CHOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE
How to interpret or access this work
START WITH THE MUSIC
Dissident was originally recorded as a 14-track hip hop concept album, complete with verses from rappers and dramatized skits performed by voice actors.
Interpret and imagine how you might rearrange and recompose music, rewrite lyrics, or change the genre of music entirely. As you listen, think about how you might devise, stage, or produce it as a musical yourself.
START WITH THE WORDS
Read the “Dissident Script,” complete with lyrics and stage directions. This represents the original vision of Dissident, as created by writer Sebastián Martín.
You can stage your version of Dissident, as it is written. Or you can interpret the text and imagine how you might rewrite it, compose and arrange your own music to it, or create your own interpretation of any characters, scenes, and stage directions.
START WITH THE STORY
Every compelling story and drama contains storylines and elements that make it work: interesting plot lines, well-rounded characters, important stakes, arcs, and conflicts.
Here is a breakdown of the characters of Dissident as it was originally conceived and written:
DISSIDENT, our main protagonist, an undocumented immigrant and nascent revolutionary
SORAYA, the beloved of DISSIDENT, the visionary and moral core of the humanist revolution
CHASKA, community leader and maternal figure, spearheading an underground resistance movement
SANTOS, the nemesis of our tale, a mysterious and dark powerbroker that pulls strings to track, manipulate, and exploit DISSIDENT
DON MANUEL, a nefarious kingpin and gangster that profits from violence and crime
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Below is a "narrative roadmap" of how Dissident was originally conceived and developed as a story and concept album. As you develop your own production, feel free to reinterpret or alter any part of the described narrative map, story, or character arcs as you see fit:
DISSIDENT