MOST AMAZING NIGHT DREAM EVER
A Mycelial Puppet Show
A Play by
Marie-Claire Dubois
Puppet Playwright: B Otto
A Brrd Roots Production
ABOUT THE PLAY
INTRODUCTION
"Most Amazing Night Dream Ever: A Mycelial Puppet Show" emerges from the intersection of memory,
mortality, and wonder. Written by 89-year-old playwright Marie-Claire Dubois from her home
overlooking the Mediterranean in Èze, France, this puppet play weaves together the wisdom of age with
the innocence of childhood.
The play features Céleste, a puppet playwright character created by B Otto for Brrd Roots, alongside nine
other puppet characters who guide us through an inverted dreamworld where mycelial networks connect
earth to heaven.
At its heart, this is a story about transformation—about an elderly woman preparing for her final journey
while caring for a young American girl who reminds her that wonder never ages.
SYNOPSIS
In a world turned gently upside down, where mycelial mats spread across the sky instead of beneath our
feet, ten puppet characters discover they are part of a vast, dreaming organism that connects all life and
death.
Led by CÉLESTE (the dreamtime observer) and eight-year-old EMMA (visiting from Oregon), the
ensemble journeys through an inverted reality where death is merely transformation, sorrow becomes
compost for joy, and heaven reveals itself as both a place and a perspective.
As they climb through this luminous network, each character confronts their own relationship to
mortality, memory, and connection, ultimately discovering that we are all "together, endlessly renewed" in
the eternal promise of love's continuation.
PLAYWRIGHT'S BIO
MARIE-CLAIRE DUBOIS (89) has lived in Èze, France, for the past forty years, where she tends her garden
and writes plays that blur the boundaries between dream and waking. Her work often explores themes of
transformation, memory, and the thin places between worlds.
Previous works include "The Stone Steps Remember" (2018), "Letters to the Mistral" (2020), and "What
the Lavender Knows" (2022). This is her first collaboration with B Otto and Brrd Roots, and her first puppet
play.
Marie-Claire is currently caring for Emma, an eight-year-old girl from Canyon City, Oregon, whose parents
are "sorting things out." Their daily conversations about life, death, and whether French mushrooms
speak the same language as American ones have deeply influenced this work.
"I write slowly now," she says, "but perhaps that's fitting for a play about taking time to transform."
ABOUT B OTTO AND BRRD ROOTS
B OTTO is the creator of Céleste, the puppet playwright character who serves as our guide through the
mycelial dreamworld. Their innovative approach to puppetry combines traditional techniques with
contemporary technology.
BRRD ROOTS is a production company dedicated to creating immersive theatrical experiences that
honor both ancient wisdom and childlike wonder. This marks their first collaboration with Marie-Claire
Dubois.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
CÉLESTE - The Dreamtime Observer. A marionette made of glimmering parchment strands. The puppet
playwright character created by B Otto. Age appears fluid, shifting between youth and age.
[Marie-Claire's avatar in the dream world]
EMMA - Guardian of the Honey-Gold Fruiting Bodies. Eight years old, from Canyon City, Oregon. A rod
puppet with multiple mushroom caps that open and close independently. Staying with Marie-Claire for a
year.
[Little Emma, who asks if old people turn into light]
OLIVIER - Keeper of Ancient Bones and Memories. A bunraku-style puppet operated by three
puppeteers. Made of driftwood and old bones.
[Marie-Claire's husband, gone twenty years]
MAUD - The Rhizomorph Weaver. A complex marionette with eight arms that weave actual thread.
[Grandmother who could mend anything, even broken hearts]
PRIVAT - Spirit of the Afterlife Threshold. A shadow/rod puppet hybrid that can split apart to create
doorways.
[The priest who gave last rites]
KEREN - Voice of the Spore Souls. Made of suspended particles that form and reform.
[Marie-Claire's grandchild who lived only three days]
PEDER - The Sky-Root Climber. An athletic marionette with 30-foot control strings.
[The boy who climbed the church tower for roses]
ALELA - Harbinger of Renewal. A spring-loaded rod puppet that scatters real seeds.
[Marie-Claire's daughter, still dancing at sixty]
JUN - The Mist Walker. Projection mapping combined with fabric.
[The Chinese doctor who eases pain with needles thin as whispers]
LIZZ - Keeper of Sacred Waters. A glass vessel puppet with working water circulation.
[Marie-Claire at this very moment, learning to let everything flow]
SETTING AND TIME
TIME
The eternal present of dreams, where past and future spiral together. Specifically, one night in the mind
of an 89-year-old playwright in Èze, France, as she drifts between sleeping and waking.
SETTING
An inverted dreamworld where:
Dense mycelial mats spread across the ceiling instead of the floor
Gravity works in multiple directions
Tree roots climb toward sky instead of earth
Water flows upward
The stage itself breathes with bioluminescence
The performance space should feel alive—walls pulsing gently with projected mycelial networks, audience
seated on cushions that suggest giant puffball mushrooms.
