Arena (Remix)
| Series | |
|---|---|
| Somewhere Out There | |
| Original Broadcast Date | |
| 4/6/1997 | |
| Cast | |
| Annalee Jefferies, Arthur Miller, Paul Mantell, Rosemary Foley, Eric Sears, Tim Jerome, Matt Bassford, Lester Nafzger, Joe Frank | |
| Format | |
| Sound Effects, Absurd Monologue, Scripted Actors, Improv Actors, Panel Discussion, 59 minutes | |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by: | Rent A Family (Remix) |
| Followed by: | Black Light |
| Purchase | |
They stood at the water's edge, the waves mounting, then crashing and sweeping up the coastline...
Arena (Remix) is a program Joe Frank produced as part of the series Somewhere Out There. It was originally broadcast in 1997.
Synopsis
We hear Joe alternately discussing his own writing process and typing at a keyboard. His story describes a romance between an American woman and a bullfighter. The narrative alternates with acted scenes and sound effects. Every scene degenerates into references to bull fighting. The couple swims naked in the sea, encounter a whale. Panel discussion: being terrified of text after reading Black Beauty, writing to purge anxiety, the history of writing. Story: reckless passion in a race car. Panel: reading and the downfall of civilization, the danger of self examination. Joe: the universe as a succession of writers inventing worlds. Story: a scene in a hotel room above a festival, the bull fighter's childhood, a fisherman living far from water and fishing for scrap ("You cannot eat a coat"), reading doesn't compare to bullfighting, scar stories. Story: scene in a church, stained glass featuring the resurrection of a wealthy donor, animals communicate with god. Joe: hammering a nail into your heart with your own brocaded slipper. Panel: man wasn't meant to read, college course reading lists. Joe: Melville's physical struggle when writing. Story: a scene in a cafe, she begs him to stop fighting bulls, a model bull fight using steak knives tied to a chair. A man and woman fight - he wants to watch TV and she wants to read. A television program: the fastest piano player interview. Panel: the consciousness lowering group. Joe: finding a dead whale on the beach, the mess in one's bathroom.
Music
- "Solea" - Miles Davis (from Sketches of Spain, 1960) | YouTube [Intro]
- "Music For 18 Musicians" - Steve Reich (from Music For 18 Musicians, 1978) | YouTube [5:52]
