Director's Notes

Notes for the Director:
Dancing in the Cosmos will be most effectively staged in a minimalist format which will lend itself quite well to church and travel troupe settings. Moveable floor props such as a tree, a large rock and a bench can be used as the director desires. A synthesizer will be valuable in adding sound effects. Music behind the songs and dances will heighten the effect. However, the music should be ethereal. A flute is the ideal instrument. The choreography will depend upon the ability of the actors. However, it should resemble ballet rather than disco or ballroom dancing. Unless the actors are accomplished dancers, the dance sequences should not be lengthy. The choreography must include pantomime of the narration.
The narration has been written as choral reading. It can be done also with only one or more individual narrators. The important think is to be consistent in the use of voice tone and pitch to set mood. As written, the choral narration has been divided into lighter and heavier voices. The lighter voices are indicated with "Choral One"; the heavier voices with "Choral Two". Whether the director chooses choral reading or individual narrators, the narration can be read from scripts.
If possible, the two "commentators" should be seated down stage left.
One actor should play the part of "Joy" in all stages. She simply portrays the character
appropriately. The cloak she wears must include a hood that will cover the head of Nay Sayer when he assumes the guise of Joy.
Other than Joy’s cloak and the robes that she and Truth Seeker don, costuming can be as simple or as complex as the director desires.
A microphone must be available for off stage lines.

Cast:
Chorus: Either two groups of speakers or individual narrators. If the director chooses, actors who exit may join the chorus until their next entrances. As indicated in the script, minor roles may be spoken directly from the chorus.
Truth Seeker: A beautiful young woman, naive, but searching for greater understanding.
Eternal Hope: Strong and compassionate speaking with warmth and authority.
Commentators One and Two: May be either male or female. They shouldn’t be a part of the chorus. They play the roles as interactive spectators.
Joy: a child for a moment; then a young woman.
Nay Sayer: A nervous feline-like character, strong, yet fearful.

Dancing in the Cosmos Act 3

ACT THREE

Scene One

CHORUS TWO:      The further Truth Seeker walked away from Nay Sayer and the meadow of the devourers, the quieter became both the storm within and the storm without.  As darkness approached, she came upon a lighted cottage. It promised a welcome respite to the exhausted traveler.  She knocked, when no answered, she pushed the door opened, walked inside and was pleased to see a blazing hearth, a meal set out on the table and dry clothing warming near the fireplace.   Tears streamed down her face once more–tears of gratitude.  Eternal Hope had once more come ahead of her and made provision for her.

 

CHORUS ONE:  Warm and dry, she sat down to her meal.  Eternal Hope, Himself, then appeared, served her food and filled and refilled her cup to overflowing.  She wept again in the presence of such love.  Neither spoke.  It was a moment too tender for mere words.  It was a moment to speak heart to heart. 

          After she had eaten her full, she leaned her head on the breast of her Lover, her Creator, her King and listened to the beating of His heart.  She had many questions.  She found her answers in the stillness of His person.

CHORUS TWO:  She knew, then, that her time with Nay Sayer had not been in vain.  She had been the instrument through which Eternal Hope had planted the seed of destiny within the angry creature.   She remembered his words.

NAY SAYER: (off stage) I know enough truth to see that Eternal Hope wants more for me than I want for myself.  I don’t want the responsibility of being more than I am.

CHORUS TWO:   The seed of destiny was within Nay Sayer.  Perhaps, some day, he would accept that destiny.

         

CHORUS ONE: Truth Seeker looked at herself and knew, too, that because of the love of Eternal Hope, because of the destiny that had moved her forward, she had grown even in the midst of her adversity.  Eternal Hope had never chided her for losing both her path and her Joy.  He had only walked beside her and brought her through the consequences of her momentary acceptance of deception.  He had blessed her in spite of her free will and the free will of Nay Sayer.  She had learned in adversity what she may well have overlooked in prosperity.

 

CHORUS TWO:  She knew the love of Eternal Hope–a love that went beyond free will, went beyond the circumstances of life, went beyond rejection.  From the beating of His heart, she knew that Eternal Hope still loved Nay Sayer.  She prayed that Nay Sayer would learn from the adversity that most assuredly lay ahead of him what he had overlooked in the prosperity of the manna.

