The Dream Engine

A Personal Memoir by Bob Sather

I was in the cast of the New York production of the Dream Engine - the one that was commissioned and rehearsed but never performed - but that's another story. The Amherst production I merely attended, and I knew most of the participants. Stein was a familiar acquaintance; he also scored a student production of a musical of 'The Good Woman of Szechuan' by Brecht, (in which I played a Chinese god.) Everyone knew Steiny. He was part of a tight network of theatre and musical people at Amherst, Smith and Mt Holyoke colleges, some of whom have gone on to excellent careers in acting and dance. I remember Stein as a creative wisecracker, full of spontaneous wit. ("My mother had Indian blood on her side... but she wiped it off.") One time at dinner, we were talking about Tony Harrison, a visiting British Poet-in-Residence. Stein spontaneously invented and recited a fairly good long poem, impromptu, which accurately parodied Tony's style. We applauded. Stein had a nasal, rather thin voice (unlike his full singing voice), with a sly delivery laced with giggles and a perpetual grin. He was attractively skinny and small, with black hair to his shoulders.

By the way, in all this I should give great credit to Barry Keating, the student who directed The Dream Engine. Keating played Ezra Pound to Steiny's T S Eliot: he took the huge, unstageable script Stein wrote, drastically edited it, and turned it into a brilliant and effective play. He was an excellent, energetic, highly creative director and actor, and deserves equal billing with Steinman for The Dream Engine. (Barry has gone on to a highly visible career on the New York stage, where he has written/directed a number of award-winning musicals.)

Barry Keating and Ellen Parks gave performances of a rare and wonderful quality in the Dream Engine. Barry was bitterly, hysterically cynical to the power of ten, and Ellen, as The Girl, created a weirdly intense combination of bruised innocence ("soft clay") and passionate, bewildered anger. Ellen had a capacity to immerse herself in a role and let her personality be taken over by it, more than any actor I've known. (Regrettably, Ellen no longer acts. She runs a casting agency in New York.)

This was a period of radical experimentation in theatre: our theatrical precepts were those of Berthold Brecht, the Living Theatre of New York, and Antonin Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty. Peter Hall was doing his best work at the time. The Dream Engine used ideas that were considered new and radical in theatre: rock music, improvisational movement, hippies as heroes, polymorphous sexuality, nudity, actors invading the audience. Rehearsals were great fun. A lot of time was spent in emotional and physical exercises, to relax our inhibitions and bond us into a group. On a typical day Barry led us in stretching and tumbling, and then he led a series of shouting and screaming excercises. Then each actor had to improvise a scene with Steinman, in which he or she would try to convince Jim to admit him to the Tribe. Jim was brilliant at finding a new and funny way to refuse each plea.

The plot was roughly "Charles Manson - the Musical", although without the evil of the real Manson. (The Dream Engine actually preceded the Manson killings by a few months: a very weird prescience on Steinman's part.) A group of runaway young people meld themselves into a Tribe, reveling in excess and animal physicality, in a remote part of California. Their leader is a charismatic, amoral poet named Baal (played by Stein). Eventually the wicked forces of the city try to find and destroy them. The Tribe return to the city and burn it. At the end everyone is dead, a pile of bodies, except for Baal.

At the time, I was very much part of the counterculture. I had left Amherst College because of the draft. I had finished my Conscientious Objector work and I was living in Boston, dealing, and hitchhiking to Amherst to participate in the anti-war movement there. The times were turbulent, angry, and doomy. American society seemed more polarized than at any time in living memory, between the pro- and anti-war factions; between blacks and whites; between the alienated and the powerful. Many people talked seriously about revolution. 

Like many people who lived through the repressive Fifties, I had a poor appreciation of my own emotions, and I was trying to use drugs and mysticism to develop an awareness of my own interior life. The anti-war movement was an outlet for my own feelings of anger against authority and sexual/emotional frustration. (Not to trivialise the anti-war movement: the movement was also morally correct, and ultimately successful.) I was an academic at heart, and my tendency was to analyze and rationalise everything rather than to just feel it. I know that I was just ordinary in all this: I was sharing this experience with a large part of my generation. 

The Dream Engine was an antidote to that emotional blockage. It was intuitive, sexy, violent, exultant, irrational, angry, funny, despairing, and triumphant by turns. It crystallised and expressed the feelings that I/we had but could not voice. It was perfectly in tune with the times (unlike, say, 'Hair', whose flower children were already out of date.) I won't say that it changed my life, or changed history; better to say that the Dream Engine was a perfect expression of the times and of our lives. It had nothing to do with a political program (Steinman has always been profoundly apolitical). It was a creative emotional expression of collective unconscious awareness, speaking and singing through Steinman.

