Nordo Muses: Lost Falls
When we first ran this production in Fall of 2012 we named the show after one of the main songs written by our dear friend Drew Keriakedes (listen to Drew's tunes). It ran at Theatre Off Jackson in their relatively new upstairs venue after The Wing Luke moved out to their current location. It was one crazy show (cooking on griddles in a classroom!?). For some reason, no one, not even us, could remember the name. It just fell right out of the head. But in my journal this show was always called “Lost Falls”. So, when it came time to remount it the title changed.
I was a junior in high school when Twin Peaks debuted. I thought it was talking to me. It had everything. Murder. Cheesy high school romance. One-eyed women staring out through the blinds. Red velvet curtains in a black and white checkered room. Illicit drugs in old train cars. And the supernatural lurking behind every corner. Quirky, friendly FBI agents? Who let this through the censors? In one fell swoop I feel it changed television writing.
I retreated up to the town of Skykomish to write this one. I stayed in the inn there. It turns out that not three days before I arrived two men broke into the only bar in town, smashed and looted the ATM machine, and burned down the back half of the restaurant in their escape. One resident described seeing the getaway car speeding West on Hwy 2 as the flames leapt into the night sky. You see, with the bar gone, the tiny restaurant at the inn became the night time hanging place for all the town, and I got to belly up to the bar and listen to the entire saga. From multiple points of view. It turned out to be quite apt and quite inspiring though I’d rather not burn down or otherwise destroy a perfectly fine business every time I need to write a play.
To live in this world and soak up all its strangeness was a dream come true. To this day it may be the most successful trippy, food dining experience ever. We’re in a diner. It’s morning. The body of the chef has been discovered in the kitchen. And all the courses look like breakfast, but they are dinner!
Watch:
Twin Peaks- Well, you have to. Watch the whole thing. It gets a bit wonky in Season 2 when it was cancelled and then brought back to life by popular demand but deal with it. It brought surrealism into the living room. Would there be an X Files without Twin Peaks? Also, watch Fire Walk with Me, the movie prequel that came after the whole series ended. And then, fall down the rabbit hole of the newest 3rd season that came out three years ago on Showtime Twin Peaks: The Return.
Rashomon- A masterpiece by Akira Kurosawa, a genius of cinema. It won an Honorary Oscar in 1952. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg said it changed their ideas of movie making. And for me, it was the story told from 3 different points of view in which the truth lies, somewhere. “What is truth?”
Scotland P.A.- Small town fast food restaurant tragedy. The Scottish play meets McDonalds. Murder in a fryer. If you haven’t seen this one yet, please, treat yourself. Never have the witches been done so well. And there’s a Christopher Walken in it. Done.
Listen:
Don’t miss the Twin Peaks soundtrack. Littler, mid-sized, Terry used to fall asleep to this album in his dorm.
“Twin Peaks Theme” by Angelo Badalamenti
“Falling” by Julee Cruise
But also, Annastasia Workman murdered this score and the twin vocals of Evan Mosher and Devin Bannon were exquisite.
“Nowhere Town” and “Spruce Tree” by Annastasia Workman
Read:
At the time, I can’t say that I read much fiction to prepare for writing this piece. It was a very cinematic driven script. But, there was a lot of non-fiction reading going on about fast food and the culture it sprouted in America.
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser- Well, it’s all there. The gross, manufactured food and questionable business practices as people like William Rosenberg (Dunkin’ Donuts), Dave Thomas (Wendy’s), Glenn Bell (Taco Bell), and Harland Sanders (Kentucky Fried Chicken) spread across the highways of this country and almost snuffed out a local diner culture. Support your local diner! (When you can go back to restaurants.)
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan- And if you want some real facts for the fight against processed foods this is the place to start. Any book by Michael Pollen is worth the read.
The Secret History of Twin Peaks by Mark Frost (co-writer of the series)- Well, if you want to be a proper nerd you should pick up a copy and dive into all the notes and alien landings and government conspiracies that could perhaps be swirling around the town of Twin Peaks. David Lynch was not a fan of the book, but so what.
Fact #1:
Nordo was murdered on Oct 12th, 1991.
Fact #2:
There was a giant beaver in this show. It appeared and tapped into the psyche of suspects. The beaver made someone kill Nordo. The beaver costume still hangs around the theater.
Fact #3:
The two mystical bikers, Ralph and Rocky, that became the one mystical biker in the second production may be my favorite character to write for.