THE

AMERICAN

MYSTERIES

The American Mysteries weaves together two unrelated narrative genres: the American film noir detective thriller and ancient Greek mysteries. It fuses drama, music, and architecture. Although it is formally structured, the work is indeterminate.

The performance work consists of three musical parts, each containing three scenes. Part I, titled “The Obvious,” was composed for vocal chorus by Clodagh Simonds with an electronically altered piano by Brian Eno. Part II, “The Mysteries,” is all percussion and was composed by Vito Ricci with Rashied Ali. Part III, “The Ecstasies,” was composed by Glenn Branca for specially designed instruments.

The set is an apparatus that mutates into nine discrete configurations, forming nine spaces corresponding to the nine scenes of the script. The faces of a large cube are hinged on each side and engaged by means of a pulley-and-counterweight system. The characters manipulate the cube during transitions between scenes. When the set is at rest—unfolded—it forms a nine-square grid with three concentric zones. The central square is always the site of fiction. The eight peripheral squares are for semifiction and exist in service to the center. The margins of the stage, where the manipulation of the set takes place, are nonfiction.

There are nine sites: the Writer’s Room, the Detective’s Office, the Mayor’s Office, the Powerhouse, the Flame Club, the Death Chamber, the Underground Boss’ Office, the Ring, and the Hall of Mysteries. There are nine clues: the propane torch, the boxing gloves, the Madonna, the telephone, the wrench, the anatomical figure, the coffeepot, the typewriter, and the gun. There are nine characters: the Mechanic, the Bodyguard, the Mayor, the Detective, the Underworld Boss, the Victim, the Waitress, the Assassin, and the Writer.

The Writer and the Detective struggle for the first person. The Writer is the first character to speak. In Scene 1, the Writer states he will yield to his protagonist, the Detective: “I will give it over to him but first I have to finish the story.”

The American Mysteries was written and directed by Matthew Maguire of Creation Production Company. It was first performed at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, in New York, and subsequently performed at the Southern Theater, in Minneapolis, sponsored by the Walker Art Center.