Mad Cap Socialist Self Analysis! Continues ("Mi Casa") Part Two: Introductions

Continuing a piece about my home town, it's odd military history, and my position within.

Incidentally, here's what my home town used to look like.

Now, back to the Blogzine...I'll call this series MCSSA or "Mi Casa" for short.

PREVIOUSLY ON MCSSA! ("Mi Casa"):
PART ONE: History. A timeline of important dates in this project

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Part Two: Introductions

Setting: A theatre.

(As the audience walks into the theatre, they should see a placard mounted on an easel that says, “Welcome Into the Theatre! The Play Will Be Performed In Here.” Audience lights and stage lights are at the same level as the audience comes in and gets seated. As the audience comes in to be seated, the actors playing ERNST BLOCH, BERTOLT BRECHT, FREDRIC JAMESON, GEORG LUKÁCS, KARL MARX, ALEXANDER RODCHENKO, and LEON TROTSKY are waiting to help the audience to their seats. Each actor is wearing posterboard placards around their necks with their character’s names written in large letters. The placards should be large enough to cover the actors’ chests so their character names are the actor’s most noticeable feature. Other actors with names of other influential Marxists or Marxist critics will also be milling about the theatre, greeting the audience and helping them to their seats. When the play is ready to begin, the GREETER comes on stage, and the other actors congregate in a line in front of the stage.)

GREETER
Good evening, audience. Tonight you will be seeing a play, performed here in the theatre. We will be making this play together as we, the actors and technicians, will put a play on display for the purpose of getting a reaction out of you, the audience. Keep in mind that this is a play. The purpose of this play is to examine the identity of one town from a Marxist perspective. That town is Los Alamos, New Mexico. Some of you may be familiar with this town, some may not. We have provided everyone with historical handouts within their programs. Hopefully you’ve had ample time to examine them. These handouts detail the physical history of Los Alamos, New Mexico and its influence on the development of the atomic bomb. The handout also covers some of the effects of the development of nuclear weapons and the arms race as well as Los Alamos’s later role in the Cold War. Now, let’s bring the purpose of this play out to the stage so that the play can begin. Allow me to introduce Colin Milroy.

(COLIN MILROY walks on stage, looking shy and embarrassed. He waves sheepishly to the audience.)

GREETER
Members of the audience, the purpose of the play you are about to watch is for this man to understand his hometown better. To gain new perspectives from which he can critique. We will help him define his own perspective and give him new tools for examination

JAMESON
Historicize!

BLOCH
Artistic reality: feel free to express!

LUKÁCS
Artistic reality: keep it simple!

RODCHENKO
Look at this differently!

TROTSKY
Haven’t we seen this before?

BRECHT
You’re watching a play!

MARX(Gestures to the audience and speaks to the other actors) Would you quit oppressing them from your supposed position of superiority?

GREETER
(Trying to pacify things by settling the actors down) Now, now, let’s not get over-excited and act stereotypically. We have to think carefully. Get a new perspective. We have to re-examine, not oversimplify. Now, as I was saying, you may refer to your inserts for additional information as we give a short re-enactment of the history of Los Alamos. Mr. Milroy, please have a seat in the audience.

(The actors remove their placards and disperse throughout the stage. NOTE: As actors enter the stage to play their different roles during the re-enactment scenes, other actors on the sides of the stage will hold up placards with the characters’ names written in large letters. The side actors will keep holding up the placards for the duration of the scene.)

COLIN MILROY
This is a little confusing. (Goes and sits in a seat in the audience marked, “Reserved.”)

GREETER
The year is 1942. The United States, Great Britain, Germany and Japan have all been investigating the possibility of building an atomic bomb since two German scientists first split the nucleus of uranium in 1938. Russia, initially unconcerned with the possibility of building an atomic bomb, started its research after Soviet spies intercept a report from the British MAUD committee in 1941 detailing England’s research into building atomic weapons. Igor Kurchatov is put in charge of researching the atomic bomb. In America, J. Robert Oppenheimer is put in charge of the American atomic bomb project, called the Manhattan Project. The location of the nuclear weapons deign laboratory is chosen. It will come to be known as Los Alamos National Laboratory, or “The Lab” for short.