Three levels are essential:
1. The Ground (which is actually the sky)
2. The Middle Space (where transformations occur)
3. The Heights (where roots reach toward heaven)
The entire theater becomes part of the organism by play's end.
NOTE ON SCALE: The dreamworld represents a "thirty cubic mile organism"—impossible to contain on
stage. Use perspective tricks, projection, and the audience's imagination to suggest vastness.
ACT/SCENE BREAKDOWN
ACT ONE: DISCOVERING THE INVERSION
Scene 1: The World Upside Down
Scene 2: Mapping the Mystery
Scene 3: The Upward Journey Begins
ACT TWO: APPROACHING THE THRESHOLD
Scene 4: Discovering the Afterlife Threshold
Scene 5: Understanding Heaven's Nature
ACT THREE: THE TRANSFORMATION
Scene 6: The Garden of Renewal
Scene 7: The Revelation
Scene 8: The Promise Realized
PLAYWRIGHT'S NOTE
I write this from my small stone house overlooking the Mediterranean, here in Èze where the exotic gardens
cling to cliffsides like dreams cling to waking. My hands shake now as I hold the pen, but in my mind's eye,
the puppets move with all the grace my body has forgotten.
This story came to me in that restless hour before dawn, when the boundary between sleep and waking
grows thin—as thin as I have become. Let the young puppeteers bring strength where I offer only whispers.
- Marie-Claire, aged 89
ACT ONE: DISCOVERING THE INVERSION
Scene 1: The World Upside Down
[Stage awash in bioluminescent blue-green. Ceiling covered in dense, gnarled mycelial mats that pulse
gently. Sound: soft breathing of an enormous organism.]
[CÉLESTE materializes from stage right, her parchment strands catching light as they ripple. She moves in
"Parchment Flow" - gentle waves through all strips.]
CÉLESTE
(Spinning slowly, strands spreading)
Wait... something's different here. The ground isn't solid anymore—it twists and billows like smoke!
[EMMA inflates from a tiny spore USC (UpStage Center), wobbling as she reaches full size. Her mushroom
caps tilt in confusion sequence.]
EMMA
(Steadying herself)
Grand-mère Céleste? Is that you up there? Or... am I the one who's upside down?
[EMMA attempts to balance. Her largest mushroom cap tilts left, overcorrects right.]
CÉLESTE
(Reaching out with ribbon arms - extend/retract pattern)
I think we both are, little one! Look at this place—the mycelial mats that should be beneath our feet are
spreading overhead!
[JUN materializes piece by piece DSL (DownStage Left) - first an arm, then torso, never fully solid. Projection
flickers between opacity levels.]
JUN
(Floating in figure-eight pattern)
Oh! So that's why I've been feeling so strange. I've been wandering through what feels like an ephemeral
reformation. Everything's marbled with smoky grays and spectral blues...
[JUN reaches toward CÉLESTE with mist tendrils. They perform "The Recognition" - slow lean, pause,
knowing gesture.]
EMMA
(Mushroom caps now opening/closing like eyes)
Ooh! My mushroom friends! Some are being brave like umbrellas in the rain! But these ones are shy—
they're hiding like when I first came to France and didn't know any French words.
[EMMA's shy mushrooms duck behind her body whenever audience looks directly at them. Comic timing
essential.]
[MAUD descends from above on visible golden threads, eight arms weaving constantly. "Web Weaving"
pattern - never repeating. Arms show subtle tremor every eighth movement.]
MAUD
(Creating cat's cradle between hands)
Friends, I've been weaving my rhizomorphs between root systems, and I discovered something
extraordinary—this organism is massive! Thirty cubic miles at least!
EMMA
(Clapping with delight - "Bounce Walk" toward MAUD)
Thirty miles! That's like... that's like from Canyon City all the way to John Day and back and back and back!
Is it lonely being so big?
[Lights shift. Mycelial mats pulse faster. Sound of vast breathing grows louder.]
[END SCENE 1]
Scene 2: Mapping the Mystery
[Lights up on full stage. All three levels now visible. PEDER spotted climbing on USC wall.]
PEDER
(Swinging toward MAUD - careful, considered movement)
Thirty cubic miles? But Maud, that can't be right. I've been climbing and climbing, and it doesn't end at
the island's edge!
[MAUD weaves safety net under PEDER - "Tremble Moment" shows her fatigue.]
MAUD
(Threads light up in different colors)
That's exactly what I mean! My cords of tissue connect everything—from climate-warming roots to wind-
chilled systems. Sometimes I vanish into vast mists and find myself in entirely different places!
[MAUD partially disappears - only hands visible, still weaving but slower tempo.]
