In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

  • The Anti-Gardener
  • Scott Adkins (bio)

Characters

  • Tomás

  • Baker

  • Mother

  • King Gao San

Design Notes

This play is more an opera than a play.

Enter the Land of Gao-San

Tomás sits in ritual form with King Gao-San. Tomás has a tattoo on his neck in the shape of a star with eighteen lines around the edge.

King Gao-San:

I present to you, Tomás, the map to the Garden for Butterflies. No one has looked at this map in a thousand years.

Tomás:

Yes.

King Gao-San:

It is the joining of your family and mine that brings us finally to the moment of ending the tyranny of the Garden for Butterflies.

Tomás:

Thank you sir.

King Gao-San:

You are very brave. We put the land Gao-San in your trust. Take this map and protect it with your life.

Tomás:

I will sir.

King Gao-San:

May I hold the star?

Tomás:

Certainly.

Tomás removes the Anti-Gardener’s star from inside his robe. He hands it to King Gao-San.

King Gao-San:

It is true. This is it. I knew it from the moment I saw the markings on your neck.

There are eighteen pawns in the star. Each able to destroy a virtue of the Garden for Butterflies. Each pawn designed to assert itself over a fragment of life. Hope. [End Page 107]

Tomás:

Basil.

King Gao-San:

Yes. Enduring.

Tomás:

Spearmint.

King Gao-San:

Hardworking.

Tomás:

Dill weed.

King Gao-San:

Happy.

Tomás:

Lilac.

King Gao-San:

Adventurous.

Tomás:

Hyacinth.

King Gao-San:

Curious.

Tomás:

Sunflowers.

King Gao-San:

Committed.

Tomás:

Bleeding hearts.

King Gao-San:

Oh excellent. Considerate.

Tomás:

Daisies.

King Gao-San:

Well done Tomás. Now the last one requires nine pawns all on its own. Courage.

Tomás:

Snap dragons.

Beginning with sunflowers
Then thunder-less lightning
Wilted orange blossoms
Animals go hunting
Rabbits leave last
Empty clouds bring dark nights
We must stop the Garden for Butterflies before it is too late
Before it is too late
Before it is too late.

Each pawn in the case is a fragment of life. Each pawn will assert itself over the unnatural until the Garden for Butterflies is no more.

King Gao-San:

Tomás, you are ready.

Tomás:

Thank you.

Enter the Garden for Butterflies

Tomás is tired and his clothes are shredded from many days of travel over rough mountain terrain.

Tomás:

It took me many days to reach the pass of Mt. Gao that would lead me to the Garden for Butterflies. There I encountered the legendary Yeti. The Yeti greeted me with sharp teeth and a war cry. I offered him a bushel of carrots. In the end, the carrots saved my life and the old Yeti revealed the meaning of the symbols of the map. The same number of days later, I descended beyond the pass of Mt. Gao. I am the first anti-gardener in a thousand years to make the crossing and enter the Garden for Butterflies. It is an unnatural garden.

Mother emerges from her snail shell. [End Page 108]

Mother:

Really.

Tomás:

In the dead of winter, it thrives. Nothing stops this garden from growing.

Mother:

I know this place. My dear love, Baker, runs this garden, yes? He is the gardener.

Tomás:

I don’t see any people. Just things growing …

Mother:

Yes, beauty growing.

Tomás:

. . . in a most disgusting way.

Mother:

I have missed my garden. Really.

Tomás:

Oh yes.

Mother:

I like the way your lip curls up like that...

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