Voices in Soft Sculpture Author:Michael Annis "All of your youth has gone now to the end of the world in a silence of facts to die." Voices in Soft Sculpture's focus is Muscular Dystrophy; it is its allegory, but its statement broadens to confront death on any level, from any source, to anyone, and to their survivors. This three-act dramatic work was excerpted in part on the Mus... more »cular Dystrophy Labor Day Telethon. It involves the breakdown of a single character into multi-personalities. These personalities become their own "characters" vying for dominance and possession of the the heart and soul of the "Raised Man" throughout the play. The conflicts are a result of the death of the Raised Man's son from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, but the struggle festers deeper until the true crisis is revealed: the inability to find the strength and authenticity of spirit that will allow this death to be brought to closure and resolution. The characters are as follows: The Raised Man; the Voice of Reason; the Voice of Rage; the Voice of Despair; the Two Faiths; the Voice of the Father; the Voice of the Husband; the Voice of Illusion; and Elusion. These "Voices" are interdependent. Each is a persona, each has its own special characteristics. Striving to assert their independence and their identity only serves to define their inability to be realized as separate entities. None of the Voices may survive outside of the context of the others. Faces do not exist. If they have any face at all, it is the face of their voice. This is a battleground. War takes place here. "I wage war now. I ask you to do the same. Tomorrow is too late."« less