CHORUS ONE:  She was amazed at the love her felt for Nay Sayer.  She realized that she, too, wanted more for him than he wanted for himself.  She knew that he had not rejected her.   He had rejected the destiny of Eternal Hope that he had seen within her.  She understood that if she had stayed with him, she would have merely enabled him to remain where he was and she would not have fulfilled her destiny as a vessel of Eternal Hope’s love for him.  Had she stayed with him, she would always have been tempted to gather for him.  Perhaps he would have worn her to the point where she would have gathered for him because it would have easier at the moment than not gathering for him.

It would have been easier for the moment, but devastating in the end.  Revelation swept over her as she discerned that often we enable others because it is easier for us than refusing.  She accepted the truth that sometimes love says, “No.”

ALL: In the warmth of His love and revelation, she fell asleep in the arms of her Beloved.

         

CHORUS TWO: Nay Sayer, however, remained in the Valley of the Devourers.  He had not moved out of the storm.  He was miserable, and, yet, he had no desire to relieve that misery.  He wailed out his anguish to the angry skies and wept bitterly in his loneliness–a loneliness made greater now that he had once journeyed with Truth Seeker. 

.COMMENTATOR ONE:  Poor, pitiful Nay Sayer.

COMMENTATOR TWO:    Yes, poor, pitiful Nay Sayer

Scene Two

(Truth Seeker slumbers)

CHORUS ONE: The sounds of crowds nearby awakened Truth Seeker from her slumber.  In the early morning lighted, she saw throngs of travelers filling the road outside her cottage.  Although they walked in groups, each was an individual traveler.  Over the voices of the travelers, Truth Seeker heard the rushing of a great river.  It seemed that the river was just over the next hill.  Each traveler moved at his or her own pace  and, yet, advanced with the group toward the raging river through the verdant valley which had sheltered Truth Seeker’s cottage.  She joined a group and fell into step with a young man. 

TRUTH SEEKER:  Excuse me, young man.  I am a bit confused with all the activity this morning.  What is the destination and what is the purpose of your journey?

YOUNG MAN:  Ah, each of us in  covenant with Eternal Hope.  At one time or another, everyone in covenant with Eternal Hope must journey toward The River.  For some of us, it is a longer journey than for others, but it is a journey for each of us.

TRUTH SEEKER:  Please tell me about The River.  I have not heard of it.  Yet, I sense that it, too, is where my journey is leading me.

YOUNG MAN:  It is The River of Decision.  Here we must decide whether to stay on this side or cross over with Eternal Hope.

TRUTH SEEKER:  What is on the other side?

YOUNG MAN: Some say that a higher and deeper relationship with Eternal Hope exists there.

TRUTH SEEKER:  A higher and deeper relationship?

YOUNG MAN:  Yes, one that will give us authority to reclaim what the gods of the cavern have stolen from us.

TRUTH SEEKER:    Have the gods of the cavern stolen from all of us?

YOUNG MAN:  Aye, the devourers have come into all of our lives.

 

TRUTH SEEKER:    Do some choose to stay on this side?

YOUNG MAN:  Most choose to stay on this side.

TRUTH SEEKER:  But, why?

YOUNG MAN:  Many reasons.  Some of us are fearful of crossing over.  We don’t know what is on the other side.  It is a matter of trust to cross.   Some of us are content where we are.  We are happy to be in covenant with Eternal Hope, but we either don’t want to believe that there are higher and deeper truths, or we reject deeper and higher truths because accepting higher and deeper truths will cause transformation in our souls.  Transformation is a most fearful thing.  We are uncomfortable in transformation.   Transformation means that we will have to think differently.  When we think differently, we act differently. We don’t know what we will have to think or have to do.

TRUTH SEEKER:  We will have to think differently about what?

YOUNG MAN:  It is not “what”.  It is ‘whom’.

TRUTH SEEKER:    We will have to think differently about whom?

YOUNG MAN:  We will have to think differently about Eternal Hope.  We will come to understand that He is greater in love, greater in power, greater in hope than we have known.

TRUTH SEEKER:  Why is that difficult?

