THE DREAMER'S QUEST

SCENE-BY-SCENE SYNOPSIS

ACT ONE

            On the edge of the desert in Roman times, we find a small kingdom in disarray. An angel appears to some villagers in an attempt to answer their call for help, but remains unheard by them. She is at her wits end to know how to reach humans who seek material solutions to their problems instead of looking for the light inside them. She prays, and is told to make an example of a few: if they will not listen, she must make their lives so difficult that they will, in desperation, finally be ready to hear her.

            We find the crown prince Jeru putting the final touches on his new hot-rod chariot. His siblings, Jago and Ariya, come to demand that he get serious about his position, as their country is about to erupt.

            Their mother, a pious woman, arrives with news of a vision she has had: the angel has told her that she must send her three offspring on a dangerous journey through the desert, in order to save their kingdom. The angel, she says, has promised treasure and armies to defend them. The king arrives, interrupting the proceedings, and forbids them to go. But the queen, after her husband’s departure, urges them to listen to the angel before their father. The three youths leave in search of Hassan, a traveling merchant who knows the desert well.

            The angel sets a new star in the sky to lead the adventurers onward. Ariya discovers that her brothers have left without her, and rushes off with Hassan to find them. Meanwhile, Jeru and Jago have crashed their chariots. When Jago leaves to get help, Jeru is set upon by bandits; Ariya arrives just in time to fend off the marauders. Elsewhere in the desert, the bandits report their failure to Jago.

            Reunited, the foursome travels through the desert heat. Jeru disregards Hassan’s advice and travels onwards, alone. Ariya makes the others follow after him. The angel stirs up a desert storm, which separates the siblings from their guide. They are found by a blind Hermit, who speaks in riddles and tells them that the treasure they seek is within. He offers them water and departs.

            Soon the three siblings are failing in the heat again. Jago deserts his brother and sister. Jeru collapses. Elsewhere, the angel, queen, hermit and Hassan each pray for the safety of the three youths, who suddenly spy deliverance in the distance.

ACT TWO

            The three, united again, enter a decadent desert oasis. They encounter several of Hassan’s brothers, each of whom is selling a different vice, and each of whom takes Jeru for their new king. The three adventurers seek out the water queen, who takes an instant liking to Jeru. Hassan himself arrives, once Jeru has gone with the queen, and warns Ariya and Jago that every year the oasis sacrifices a new “king”, so that the sun will reappear at the solstice. Jago washes his hands of his brother. Ariya goes to try to rescue Jeru, but is trapped and imprisoned. Hassan convinces Jago to rescue his brother and sister.

            The oasis is celebrating the “marriage” of their queen to Jeru. Three robed figures break up the festivities and make off with Jeru. With the queen’s knight in pursuit, they descend into the catacombs under the oasis.

            The angel appears and announces that it’s time for her charges to hit rock bottom. From here they will decide their own fate: to look within for the light inside them, or to continue on their former destructive paths. Jeru, alone for a moment, and frightened, prays for the safety of the others. He declares his determination to give up his former arrogance and be guided by spirit. The angel appears to him in a blast of light, and Jeru begins to see the light that the angel has always seen in him. The others arrive and are blinded by the vision of the angel. The sun rises, without a sacrifice. The water queen gives up her claim on Jeru.The siblings agree to return home and rule together, with the inner light as their highest guide.

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