The birth of the stick-figure battery baby

a short synopsis

          Review printed in the Portland Mercury
                         June 13-19,2002

---definitions (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition, 1993) read by members of audience---

capitalism-an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decisions, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market

capitalist (1792)-1: a person who has capital esp. invested in business/ broadly: a person of wealth: PLUTOCRAT [(plutocracy 1: government by the wealthy 2: a controlling class of the wealthy--)] 2 : a person who favors capitalism

humanitarian (1844) [(humanitarianism n.)] -a person promoting human welfare and social reform : PHILANTHROPIST --

The stillbeautymovement theatre company's grand saga of "The Birth of the Stick-Figure Battery Baby" chronicles the birthing process of a half human, half robot creature known as the stick figure battery baby and the complexities of the forces that vie for control and influence over the creature's future. Two main groups carry particular interest in the baby: the High Council of the Patriarch's and the members of the Realm of Corime. The patriarch's, a group of cartoonishly large white males driven by material motives and the maintenance of the standards of life they have created, were once in abundant control over the world's economies and lived a life of excess and supreme wealth. However, this grip on the commercial world has waned, and in an attempt to re-sew the strength of the dying patriarchy, an estranged former leader of the patriarchs creates what he sees to be the ultimate in capitalistic power pumping patriarchy: the stick-figure battery baby. Luckily for humankind, however, the controllers of Corime, the ethereal realm of organic memory and experience, have their own plans for the new creation. The odd-ball members of this neo-mythical realm mainly involve themselves in the propagation of beauty on earth and in observing and perhaps manipulating the reactions of humans to various experiences they encounter and the emotions manifested by these experiences. In respect to our hero, the stick-figure battery baby, the members of Corime decide to secretly build a heart for the anthrop-tech creature, and may even recruit some humans to help them with their overwhelming task.

Who will win this battle for the fate of humankind? Will the stick-figure battery baby grow to be another Charlemagne or even Hitler? Will the patriarch's find out about the heart and foil the whole plan? Can Corime really give a cyborg a heart? What is a heart anyway? We hope you come see the show, and maybe we'll all find out.
"The Birth of the Stick-Figure Battery Baby" was performed at the Back Door Theater, in Portland, OR from May 26-June 22, 2002. All of the proceeds from four of the ten nights went to benefit three charities: the Juliana Valentine McCourt Children's Education Fund, "In order to transform the devastation of September 11th into a constructive effort, the loving family of Juliana Valentine McCourt, in its inexpressible grief, has established a foundation in her memory to foster harmony, peace and understanding among the children of the world." Street Roots Newspaper, "…a grassroots publication established to benefit the homeless and low-income people we serve," and the National Kidney Foundation, "For over 50 years the National Kidney Foundation and its affiliates have provided comprehensive information on the many forms of kidney disease, information on organ donation and transplantation, as well as educational activities to serve patients and their families."