"CIA vs. KGB" by Dan Godston

The Chicago Scratch Orchestra performed "CIA vs. KGB" at the Empty Bottle (6/24/2012).


This score explores espionage, misinformation, paranoia, intrigue, sound, and silence. It is also partially inspired by Antonio Prohias’ Spy vs. Spy comic strip in Mad magazine (but without any explosives), as well as The Conversation (dir. Francis Ford Coppola). And echoes of Edgar Allan Poe, Franz Kafka, Philip K. Dick, & George Orwell.

directions

  1. The ensemble is divided into three cells. One cell represents the CIA, the second cell represents the KGB, and the third one represents a cell that could be CIA or KGB informants (or some other entity).
  2. Each cell will be given a different card to start the piece. That card might have to do with insinuations about infiltration, suspicious activity, misinformation, or something else. 
  3. As the piece progresses, each cell will be given more cards, which will suggest sonic directions. 
  4. Also certain individuals from each cell will be given cards sealed in envelopes.

examples of directions on cards

  • You find this code: 4#bi22-3n}{/^. Enlist your best cryptographer to crack the code, but at your own risk.
  • You are going to plant a wire tap in the enemy’s headquarters. How do you get into the building? How do you avoid detection? What does the wire tapping device does it look like? 
  • An infiltrator is in your midst. Who is it? 
  • You are in a bar. You meet with someone whom you think is from the other side (although information about that could be faulty). You suspect that other person has slipped something into your drink (or you plan to put something in theirs).
  • Play the Barney theme song loudly.
  • You have received information that someone has wiretapped your headquarters. You will find the wire tap—even if it means tearing up the floor, removing the walls, and replacing the ceiling.
  • You have been hired to work in a facility somewhere in Maryland. You operate a drone airplane that flies over some region halfway around the world. You live in a gated community, and your kids go to schools in one of the most well endowed and highest performing school districts in the country.
  • Spy on the audience. Maybe they know something. (Walk around by the audience, silently paying attention to clues. Don’t give the audience eye contact. Be surreptitious without seeming surreptitious.) 
  • You think you heard a sound. What was it? (You need to get as quiet as possible so you can hear it again.)
  • Directions may be adjusted, depending on the performance dynamics (venue, ensemble size, etc.).