design constraints

House Theater no. 41 (in a particular 23-year-old Urbana tradition of experimental political cabaret in a home-turned-public-venue, different from a project with the same name in Chicago) turned out to have more music pieces in the mix than usual -- a "gesture collider" for clarinets, a stark duo for basso profundo trumpet blats live & recorded, a jazzy quasi-serial setting of a pseudo-sonnet of complex love with live spiny conundrums by an unsung poet, a micro-operatic take off of Schönberg's Moses und Aron, a Peter and Lou Berryman socio-geographical Midwest townscape in rhumba rhythm, a hectic choral-theatrical depiction of a brain undergoing learning, an incredible virtuoso clarinet duo detuned and in rapid hocket.

The theatrical frame we decided on was to consider the whole an evening-long letter to the editor on the still unresolved case of a police shooting of a teenager and the controversy as to whether it was an isolated accident (yeah, right) or an extreme version of an ongoing pattern of demonizing & harassing an entire community.

This letter to the editor would be in the house theater rather than the paper because its dimensions and intentions exceed the limits of the opinions page ... and each installment would draw on the sound or gesture of its neighboring music.

I wrote one for near the hocket piece with two speakers, and then brought that piece into the city council meeting on Tuesday -- to the pained mum faces of council, mayor, city manager ... where the buck ought to be stopping but is still in play (two speakers alternate lines as fast as possible):

Now that the report and the States Attorney's summary have been published a couple of quotes jump out at me:
Chief Finney: "When the gun went off...in fact I didn't even know who it was.
I had no idea whether it was him or the bad guy but when the gun went off I looked up.
He was still dealing with him, still with the kid. He had his hands on him trying to hold him down."
He made his way to the back of the house and saw two black male teenagers at the back door.
He said "Chief is yelling for them to get down on the ground. I'm yelling for them to get down on the ground."
"When the gun went off...in fact I didn't even know who it was.
I had no idea whether it was him or the bad guy but when the gun went off I looked up.
He was still dealing with him, still with the kid. He had his hands on him trying to hold him down."
He made his way to the back of the house and saw two black male teenagers at the back door.
He made his way to the back of the house and saw two black male teenagers at the back door.
He said "I had no idea whether it was him or the bad guy but when the gun went off I looked up. He was still dealing with him, still with the kid.
He said "I had no idea whether it was him or the bad guy but when the gun went off I looked up. He was still dealing with him, still with the kid.
I had no idea whether it was him
or the bad guy but when the gun went off I looked up. He was still dealing with him,
still with the kid. I had no idea whether it was him
or the bad guy
but when the gun went off I looked up. He was still dealing with him, still with
the kid.
him or the bad guy
still with the kid
him or the bad guy
still with the kid
him or the bad guy
still with the kid
or the bad guy
or the bad guy
or the bad guy
or the bad guy
the kid
the kid
the kid
the kid

The Daily Illini's December 9 story said "Police officer Daniel Norbits whose gun was responsible for the shooting, will not be charged with Carrington's death
The Daily Illini's December 9 story said "Police officer Daniel Norbits whose gun was responsible for the shooting, will not be charged with Carrington's death
officer Norbits whose gun was responsible for the shooting,
will not be charged. Officer Norbits whose gun was responsible for the shooting,
will not be charged. Officer Norbits
whose gun was responsible for the shooting,
will not be charged officer Norbits whose gun
was responsible for the shooting, will not be charged
officer Norbits
whose gun was responsible
whose gun was responsible
gun was responsible
gun was responsible
gun was responsible
gun was responsible
whose gun
whose gun
whose gun
whose gun
responsible
responsible
responsible
gun
gun
gun
gun
whose gun
was responsible
whose gun
was responsible
whose gun
was responsible
whose gun
was responsible
whose
responsible
whose
responsible


Officer Norbits: He reported Chief Finney had just pulled up when he arrived. He parked in the 900 block of West Vine.
Officer Norbits saw Chief Finney walking around the house.
Officer Norbits walked up the drive.
When he was at the southeast corner of the house he saw Finney draw his gun and say "stop or I will shoot you."
He could not see around the corner of the house.
Officer Norbits saw Chief Finney walking around the house.
Officer Norbits walked up the drive. When he was at the southeast corner of the house
he saw Finney draw his gun and say "stop or I will shoot you." He could not see around the corner of the house.
he saw Finney draw his gun and say
"stop or I will shoot you." he saw Finney draw his gun and say
"stop or I will shoot you." he saw Finney draw his gun and say
"stop or I will shoot you." he saw Finney draw his gun and say
"stop or I will shoot you." he saw Finney draw his gun and say "stop or I will shoot you."
he saw Finney draw his gun and say "stop
he saw Finney draw his gun and say "stop
he saw Finney draw his gun and say "stop or I will shoot you."
he saw Finney draw his gun
he saw Finney draw his gun

whose gun
was responsible
whose gun
was responsible
whose gun
was responsible
whose gun
was responsible
whose
was responsible
whose