Myth of the Golden Calf

Moses and Sisyphus watch a retelling of Exodus 32

Scenography (Sc.)

Moses and Sisyphus are halfway up Sinai

They are seated in movie theatre seats facing the audience

Together, they watch the story of the golden calf

Narrated by your Master of Scenarios

This is a myth you will re-envision

You will be training your Master of Scenarios throughout the workshop

Registration: Cedar Run General Store, Cedar Run, PA

Accommodation: Cedar Run Inn (just across the road)

Master of Scenarios:

The Hebrews are enslaved in Egypt for many generations

Moses is born of a Hebrew mother but is raised in the royal household

He learns of his identity and empathises with the oppressed

He kills an Egyptian taskmaster and goes into exile

Moses encounters the God of the Hebrews

His name is “I will be what I will be” 

God orders Moses to free the Hebrews

And to lead them to a land flowing with milk and honey

God ravages Egypt with plagues to compel Pharaoh

The Hebrews leave Egypt

The Reed Sea opens for them but drowns Pharaoh’s pursuing army

God feeds and waters his people in the desert

They establish a camp at Mount Sinai

Moses goes up and down the mountain, speaking with God

God makes a covenant with his people

Sc.

We do not vocalise the words of god

Let each member of the audience hear their unique voice of god

Therefore, let's project God's words as text

[Title Card]

You will be God’s treasured possession

You will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation

You must have no other gods

You must not create gods of silver or gods of gold

You must not create images of anything living

You must not bow down to images or worship them

The people replied in unison: 

“All the words that God has spoken we will do"

"We will be obedient”

On one of his journeys up Sinai, Moses is gone for many days

The fearful and restless people confront his brother Aaron

“Make us a god who shall go before us"

"We do not know what happened to Moses”

They gather the gold earrings from their wives, sons and daughters

With this gold, Aaron makes a molten calf

The people exclaim, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!” 

Aaron announces, “Tomorrow shall be a festival of the LORD!” 

The next day, the people make offerings and sacrifices; they eat, drink and dance

Meanwhile, up on Sinai, God gives Moses the Ten Commandments on two stone tablets

God says to Moses:

[Title Card]

Hurry down, for your people have acted basely

They made a molten calf, bowed low to it and sacrificed to it

They are saying: ‘This is your god, O Israel'

'Who brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ 

God declared his intention to destroy the entire community

And to start over, with Moses

But Moses pleads successfully

And God renounces his genocidal plan

Moses goes down the mountain with the stone tablets

He sees the calf and the dancing and becomes enraged

He shatters the tablets, then burns the calf, grinding it to a powder

He throws this powder into the water supply, making the Israelites drink it

Then Moses says, “Whoever is for the LORD, come here!”

All the Levite men rally to him

Moses says to them, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel"

[Title Card]

Each of you put sword on thigh

Go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp

And slay brother, neighbour, and kin

Master of Scenarios:

The Levites do as Moses commands

They slaughter about three thousand of their people

Sc.

Here we introduce our iconic image of the massacre

A close-up of a Levite, from navel to knees

Sword on thigh, blood and circumcised phallus

We will collaborate on the design of this image

Music: "Verdict"

This theme accompanies each instance of the massacre

Wherever you see a "play" icon, you can hear an example of the theme referenced

Sc.

Moses sits with Sisyphus, face in his hands

This is a recurring nightmare

Sisyphus:

Gods are reflections of our fears and desires

They’re powerful, as we wish to be

And as jealous and malevolent, as we wish we were not

I suppose that’s not particularly helpful

Moses:

It gets worse

I tell the Levites they are blessed for what they have done

I tell the people they were guilty of a great sin

And I climb Sinai again to seek God’s forgiveness

But we were not forgiven

An angel will guide our children into a foreign land

And there, they will massacre its inhabitants

This is how God holds us to account

For what we did with the calf that Aaron made