Stein has said that he doesn't so much invent songs, as that he listens to the world around him and it speaks through him; and I can vouch that it is true of the Dream Engine, and the world in which it was born. The Dream Engine enriched the complex efflorescence of the late Sixties with another bloom, a brilliant musical expression of our common experience.

Bob Sather

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Reaction To The Dream Engine

From

A Tribe Of Steinmaniacs

Dream Engine is probably one of the best and most different Plays of it's, this and any time. The songs are astounding. The story is great. All in all it  is work of pure genius, and a great place to hear early works of the greatest writer/composer of all time, including songs that were later developed for other singers. (ie. Bonnie tyler, Meatloaf) Jim Steinman never ceases too amaze me,it is a must see for any Steinfan. 

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I can understand that people were amazed by this at Amherst in '69, it's incredibly provocative and outrageous in its images, language and form.

Parts of the soundtrack must be some of the heaviest played in a theatre ever, and definitely the rawest and loudest played in any theatre at the time.

I can't say I know very well how hardrock was sounding at the time, but as far as I know, heavy metal didn't really become "mainstream" until the early 70's, and considering that, I'd almost like to say that the music was almost "pioneering"!

Fresh or not, the music must absolutely be some of the heaviest that was played at the time, and that in a place where strings normally hang out!

That being said, I'm not surprised that Jim wrote a lot of his music in the late 60's.

Composing has a lot to do with inspiration, and as a teenager, your world, body and entire existence is under a constant change, which are all major inspirations for a writer.

Your feelings are also very strong and true during this time, and good creative work "feels" as well as sounds good.

"Dream Engine" shows the potential of what would become one of the greatest, yet unrecognized by the masses, writers of the 20:th century.

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Oh, God, where do I begin? Just thinking of this has gotten all my thoughts sort of entangled in my head and I don't really know where any of the ends are... I mean, I don't even know if I can explain what I felt the first time I heard tDE... in a way, it was that feeling (which has now, after so many years "with Jim", started to feel familiar) of being understood. It felt like someone out there knows how I felt and feel, what it's like to be somewhat of an outcast but still be the one on top of things. I mean (someone please kill me if I use that phrase again), Baal is very much of an outcast but he's never subservient or obsequious or anything, pretty much like me when I was a kid. I was weird to the other girls; I had much bigger visions and dreams and was far more dramatic, more rebellious, and they didn't like me one bit, but I never felt as if though there was something wrong with me. Instead, I thought they were plain idiots and knew that it was them who were missing something. I guess The Dream Engine reminds me a lot of myself when I was a kid.

Also, I always had (and still have) this need to "break free" or whatever we shall call it, and it reminds me so much of how I sometimes want to just leave everything and live out in the woods near the ocean for a while and just become one with the world. I want to escape The City! :)

Then, to try and avoid any more nostalgia, we have the music... the words... I never dreamt anyone could capture such energy, such anger, such humour, such velocity, such sexuality and sensuality, such profoundness and wit and intelligence in a play! I really understand Jim when he says that he thinks he's a better actor than singer (not that I think he sucks at either artform), because if you listen to those cd's, Jim really, really means every word of it. He's really in it, and that's part of what makes it so easy to get.

There is also this certain kind of magic about it considering that this was wayyy before Jim turned into a well-known composer! I remember when I first heard about tDE, and I got so feverishly obsessed with owning this piece! I mean, this is actually like a part of his life before "Bat"! It was like something in me finally found it's place, and it felt like "oh, God, he didn't just turn a genius over night- he was really born this way!!!!" It's not a good explanation, but it's probably the best I can give. I love this musical, I really do. I think it's an astonishing piece of work and a treasure to have, and if I had such narrative skills as some people here, like Moco and Melody have, I'd probably be able to come up with so much more and better stuff.

But this is why I love it!

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The Dream Engine is the spark that ignited the fire that lit the way along Jim Steinman's journey to musical godliness. What it lacks in musical and lyrical maturity, it more than makes up for with its intriguing (though sometimes perplexing) characters, dialogue that is itself music to the ears, and enough inspiration to fuel an entire career. 

