parable of the sower dramaturgy

1989 novel by octavia butler

2015-present opera adaptation by toshi reagon

In this dystopian fiction set between the years of 2024-2027, the main character Lauren Olamina finds herself in need of hope from the disarray and various threats to their lives that they are being faced with in their California town. She creates the religion of Earthseed which follows the message that “God is Change” and eventually leaves the town to spread word of the religion. Characters that join the Earthseed religion by the end of the novel even are discovered to have the same hyperempathy syndrome that the main character Lauren has. A community, named Acorn, is created by the remaining followers and the lives of all whom have faced threat are honored.

Synopsis

Octavia Butler

1947-2006

Born in Pasadena, California, Butler was raised by her mother and grandmother. Always a crafter of stories, 9 year-old Butler watched a movie in a theater and thought, "I can write a better story than that." In her newfound passion as an author, a career her aunt told her no African American girl could achieve, Butler's early career was unique. SHe worked odd jobs such as dishwasher, telemarketer, and potato chip inspector. Butler would wake up at 2am in order to create time for writing. By her mid 30's, Butler was able to fully support herself as a wirter. Her books center on Black injustice, climate change, women's rights and political disparity. Her work is now taught in over 200 colleges and universities nationwide.

novelist

Xenogenesis Series

Dawn (1987)

Adulthood Rites (1988)

Imago (1989)

Parable Series

Parable of the Sower (1993)

Parable of the Talents (1998)

Short Story Collections

Bloodchild and Other Stories (1995)

Unexpected Stories (2014)

Patternist Series

Patternmaster (1976)

Mind of My Mind (1977)

Survivor (1978)

Wild Seed (1980)

Clay’s Ark (1984)

Standalone novels

Kindred (1979)

Fledgling (2005)

award winner

2018, Eisner Award for Best Adaptation from Another Medium - Kindred, by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy and John Jennings (Abrams ComicArts)

2012, Solstice Award, Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America

2010, Inductee Science Fiction Hall of Fame

2000, PEN American Center Lifetime Achievement Award in Writing

1999, Nebula Award for Best Novel – Parable of the Talents

1995, MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Grant

1985, Hugo Award for Best Novelette – Bloodchild

1985, Locus Award for Best Novelette – Bloodchild

1985, Science Fiction Chronicle Award for Best Novelette – Bloodchild

1984, Hugo Award for Best Short Story – Speech Sounds

1984, Nebula Award for Best Novelette – Bloodchild

1980, Creative Arts Award, L.A. YWCA

history

As a multi-hyphenate composer, Toshi Reagon is centered in Parable of the Sower for her work in singing, songwriting, and guitar. Through this opera, she is able to beautifully portray a vision of the peace through her point of view that she saw mirrored in Octavia Butler's story; and finds the story in Octavia's novel to be especially necessary to today's audiences. In creating beautiful musical landscapes, she has had the opportunity to play her music all over the world. Viewers would describe her work on this adaptation of Parable of the Sower to be essential to it's creation and her previous and current work in the music industry to have made history.

toshi reagon

https://vimeo.com/8063897?embedded=true&source=vimeo_logo&owner=528089

Arts Emerson 2017, Boston, MA

under the radar, 2015, the public theatre, nyc

University of north carolina, 2017, chapel hill nc

quick center, 2018, fairfield ct

holland festival, 2018, the netherlands, amsterdam

royal hall ucla, 2020, los angeles, ca

portland ovations, 2023, portland me

Annenburg center, 2015, upenn, philidelphia, pa

under the radar, 2015, the public theatre, nyc

williams college, 2016, williamstown ma

nyu abu dhabi, 2017, saadiyat island

pittsburgh playhouse, 2023, pittsburgh pa

and more!

Robeldo is a fictional town in Southern California (about 20 miles from Los Angeles) that has been drastically impacted from the world changing events. In Parable of the Sower, Lauren and her family live in this town until Lauren adventures beyond the town in order to keep her and her family safe. Due the unpredictable climate the town can experience anything from floods to drought in a matter of a few short weeks.

Crime is also on the rise which has caused many communities to protect themselves This includes Laurens Cul-de-sac neighborhood which has been gated as a way to prevent any dangerous outsiders from coming in.

Jobs are very scarce.While the people in Lauren’s community have found a way to provide work for resources, the same can’t be said for a lot of other people in Robeldo (Hence the crime)

LOcation

Los Angeles

glossary

Earthseed

Earthseed: The Books of the Living is the written testement of Lauren's view of God and humanity. Her main mantra:

God is Change.

Straying from the religion of her family and community, Lauren believes less that God is an almighty being to worship, but more as a phenomenon that moves the world in significant and minute ways. God is an idea to shape and learn from. As Lauren travels outside the wall, she creates a following of 'disciples,' who eventually form a community of their own, Acorn, that abides by Earthseed's teachings.

Hyperempathy

Due to her mother's substance addiction during pregnancy that altered her brain chemicals, Lauren is born with what some might call a gift, and others a curse: Hyperempathy. This means when Lauren witnesses pain inflicted on others, she feels the same physical pain as if she experienced it herself. This proves to be a great risk during her time outside the wall in having to defend her group from other outsiders. Eventually, Lauren finds others who share her gift.