YOUNG MAN:  Most of us are comfortable with Eternal Hope when we see Him as limited in much the same way we are limited.  Believing that Eternal Hope has limits gives us reason to hold on to our own lives and our own limitations.”

TRUTH SEEKER:  What will happen when we understand that Eternal Hope has no limits?

YOUNG MAN: We will give ourselves to Him in total surrender and worship.  We will give up all control over our own lives.  We will truly walk heart to heart with Him.

TRUTH SEEKER:  Why wouldn’t we want that?

YOUNG MAN:  Because most of us are too comfortable with things the way they are.  We know that Eternal Hope loves us.  We go to Him in desperation, but we shun a surrendered relationship with Him.

TRUTH SEEKER:    Are you planning to cross The River?

YOUNG MAN:  I haven’t yet decided. (He moves down the path ahead of her.

CHORUS ONE: The crowd of people became more congested as she moved along.  Truth Seeker’s spirit was troubled.  How could people become so comfortable where they were that they feared going over the river into a higher and deeper relationship with Eternal Hope?  Then she remembered Nay Sayer.  Even his misery was more comfortable to him than the thought of going down a new path.

TRUTH SEEKER:  Eternal Hope, may my desire be enough to cross over with You.  May my desire be enough that my heart will beat with Yours.

         

ETERNAL HOPE: (off stage) It is a matter of faith.  Remember, the choice is yours and yours alone.  The question isn’t whether or not your desire will be strong enough.  The question is whether or nor your faith will strong enough.

TRUTH SEEKER:  What determines the strength of my faith?

ETERNAL HOPE:  Your understanding of Who I am.

COMMENTATOR ONE:  How do we understand Who Eternal Truth is?

COMMENTATOR TWO:  It, too, is a matter of faith.

COMMENTATOR ONE:  A matter of faith?

COMMENTATOR TWO:  Yes, we must have the faith to believe that Eternal Truth is Who He says He is.

CHORUS ONE:  Then, suddenly, most of the crowd pulled back, and Truth Seeker discovered herself at The River’s edge.  The people had drawn back to make room for a bearded man in a derby standing on a wooden box.  He was an eloquent speaker.  People were more attracted to the sound of his voice than to the words of his message.  He spoke in smooth, enticing tones. 

BEARDED MAN: (solo from Chorus) (preaching)  I love Eternal Hope as much as anyone.  I have been in covenant with him since I was a young man.  However, I am suspicious of this idea of crossing over The River.  It is something that people used to do, but it is not pertinent for our time. 

          Come on, be reasonable.  Haven’t we been successful in what we have been doing?  We don’t need to change now.  We know how to do what we have been doing.  We have done it all our lives.  To change now would be sinful.  I am sure that this idea of crossing over is the device of the gods of the cavern.  We can’t have a deeper and higher relationship with Eternal Hope than we have right now. 

          Please don’t be deceived.  We are joyless and impotent.  That’s the way Eternal Hope wants us to be.  What is this nonsense about coming into a higher authority and claiming back what the gods of the cavern have stolen from us?  It is our duty to remain as we are until Eternal Hope comes for us.  We know the plan for His coming. We have determined it ourselves.  We must rest on the assurance of His love and continue to do nothing.  (Eternal Hope enters.)

          Eternal Hope would not call us to dance amongst the cosmos with Him.  Dancing is undignified and, therefore, sinful.    We can receive blessing only on this side of The River. 

CHORUS TWO: He looked straight into the eyes of One standing in the midst of the crowd.  He looked straight into the eyes of Eternal Hope and did not recognize the one he claimed to love with such a passion.

                                                                                                                       

COMMENTATOR ONE:  I pray that I will recognize Him.

COMMENTATOR TWO:  Recognition comes from spending time with Who He is, not Who we want Him to be.

CHORUS TWO:  The crowd divided.  Some wandered and wondered what they should do and where they should go.  The young man who had spoken to Truth Seeker earlier had joined that group.  Most of the people remained gathered around the man in the derby.  They proclaimed him as their new leader.  They named him Exalted Chieftain and asked him to lead them back to their former lives where they would remain in the love of Eternal Truth, where they would receive blessing, but not the greater blessing, where they would be safe from challenges that would demand the faith that can come only from seeing Eternal Hope as He is.  They asked Exalted Chieftain to lead them back to their complacency.