"And after that, how soon before you find yourself trapped in a business suit...a prisoner in your own nightly bath, with pink soap balls for eyes, and nothing to see, and no reason to try. The perfect American marriage, perhaps: the vegetable husband and his vegetarian wife! SHUT UP! An empty shell, nothing more, a shell, in which you can't even hear the ocean, no matter how hard you try, no matter how close to your ear. An empty shell..." 

In these few lines, Steinman demonstrates all at once his ability to magically string words together into a beautifully rhythmic sequence of sounds, his ability to use words to create a powerful visual image, and his noteworthy sense of humor. And what is truly incredible is that the same could be said about almost any passage in "The Dream Engine." 

It is amazing to hear what a young Jim Steinman was capable of when given complete control of a musical, to perceive how much he has continued to grow artistically, and to imagine the wonder of a new all-Steinman musical. 

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Not only is THE DREAM ENGINE ingenious, erotic, inventive, beautiful, sparse, thought-provoking, powerful, dangerous and awe-inspiring but it is also a pathway into the mind of our lord, Jim Steinman. 

His political views, his views of sexuality, his views of love, race, religion, war, death, peace, and violence converge forming an orgy of feelings.... 

Feelings of longing, doubt, fearfullness, fearlessness, lust, hate....all in one word are expressed....WHICH word? 

The word that speaks most to you..... 

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Erotic, imaginative, seductive, sensual, lewd, lascivious, delicious, and thrilling are only a few of the words that describe the masterpiece that began it all. Although the music is far less superb in this musical than his future creations, Jim's dialogue is nothing short of genius. Example, absolutely the most humerous and fantastically creative scene: 

GIRL: What do you want to know?

BAAL: Well... [slowly] are you... [then rapid-fire] anal, rectal, vaginal, oral, genital bestial, hetero, homo, bi-, tri-, quatre-, cinq, six, sick, lonely, desperate, monolingual, bilingual, cunnilingual, passionate, poetic, hallucinogenic, barbarian, Cesarean, mammalian, cornucopian, horn of plenty, plenty horny...?? 

GIRL: ALL RIGHT! Stop! What do you want me to say!?

BAAL: ALL OF THEM!!

GIRL: Yes, I'm all of them, I'm everything you want!

BAAL: Aren't you exhausted?

GIRL: Yes. Very.

BAAL: How do you like it out here?

GIRL: It's very lovely.

BAAL: On a clear night you can see the labia minor. 

Steinman's use of language is incredible and proves him to be a true artist. The music is definitely "primitive Steinman," but I highly enjoy hearing familiar riffs and lyrics! Baal is the most interesting character ever created..... :::bows down::: 

Steinman shall forever be my Dream Engineer. 

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It's interesting, Jackie, that you should ask for this at a time when US television seems to be obsessed with the '70's. I reread the transcript of "The Dream Engine" and was struck by the anti-establishment nature of it. Just about a year after "The Dream Engine" was first performed, college students were being shot by the Maxes and Emilys of the National Guard. Young people were legally protesting against authority and were such a threat that they had to be killed. That, plus the way that much of the music Steinman wrote then and in the next 5 or so years after that are still being used to great effect in "Tanz der Vampire," make me feel very strongly that he was ahead of his time. 

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The quality I find most appealing about Dream Engine is the author's ability to illicit a response from the audience/reader. While reading Dream Engine, I found myself being afraid, aroused, angered, delighted, tickled, nervous, agitated, startled, all the while a deep seated hunger stirring my soul. It's apparent that the author, crafted by his own philosophies amassed through personal experiences, has a strong opinion of the world he has created as well as the world around him. The duality speaks to everyone. Not just the insane, not just the conservative, BUT EVERYONE. This universal language continues to be communicated in present day through Jim's music, lyrics and compositions. Jim has mastered the craft of making another person (or person's) see, hear, feel, taste, and smell what lies between his ears. What's more, his brutal honesty has the listener begging to be involved in some manner. 

THAT is pure brilliance. 

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>>> This universal language continues to be communicated in present day through Jim's music, lyrics and compositions. Jim has mastered the craft of making another person (or person's) see, hear, feel, taste, and smell what lies between his ears. What's more, his brutal honesty has the listener begging to be involved in some manner.

THAT is pure brilliance.>>>

I do and I don't agree with this incredible, dare I say "INTENSE" (Hey Princess) review. I find Jim to be more of an enigma for people. I think few would say that his words, his music, his vision speak for them. I have met more people than not who were totally turned off by Jim's style, his approach, his vision.

That almost negates the "universal appeal" idea. Yes, I fall under the category of the listener you described above, as do most of us here on thislist...but more often than not, the people who I introduce my "Steinstuff" to are not amused, excited, or interested.