Pyros

Crawling and seething outside the safety of Robeldo's wall, Pyros represent the real danger of substance abuse and the chaos it can foster. Pyro is a mutated homebrew of Paracetco, a drug created to help those with Alzheimer's. Known for their painted heads and naked bodies, Pyros set fire to anything they can, finding the drug "makes watching the leaping, changing patterns of fire, a better, more intense, longer-lasting high than sex." This means their high forces them to set fire to trees, buildings, and even bodies of both the dead and the living.

character info

Olamina Family

Reverend:

-Baptist leader of the community

-Although they disagree religiously, he cares about his daughter and the

importance of community

Cory: Stepmom

-Favors her sons over Lauren

-Teaches the kids in her neighborhood

Keith: The oldest half brother

-Insecure, always needs to prove he’s manly

-Aggressively dislikes Lauren

Lauren: Protagonist and creator of Earthseed.

Wants to create a hopeful future for humanity

Bankhole: Lauren’s Partner

He wants to provide a better future for those he loves

Doesn’t always agree with Lauren, yet appreciates her intelligence

Team EarthSeed

Harry and Zahra

-Friends of Lauren.

-First to join her on her expedition.

-Street Smarts!

Travis and Natividad

-Joined for survival, stayed for the earthseed.

Allie and Jill

-Two Sisters who escaped the abusive wrath of their father

Emery and Grayson:

-Hyperempathy Buddies!

social/political historical context

1992 LA Riots

Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower was released less than a year after the 1992 Los Angelos Riots. The Riots were a brutal display of public outrage that lasted several days, ending in over $1 million of property damage and over 50 people killed. The fury and distruction was catalyzed by the aquittal of four white Los Angelos policeman of several charges related to the severe beating of African American motorist Rodney King on March 3, 1991. Pulled over for speeding, the video recording of Rodney King's beating was broadcasted across the United States resulting in public uproar. Butler's novel has been seen as a premonition for society, warning the population of the dangers and turmoil possible if the continued dismissal of justice, disunity, and corrupt political powers are ignored. The main forms of distruction during these riots are directly found as the main threats of the world outside the wall in Lauren's journey in Parable of the sower: violence, looting, and arson. Further, Butler's plea to the people and suggestion for repairing the division causing chaos is empathy. Hyperempathy, once seen as a weakness and later recognized as a power, forms Lauren's progressive community, Acorn, in the end of the novel,

Climate Change

In 1990, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggested that climate change would have “the greatest single impact” on human migration, with several million people having to move due to increasing water levels, increasing drought and heat or other factors that make agriculture impossible to sustain. Estimates on the number of climate change refugees vary greatly, from a “modest” 25 million up to a billion – though the most commonly cited estimate is 200 million people displaced by 2050, according to the International Organization for Migration.This theme is directly followed in Parable of the Sower, as water's vlaue has greatly increased and migration is necessary for survival during Butler's distopian reality.

theory/criticism

Personally, in seeing the Parable of the Sower opera at the Pittsburgh Playhouse, I was delightfully amazed by the musical, movement, and stage picture choices made in the piece, but felt as though a few elements were missing overall. First, I missed some of the truth of Octavia Butler's story in this musical retelling, as the opera did not include depth to the relationship of Keith and Lauren along with not giving insight to other important relationships and plot points as well. My biggest piece of criticism was the passage of time and how it was difficult to see the story move from 2024-2027. That being said, I loved Toshi's role as the composer of the piece on stage and the power that she had over the audience. I felt that the actors gave amazing performances, especially the character of Lauren during the song "Have you Seen my Father". I am excited to see how this piece progresses with more performances and more workshopping at other theatres.

-Emily

visual imagery

Modern Baptist church in Southern California

Modern artwork created for the Parable Path project at Chicago University

San Luis during a drought in California, February 2014

Map visual of Lauren's journey out of Robeldo

theoretical or philisophical issues

music

Through music, reagon creates a modern retelling of butler's story. the music in the opera can be described as spiritual, folk, rock, operatic, jazz, and soul music. the ensemble, all made up of actors with plenty of musical experience, did a great job of capturing dynamic moments of harmony with solo and group performance. the full band in the back stood out as a talented group of instrumentalists. below are some clips of music from the show:

emotional landscape

key:

sun: faith

• faith is the overarching theme and goal within this novel. as visualizing it as the sun, we can see the power it holds over all of Lauren's decisions.
  

clouds: empathy

• another overarching theme, let less consistant than faith, empathy as the clouds represents the lingering presence and effect it holds over Lauren's journey.
  

mountain: determination

• Lauren and her community's determination throughout the novel is beyond admirable. faced with physical, mental, and emotional challenges, their determination is best represented as a mountain because of the power it gives them, even though it is not easy.
  

trees: fear

• Like the dark woods of a forest, fear is created thrugh the unknown. We can see fear impacting Lauren and her companions through the first interactions outside of Robeldo. The previous fear of the "maggots" is dampened when the group learns how to navigate and survive among them. Knowledge, like a light in a forest, diminished fear.
  

river: courage

• more powerful and adaptive than fear, courage is what propells Lauren through her journey.
  

Religion in parable

Christianity

"God is Good"

EarthSeed

"God is Change"

BOOK COVER

"In order for the audience to relate their experience in the opera by Toshi Reagon to the story in the novel by Octavia Butler, the dramaturgy team imagined a book cover that will be given to the audience as they enter the opera that they can use to better understand the musical story.

additional resources/bibliography