CÉLESTE
(Spiral pattern - clockwise for time)
So we're inside one ginormous organism that's dreaming itself in cycles?
[ALELA bursts on from SL with seed confetti cannon. Spin-leap-land sequence, but landing is heavy.]
ALELA
(Taking EMMA's small hands gently)
More than that! Look at these bright shoots I found gleaming in the haze. The mycelium flows in all
directions, blurring every boundary!
EMMA
(Spinning with ALELA - child-sized steps)
Like my dreams! Sometimes I dream in English and sometimes in French and sometimes in colors that
don't have names yet!
[ALELA and EMMA dance - ALELA accommodates EMMA's smaller stride. "The Child-Lift" when EMMA tires.]
[KEREN materializes - particles vibrate with each word. Form shifts: now ears, now mouths, now spirals.]
KEREN
(Particles pulsing)
Yes... I can hear it mapping out the minutes of difficult human history. Each nutrient path tells a story.
EMMA
(Wide-eyed - all mushroom caps full open)
Can it hear my stories too? About my dog Biscuit and how the trees in Oregon are so tall they catch
clouds?
[OLIVIER enters using "Bone Dance" - backward entry from USR, dragging bundle.]
OLIVIER
(Turning to KEREN - "Recognition" gesture)
Speaking of stories—old friend, I've found bones. Ancient bones cocooned in the mycelium. But they're
not dead endings... they're... transforming?
[OLIVIER and KEREN lean together. Particles float around bones, creating aurora effect.]
EMMA
(Matter-of-fact, not frightened)
Oh! Like when we planted my goldfish Bubble in Grand-mère's garden and now the roses there are extra
golden?
[END SCENE 2]
Scene 3: The Upward Journey Begins
[Lights shift to vertical emphasis. Projection of climbing roots on all surfaces.]
PEDER
(Stops mid-climb, hanging inverted)
Transforming? Olivier, what do you mean?
[OLIVIER performs "Unwrapping Ritual" - slow revelation of glowing bones. Each bone pulses with different
rhythm.]
OLIVIER
(Hands one bone to KEREN with trembling care)
Death here isn't the end of anything. It's magnificent—every ending becomes food for new growth. The
bones are composing a hymn of existence!
[KEREN's particles swirl around bone - creates singing sound, thin and sweet. First notes of "Transformation
Chorus."]
EMMA
(All mushroom caps turn toward sound)
That's why my mushroom friends keep looking for invisible rivers! They're thirsty for something... Grand-
mère Céleste, what do mushrooms drink in heaven?
[JUN solidifies slightly - most opaque yet. Reaches for CÉLESTE's hand.]
JUN
(Mist parting around him)
I think I know. In my wanderings, I noticed the organism pushing upward, looping around stone artifacts
and unknown inverted nails...
EMMA
(Tugging on JUN's misty sleeve)
Mr. Jun, are those nails like the ones in Grand-mère's garden shed but upside-down? Do they hold the
sky on?
PEDER
(Climbing faster, then remembering limits - rest pause)
Yes! That's what I've been trying to tell you all! It's climbing toward the sky clouds—toward heaven itself!
EMMA
(With eight-year-old certainty)
My mom said heaven is where my grandpa went. He's probably building things there too. He liked to
build.
CÉLESTE
(Parchment strands reach up - "Gathering" pattern)
Heaven? But surely that's just metaphorical...
EMMA
(Hands on hips - mushroom caps at attention)
No, Grand-mère! It's real but also a metaphor. Both things can be true. Like how you're my Grand-mère
but not my real grandma but also my realest grandma.
[MAUD creates elaborate web pointing upward - all threads converge. "Tremble Moment" but pushes
through.]
MAUD
(Sending one thread up that vanishes)
No, look! Where everyone would expect only clouds, my threads are finding warm connections. They arch
between earth and sky, occasionally vanishing into the vast firmament!
[Thread returns covered in golden light. Orchestra swells - chanterelle brass warm and present.]
EMMA
(Gasping with delight)
It's glowing! Like the fireflies in Oregon but French fireflies! Cosmic fireflies!
[Blackout. Sound of enormous heartbeat.]
[END ACT ONE]
ACT TWO: APPROACHING THE THRESHOLD
Scene 4: Discovering the Afterlife Threshold
[Lights up on transformed space. More luminous, boundaries less defined. PRIVAT stands CS in doorway
made of light.]
PRIVAT
(Slow, graceful gestures - patient invitation)
You're closer to the truth than you know, friends. I stand at the boundary where beings chill by haunted
bridges, dissolving for a day.
EMMA
(Not scared - curious approach)
Are you the door person? My teacher Mrs. Henderson says every door needs someone to help you
through. Is that your job?
[LIZZ enters with water vessels - actual colored water pumping through glass body. Upward flow pattern.]