(OPPENHEIMER comes on stage with GENERAL LESLIE GROVES)

J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER (Placard reads, “Prestigious University of California Professor, Nobel Prize winner, picked by Groves to head Lab as general in army of scientists)
This place is perfect for the laboratory.

GEN. LESLIE GROVES (Placard reads, “Commander of Manhattan District Corps of Engineers)
Yes, this is better than Jemez Springs. We can control access to the town through the mesa’s main entry road and use the surrounding canyons for explosives tests.

MAJ. JOHN DUDLEY (Placard reads “Manhattan District staff in charge of finding suitable lab sites in western U.S.)
But there’s hardly any water!

OPPENHEIMER
Look how pretty it is. Look at the Sangre de Cristo mountain range! That’ll be good for morale.

GEN. GROVES
Yes, the military staff and commanders will need to be kept happy.

OPPENHEIMER
Military…? Excuse me?

DUDLEY
Fine, Eggheads. All I’ve had to work with is finding a place for a laboratory that’s building I don’t know what and having a staff size anywhere from 265 to
600. Jemez Springs was fine, but big Mr. Oppenheimer has to have final approval.

A.J. CONNELL (Placard reads, “Director of Los Alamos Ranch School”)
(Enters the stage with ASHLEY POND during previous conversation) Ahem. Excuse me, but I’m running a school here. This is a natural habitat where Troop 22 of the Boy Scouts of America can “learn by doing” in the outdoors, following good President Teddy Roosevelt’s ideal of a vigorous life.

(ROBERT PATTERSON enters.)

ROBERT PATTERSON (Placard reads, “Undersecretary of War”)
Sorry. I just approved the land’s acquisition. The military will be taking over the property and we’ll be using your buildings. The property is condemned. Signed and dated in a letter, December 1, 1942.

ASHLEY POND (Placard reads, “Owned land where Los Alamos Ranch School was built. Founded school.”)
Aaaaugh! I’ve owned this land since 1918! The air is clean and healthy here, perfect for outdoor wellness. We’ve been building up this school since 1920!

CONNELL
Yes, I’ve added college curriculum courses. We just had our highest ever enrollment of 47 students!

GEN. GROVES
We’ll use the Big House as bachelor quarters, that garage will become a fire station, the arts and crafts building can be used for housing and a nursery school…

DUDLEY
We’ll have to start digging immediately.

POND
So much for my peaceful, natural habitat.

(Current Los Alamos has landmark named for Ashley Pond)

CONNELL
We’ll have to close to the school. It can’t be transplanted out of this habitat. I’ll send a letter to the alumni. (To PATTERSON) At least allow us to finish our current term. We’ll work through Christmas vacation.

PATTERSON
When will the term end?

CONNELL
February 8, 1943.

OPPENHEIMER
February????!!!

PATTERSON
Very well. You may finish your term.

GEN. GROVES
What a beautiful military installation this will be!

OPPENHEIMER
Ahem, yes, about it being a “military” installation…

GEN. GROVES
(To OPPENHEIMER) Gather your scientists!

OPPENHEIMER
Yes, well, I’ve been talking to some of the best university professors all over the country…

GEN. GROVES
Excellent! Send me their measurements. We’ll start requisitioning their uniforms. (Exits along with PATTERSON, DUDLEY, CONNELL, and POND.)

OPPENHEIMER
Oh no…

END OF PART TWO. TO BE CONTINUED...

Go to PART THREE: Flash Back - Flash Forward
Go to PART FOUR: Start Your Engines
Go to PART FIVE: This Is More Than Just a Test
Go to PART SIX: Remember, New Perspective