INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the hypertext version of the simultaneous-action
play, THE BRIDE OF EDGEFIELD. What you are about to experience
is the reading equivalent of seeing the play live. There is a map
of the playing area at the bottom of this file.
As you read the script, hypertext links appear. You
make your choice, and the next appropriate page of the story
comes up automatically.
This is hypertext: computer-generated, interactive text. It
is the best way to read, as well as write, an environmental play of
this form.
You now have the opportunity to "see" the play many
times: in fact, by going through the script again and again, and
making different menu choices each time, you can get "the complete
story."
So enjoy! And begin by making your first menu choice below.
Charles Deemer
PRODUCTION HISTORY
"The Bride of Edgefield" premiered in April, 1996, at
McMenamin's Edgefield Bed & Breakfast Resort, in Troutdale,
Oregon. directed by Diana Callihan and performed by the
Eclectic Theater Company. It ran for ten weeks.
The script is an adaptation of "Bateau de Mort," the sequel
to "Chateau de Mort," which orginally was performed on the
Columbian Gorge Sternwheeler in October, 1987. This story of
a cult wedding (among other things) was easily moved from the
water to the resort.
:"Begin to read play"
Begin to read the play
:"Meet the cast"
:"Royalty info"
THE BRIDE OF EDGEFIELD is copyrighted and fully protected by
law.
For information concerning ordering hypertext disks of the
script, select "How to Order" below.
For royalties information, contact:
Charles Deemer
Internet: charles@charlesdeemer.com
For more information, select "Note to
directors" below.
:"Reviews"
REVIEWS OF HYPERDRAMA
(This was assembled before BRIDE opened.)
Of the play's predecessor, BATEAU DE MORT:
"... enough high society sin and scandal to do Sidney Sheldon
proud ... a play of staggering possibilities"
Bob Hicks, OREGONIAN
What the critics said of CHATEAU DE MORT:
"Deemer's script is a triumph of wit and cunning."
Jonathan Nicholas, OREGONIAN
"fourteen intertwining scripts . . . action galore: as
many as eight scenes . . . played simultaneously on
the mansion's three floors . . . a voyeuristic
odyssey."
Anne Siegel, OREGON MAGAZINE
"Baryshnikov was the only act to upstage CHATEAU DE
MORT . . . Deemer sprinkles the 1000-page script with
wit and sly local references."
NORTHWEST ARTS (Seattle)
"Theatre has always been voyeuristic but CHATEAU DE
MORT brings it a step closer to reality. . . . The
interweaving - plotted by Deemer and marshalled by
director Ghita Hager - inspires unbridled admiration."
Bob Hicks, OREGONIAN
A NOTE TO DIRECTORS
I am interested in communicating with any theater director or
producer who is interested in this new form of theater.
Although written for a specific environment, the Pittock
Mansion in Portland, Oregon, most hyperdramas are readily
adaptable to any large multi-room interior. I am eager to
assist in this adaptation with anyone interested.
I also can share insights into solving some of the numerous
unusual problems a director faces when tackling the
transformation of a hypertext script, which is a layered,
branching narrative form, into the practical performance of "a
living movie" (the trademark for TAMARA, the best known play
in the new genre). Spatial requirements for the play are
noted by choosing "Space" below.
Please feel free to contact me.
Charles Deemer
:"Space"
THE BRIDE OF EDGEFIELD can be performed in any space suitable
for a wedding in which eight distinct playing areas can be
defined. See the Map below.
For help in adapting the script to another space, feel free to
contact the author.
?"Main menu" ?"How to order" ?"Map"
:"Begin play"
Begin play
:"Flow chart"
Flow chart of action
:"Paths of characters"
Paths of each character
:"Map"
Map of areas in Edgefield Ballroom, looking into it from
entrance hallway (B):
F H E (bar)
D G
A (wedding) C
B