CHORUS ONE: Truth Seeker, though,  hurried to the tiny group that stood around Eternal Hope.  He looked upon them and spoke to them through the tears of love. 

ETERNAL HOPE:  You are truly mine.  You know My countenance.  You know My voice.  I need only whisper into your spirt, and you put aside all else and come to Me.

ALL:  The River surged tumultuously behind Him.

 

         

COMMENTATOR ONE:  Is it true that each of us will be called to The River?

COMMENTATOR TWO:  It is true.

COMMENTATOR ONE:  When will that call come?

COMMENTATOR TWO: It has come now.

Scene Three

ETERNAL HOPE: (speaking to audience) Come with me.  Come with me to  the edge of destiny.

To the place where eagles soar and glide  on the whisper of the wind. 

You are my eagles. 

My thunder awakens the warrior spirit in you.. 

My power rises above the towering mountains.  

My showers of blessing fall upon all creation. 

I am the sparkling, roaring stream of Living Water.

I am Mercy renewed. 

I am Grace to go forward.

Loose the chains from off yourselves. 

Stretch out your horizons.

Walk in My authority.

Dance from star to star.

As the sons of God sang when the stars came into being, so shall the stars rejoice as we dance together.

Hear the sound of many waters coming from My throne.

Waters of My power, majesty, authority. 

Hush--be still and know that I am Eternal Hope. 

Come, fulfill your destiny in Me.

CHORUS ONE:  “We will come.  We will come with You to  the edge of destiny. 

To the place where eagles soar and glide on the whisper of the wind. 

We rejoice to be your eagles. 

Your thunder has awakened the warrior spirit in us. 

Your power rises above the towering mountains.  

Your showers of blessing fall upon all creation. 

You  are the sparkling, roaring stream of Living Water.

You are Mercy renewed. 

You are Grace to go forward.

We loose the chains from off ourselves. 

We stretch out our horizons.

We will walk in Your authority.

We will dance from star to star.

As the sons of God sang when the stars came into being, so shall the stars rejoice as we dance together with You.

ALL:  We hear the sound of many waters coming from Your throne.

Waters of Your power, majesty, authority. 

Hush–we will be still and know that You are Eternal Hope. 

We will come and fulfill our destiny in You.

(Truth Seeker enters.)

CHORUS ONE:  The heart sensation that had arisen in Truth Seeker the morning after Eternal Hope had sent the first night vision again rose within her.  She wondered when she had last sensed it  and realized that it had been just before she had lost her Joy.  Now, again, that first sensation exploded, erupted within her, and poured forth in a dazzling wildfire that no longer overwhelmed her but still calmed and comforted. 

          The River surged tumultuously before her.  (Eternal Hope exits and Truth Seeker remains alone on the stage.)

COMMENTATOR ONE:  Now, Truth Seeker must make her own decision to cross The River.

COMMENTATOR TWO: Yes, she must make her own decision to cross.

                                                                 

Scene Four

CHORUS TWO: Truth Seeker and the others who desired to go over with Eternal Hope stood nervously on the bank of the rushing river listening carefully to the words of their King. 

ETERNAL HOPE: (off stage) Crossing over is a decision that must not be made lightly.  It is a commitment for eternity.  It is the commitment of covenant.  Once you cross over, you cannot come back to your former walk.  You may come back to the place of that walk, but you will not walk in the same manner.  Crossing over The River is crossing over into newness.  Your senses with be enhanced.  Your discernment will be amplified.  Your capacity for revelation will be increased.  Remember, heightened sensitivity carries with it heightened responsibility.  The new intensity, at times, will seem overpowering.   What you will experience on the other side will be nothing that you can fathom within your own abilities.  It requires great faith to cross The River.  It requires greater faith to continue your journey on the other side.

ALL:  The River still surged tumultuously behind Him.  (Eternal Hope enters.)

CHORUS TWO:      Truth Seeker’s heart sensation burned within her and propelled her forward.  She tentatively put one foot on the water’s surface.  She looked down into the turbid stream.  She started to pull back.

ETERNAL HOPE:    Truth Seeker, don’t look at the stream.  Keep your eyes on Me.  Trust in my strength to bring you through the flood.