LIZZ
(Moving toward PRIVAT - familiar ease)
Privat! I've been looking for you. The sacred waters are behaving strangely—they carry longing and loss,
but also nature's quiet remedy for sorrow.
[LIZZ pours water that arcs between her and PRIVAT - impossible upward fountain.]
EMMA
(Reaching to touch the water)
It's backwards water! Like when I cry happy tears when Mom calls from Oregon! Does water know how to
miss people too?
PRIVAT
(Catching water in cupped palms)
That's because every ending here continues to be woven into each new beginning. This threshold isn't a
barrier—it's a transformation point.
[PRIVAT opens threshold wider - audience glimpses infinite light beyond.]
ALELA
(Bouncing to EMMA, gentle lift)
So when Olivier said the bones were transforming...?
EMMA
(From ALELA's arms)
They're turning into stars! Or flowers! Or star-flowers! Right, Mr. Olivier?
[OLIVIER performs "Float Pattern" - bones orbit slowly. Music: hollow stinkhorn woodwinds join.]
OLIVIER
(Slow gesture - "Transparency Fade" beginning)
Exactly right, little one! Death becomes a change, food for new gloom, but gloom that sings! An
astonishing radiant dance!
[OLIVIER and KEREN begin duet - bones and particles interweaving. First full verse of "Transformation
Chorus."]
EMMA
(Swaying in ALELA's arms)
I know that dance! The trees in Canyon City do it when the wind comes through. They're sad about losing
leaves but happy about making soil!
KEREN
(Particles form ears, then mouths)
I can hear the spores of souls whispering. They're telling stories of all of us, together, endlessly renewed.
EMMA
(Stage whisper)
What are they saying? Do they remember being seeds? I remember being five—is that the same thing?
[Lights shift bluer. Temperature drops. Threshold glows brighter.]
[END SCENE 4]
Scene 5: Understanding Heaven's Nature
[Full stage picture. All puppets visible on different levels. Mycelial orchestra playing softly throughout.]
CÉLESTE
(Gathering strands, then releasing - questioning)
But if this is really happening—if we're witnessing an afterlife—what does that make us?
EMMA
(Thoughtful - caps opening/closing in rhythm)
We're the in-between people! Like when I'm not asleep but not awake and I can see my dreams and my
room at the same time!
[JUN becomes most translucent yet. Creates mist stairs - projection mapping at full effect.]
JUN
(Circling CÉLESTE protectively)
Dreamtime observers, perhaps? Walking through fields where sky and soil exchange places?
EMMA
(Following on mist stairs - small careful steps)
Grand-mère, need help? I'm good at stairs! In Oregon our house had lots of stairs and I'd count them—
one for each year until I'm old like you!
[PRIVAT opens multiple thresholds - each shows different view. Kaleidoscope effect with light.]
PRIVAT
(Arms wide - full span)
You're beginning to understand. Heaven isn't always a singular place. It's a change in perspective, a
luminous beyond where every spirit, soul, angel, ancestor becomes a new form of connection.
EMMA
(Peering through each threshold)
Oh! It's like my kaleidoscope but for seeing love instead of colors! Grand-mère, look—that one shows
your yellow kitchen where we make cookies!
[LIZZ creates fountain touching all characters - each glows when water touches them. Haptic: audience seats
vibrate gently.]
LIZZ
(Dance-like movements begin)
That's why my rivers of forgiveness flow through gardens that never forget you, even if you've forgotten
yourself!
EMMA
(Splashing joyfully)
The water remembers! Like how the ocean remembers being rain! Ms. Lizz, does the water remember
being in Oregon too?
[EMMA's mushroom caps all open wide - full wonder position.]
EMMA
(Continuing)
And there's no being in trouble here? No time-outs? No saying sorry for breaking things by accident?
PRIVAT
(Center stage - measured steps)
Just togetherness and assurance. Every sorrow is composted, every sadness seeds the next rise and set.
EMMA
(Running to hug PRIVAT's legs)
Like Grand-mère's compost bin! She says even banana peels get to be roses someday!
[PEDER creates climbing spiral around others - rest points marked. MAUD follows with threads.]
PEDER
(From spiral height)
So when I climb these roots toward the sky, I'm not just going up—I'm helping what once pressed
downward in gravity to rise slowly, radiant with light?
EMMA
(Calling up)
You're like Jack and the beanstalk but better because everyone gets to climb, not just Jack!
[PEDER and MAUD create ascending double helix - movement notation: slow, steady, sustainable.]
[Lights begin golden shift. Orchestra building.]
[END SCENE 5]
[END ACT TWO]
ACT THREE: THE TRANSFORMATION
Scene 6: The Garden of Renewal
[Lights full warm. Garden atmosphere - projections of growing things. All puppets visible, drawing together.]
MAUD
(Weaving between all - each thread glows)
Peder, that's beautiful! My networks aren't just connecting roots—they're creating pathways of kindness!
