Ballet script from Zellerbach Auditorium concert program - June 15, 1984
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Title origin |
Sinister footwear | |
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| “A Zappa Affair” concert by Berkeley Symphony Orchestra directed by Kent Nagano |
| Scene 1: Jake’s bedroom, changing to a stylized industrial panorama |
| Dancers: |
| - Jake |
| - Group one (with masonite autos) |
| - Group two (illegal aliens) |
| - Jake’s secretary |
| - Catering man |
| Major props: |
| - ugly shoe painting (with easel, brushes, palette) |
| - bed |
| - large surrealistic traffic signal |
| - one-dimensional masonite automobiles |
| - catering truck (well stocked) |
| - ugly shoes coming off assembly line boxes |
| (1) JAKE WHO DESIGNS IT |
| Curtain rises. |
| Jake wakes up and rubs his eyes. |
| Jake stumbles out of bed. |
| Jake walks towards easel. |
| Jake grabs brushes and palette. |
| Jake applies 3 finishing brush strokes to painting. |
| Jake turns easel toward audience revealing a picture of the ugliest shoe you ever saw in your life. |
| Jake’s room walls fly up as bed and elevated area with Jake and easel are pulled off to opposite sides of the stage. |
| (2) SOMEWHERE IN NEW JERSEY WHERE THEY MAKE THEM |
| Removal of Jake’s set reveals a grotesquely stylized industrial panorama including flaming funnels and smoke-ring-spewing unclassifiable devices. |
| A large surrealistic traffic signal turns green. |
| Dancers move about with one-dimensional masonite autos. |
| Jake appears in their midst, walking to work with the ugly shoe picture under his arm. |
| Dance interaction between Jake and cars. |
| As Jake and cars dance, factory walls gradually move in from opposite sides of the stage. |
| Cars-dancers are gradually replaced by illegal aliens as factory set appears. |
| Set change. |
| Cars change to aliens. |
| Jake dances with the ugly shoe picture. |
| Large sign is lowered into factory set reading “SINISTER FOOTWEAR”. |
| Changeover is complete as Jake places ugly shoe picture on easel and dashes around urging the aliens to construct it. |
| Jake points to various details on ugly shoe design while aliens pretend to understand and scramble around as if they were actually building it. |
| (3) ILLEGAL ALIENS ON A LUNCH BREAK |
| Aliens drop their tools and rush around pulling their shop aprons off. |
| Factory walls slide out again to reveal industrial landscape again. (“SINISTER FOOTWEAR” sign flies up). |
| Catering truck drives in. |
| Catering man exits truck and opens flaps as aliens gather. |
| (4) AT THE CATERING TRUCK |
| Aliens grab for truck items. |
| Aliens move away with their goods as Jake approaches and makes his selection. |
| Jake pays catering man. |
| (5) JAKE EATS A MOLDED JELLO SALAD |
| Jake makes an elaborate production out of the molded jello salad, dancing with it as he eats. |
| Aliens respond. |
| Jake eats some more. |
| (6) JAKE’S SECRETARY |
| She is grooming herself… |
| Filing her nails… |
| Adjusting her perm… |
| Factory walls slide back. |
| (7) ILLEGAL ALIENS WORK SLOWER IN THE AFTERNOON |
| Aliens continue industrial behavior at half speed. |
| (8) JAKE’S SECRETARY READS HER MAGAZINE |
| She walks through slow-moving aliens with magazine in front of her face. |
| (9) ILLEGAL ALIENS WANT TO GO HOME |
| They make yearning gestures in the direction of the front door. |
| (10) JAKE’S SECRETARY EATS COTTAGE CHEESE |
| (11) UGLY SHOES AT THE ASSEMBLY LINE |
| As the shoes come off the line, aliens stuff them into boxes. |
| Some aliens carry the boxes away. |
| Other aliens stack the boxes. |
| As stack is completed, aliens exit randomly. |
| Aliens are gone… |
| Lights dim; curtain down. |
| Scene 2: black velvet backdrop with fun-house mirrors |
| Dancers: |
| - Group one (beautiful people with ugly shoes) |
| - Group two (who pretend not to notice) |
| - Children |
| - Chiropodist (can be danced by Jake) |
| Major props: |
| - masks of “beautiful people” and “contemporary personages” |
| - rolling bin containing the masks |
| - cardboard people who do not notice |
| (12) WHAT YOU THINK YOU LOOK WHEN YOU’RE WEARING THEM |
| Curtain rises to reveal a group of dancers wearing Jake’s ugly shoes and masks of famous “beautiful people” posing in front of several fun-house mirrors. (Black velvet backdrop) |
| Change… |
| Pose… |
| Change… |
| Pose… |
| Change… |
| Pose… |
| Change… |
| Pose… |
| Change… |
| Pose… |
| “Beautiful people” engage in social intercourse; shake hands with each other; admire each other’s shoes and costumes. |
| “Beautiful people” appear to agree that they are truly beautiful… |
| (13) SOMETIMES THEY MAKE YOU WALK FUNNY |
| Dancers try to walk in Jake’s shoes and experience great difficulty. |
| (14) OTHER PEOPLE PRETEND NOT TO NOTICE |
| Fun-house mirrors revolve. The backs of them have cardboard people pretending not to notice. |
| Other dancers walk continuously through the group with ugly shoes on, ignoring the shoes in an obvious manner… |
| Dance continues with second group revolving mirrors around and through group with ugly shoes. |
| Dancers with ugly shoes gradually collapse on floor and begin to remove them. |
| (15) SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO TAKE THEM OFF FOR A MINUTE |
| Dancers with shoes off rub their feet. |
| Second group watches and nods knowingly. |
| (16) THEN YOU PUT THEM BACK ON BECAUSE YOU THINK THEY LOOK SO GOOD ON YOU |
| Dancers put shoes back on as fast as possible. |
| With shoes back on, dancers now stand and continue types of movement from other section. |
| Several children with ugly shoes on sneak in from side of stage. |
| (17) CHILDREN CAN ALSO HAVE UGLY SHOES |
| They begin to dance with their “parents” as second group departs. |
| The chiropodist leaps in from the side. |
| All other dancers freeze slowly. |
| (18) THE FOOT DOCTOR SAYS YOU MIGHT NEED AN OPERATION |
| Chiropodist examines dancers’ feet. |
| He warns them… |
| (19) BUT YOU’RE GOING TO WEAR THEM ANYWAY |
| … but they dance away from him. |
| Dancing go back to posing in front of mirrors. |
| (20) EVERYBODY HAS A PAIR SOMEWHERE |
| Chiropodist produces rolling bin full of masks of contemporary personages and distributes these to dancers. |
| Dancers affix masks and imitate the activity appropriate to the personage whose mask they are wearing. |
| Dancers indicate during the dance in some way how the personage’s ugly shoes most affect his or her competence. |
| Hold pose as lights dim and curtain falls. |
| Scene 3: surreal night club scene |
| Dancers: |
| - entire company |
| (21) A PLACE YOU CAN GO WHEN YOU’VE GOT THEM ON |
| Scene is surreal night club with moving cut-out audience and moving cut-out entertainer on small revolving stage. |
| All dancers, in ugly shoes and evening clothes, conduct various social transactions. |
English lyrics from site Information Is Not Knowledge. |