CHORUS TWO:  Truth Seeker fixed her eyes on her Redemption and stepped into the water.  At first, it swirled around her ankles and nearly knocked her off her feet.  However,  she kept  her eyes on Eternal Hope and continued to walk.  The roiling water came to her knees, then to her waist, but she kept her eyes on Eternal Hope.  Just as the water would have come over her head and plunged her dangerously downstream, Eternal Hope grabbed her hand and pulled her to the shore.

ETERNAL HOPE:  Ah, My faithful one, you have crossed The River.

CHORUS TWO:  One by one, He called the names of each one waiting on the shore.  One by one, each stepped in, walked through the deepening water, and was pulled to shore by Eternal Hope.

          A voice shouted from the opposite shore.  It was the young man that Truth Seeker had met on the road.  (Young man enters shouting)

YOUNG MAN:  Oh, Eternal Hope, forgive me for my lack of faith.  I should have known that we can do all things if we keep our eyes on You.  Is it too late for me?  May I come across?

ETERNAL HOPE:    Come.  Come into your destiny, Mighty Warrior.

CHORUS TWO:  The young man crossed The River to become the Mighty Warrior of his destiny.

          As they regrouped and walked up the path to their tomorrow, the River surged tumultuously behind them.          

         

                                                                                                                                 

Scene 5

(Truth Seeker and Eternal Hope enter)  

CHORUS ONE:  Soon the group dispersed because each had to walk a separate path with Eternal Hope.  Truth Seeker found her path and timorously began that new journey.  Again, she saw no signposts.  She must look into the heart of Eternal Truth to find the way.  What a land she had come into.  All creation was more colorful, more vibrant, more resonant.  She not only heard the singing of the birds, she could actually  see the melodies flowing above and around her.  The cosmos whirled in what seemed to be a cacophony of light, sound, color, taste and texture.

          Reds danced with blues.  Oranges sang out.  Purples pulsed through her.  The whisper of the wind amplified into a roar.  Branches groaned and moaned.   The verdant grasses shone in such magnificence that she couldn’t bear to look at them.  Her senses reeled with sensation.

TRUTH SEEKER:  Please, my Love, I cannot live in this intensity.

 

ETERNAL HOPE:  You can do nothing of your own on this side of The River.  However, you can do all things in Me.  Take My hand.  We will walk together.

CHORUS TWO:      She took His hand.  The reeling subsided.  The world came into focus.  She saw with a greater intensity than she had ever seem.  She heard with a greater clarity than she had ever known.  Yet, with Eternal Hope at her side, the phenomena did not threaten to overwhelm her.

          Still there was the sensation of old rising anew in her spirit.  It had become a longing for gladness, a longing for strength and peace. 

TRUTH SEEKER:  Eternal Hope, I am walking hand in hand with You, why, then, do have I such longings in my heart?

ETERNAL HOPE:    The longings have always been a part of you.  You have been so taken up with cares, concerns, and confusion that you haven’t felt the inner longings.  You have said that you desire to regain your Joy.  What you do not realize is that what you have been looking for all along is My Joy.  When you fully embrace My Joy, you will not be so easily deceived into relinquishing it.

ALL:  Then Eternal Hope sang the song of gladness and Joy.

ETERNAL HOPE:  Shout for Joy, those who seek My heart,

          Shout for Joy because you have placed your trust in Me.

          Shout for Joy, and I will guide you in the path of your journey.

          I shall give you Joy.

          Gladness is for the pure in heart.

          Gladness is for you, My Beloved,  because I have purified your heart.

CHORUS ONE:  The paths of others had crossed The River joined the path of Truth Seeker.  All who had crossed over joined in a festival of Joy.  Tambourines jingled.  Trumpets blared.  The trees clapped their hands in gladness.  All the earth rejoiced with them.

          Suddenly, Truth Seeker stood in amazement.  There, in the midst of the festivities stood the one she had regarded as her Joy.  She understood now that all Joy comes from the hand of Eternal Hope.  She could not have found Joy on her own.  She could find Joy only with the guidance of Eternal Hope.  He alone gave Joy and gladness.  How beautiful Joy had become in the hands of the King.

