The average human life of 75 years may just be a blink in the scheme of history, but imagine if the human life span was only eight days. The new production of “Frost and Fire,” based on Ray Bradbury’s classic short story from 1946, explores this scenario, tackling the timeless themes of valuing and appreciating life no matter its length.
Directed, choreographed and co-produced by Zina Bethune, the play premiered at the Alex Theatre in Glendale on Friday to give the short story a multimedia interpretation and put Bradbury’s words on stage.
“There are some stories you read and you think, “˜How does dance work in that?’ but I felt in every respect that this could work,” Bethune said. “When Ray first told me I could do this … he floored me (when) he said, “˜Now I can die happy. Zina’s given me the one last thing I haven’t seen.'”
“Frost and Fire” takes place in the year 5002 and follows the story of Sim, a man who aims to discover how human life became so truncated and how people make decisions about the course of their lives. Through encounters with warriors and scientists alike, Sim spends the few short days of his life striving to find the truth about humanity.
In “Frost and Fire,” one of Bradbury’s earliest works, Bradbury broached the broad concept of human existence.
“We are miraculous,” Bradbury said. “I want you to come away thinking about what has happened to us since we came out of the sun.”
Best known for his science fiction novels and short stories, Bradbury chooses not to categorize his fiction in one genre but rather aims to write about the human experience.
“Darwin has never explained where we came from, not just from the apes, but before that ““ the microbes, the dinosaurs, the birds, everything,” Bradbury said.
While working as a Los Angeles newspaper boy, Bradbury found time to write the entirety of one of his most famous pieces, “Fahrenheit 451,” in the basement of UCLA’s Powell Library.
With Bradbury’s words narrating the story, Bethune’s interpretation of “Frost and Fire” provides viewers with both a visual and audio interpretation of the short story with multiple video screens contributing to the play’s setting and an original musical soundtrack underscoring the production.
“When you are in the theater watching this, you are truly in the environment,” co-producer Jamie Nichols said. “There are video images that are constantly moving, so those projections are constantly part of this. … Zina’s very timely, and I feel a lot of people in Los Angeles … have not done (multimedia theater) to this level.”
Bradbury and Bethune’s long friendship allowed Bethune to also adapt Bradbury’s short story to contain even more modern relevance as part of the multimedia production.
“Ray wrote (“Frost and Fire”) early in his career, and I know he was trying to represent our entire society, but it didn’t at the time,” Bethune said. “So he said, “˜By all means, absolutely expand it,’ and there were a lot of areas where I wanted to expand the show.”
One expansion upon Bradbury’s story is the inclusion of movement-disabled people in Bradbury’s futuristic society.
With several disabled dancers as part of the cast, Bethune strives to illustrate the difficulties faced by disabled people.
With the proceeds from “Frost and Fire” going to Bethune’s outreach dance program, Infinite Dreams, for disabled aspiring dancers, the message of Bradbury’s story becomes even more resonant.
“I really believe that the multi-arts can be pure entertainment even if it’s issue-oriented, even if there’s a story that makes you think,” Bethune said.
She hopes audience members will come away from the production with a general appreciation of the wonders life provides.
“The bottom line to this show is something that I think, at least in my life, is important, and it’s really trying to say, “˜Are you living the value in your life?'” Bethune said. “A lot of us let time go by, and this story tells us don’t let it go by. Life is precious.”
Ultimately, Bradbury hopes “Frost and Fire” inspires others, especially aspiring writers, to follow their own passions.
“Do what you love and love what you do,” Bradbury said. “Don’t listen to other people. They don’t know your heart and soul. You know your heart and soul. You write about what you care about and you tell people to get the hell out of the way, and do your work and love what you do.”