Aboveground: An Opera Concept by Marie Traore
Topic: Environmental Protection and Corruption
Main Characters (Consistent):
- Naomi
- Tobias
- Yara
- Chanel
- Tyson
- Sterling
Main Characters (Inconsistent):
- Jasmine
- Juan
- Mister X
Scene One: The opera opens up with a setting of a boot camp-like space. The rooms are divided into strategic spaces with bunk beds and shelves. We are introduced to all of the characters as they are heading to eat lunch. The lunch halls are desolate places that are metal cladded. The area looks like a prison. People eat in silence as they wear their grey outfits. Everyone wears grey slacks and a grey shirt. The only people who do not wear grey are the officers guarding every space, they wear black. The meals are bland and the group of five friends are talking amongst each other as per usual.
Scene Two: Tyson is tossing and turning in his sleep in a violent manner. Tobias runs to help him, and Tyson wakes up in his own pool of sweat. Tyson is looking around in fear as Tobias asks him what is wrong. Tyson looks directly into the camera surveilling him and says “nothing”.
Scene Three: Tobias is wary of Tyson, so he corners Naomi to explain what happened last night. Naomi is dating Tyson so Tobias is hoping he can get some answers. Naomi shifts and gives Tobias a fake smile and states that she knows nothing as she hastily walks away. Tobias begins to question whether they are his true friends. He then approaches Yara who is close to Naomi than Chanel. Yara’s eyes widen and she starts to tremble. Tobias is getting frustrated as no one is telling him what is wrong, so Yara grabs his hand and caresses it to act like they are being affectionate, but in reality, she is hinting to Tobias that she will explain later.
Scene Four: Yara is not supposed to be in Quad 1236728 where Tobias resides, but she tells the guard to let her pass as she wants to see Tobias because she is sad. The guard allows her to enter, but she sets an alarm for one minute. Yara fakes tears to Tobias who hugs her. She holds his hand and in that exchange, a note falls from her hand to his. Tobias is in awe at how intelligent and strategic Yara has been. Maybe she has defied the system before? He thinks to himself. They both thank the guard and Yara leaves.
Scene Five: Tobias opens the note when everyone is asleep. It reads:
At 23:58 right before the day changes, Tyson has a breakdown. This is because his brother Juan was tortured and killed at 11:58 years before when the war was still happening. Tyson was traumatized to see his best friend leave him. He cries out for help for two minutes until 00:00 and he wakes up in a cold sweat. The guards have tried to vaccinate Tyson with a more powerful memory loss serum, but this memory simply won’t leave him. The guards just claim he has sleep attacks, but it is trauma. The only way Tyson can get over this is to see his brother. But his brother was thrown onto the “aboveground” and left for dead. (BURN MESSAGE ONCE READ).
Tobias burns the message in the kerosene lamp as chills run down his spine. Suddenly, a guard opens the door and asks him why he was crouched in a corner. Tobias blames it on anxiety. The clock strikes 23:58 and Tyson has his attack. Tobias cries as he shakes in fear and sadness for his friend.
Scene Six: Yara avoids looking at Tobias but he is desperate for answers. Tobias asks Chanel for advice and Chanel whispers that there is a hidden room they can go whisper in. She states not to go with more than two people. Tobias takes Yara and the guards think nothing of it as they think they are dating. Tobias asks Yara if anything will happen to Tyson and she begins to cry. She states that the guards want to kill him and act as though he committed suicide. They are threatening to trash him to the Aboveground. Tobias hugs Yara and dries her tears as he insists on coming up with a plan. Yara claims that there already is one. Naomi insists she needs to Tyson alive so they can make children. The goal of the New Order Administration is to boost the population, so they are only keeping Tyson alive for that purpose, Yara explains.
Scene Seven: The next day, Yara brings Tobias back to the secret room. She states she doesn’t want to live here anymore. Yara claims that she has been sneaking to the control room and has found out that the aboveground is not as awful as people say it is. Tobias is convinced she has gone mad and insists to get her help. Yara insists that she avoids getting her vaccines and serums, because the New World Administration tries to manipulate people with the medicine and drugs.
Scene Eight to Ten is Yara gaining knowledge about the aboveground and formulating her escape while providing knowledge to her friends.
Scene Eleven: Yara creates a scene in the lunchroom with her friends and they are all taken to Room 505. Room 505 is a dreaded, pre-torture room. The group is given fake vaccines from an insider named Jasmine (Jasmine is introduced as a spy to the Administration in Scene Nine). Jasmine wants to escape too, so she is helping the group. Mister X is introduced. He is the dictator of the Administration who reveals many secrets in this scene without knowing that Jasmine did not really sedate the group. He even reveals that Juan is alive which almost foils the plan as Tyson starts twitching with anger. The group is lead to Room 505 but surprise attack as Jasmine and Agent Parker get weapons for them and the massacre the leaders. They run to the Aboveground and find Juan there as Tyson cries in joy. They see flowers and other things for the first time as Juan reveals how they need to run far away from the Administration. He explains that the Administration wanted to trap humans underground after the war, because the planet became inhabitable. They wanted to restore the planet by moving humans below ground like animals, and they chose to keep the humans there forever because they considered them ungrateful and they liked the power. The planet Earth (“Aboveground”) was healing, but the Administration was manipulating humans for power and money.
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Some Notes to Remember: I enjoyed writing this, but I could not go nearly as in depth as a I wanted to or else it would take a lot of time to read, and I would probably have written a libretto too. This story has concepts and ideas that have been in other stories. The underground concept comes from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, specifically the second and third books when district 13 was burned down and inhabitable. The “seeing the flowers for the first time” came from the “Allegory of the Cave” by Plato. The names used were from some of my favorite celebrities. The Administration, guards, spying, dictatorship, and Room 505 was inspired by the novel 1984 by George Orwell. Also, the serums and vaccines to manipulate people was an idea stemming from The Divergent Series, a dystopian series by Veronica Roth as well as The Matrix movie. This story relates to environmental protection because the planet was harmed to a point that there were no more resources or enough air or water for that matter. Also, it included corruption because corrupt businessmen insist that climate change does not exist just for gain.
Regarding the costumes, they are all dark and “sad” colors. These colors are associated with hospitals or funerals. Also, the food is lifeless and has a “grey” look to them. The people also have grey skin and sorrowful eyes. This is inspired from the 1984 setting. The stage would mostly be the same metal cladded looking areas until we go Aboveground and see the sun and flowers. This is the first time the audience will see colors besides grey, black, and white. The lighting will also be dim until the Aboveground where there will be a sunset and sunlight. This stage lighting will be as bright as Sarastro’s sun in The Magic Flute.
By: Marie Traore