EMMA
(Touching each thread)
They're warm! Like when Grand-mère tucks me in and says "dors bien, ma petite" (sleep well, my little
one). Can I help weave, Madame Maud? I'm learning to braid!
[ALELA leaps person to person - smaller leaps now. Seeds scatter with each landing.]
ALELA
(Breathless but joyful)
Yes! Where there are no gates, only thresholds of kindness, footpaths of laughter!
EMMA
(Copying ALELA's leaps - child-sized)
And hopscotch squares of giggles! And slides made of smiles! Is that why you dance, Alela? To make
paths for other people's happy?
[EMMA and ALELA create garden - EMMA plants while hopping. Real seeds scattered for audience.]
LIZZ
(Full dance mode - water in impossible patterns)
And my rivers aren't just water—they're forgiveness itself, flowing through gardens where regrets
become meditative whimsical music.
EMMA
(Cupping the water)
Like when I said mean things to Biscuit before I left Oregon and now I sing him sorry songs in my head!
Does he hear them, Ms. Lizz?
[LIZZ and PRIVAT dance together - water/light intertwine. "Mirror Movement" pattern throughout.]
OLIVIER
(Becoming translucent - bones visible within)
The ancestors I glimpsed... they were resting peacefully, filled with the lightness of belonging. Their
laughter and blessings are part of this network!
EMMA
(Very serious - caps at attention)
My Grandpa Jim is probably there. If you see him, tell him I learned to ride a bike! He always said he'd
teach me but then he had to go early.
[KEREN particles form shapes - hearts, stars, spirals. Flow toward EMMA.]
KEREN
(Particles vibrating gently)
Every secret hope anyone ever carried becomes visible only to those loving all that cannot be possessed.
The dead and dreamers write scripts in our veins!
EMMA
(Looking at her small hands)
Is that why my veins are blue? They're full of stories waiting to be told? Grand-mère says I have my
mom's hands and her mom's hands too!
[KEREN's particles flow through EMMA - she giggles. Effect: sparkles trail from her movements.]
CÉLESTE
(Slow spin - vortex drawing others close)
So we're not just in an inverted world—we're in a place where names and dreams are gathered and sung
as lullabies?
EMMA
(Snuggling close to CÉLESTE)
Like the French lullabies you sing me! And the cowboy songs my dad knows! All the songs are here,
keeping each other company!
[JUN joins spin. EMMA holds both their hands - three-person circle. Music: "Emma's Lullaby" begins.]
[END SCENE 6]
Scene 7: The Revelation
[Lights shifting toward transcendent. All levels active. Puppets forming ritual circle.]
JUN
(Solidifying completely - first time fully opaque)
More than that. We mortals are walking through a sanctuary where mistakes become guides, where the
plants and soil never forget us.
EMMA
(Placing feet carefully - ritual steps)
Like how Grand-mère's garden knows where I walk because the chamomile smells stronger there! The
plants remember my feet!
[PRIVAT creates threshold encompassing entire stage. Audience space included in light effect.]
PRIVAT
(Arms encompassing all)
Heaven is a cycle of hold and release, of returning again and again to the places that most need love.
EMMA
(Practicing with small fists - hold/release)
Like breathing! Or like hugs—you have to let go so you can hug again! Is heaven just one big breath, Mr.
Privat?
[EMMA's mushrooms bloom rapidly - cascade effect.]
EMMA'S MUSHROOMS
(Speaking for first time)
That's why we grow both shy and bold—we're responding to all the love and sorrow composted here!
EMMA
(To her mushrooms - delighted)
You're so smart! Just like the mushrooms in Oregon that know when it's going to rain. Do French
mushrooms and American mushrooms speak the same language?
[EMMA and ALELA embrace - ALELA lifts her gently. "The Child-Lift" with extra care.]
PEDER
(At highest point - arms spread but trembling)
And why the climbing never really ends! We're always ascending toward something luminous!
EMMA
(Waving up)
When I grow up, I want to climb that high! But also stay down here with Grand-mère. Can you be in two
places?
[ALELA showers all with glowing seeds - gentle rain effect.]
ALELA
(Spinning slower now)
Birth is everywhere in this network. Existence is pleasurable and fragile, and death...
EMMA
(Catching seeds in cupped hands)
Is like a door to the next birthday party? Where everyone you love is already there, decorating?
[ALL form circle - slow ritual movement. Each connected.]
ALL
(In unison - building)
Is only a portal! A soft threshold!
EMMA
(Squeezing between CÉLESTE and JUN)
A magic door that only opens with love-keys!
[Circle dance begins - EMMA skips while others move slowly. "The Final Spiral" movement building.]
[END SCENE 7]
Scene 8: The Promise Realized
[Lights at fullest warmth. All boundaries dissolving. Puppeteers becoming visible in mycelial robes.]