Now, I will give you this...That, in and of itself, is a response...therefore, Jim is successful.

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and thanks, bobboy, for the history. rilly. but 

IT DON'T MATTER!!! 

here's the thing, Dream Engine is totally TODAY. I could off the top of my head list, like, fifty ways that it still matters. so the names have changed, and it's "William Cigarbox Clinton" now, and you haven't got the cool 69ers pun. but the revolution stil brews. 

may I point out Columbine? go go lost boys. now point that gun a little to your right and shoot the teachers, k? 

may I point out the protests in seattle and d.c. that ended just this year in tear gas and billy clubs? or the little boy being sent back to a country his mother died trying to escape? land of the free ride to jail and home of the brave billy gun! 

may i point out that America has less than a fifth of the worlds population and more than a quarter of its prison population? that Amnesty International found nearly as many human rights abuses here as in red china? 

may i point out that if a child is raped or beaten by a stranger, the pedophile might be punished... but if the child's trusted parent does the same damn thing, everyone will scream about parents rights and put the kid back in their father's arms and crotch within a week. it always hurts more when it's a strangers cock, i guess.... 

may i point out that one of the ten leading reasons given in anonymous polls of women who had abortions is that the child was the wrong gender? or had a handicap? damn the mutants! 

may i point out matthew scarecrow sheperd? 

may i point out that in the aftermath of columbine, schools across the nations cracked down on their wierdos? you could get suspended for wearing black. i had a friend kicked out for wearing a shirt that said "mean people suck"... students were randomly given full body cavity searches for wearing goth make-up. if you wrote depressed poetry, you got mandatory counseling. my boy OO got himself called down to the counselors every day during the semester for counseling for not saying he loved his school and country. one of my flatmates got himself kicked out of school for fraternizing with dissidents: he turned them in for bringing guns to school, and got suspended for knowing about it! 

may i point out the bruises on the faces of children who have confessed in interrogation to planning to blow up their schools? (the school in which you learn will be the fire in which you burn!) 

may i point out that the war on drugs has become a war on the dissident? if they catch you with drugs and charge you with a felony, you'll never have the right to vote in America again... 

may i point out mumia abu-jamal? 

may i point out that every major dictator in south america was placed there by the american government and every right wing extremist on that continent was trained in the school of the americas? 

may i point out that medicine to fight aids are denied to poor african countries because only faggots catch hiv here? 

may i point out the fires in waco that killed a commune full of children? does ruby ridge ring a bell? 

may i point out the prevalence of drugs in our schools? Ritalin, prozac, zoloft, thorazine... there's a drug for every ideal! did you know they now have prozac for puppies? 

may i point out the video surveillance cameras on every corner, the worldwide phone taps to check for 'terrorists'? did you know your entire life is in a file already? 

may i point out that nuclear waste is being buried beneath the western deserts that has a half life of a 1,000,000, years...and is stored in barrels that will corrode in 50? may i point out that the inescapable pollution of the cities have caused cancer rates to skyrocket in the inner city? 

may i point out the genetic tests that are turning mice into men and pig hearts into human? 

may i point out that anal and oral sex are still jailable offenses in half the states in america? that you can be arrested for kissing your same sex lover in public? (i should know!) 

may i point out that america is one of the last countries in the world to still keep a "territory" that wants its independence we promised it a hundred years ago? 

may i point out the continued military interference in countries that don't want our "help"? Clinton is a terrorist in Iraq... excuse me, but whose rights are we protecting by bombing them? did you know that right now it's illegal to import plastics to iraq that are needed for oxygen tents? or needles for diabetics? or pencils and paper for school children? or books? or sugar? or surgical tape? half of the chemicals needed for water purification can't be imported because they could be used to make low grade explosives.... and we've bombed their water systems till they literally drink their own shit. I am the Americong! 

may i point out that in the history of the west, every thirty years a new revolution brews, and we're long overdue? 

if dream engine doesn't ring a bell in america, it's not the fault of the political situation. it's the fucking fault of a drugged up and dragged under WE THE PEOPLE who haven't been willing to go dancing naked in the streets! fucking mutate now! feel the revolution! The Dream Engine is still rolling! 

so, change teh names, and teh dates, and start listening... the city is sitll trying to eat you all alive, you know. it's even bigger than it was thirty years ago... and its FUCKING WINNING!!! 

FIGHT BACK! FIGHT BACK! FIGHT FUCKING BACK! 

The second holocaust is still coming.... 

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