The Great Opera

## Description

The Great Opera is an event held bi-annually in an abandoned warehouse located in Detroit's crumbling automotive-industrial district. The event follows no standard procedures for how a traditional play or opera should commence, proceed, or culminate. Every time it is held, the outcome can range anywhere from slightly different from the last time, to wildly changed.

The basic premise of the Great Opera is that there are always 150 characters. 35 of these characters roam around the aisles and seats that are set up within the warehouse. The remaining 115 characters are confined to the stage where they carry out their individual parts. Characters have interactions with each other, but it is nearly impossible to understand what is going on, as there is no apparent overarching plot line. If there is indeed a plot line, it has not been deciphered yet.

During the play, a cloaked figure with a fire axe walks around the building "stealing" characters away. This can take an arbitrary amount of time, sometimes ranging from hours to days. The play lasts as long as there are still characters to act and perform.

Audience members are encouraged to interact with the characters and play instruments that are scattered around the building. However, if the audience member is unable to play well, the entire opera stops and every character turns to face that audience member until he quits playing. Upon ceasing, the opera resumes.

## List of Characters

This is a partial list of the characters sometimes present in the play:

1. Jimmy "Knifey" Potster
2. A Sapient Cat
3. Three Street Urchins
4. A Skeleton
5. A Mysterious Vocal Box
6. Sir Caplin
7. Sir Terrence
8. Sir Amsby
9. Lady Tess
10. Lady Hornsworthy
11. A Mysterious Stranger
12. A Freaky Circus Woman
13. A Strongman
14. A Lecherous Drunk
15. An Ancient Wiseman
16. A Prophet from Mecca
17. A Moor
18. A Turk
19. A Chinese Merchant
20. A Pirate from the Indian Ocean
21. An Australian Aboriginal
22. A Native American
23. A Gunsmith
24. A Watchmaker
25. A Dog
26. Three Cats
27. Three Mice
28. A Horse
29. A Professor of Medicine
30. A Supposed King from Mongolia
31. A Mustachioed Archaeologist
32. A Grunting Idiot
33. A Prostitute
34. A Villainous Criminal
35. A Creepy Fellow
36. A Wealthy Banker
37. A Handsome Spokesman
38. A Beautiful 1940s Actress
39. A Very Special Midget
40. A Questionably Fat Person
41. An Old Pig
42. A Man with a Turtle for a Face
43. An Architect Specializing in Elevator Technology
44. A Team of African Performance Artists
45. A Code Cracker
46. A Startlingly Ugly Old Woman
47. A Folk Singer
48. A Violin Maker
49. An Angry Bird with a Human Face
50. Seven Cloaked Figures
51. A Man with a Goat Head (Hmm...)
52. A Man Dressed Like a Pharaoh
53. A Sentient Pyramid
54. Six Octopuses Arranged in a Hexagonal Shape by Their Tentacles
55. A Speaking Tree
56. That Guy That Everyone Knows
57. The Phantom of the Opera
58. Aldous Huxley
59. Queen Victoria
60. A Strange American Southerner
61. A Man with Six Fingers on One Foot
62. A Grumpy Elder
63. "The Canadian"
64. A Pistoleer
65. A Tobacconist
66. A Chain Smoker (Friends with the Tobacconist)
67. A Shady Dealer
68. A Handicapped Juggler
69. A "Normal Man"
70. A Person Made Out of Smoke (Friends with the Tobacconist)
71. An Opium Addict
72. A Thirsty Artist
73. A Sexy Politician
74. An Eager Brewer
75. A Huntsman with an Unidentifiable Accent
76. A Trooper from the Water
77. A Sword with a Mouth
78. Fresh Water with the Ability to Think
79. A Bottle of Beer Corked in St Louis that Just Screams and Screams
80. Twenty South African Surveyors
81. A Crisp Twenty Dollar Bill from 1874
82. A Man with a Metal Box with a Hole in It
83. A Woman with Too Many Fingers