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| The Fourth Messenger |
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Book and Lyrics by Tanya Shaffer
Music by Vienna Teng
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“Look to the thought, for thoughts lead to words
Look to the word, for words lead to actions
Look to the action, for actions lead to habits
Habit leads to character, and character becomes destiny.” |
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What if the Buddha were a woman? What if she were alive today? How would the world view her life and teachings differently? "The Fourth Messenger" is a captivating new musical by playwright/lyricist Tanya Shaffer and composer Vienna Teng, loosely inspired by the life of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. In our contemporary re-imagining, the "awakened one" is a woman - a world-famous guru with a mysterious past, known to her followers as Mama Sid. When a young woman arrives at her ashram and starts asking questions, Mama Sid is forced to confront her youthful actions and their consequences. At once epic and intimate, comic and profound, "The Fourth Messenger" investigates what it means to be both enlightened and human. Vienna Teng's addictive melodies and subtle, intricate harmonies add depth and resonance that linger long after the lights go down.
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"The Fourth Messenger" has had developmental support from TheatreWorks and Playwrights Foundation. We will have a free, public reading at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Marin on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012, at 9:30 a.m. We will have a second reading on Tuesday night, Feb. 21, at 7:30 pm, at Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby at MLK Jr. Way in Berkeley. No reservations necessary. $5-10 requested donation. Sign up for our email list for more info.
| Click the button to make a tax-deductible contribution to support our upcoming production! |
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| The Fourth Messenger |
Home |
| Selected Songs |
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| All songs © Tanya Shaffer and
Vienna Teng. |
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| Click the button to make a tax-deductible contribution to support our upcoming production! |
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| (Audio may take a moment to start playing as they download) |
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| "The Human Experience" |
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Mama Sid helps a woman with cancer cope with her feelings of fear.
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(Voices: Vienna Teng)
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| "Bois Riche" |
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The sheltered community in which Sid was raised springs vividly to life in her memory.
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(Ensemble: Robert Brewer, Gwen Loeb, Anna Ishida, Stephan Smith Collins; Solo: Richard Frederick)
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| "Monkey Mind" |
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As Raina, a city girl, attempts to settle into her first meditation retreat, we get to listen in on her thoughts, as well as and those of the other meditators.
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(Raina: Anna Ishida, Myra: Tanya Shaffer, Mike: Daniel Olson, Derekh: Len Shaffer, Priya: Vienna Teng)
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| "You've Got a Glow" |
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Andy begs Sid to let him accompany her in her search for truth.
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(Andy: Mark Anderson Phillips, Sid: Cathleen Riddley)
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| "Rope Burn" |
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Sid teaches about the dangers of attachment.
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(Sid: Cathleen Riddley, Ensemble: Robert Brewer, Velina Brown, Stephan Smith Collins, Richard Frederick, Anna Ishida, Gwen Loeb, Mark Anderson Phillips, Mauricio Villa-Lobos)
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| "Temptations: Bread and Water" |
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A loaf of bread and a glass of water try to cajole Sid into giving up her quest for enlightenment.
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(Bread: Stephan Smith Collins, Water: Anna Ishida)
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| "Temptations: Come Back to Me" |
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Sid's former boyfriend Yasha tries to lure her back to the sensual world.
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(Yasha: Robert Brewer, Sid: Cathleen Riddley)
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| "The Human Experience (Reprise)" |
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Mama Sid coaches Raina through her grief over the loss of her father.
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(Sid: Cathleen Riddley. Ensemble: Anna Ishida, Daniel Olson, Len Shaffer, Tanya Shaffer, Vienna Teng)
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| Piano: Vienna Teng Music Director: Sean Bart |
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Rehearsal photos from “The Fourth Messenger” Reading
Playwrights’ Foundation, January 2008 |
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| Directed by Amy Mueller |
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