          Truth Seeker stood before Joy.

TRUTH SEEKER:  Please forgive me, my friend.  Even though I nurtured you, cared for you and walked with you, I didn’t really know you.  That is why Nay Sayer so easily deceived me.  I want always to walk with you and to know you, to know you truly.”  (She kneels before Joy.)

JOY:   Please stand, my Truth Seeker.” (She helps Truth Seeker to her feet.  She held embraces her former companion.  Truth Seeker weeps in the arms of Joy.  As she wept, Joy places her cloak on Truth Seeker and exits.)

TRUTH SEEKER:    What has happened?

ETERNAL HOPE:    View yourself in the mirror of My eyes.  What do you see?

TRUTH SEEKER:    I see myself, but I am somehow different.

ETERNAL HOPE:    Yes, My Beloved.  You are different.  You have embraced My Joy.  You are now stronger, humbler, more merciful and more gracious.  You have grown, matured, blossomed.  The prophesy of the scroll you found so long ago has been fulfilled.  Joy has become a mighty weapon at your right hand.  Yet, the more of My Joy you embrace, the stronger and more beautiful you shall become.  No matter what hardships come in the journey ahead, you shall be strengthened by My Joy.

ALL:  Truth Seeker sang her own song of Joy and gladness.

TRUTH SEEKER:    In seeking Your heart. O Eternal Hope, I have learned to shout for Joy.

            I have placed my trust in You, and You have proved Yourself faithful.

           I will shout for Joy as You guide me in the pathway of my  journey.

           You have given me Joy.

          You have purified my heart and made me glad.

          (Eternal Hope stands before her and extends his hand.)

 ETERNAL HOPE:  Truth Seeker, the apple of My eye, may I please have this dance?

COMMENTATOR ONE:  Can we dance with Eternal Hope if we do not have Joy?

COMMENTATOR TWO: No, we cannot.

CHORUS ONE: Truth Seeker took the hand of Eternal Hope and moved with Him to the music of the worshipers.  The sensation in her heart found fulfillment in the dance of her Beloved. She moved with Him across the valleys and above the mountain tops. 

CHORUS TWO:  The music became the music of the galaxies.  The stars sang with them as they danced within the Milky Way, out beyond the evening star, beyond the Pleiades and the might hunter, Orion.

TRUTH SEEKER:    Eternal Hope, are there pathways and journeys beyond this one? Will there be other rivers to cross? Others to whom I will be vessel of Your love?  Will there be other dances?

ETERNAL HOPE:  Yes, My seeker of truth, there will be other journeys and other rivers.  Each one you overcome will bring you higher and deeper into Me.  Your destiny, and the destiny of all others, is to climb higher and higher, to cross over and over, to find greater and greater Joy, to come to know Me even as I know you.

TRUTH SEEKER:    How many journeys?  How many conquests?  For how long?

ETERNAL HOPE:  As many as will fit into eternity.  Are you willing still to journey with Me?

TRUTH SEEKER:    Yes, My Lord.

CHORUS ONE: With His arms about her, they danced to music of the universe sung by the angelic hosts.  The stars kept rhythm with them.  They whirled and dipped, and their Joy rang out in a carillon of laughter.   Vibrant colors of the rainbow flowed out of the music and swirled about them. 

          The colors poured forth throughout all creation.  Some fell on the followers of Exalted Chieftain.  One raised his face to the sky and declared, “The next time You call me, Eternal Hope, I shall join the throngs of those who cross The River.” (Everyone enters.  Nay Sayer slumbers down stage right.)

 

CHORUS TWO:  One named Mighty Warrior mounted a powerful steed and went forward to conquer unrighteousness in the Name of Eternal Hope.

          A solitary golden beam searched out one sleeping fitfully in the Valley of the Devourers.  The golden beam sought him out, reached into the darkness of his soul and touched the seed of destiny that had lain dormant within his spirit. 

ALL:  The golden beam touched that seed of destiny and kindled a tiny flame that warmed a tiny portion of his heart.  Nay Sayer didn’t awaken, but he stirred in his sleep and almost smiled.

         

COMMENTATOR ONE:     It is not, then, too late.

COMMENTATOR TWO:    No, it is not, then,  too late.

FINIS