I've modeled the story after a DNA strand undergoing a process of replication into two new, identical strands. The first act might seem simple and straight-forward on the surface, but as much as possible while maintaining relatively simple poetic forms, I've tried to create a double-helix effect of a story going backwards in the background as much as it's going forward in the foreground, and at times, vice versa. The double-helix structure also plays a critical role in one of the final duets of the opera, as the process of DNA replication gets turned on its head.
Don't worry, it's actually probably less confusing on stage than I've just made it sound. In the first act, these two strands wrap around each other: the forward progressing story, that of Chloe and Joshua and their descent into domestic chaos through cloning, has as a counterpoint a backwards moving strand of Dr. Liri reminiscing through flashback a dark personal past as a cosmetic cloning specialist. The two stories interact with each other, as Liri uses the Chloe and Joshua case as a cautionary tale to her students.
The second act, in it's way, is an exact replica of the first act, only thanks to the miracles of cloning, twice as crowded. This, of course, fits with the replication of DNA, as two new identical strands come into being from one. Unfortunately, there may be some unforeseen mutations in either or even both new strands and the story spirals out of control for the characters involved.
The challenge for me as a writer, and the composer is going to have to deal with this trickiness soon, ha-ha, is that with such a tight, interrelated structure, it's very difficult to make even small changes to one section of the libretto without also having to make changes to other sections, especially while maintaining good stage timing. So as Jenn's been hard at work on the first scene, I've been trying to keep up with corresponding edits to subsequent scenes and also try to anticipate problems in other sections. It's a very challenging process, but ultimately rewarding, as I'm very proud of how this thing is turning out.
2 comments:
Hi Jennifer, we once met in the past. I was part of a project you worked on. I won't say who I am because you'll probably be confused as to why I looked up your blog, just bored. Needless to say though I really like your idea of the double helix. I'm a biologist and I must say that I'm very impressed with your idea. First and foremost I must say that the scientific accuracy of your description is quite good. I particularly like your incorporation of a forward and reverse story. I like it because as you may or may not know DNA replication is a semi-conservative process with the strands on the two original molecules replicating essentially in two different directions in respect to each other, since DNA replication only occurs in the 5'->3' direction and the two original strands run complementary to each other. It really really is quite clever how you've incorporated all of these scientific details, whether or not you realized it. I really hope to be able to see it one day.
Hey Anonymous,
Thanks! It's my librettist's idea, and she has done *massive* research in the process of replicating DNA for this cloning story. (Not the actual scientific research, of course, but researching what scientists know about DNA replication.)
(And, I wouldn't be confused as to why you looked up my blog.)
-J
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