Herodias and the stepdaughter of the Emperor Herod Antipas. Though she is unnamed in the New Testament, Salome is named in the writings of the historian Josephus.

Citizen Y now available

Citizen Y: Blueprint of a Ritual Experience is now available on Amazon and Weaponized.

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CITIZEN Y: Blueprint of a Ritual Experience
168 pages
Written by John Harrigan and James Curcio
ISBN: 1907810102
Includes:
Full script
8 pages of concept art
Introductions by the writers
Deleted scenes

My introduction to this edition:

Introductions might just be a conceit of the writer and artist. We assume that you really want to hear all about why or how we made something, that you'll be interested to know seemingly pithy behind-the-scenes anecdotes: for instance, how I cut my hand and bled all over the first printed version of this script (true story.)

Maybe you will want to hear those things, and maybe you won't. In either case, you'll just have to bear with us a moment. There are a few things I wanted to share about this project which should prepare you for the process of properly imagining the script as you read it.

When you read a script you are being asked not just to read, but to stage it in your mind, as if it was a dream. You have to be the stage and set manager, the lighting technician, and of course, all of the actors.

When John and I started writing, it occurred to me that we should create a story that contained a strong sense of ancient theater, especially Greek tragedy. However, it had to be expressed in a very modern way. It is a myth which deals with modern issues. To a large extent this creative direction arose naturally through following John's lead. (He wrote the first draft after we had several trans-Atlantic conversations). But it is a goal which I think carried throughout the ten drafts of the script that followed as we moved into a pre-production cycle that sadly had to be aborted.

Secondly, like all of Foolish People's productions, Citizen Y was created with the intent of being a living ritual, and a living mythology, which could have a real psychological effect on the audience - supposing that they meet it halfway. This asks much more of the audience than many productions, as its success or failure becomes dependent in part on their experience, and their participation. It is not pre-fabricated. It demands more of you as an audience than spoon-fed media.

This ties into the method employed in staging such a production. We wrote the script with the intent of it being a “transmedia experiment” to be experienced by audience members that are inducted into the world of Citizen Y, with a film crew similarly embedded within the story. There is no “off set.” Different events might happen in different rooms at the same time, and each participant's experience while moving through the structure would necessarily be somewhat unique. The live event would have plenty of opportunity for improvisation and adaptation.

As we conceived it, at the end of this live event, the filmed material would be produced and released on DVD. This is still a possibility for the future, but for the time being the materials we created for this project remain a blueprint of an experience. The practical necessities for putting on the production as planned simply didn't come together the first time around. Such things are either “perfect storms,” or they aren't. However, if you are imaginative, there is no reason that you can't create the staging this experience for yourself as you explore the script.

In the introduction that I wrote for John's script “Dead Language” (also published by Weaponized), I said that it was in bad taste to tell an audience what a piece of art is about. It's almost an insult. Now, I certainly don't want to insult you, but there is one thing that dawned on me fairly late in the creative process, which I wanted to share.

The Visionary Movie: A Manifesto

This essay caught my attention on a number of levels, but most particularly that of engaging with film as a mythic medium.

"Over the past forty years the dominant art form in America has shifted from the novel to the movie. Yet for the most part, the movie–and the popular movie, in particular–is not addressed with the same level of critical analysis as the novel. The purpose of this site is to remedy that lack.

As the Russian literary theorist Bakhtin noted, the novel is the youngest of all literary media, the only literary form, in fact, that has arisen within the context of literate civilization, for all the others–the epic, the lyric and the dramatic–are pre-literate in origin. If we take a moment to survey the evolution of Western literature, it becomes evident that each of its literary media have evolved through a three-phase cycle of formative, dominant and climactic stages. Pausing here to survey this overall evolution will give us a larger sense of perspective within which to characterize the place of cinema as a medium that has evolved out of the Western literary tradition."

DPRGRM, PILOTLITE, MYTHOS MEDIA & FOOLISHPEOPLE PRESENT Y

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

DPRGRM, PILOTLITE, MYTHOS MEDIA & FOOLISHPEOPLE PRESENT

"Y"

In a post-apocalyptic world, Y is a documentary-style reality show where the grand prize is the future of our species on planet Earth.

