My main changes to the play were concerned with pacing and variety of texture. The resulting opera is slightly shorter than the original play. The play's first scene, set in Garrett's childhood, was abandoned and replaced by a series of flashbacks narrated by Garrett himself. This had the double advantage of reducing the cast and ensuring that the opera was not one continuous dialogue between Israfel and Garrett.
The original music for flutes and acoustic guitar found its way into the opera and rather conditioned the instrumentation. It is now scored for 2 flutes, viola, piano and guitar (electric, doubling acoustic).
The Play
Described by Coni as a meta-theatre fantasy, Garrett the Blue Giraffe was first performed by The Healing Arts Theater Co. at the Lester Hamburg in Pittsburgh, USA in September 1998.
Israfel was played by Cheryl Esposito and Garrett was played by Jody O'Donnell.
Cheryl went on to create the role of Julian of Norwich in Coni and my first collaboration, Candle Dancing. The first performances had music by Richard Reifenstein.
Synopsis
The brilliant sun streams on a lovely autumn setting in an urban park zoo. Piles of colored leaves adorn the grounds. . . . The trees in the background are bare. . . . A bright purple bench sits directly in front of a curious, crystal sculpture. It looks like some sort of creature is emerging from a immense blossom. . . . It desperately is trying to reach its companion who haphazardly sits high atop the tip of the vertical golden beam which stems from its core. Sounds of nearby traffic fade as the stagelights come up on Israfel, the heavenly messenger, dressed in flowing white robes; he sits placidly, slowly strumming his silver lute. His long, golden locks glisten and sway in gentle rhythm while he plays an amusing melody. Israfel greets the audience with his charming smile, then begins to chant a medieval lovesong with bewitching passion. Garrett, a towering yet meek figure, comes forth from the wings. His frail humanlike physique cautiously approaches with intense timidity. Lopsided hair hangs over his eye on one side, accentuating his despondency and shyness. Israfel welcomes his guest with a warm and dazzling reception, for he knows that Garrett has come for this divine appointment. It seems that the young giraffe has a burning desire to become a rhinoceros and has finally come with the courage to question his fate and perhaps be granted molecular reconstruction. . . . Israfel awakens Garrett to a part of himself that has been asleep
Garrett, the Blue Giraffe is a metaphysical tale of a sad giraffe who longs to become a rhinoceros. This tale is for the 1990s what The Velveteen Rabbit was for the 1970s. Every adult can identify with Garrett’s search for identity. The show has been workshopped both here in Pittsburgh and in New York and was recently funded through a grant from The Pittsburgh Foundation/Howard Heinz Endowment Multicultural Arts Initiative. ‘Garrett’ has been in development since 1996; it was read at The Beehive at Sunday Night Live, then later was directed by Elsa von Eckartsberg, Ph.D., as a staged reading at Vahalla Fine Arts Temple to an audience of about sixty people. At that time, people in psychology remarked it was a very healing play but needed its own music. We found the music for it . . . but went even one step further, and found an artist who would create a visual as well. Earlier this year ‘Garrett’ played to a full house at The Brewhouse Space 101, in Pittsburgh. and was well received at Theatre 409, in New York, under the direction of Denny Martin.”
The Playwright
Coni Ciongoli-Koepfinger is a freelance writer and director, based in Pittsburgh.
She was artistic director of Pittsburgh's first women's theater company, Playmakers Pittsburgh; was one of the founding members and is still actively involved with The Gemini Theater, and is co-creator of THAT, THE HEALING ARTS THEATER, which has produced several of her original plays and musicals, including the world premiere of CANDLEDANCING, which included my incidental music and a requiem mass. In 1996, Pittsburgh Magazine's Harry Schwalb Excellence in the Arts Award named Coni for her Weekly Arts Series SUNDAY NIGHT LIVE. Other noted productions and publications include, TINKERTOWN, commissioned by the Pittsburgh Children's Museum; JACK & THE TALKBACK BEANSTALK, published in 1999 by Dramasource, Inc.; COFFEEHOUSE MAGIK produced at New York's Museum of Sound Recording; SLEEPING WITH DESTINY, published in The Exchange; GARRETT, THE BLUE GIRAFFE, which received an award from the Pittsburgh Foundation.
The Actor's View
One of the most striking aspects of Garrett The Blue Giraffe is that the
characters can be played by anyone - 2 men, 2 women or a man and a woman,
in either role - because the characteristics of both Garrett and Israfel
are universal. Who hasn't thought that they would be better off as
something or someone else? And at just that point in your life, hasn't an
angelic being appeared to reassure you that you are perfect just the way
you are?
When I first read the script, I was intimidated by the sheer volume of the language that Israfel uses. Israfel appeared, at first reading, to be an enlightened creature well beyond the needs of a human. But as rehearsals began, I realized that Israfel's words were directed both at the mind and the heart. This realization made learing and expressing the script much easier. I also realized that although Israfel was a being who existed on a higher plane, this higher level was not out of my reach. As rehearsals progressed, Israfel made as much of a transformation as Garrett. Initially, Israfel was a scholarly creature with the attributes of every race and nation on Earth. When Denny Martin took over the direction of Garrett, Israfel's attributes were softened and made much more loving. What had started out as a lecture from a holy creature became a love story between 2 holy creatures and a touching commentary on how we as people are to accept and love each other and ourselves as we are. I then realized that Israfel's "higher plane" was where we as people are headed and that we all belong there.
Although I have worked on numerous productions, Coni Koepfinger's works are the ones I like performing in the best. Coni's writing touches the hearts and minds of the actors and the audience. When I work on Coni's plays, a part of me is always transformed. Out of all of Coni's plays, Garrett had the most profound effect on my confidence. Not only was it the most difficult play I have ever worked on (and the most lines I ever had to memorize!!) but it was the first play where I felt a reaction from the audience as I performed it. This reaction was more than a superficial enjoyment of the production but rather was an intimate bonding with the audience. It is as if the audience grew and progressed right along with the play. In fact, the audience became a third character in the play. As Israfel and Garrett embrace each other, they embrace the audience and the audience returns this embrace, not only to Garrett and Israfel but to each other. This realization enhanced our (Jody and my) performance and made every performance an unforgettable experience that is almost too intimate to describe. In addition, the bonding that occurred between the actors and the director is something that I have not experienced in any other production. In fact, every play since then has almost been a disappointment as I try to recreate the intimacy that occurred with the cast, director and audience. There is something very special about Garrett - it touches the heart, mind and soul and expresses an intimacy that all humans should experience at least once in their lifetime.
Cheryl Esposito, Israfel