Anon A Mouse (Preliminary Libretto)
The Translation
Squeakbretto translated by Laurie Spiegel
from the original, as recited and sung in UMVEL
(Universal Mammalian Vocal Expressive Language)
by the participants.
Characters / Personagggi
Human - a woman
The Mice - Alpha, Mama Mouse and the Runt - A family of mice
The Dog - An ordinary domestic canine.
Note: Each mouse played several rodent roles to sound like more than 3.
A single canine role, but played by the voices and actions of 2 different dogs.
Prologue
0:00
The kitchen of a New York loft, formerly a warehouse. It is late evening.
Human
Time to feed the mice.
My god it's noisy outside tonight.
Rice cakes?
Rice?
Tonight?
Oh sure.
Yes. Rice cake.
Your favorite food.
Hi Mr. Dog.
0:20
Dog
Yes, please.
Food for me too?
The mice are heard rattling around inside old iron stove
but they don’t say anything yet.
Sounds of Human rattling a cellophane bag and
breaking apart rice cakes into little pieces.
Human
Hey guys.
Here’s a bite for you.
A bite for you Mr. Dog.
The crunch crunch of cellophane bag is heard,
then the sounds of rice cake pieces being dropped
for the mice into the big safe stove where they wait,
all trying to hide from the giant human and giant dog.
1:20
Human
Ok little meese.
Come and get it little meeese.
Dinner for mice.
(Very softly)
Let’s see if anybody shows up.
(pause)
Human
Here they come.
Act I / Parte Prima / Atto Primo
1:30
Big hunks of rice cake are dropped into the big
old echoing stove for the mice and land with a loud thunk.
1:36
Mice
At last!
She's finally giving them to us, the rice cakes.
2:00 simile
3:00
Sounds of mice playing and squeaking at each other excitedly.
Act II / Parte Seconda / Atto Secondo
5:10
Dog I want to play too!
5:30
6:10 Dog Squeak squeak squeak.
All the mice go silent,
7:00 Mice (to each other)
Do you think he wants to eat our food or to eat us?
8:35 Dog This is getting frustrating!
(pause)
They've absolutely driven me to drink.
Sounds of dog drinking alone.)
Epilogue / Scene Ultima
Did you find that piece?
I think there's another one over here.
Oh wow!
It's snowing rice cake pieces all over the place!
Let me have that one.
I want one too.
Hey that piece was mine.
Mmm... so cruchy and fresh!
Maybe if I sounded more like them.
Where did I put my squeak toy?
I can play too!
then resume crunching but without saying anything,
hoping that dog will get the idea and go away.
Oh how hard it is, wanting to belong but being shunned by the group.
Oh these dear little mice, they have seriously driven me to drink!
9:00
Dog
Where are you, little ones?
End / Fine
10:00
Where are you?
Where?
They are gone.
I am left all alone,
bereft of the company of my fellow furry quadriped mammals.
Will they ever let me play with them?
Will they ever even come back?
How I miss them!
How I want to belong, to be part of their pack!
Please come back!
Come back!
I just wanted to be part of your group and play too.