Hairy Ape Part 1

          The most interesting use of sound with the chorus is a semi-minimalist repetition of a stage direction. The first occurrence is when Yank says he is "tryin' to t'ink." Then, the chorus gets it's stage direction, one that will later become customary:

Think! (The chorused word has a brazen metallic quality as if their throats were phonograph horns. It is followed by a general uproar of hard, barking laughter.)

This not only highlights the theme's keywords but dehumanizes the chorus in an industrial further evolution from humanity to an industrialized automaton. If there is any doubt that this play could be concerned with human automation, realize that it was first produced in 1922 (according to Norman A Bert in Merriwether Publishing's Theatre Alive!), which is two years after the Czech play Rossum's Universal Robots invented the word "robot" ( according to our friend Dennis G. Jerz). While I do not contend that one play in any way influenced the other, I believe the concern of turning man to automaton may have been (and may be) a concern that is well-seeded in the contemporary collective unconscious.

On To Part 2

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