Mythos Media and FoolishPeople will join with DPRGRM/Pilotlite to create 'Y', a feature film that starts shooting in Los Angeles July 2009.

LOS ANGELES, CA 02/27/09 – DPRGRM/Plotlite announced a project today that forges a new path in independent cinema by bringing together real world experience and film in a unique way. 'Y' brings an audience inside the creation of a modern myth. The audience will become actual cast members, and be immersed in the story in real time. The film crew will also be part of the story as well as part of the cast, therefore creating a total immersive experience that bridges the traditional proscenium of audience/performer.

The ambitious staging and shooting technique is enhanced by the premise that in the future, government facilities, such the as one depicted in this film, will have to turn to unorthodox means of funding, such as contracting the facility out as the subject of a reality based TV show. The actual crew will be made up of news, reality and documentary style cinematographers and the production will be filmed entirely in the Cinma vrit style.

Written by John Harrigan and James Curcio, and directed by Joseph Matheny, Y is a unique production fusing characters from Curcios second published novel, Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning and Harrigans screenplay GraveLand, currently in pre production.

DPRGRM will finance and distribute the film, working alongside online media corporation Pilotlite, a joint venture between Joseph Matheny and Michael Mailer Films.

Joseph Matheny, founder of DPRGRM and Pilotlite co-founder says: We will be employing cutting edge production, post production and distribution techniques that have been gestating for several years while the technology caught up to the vision. We chose this project and this team specifically because the project lends itself to the medium and the people can keep up.

James Curcio, Creative Director of Mythos Media, says: Mythos Media was founded specifically to work on projects like this, and modern myths have been my life passion. I am eager to dive in and create this world, both as production designer and producer of the soundtrack. However, even more, I am eager to collaborate with all of the creatives that are already lining up to become a part of this truly one-of-a-kind project.

John Harrigan, Artistic Director of FoolishPeople comments: Members of FP and I are extremely excited to be working on a project with such a talented and unique team. 'Y' will redefine what is possible in film production and I'm looking forward to taking on the role of Performance Director.

About Y:

Civilization has fallen. In the rubble, we at the Y Corporation have developed the ultimate solution to save society: the Y Show.

We encourage all good citizens to sign up for the Show. You will be housed within a wonderful Haze Treatment Facility and undergo unique psychological treatment, which will clear away the illness of individuality. This reprogramming will be broadcast to the eyes and ears of Citizens in our New World, populated with previous contestants and patients. This is a reality show unlike any other!

There is a secret that haunts Haze01, the original treatment facility. Two patients, locked deep within its walls, contain archetypes that reject all reprogramming. They channel portents and omens of another future, a world where myth and divinity remake reality, manifesting a planet fit for Gods.

In this season of the Y show, the doctors of the facility make their final attempt to process these two patients, before they break free and unleash total anarchy. Tune in.

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Notes to editors:

About DPRGRM/Pilotlite: DPRGRM was founded by auteur Joseph Matheny to meet the new age of media convergence head-on with cutting edge media projects like Y and Pilotlite, which Matheny co-founded with Michael Mailer of Michael Mailer Films. For more information visit:jmatheny.wordpress.com

About Mythos Media: Mythos Media was founded by James Curcio, Peter Emerson Williams, Michael Szul and Tovarich Pizor in 2006 to produce modern myths. In the past, these have taken the form of comics, novels, and albums. For more information, please visit: HYPERLINK "http://www.mythosmedia.net/"www.mythosmedia.net

About FoolishPeople: FoolishPeople was founded by John Harrigan in 1989, taking its name from one of the major arcana of the tarot, card 0: The Fool. FoolishPeople create weaponized art, ritual theatre, collaborative events, books & film to raise a numinous experience within the witness. FP engineer immersive, open source experiences that become a catalyst for positive change. For more information, please visit: HYPERLINK "http://www.foolishpeople.org/"www.foolishpeople.org

Press Contact:

Joseph Matheny

DPRGRM

jmatheny@dprgrm.com

310.928.6959

http://citizen-y.com