Let Me Not Dream

Series
Work In Progress
Original Broadcast Date
1986
Cast
Arthur Miller, Patty Hardee, Alison, Amy, Rabbi Robbins, Joe Frank
Format
Scripted Actors, Improv Actors, Real_People, Singing, 56 minutes
Preceded by:	No Show
Followed by:	Case Studies
Purchase

"Settle back and get very comfortable. Let everything go."

Let Me Not Dream is a program Joe Frank produced as part of the series Work In Progress. It was originally broadcast in 1986.

Synopsis

A hypnotist, a woman, instructs the listener to relax, think his/her limbs limp.

1:50: Joe says he feels empty, helpless, despairing. He's afraid to sleep, begs god not to let him dream again of 'the woman and the stallion in the paint factory' He says he must put something together to make tonight's show, odds and ends from past shows if necessary.

3:10: A man (Lester Nafzger?) calls an older woman, asks for Coco. He identifies himself as Joe Frank. Coco isn't in.

4:20: A man (Arthur Miller?) sings 'Make love to me' accompanied by ukulele(?).

6:30: A man and woman yell, as though threatened (it's indistinct). There are sounds that could be a monster, could be alarms. It sounds like a movie.

7:30: A street preacher tells people they need spiritual change, not political change; the crowd of college students at Sproul Plaza jeers him.

10:10: The director of River Valley camp (Arthur Miller?), a sadistic summer camp for boys in the Brazilian Amazon, describes the camp to Joe while showing slides. It's protected by a long stretch of barren land, then 'electronic' barbed wire, and a 200-foot gate. The rifle, archery, and blow-gun ranges use the boys as targets. He calls pain 'deeper understanding'.

16:40: A street preacher enjoins his listeners to chant, 'Hare Krishna'. The River Valley director's voice can be made out in the background.

18:10: The River Valley director shows slides of 'fun night' - Joe observes that they don't seem to be having fun. Staff get to experiment on the campers.

20:50: Congregation finishes singing a hymn, a preacher talks, then they sing another hymn. The River Valley director's voice can be made out in the background.

21:40: The director describes visitors' day, during which the parents can't see the children and vice-versa. Letters between campers and parents are disposed of.

26:10: A man calls an older woman, asks for Coco. He identifies himself as Joe Frank. Coco isn't in. She's in England.

27:20: A man (Arthur Miller?) sings 'There'll never be another you' accompanied by ukulele(?).

28:40: A man and woman yell, as though threatened (it's indistinct). There are sounds that could be a monster, could be alarms.

29:30: A preacher tells us how terrible things are, that god's coming back.

32:40: Joe prays that his body may breathe, that he not mock himself, that he not dream of the woman and the stallion in the paint factory…

34:00: Joe calls Patty; she's an actor in a show, a Hungarian comedy. Joe sings 'I remember you' accompanied by a karaoke recording to her.

37:30: Joe calls Alison (she's been sick), sings 'I remember you' to her.

41:10: Joe calls a rabbi who talks about facing the challenges of life. Joe asks him how to reconcile the Holocaust with a god he would worship. The rabbi tells him a story from Meyer Levin's 'Fanatic' of a Jew praying at the death camp.

45:50: 'I was born in South Dakota at the age of 4…' A man (Lester Nafzger?) recounts impossible and conflicting versions of his life, all involving Mt Rushmore.

48:30: The Christian street preacher is back, talking with the crowd.

53:10: Joe calls Amy (she's sleepy), sings 'I remember you' to her. Joe tells her it was just for her. She tells him that's sweet.

Legacy Synopsis

• A female hypnotist voice
• Joe talks about feeling drained and hopeless and putting old tape together to make a show
• "Joe" calls for Koko.
• A man sings "There Will Never Be Another You."
• Someone screams colors and words against a low pitched humming.
• Young people arguing with street proselytizers.
• The River Valley children's camp in the jungle which resembles a bizarre prison camp.
• Preachers speak.
• Joe call ex-girlfriends and sings "I Remember You."

Music

• "Thursday Afternoon (61 Minute Version)" - Brian Eno (from Thursday Afternoon, 1985) | YouTube [Intro]
• "Make Love To Me" - unknown version, sung by Joe Frank [10:44]
• "There Will Never Be Another You" - unknown version, sung by Joe Frank [33:45]
• "I Remember You" - karaoke version, sung by Joe Frank | YouTube [41:52]

Shared material

• Reprise
• Black Light
• Woman And Bull In Paint Factory

Additional credits

The original broadcast credits state: "Special thanks to Arthur Miller, Patty, Alison, Amy, and Rabbi Robbins. It was produced in the studios of KCRW Santa Monica. Technical production by Tom Strother."

Commentary

I'm pretty sure the director of River Valley camp is Arthur Miller. I'm less sure he sings the 2 pop songs; jfwiki attributes them to Joe, but I disagree, cite the amateur ukulele accompaniment as additional evidence for Mr Miller.

I'm less sure about Lester Nafzger calling for Coco and the guy with the impossible life at 45:50.

The hypnotist sounds like a stock recording. The street preachers sound real. The church service sounds real, perhaps recorded off TV, as I think the preacher in 29:30 is, the horror movie too.

Joe re-used much of it in 'Woman and bull in paint factory'. (Is bull a joke or did he forget?)

I'm ready to believe that Joe slapped together odds and ends to make this show.