[Puppets glow from within - internal LEDs activated. Movement notation: "Final Spiral" - maintain individual
essence while merging.]
CÉLESTE
(Parchment weaving between all)
So this whole inverted world, this dreaming organism...
EMMA
(Finishing the thought - glowing)
Is teaching us how to glow! Like fireflies but from the inside! Grand-mère, you're glowing too!
MAUD
(Threads create web connecting everyone)
Is showing us that heaven always was and forever will be a promise!
EMMA
(Touching golden threads)
A pinky promise that doesn't break even when you're far away! Like me and Mom made before I came to
France!
[OLIVIER shares bones with each character - ritual passing. Gives EMMA tiny glowing bone.]
OLIVIER
(Voice becoming music)
A promise written in ancient bones and new growth alike.
EMMA
(Holding bone like treasure)
Can I keep this for Grandpa Jim? He collected rocks but maybe in heaven he collects light-bones!
[LIZZ's water creates fountain touching all. Haptic: gentle mist in audience.]
LIZZ
(Water dancing upward)
Flowing through sacred waters and forgiving rivers.
EMMA
(Hands in fountain)
And through the Pacific Ocean that touches Oregon and probably France too if you wait long enough!
[Full "Transformation Chorus" begins. Orchestra at peak.]
KEREN
(Particles as gentle snow)
Whispered by spores of souls who know we're all connected.
EMMA
(Catching particle-snow)
Connected like dot-to-dot but the picture is everyone loving everyone! Keren, are you made of snow-
stars?
JUN
(Creating mist bridges)
Wrapped in mists that dissolve the boundaries between life and afterlife.
EMMA
(Walking on mist bridge)
No more boundaries! Like when Grand-mère says bedtime but we keep reading one more page, then
one more!
[JUN and CÉLESTE hold hands, pulling EMMA between them. Family tableau.]
PRIVAT
(At threshold - welcoming all)
Welcoming everyone at thresholds that require no keys, only kindness.
EMMA
(Running to threshold)
I have lots of kindness! I brought it from Oregon and made more here! Is that enough to get in?
EMMA'S MUSHROOMS
(Releasing spores - golden cloud)
Growing in fruiting bodies that transform sorrow into sustenance.
EMMA
(To mushrooms)
You ate all my sad about missing home and turned it into fairy lights! Thank you, mushroom friends!
[EMMA and ALELA create growth spiral - seeds and spores mixing.]
PEDER
(At peak - arms wide)
Rising always upward, carrying everything toward the light.
EMMA
(Calling up)
Carry my love to Grandpa Jim! And my dog Biscuit! Tell them I'm being very good and learning French!
ALELA
(Seeds becoming instant flowers)
And blooming endlessly with renewal, because in this awe-filled gentle network...
EMMA
(Spinning with pure joy)
Everything that was sad becomes happy-seeds! Everything that was lost gets found! Everything that was
alone finds friends!
[Transformation begins. Each puppet's unique dissolution:]
ALL
(Building to climax)
We are together... endlessly renewed... and heaven always was and forever will be a promise!
EMMA
(Hugging CÉLESTE as they transform)
Grand-mère, when you turn into light, I'll still see you in my dreams, right? And when I'm old like you,
we'll have tea in heaven?
[CÉLESTE's parchments become light streams wrapping around EMMA. EMMA's mushrooms release golden
spores. JUN becomes mist. MAUD's threads turn to light-paths. PEDER becomes climbing star. ALELA
explodes gently into seeds. OLIVIER's bones become constellations. KEREN merges with all. PRIVAT becomes
the threshold. LIZZ becomes river of stars.]
[EMMA transforms last - small brilliant light dancing between all others.]
[Theater becomes one breathing organism of light.]
[Slow fade. Mycelial orchestra plays final notes.]
[Puppeteers visible in mycelial robes. Boundaries between puppet, puppeteer, and audience dissolved.]
[Gentle applause cue - soft beginning.]
