We trust each other every day with what we can’t see.
But when that trust is threatened or broken, internal and external conflicts erupt between friends, family, and whole civilizations.
Trouble is, whether we hold it on our hands or transfer that trust now digitally, that thing … doesn’t actually exist. Or it didn’t until we made it up.
What is this powerful, mythical thing?
You saw that coming, didn’t you? After all, that is the title of our show show. And of course the show itself will need money at some point to be put on and seen, by you, the reader, the audience, who is just as affected by this “imaginary” concept that affects your life every day. Even images of money seems to worship this fictional idea we have all grown accustomed too every day — it surrounds us globally — in art, song, T-shirts …
But why? And how did money get created? And what effect has trusting in the all mighty dollar done?
Prologue
“Two Ensemble Members enter, nod ‘Good Morning’ to each other, and acknowledge the audience. It’s another day, another beginning.
But then they suddenly open their hands. They are empty. But one ‘sees’ something in her hand. She plucks this thing in the shape of a coin from her hands. Looks and examines it. It’s clearly precious and to be handled with care.
One by one, they pass it to each other. So clearly, so concisely that we begin to see it.”
This Show is Money is a theatrical event that, through text and song, investigates with an audience how and why we place our trust in something that is itself actually fictional. Why and how we are caught in this system, and how it affects us in ways we can see and can’t see. The show unpacks larger concepts of how money works as well (a la The Big Short), and includes timely examinations of WeWork, and the current state of our economy, currently under enormous strain.
Our first interviews have dealt with those who deal, or write about, money itself and its systems: a financial journalist who has gone after big business, a professor who chronicled the history of banking dominated by men in the twentieth century, a writer whose recent non-fiction novel followed “dark money” used by the religious right in the 2016 election, and those on the ground for Occupy Wall Street.
Our second round of interviews is now exploring the idea of the 1 percent. Ultimately, we are looking to see how those interviews and emotions speak to one another. Even as we sit in the theater, the economy itself seems to be a ticking clock for the show, adding urgency to these scenes unfolding before us.
As we dove further into our writing, we found that a musical number about the history of money was necessary.
Gaby Alter (Music/Lyrics) has shared the song which you can listen to as a sneak peek — lyrics below.
ENSEMBLE
I BELIEVE
Promise me…
I’ll promise you…
Promise me…
I promise, promise
Trust in me
I’ll trust in you
Trust in me
I promise, promise
In 9000 BC we used to barter
It was all concrete, there was nothing abstract
I took the surplus goods in my larder
And traded them for the ones that I lacked
But as societies grew ever more complicated
Job specialization made it hard to agree
On the exchange value of our goods, so then we traded
Things that everyone needed, like grain, cattle and tea.
But these were hard to transport–
Hey, these cows are heavy!
And there were problems with storage:
Grains easily spoil!
So people started using things like cowrie shells
And later on useless metals that they found in the soil
And we were like, a-ha, these are lightweight and durable
Plus they’re insurable by the emperor’s seal
So though it’s true that these things are just arbitrary
& their value is imaginary, we’ll make it real
‘Cause I believe, I believe
And you believe, you believe
And we put our trust in the emperor
If you believe, I believe
Then we agree, we agree
And we can put our trust in a stranger
Now there was cooperation
Across borders and nations
Between Greeks and Thracians
With no hesitation
‘Cause no matter what your diety
Or your country of birth
Everybody could agree on what these coins were worth
And they converted anything into anything else
Like apples into cattle, like shoes into wine
Because of this system
Everybody could trust in
You could get what you wanted and you could get it on time
‘Cause I believe, I believe
And you believe, you believe
Then we make this dream a reality
If you believe, I believe
Then we agree, we agree
No matter our God or nationality
If the bank loans me a dollar
For my business
It’s because they believe in my future profits
Though the dollars I will make do not yet exist
They believe, and I believe
We believe in the future
My profits will increase
If my profits increase
Everybody gets a piece
‘Cause I reinvest my profits
And my staff gets bigger
And as my business gets bigger
Everybody’s piece is bigger
The economy keeps growing and growing
And there’s no slowin’ down
We reinvest the profits
Benefits go flowin’ down
From top to bottom
Everybody’s got ’em, holy cow-rie
Isn’t that how it works? Just look around you, now!
‘Cause I believe I believe
And you believe, you believe
And so we put our trust in the future
What’s up ahead, we don’t dread it
We create lines of credit
And we reinvest in the future
Overseas colonies
New technologies
And the cycle never ceases
We all get bigger pieces
Slowin’ down, we will never, we’ll keep growin’ forever!
We’ll keep goin’ forever!
We’ll keep growin’ forever!
We’ll keep goin’ forever!
We’ll keep growin’ forever!
Isn’t that how it works?
Just look around you now!
Just look around you now!
Just look around you now!
Just look around you now!
As we continue to develop the show, you can see some of what we’re working on in the R&D Findings Series on June 15th at 8pm. You can RSVP here.
