Rasa: A Modern Fairy Tale in Two Acts
- Rasa:A Modern Fairy Tale in Two Acts
Introduction
What follows is an excerpt of a play I am writing entitled Rasa: A Scientific Fairytale of Biblical Proportions, which offers a new interpretation of the golem as dramatized by the protagonist, a female golem named Rasa. A modern fairy tale, it explores how the ancient legend of the golem can become a venue for exploring what it means to be human in an age in which technology is expanding the boundaries of our ideas on this question.
As Rasa begins, the world is in crisis because women have been delivering babies who die within 24 hours after birth. Bioengineer PHILIP GALWAY has been developing artificial wombs as a remedy, but needs an uncontaminated womb in order to test his new retroviral vaccine. His ex-wife, SHURI MAYIM, a biotechnologist has agreed to work with their close friend NELSON BALDWIN in order to create a pregnant golem, RASA, whose womb will provide the necessary endo-metrial cells for Philip's artificial wombs.
However, Philip mocks and disparages Shuri's creation of BETH, a biobot (combination plant-computer) programmed to assist in overseeing Rasa's pregnancy. Their enmity heightens the tension as Rasa struggles to successfully complete her mission to deliver a healthy baby as progenitor for the human race. Worse, when Rasa discovers that, as a golem, she has no soul, everything comes to a standstill. She demands to be given what she calls a "soul voice." If they don't comply, she will refuse to complete her task. They must race against time in order to fulfill her impossible wish to be reclassified as "human" rather than "golem." [End Page 33]
TIME: Fifty years from now.
PLACE: U.S.A., anywhere near water.
SET: Three-way split suggesting: Philip's laboratory; Shuri's riverside cottage; and Nelson's wildlife sanctuary.
SENTENCE OUTLINE: This is the story of the golem Rasa, who wants to be human, and after becoming willing to sacrifice this dream, finally succeeds, because humility can lead to miracles.
RASA CHARACTERS: (in order of appearance):
59. BIOMEDICAL ENGINEER. Develops artificial wombs as aids to, or replacements for, defective uteruses. Orphan. Needs to avoid pain at all costs. Shuri's ex.
61. ENVIRONMENTALIST. Wildlife Sanctuary caretaker since his wife Zandile and infant son Carl's death. South African. Philip and Shuri's best friend from college. Wants to help them find a cure for defective uteruses.
48. SCULPTRESS turned BIOTECHNOLOGIST after the loss of three babies. Created BETH, a self-sustaining biobot, to assist in the use of indigenous plants to heal defective uteruses. Descendant of Rabbi Bezalel Loewe, the 16th century creator of the Golem of Prague. Wants to be a mother. Philip's ex.
21. Five months pregnant GOLEM-a creature in human form created out of clay and brought to life by the secret name of God. Wants to become human in order to best fulfill her mission.
Fluorescent BIOBOT (or robot), a plant-computer designed to imitate the physiology of a biological organism, in this case, a Tansy flower (Tanaceturnulgare). Her biomorphic form contains an amoebal brain, or internal bioreactor, newly programmed to access Rasa's interior and exterior environments in order to serve her best interests.
Orphan WHOOPING CRANE stranded at Nelson's Wildlife Sanctuary. Needs to be reunited with his mate and offspring before they migrate south for the winter. [His accompanying SANDHILL CRANES are optional. If included, they could be depicted in film, by children, or by puppets.]
35. MEDIA MOGUL. First female member of a formerly all male enclave known as the Gold Club, whose activities are considered the pinnacle of socio-political networking. Wants a baby. Philip's Gold Club liaison/ aka girlfriend.
Scene 2
(Sunrise. Riverside cottage. Covered in spectral earth and dust on an adjacent riverbank, SHURI MAYIM, 48, consults ANCIENT TEXTS, including THE GOLEM: A HSITORY, and THE BOOK OF CREATION, inscribes the word "EMET" on a CLAY AMULET, hangs it on a branch near a sheer curtain behind which the silhouette of her recently completed RECLINING FEMALE STATUE is...