[END]
SUPPORTING MATERIALS
PROPS LIST
Pre-set:
Mycelial mat projections (ceiling)
Puffball cushions (audience)
Spore projection system
Scent dispensers (earth, vanilla, cinnamon)
Hand Props:
Bundle of glowing bones (OLIVIER)
Golden threads on spools (MAUD)
Seed packets (ALELA)
Water vessels (LIZZ)
Tiny light-bone for EMMA
Technical:
30-foot control strings (PEDER)
Projection mapping system (JUN)
Electromagnetic suspension rig (KEREN)
Water pump system (LIZZ)
LED control board (all puppets)
COSTUME NOTES
Puppeteers:
Black base layer
Mycelial thread robes (revealed in Act 3)
Soft-soled shoes for silent movement
Ushers:
Full mycelial robes from pre-show
Bioluminescent accessories
Seed packets for distribution
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
LIGHTING
Full LED system with color mixing
Projection mapping capability
UV lights for phosphorescent effects
Audience area lighting control
Haze machines (3 minimum)
Star drop for finale
SOUND
Surround system for organism breathing
Instrument patches for live orchestra option
Body mics for puppeteers (if needed)
Playback system for pre-recorded elements
Haptic seat connection system
RIGGING
Flying system for MAUD's descent
Climbing wall with hidden metal strips
Electromagnetic grid for KEREN
Safety lines for all aerial work
PROJECTIONS
Minimum 3 projectors for full coverage
Backup system for JUN's effects
Media server with live switching
Infrared sensors for interactive elements
SPECIAL EFFECTS
Water circulation system
Seed/spore dispensers
Scent delivery system
Fog machines (separate from haze)
Confetti cannons (ALELA)
MUSICAL ELEMENTS
THE MYCELIAL ORCHESTRA
Instruments (pre-recorded or live):
Puffball percussion (soft thumps)
Mycelial thread strings (ethereal drones)
Stinkhorn woodwinds (hollow, haunting)
Chanterelle brass (warm, golden tones)
SONG: "THE CLIMBING SONG"
(Sung by PEDER during upward journey)
Up and up through root and stone
Never climbing quite alone
Every thread connects to home
In the mycelial dome
(Children's verse - taught to EMMA)
Climb the sky roots, touch the stars
Near or far, we're who we are
Hold my hand and don't let go
Up above, the mushrooms grow
EMMA'S LULLABY
(Melody hummed throughout, words emerge in Act Three)
French mushrooms, Oregon pine
All the roots will intertwine
Grand-mère holds me, I hold tight
We're all stars in the same night
THE TRANSFORMATION CHORUS
(All puppets, Act Three, Scene 8)
We are together
Endlessly renewed
Heaven always was
And forever will be
A promise...
A promise...
A promise...
Note: Music should feel organic, as if growing from the stage itself.
MOVEMENT NOTATIONS
PUPPET-SPECIFIC MOVEMENT VOCABULARY
CÉLESTE - "Parchment Flow"
Rippling: gentle wave through all strips
Gathering: pulls inward when questioning
Releasing: expands outward in understanding
Spiral: clockwise for time, counter for memory
EMMA - "Mushroom Speak"
Caps Open: wonder, joy, discovery
Caps Close: shyness, sleep, sadness
Tilt Sequence: confusion (all directions)
Bounce Walk: skip-step-hop pattern
OLIVIER - "Bone Dance"
Backward Entry: always enters in reverse
Unwrapping Ritual: slow revelation of bones
Float Pattern: bones orbit his body
Transparency Fade: gradual see-through effect
MAUD - "Web Weaving"
Eight-Arm Sequence: never same pattern twice
Tremble Moments: shows age in pauses
Safety Net: quick weave under falling friends
Connection Threads: glowing when touched
GROUP MOVEMENTS
"The Recognition" - When old friends meet:
Slow lean toward each other
Pause at invisible boundary
Simultaneous gesture of knowing
"The Child-Lift" - When adults help Emma:
Bend from knees (showing age)
Gentle scoop with support
Emma's trust-fall into arms
"The Final Spiral" - Transformation:
Individual essence maintained
Clockwise rotation as group
Gradual rise and dissolve
Emma last, brightest
STAGING CHALLENGES
PUPPETRY REQUIREMENTS
1. MULTIPLE OPERATION STYLES
Marionettes (Céleste, Peder, Maud)
Rod puppets (Emma, Alela)
Bunraku/3-person (Olivier)
Shadow/hybrid (Privat)
Projection-based (Jun)
Tabletop (Lizz)
Suspension system (Keren)
2. TECHNICAL CHALLENGES
30-foot control strings for Peder's climbing
Working water system for Lizz
Electromagnetic particle suspension for Keren
Real thread-weaving mechanism for Maud
Projection mapping for Jun
LED integration throughout
3. SCALE CONSIDERATIONS
Quick changes between intimate moments and vast perspectives
Emma's child-energy vs. elderly characters' careful movements
Simultaneous action on three vertical levels
4. TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCES
Each puppet must dissolve into light uniquely
Maintain individual character essence while merging
Final sequence requires all puppets operating simultaneously
SOLUTIONS:
Minimum 8 skilled puppeteers
Dedicated technician for Jun's projections
Water system operator for Lizz
Consider doubling for smaller roles
Rehearse transformations with lighting designer present
IMMERSIVE ELEMENTS
AUDIENCE AS ORGANISM
The theater becomes a living part of the mycelial network:
PRE-SHOW
Audience enters through root-like passages
Seats are giant puffball cushions
Gentle spore projections drift overhead
Soft mycelial orchestra tuning (recorded)
Ushers in mycelial thread robes
DURING PERFORMANCE
Bioluminescent walls pulse with the story's rhythm
Fog effects during mist sequences
Scent design: earth, vanilla, cinnamon during reveal
Haptic elements: vibrating seats during transformations
Spore projections that respond to audience movement
POST-SHOW
Exit through Privat's threshold
Seeds given to each audience member (like Alela's)
Program printed on seed paper
SITE-SPECIFIC ADAPTATIONS
For outdoor venues:
Use natural tree canopy as the "inverted ceiling"
Project onto fog screens between trees
Audience on blankets in clearing
For non-traditional spaces:
Warehouses: use industrial architecture as "bones"
Churches: emphasize vertical climbing sequences
Gardens: integrate real mycorrhizal networks
ACCESSIBILITY
Touch tours include puppet textures
Audio description emphasizes transformations
Scent cues for scene changes
Vibrating cushions for deaf audiences
PRODUCTION NOTES
FROM THE PLAYWRIGHT
My dear puppeteers,
This play was born from the intersection of great age and great youth—from watching eight-year-old
Emma from Oregon discover my ancient garden here in Èze while I discover I am approaching my own
transformation.
Please honor both energies in your production. Let the elderly puppets move with the genuine limitation of
age, but also with its hard-won grace. Let Emma bounce and spin with authentic child-energy, but also with
the wisdom children carry naturally.
The mycelial network is real to me—I feel it every day in how the past connects to the present, how the dead
nourish the living, how what seems like ending is always also beginning. Make it real for your audience too.
Most importantly, remember that this is a play about love continuing beyond all boundaries. Every thread
that Maud weaves, every transformation of Olivier's bones, every leap that Peder makes toward heaven—all
are acts of love refusing to end.
Emma asked me yesterday if French mushrooms and American mushrooms speak the same language. "Of
course," I told her. "It's the language of connection." Let that be the language of your production.
With gratitude for bringing these dreams to life,
Marie-Claire Dubois
Èze, France
REHEARSAL SCHEDULE
WEEK 1-2: TABLE WORK
Script analysis with full team
Puppet mechanism training
Character relationship building
Movement vocabulary development
WEEK 3-4: PUPPET INTEGRATION
Individual puppet mastery
Partner work establishment
Level work (ground/middle/heights)
Transformation sequence basics
WEEK 5-6: SCENE WORK
Act by act assembly
Technical integration begins
Music/movement synchronization
Child-safety protocols (EMMA)
WEEK 7-8: FULL RUNS
Complete run-throughs
Audience integration elements
Emergency procedures
Understudy preparation
TECH WEEK
Full technical integration
Dress rehearsals with effects
Invited audience for testing
Final safety checks
MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE
Daily: Check water systems, LEDs
Weekly: Thread inspection, joint lubrication
Monthly: Full mechanism overhaul
Per show: Seed refill, scent reload
AUDIENCE NOTES
AGE RECOMMENDATIONS
Suitable for ages 6 and up. Themes of transformation and death handled with grace and wonder rather
than fear.
CONTENT CONSIDERATIONS
Discussion of death as transformation
Elderly character preparing for transition
Child separated from parents (temporarily)
Spiritual themes without specific religion
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
Pre-show workshops on puppetry
Post-show talkbacks about themes
Student matinees with study guides
Mycology experts for lobby displays
ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES
Audio description available
Touch tours before matinee
ASL interpretation (select shows)
Quiet performances for sensory needs
Wheelchair accessible seating throughout
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Partner with local senior centers
Grief support group discounts
Environmental education tie-ins
Intergenerational workshop series
FINAL NOTE
On Movement and Stillness
To whoever performs this—be patient with the movements. We who are old move slowly not from choice
but from necessity. In that slowness lives a different kind of grace.
But Emma—let Emma move with all the quick-silver energy of eight years old, let her be the spark that
dances between our careful steps. She is my reminder that heaven is not just a place for the old and weary,
but a promise that includes the young and joyful.
Make the puppets move as I move now—with intention, with care, with the knowledge that each gesture
costs something and is therefore precious. But let Emma leap and spin and remind us all that joy, too, is
eternal.
From my window, I can see the lights of Monaco far below, like stars that fell to earth. Sometimes I think
that's what we become—lights that fall and rise again.
Thank you for giving life to these dreams of an old woman who dreams of life, and a young girl who dreams
of everything.
- M.C.
PLAYWRIGHT'S CONTACT
For performance rights and inquiries:
MARIE-CLAIRE DUBOIS
c/o Brrd Roots Productions
[Contact information to be provided by company]
Represented by:
[Agency information to be added]
All rights reserved. No portion of this script may be reproduced without written permission.
First Draft: [Date]
This Version: [Date]
Special thanks to:
B Otto for creating Céleste
Emma, for seeing mushrooms dance
The mycelial networks of Èze
All who transform sorrow into sustenance
"Heaven always was and forever will be a promise."
[END OF SCRIPT]
