Merlin Trivia

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="3e31b07e3.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#0099FF" FACE="Broadway BT" ><B>Branch River Theatre</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#0099FF" FACE="Broadway BT" ><B> </B></FONT><B>   </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Branch River Theatre"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id63.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Players 200506"><U><B>The Players 2005-06</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id64.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Production Staff 200506"><U><B>Production Staff 2005-06</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id65.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Special Thanks 200506"><U><B>Special Thanks 2005-06</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id55.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Over the River and through the Woods"><U><B>Over the River and through the Woods</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id56.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bell, Book and Candle"><U><B>Bell, Book and Candle</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id57.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Octette Bridge Club"><U><B>The Octette Bridge Club</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id58.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Merlin"><U><B>Merlin</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><B>Merlin Trivia</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=21.875% BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="3e2fb07e3.png"> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Past Productions"><U><B>Past Productions</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Season 200203"><U><B>Season 2002-03</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Season 200304"><U><B>Season 2003-04</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Season 200405"><U><B>Season 2004-05</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id54.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Season 200506"><U><B>Season 2005-06</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id68.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Season 200607"><U><B>Season 2006-07</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id107.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Season 200708"><U><B>Season 2007-08</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id81.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Season 200809"><U><B>Season 2008-09</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id148.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Season 200910"><U><B>Season 2009-10</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id159.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Season 201011"><U><B>Season 2010-11</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Season 201112"><U><B>Season 2011-12</B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="13c5a8783.png"> <div> <B><IMG SRC="2968633e0.gif" border=0 width="99" height="62" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B><IMG SRC="fac273f0.jpg" border=0 width="295" height="63" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">  </B></div> <div> <B> <A NAME="jon_o_brien_s_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>JON O'BRIEN'S </B><FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#FFCC33" FACE="Comic Sans MS" ><A HREF="id78.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Merlin Trivia"><U><B><IMG SRC="13ca70180.jpg" border=0 width="112" height="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B> </B></FONT><B>TRIVIA PAGE!</B></div> <div> <A HREF="#march_31_2006" TITLE="Merlin Trivia"><U>March 31, 2006</U></A><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Comic Sans MS" ><B><IMG SRC="12d123240.gif" border=0 width="35" height="36" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></FONT><A HREF="#april_4_2006" TITLE="Merlin Trivia"><U>April 4, 2006</U></A><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Comic Sans MS" ><B><IMG SRC="12d123240.gif" border=0 width="35" height="36" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></FONT><A HREF="#april_10_2006_1_1" TITLE="Merlin Trivia"><U>April 10, 2006</U></A><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Comic Sans MS" ><B><IMG SRC="12d123240.gif" border=0 width="35" height="36" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></FONT><A HREF="#april_14_2006" TITLE="Merlin Trivia"><U>April 14, 2006</U></A><A HREF="#april_14_2006" TITLE="Merlin Trivia"><U> </U></A> </div> <bR> <div> <B><U> <A NAME="march_31_2006"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></U></B><B><U>March 31, 2006</U></B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="3e32323f0.jpg" border=0 width="50" height="63" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="1" VSPACE="0"><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFBF0" FACE="Amaze" >he origins of Merlin the magician are vast and many The legends of course     being the most popular genre in this discussion range from the fantastical to the down-right in-comprehensible. The most common interpretation of Merlin’s beginnings stem from the fact that Merlin was prophesized to be the anti-Christ. Since Merlin had no earthly father,his parentage has always been questioned. It is said that the devil overshadowed Merlin’s mother and Satan’s power conceived a child within the woman’s womb. When the child was born, the woman, knowing of this irreverrant act, quickly hastened to the nearest church and had the baby baptized. This sacrament eliminated most of the devil’s evil in the child. But in its place the gift of foresight and other mystical talents were bestowed on the infant. Merlin was raised in a woodland environment by his mother. His behavior was that of good and not bad as was once predicted. Merlin communed with nature. He led a very rustic lifestyle compared to the idyllic one that is usually depicted in books and films. Since Merlin was  baptized at birth, the anti-Christ prophecy was now dispelled. But the lingering effects from the devil’s contributions to his existence remained with Merlin’s magical gifts and skills. So Merlin was half-mortal and half-creature — but totally  immortal.</FONT></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="#jon_o_brien_s_" TITLE="Merlin Trivia"><U>Return to top of page</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B><U> <A NAME="april_4_2006"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></U></B><B><U>April 4, 2006</U></B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="3e33323f0.jpg" border=0 width="50" height="63" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="1" VSPACE="0"><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Amaze" >s legend has it, and contrary to our present production, Merlin the magician was originally in the service of King Vortigern of England, rather than Lord Uther Pendragon. It was King Vortigern who was besieged with the constant failure in building his castle fortress. And so, King Vortigern enlisted the help of his servant Merlin to remedy this dilemma. King Vortigern’s befuddled philosophers and soothsayers could not foretell the outcome of this problem. To appease their sovreign, these wise men’s only solution was to locate a fatherless male and have his blood spilled on the rocks of the castle’s foundations. This act according to these old sages would in turn prevent the tower from ever falling again. Merlin was the ideal candidate for this matter since he had no father. But a plea bargain resulted in securing Merlin’s freedom. It was because Merlin was psychic and could tell King Vortigern the reason behind his predicament. In a vision, Merlin was able to see beneath the foundations of the citadel. What he saw were two dragons fighting with each other. One dragon was white that represented Lord Uther Pendragon. The other was red that designated King Vortigern. When the grounds were finally unearthed, the two beasts emerged and continued their horrendous warfare in the sky. The white dragon eventually killed the red dragon. From this image, Merlin evoked a prophecy. This omen denoted the fact that Lord Uther Pendragon would soon destroy King Vortigern in battle, and in time Uther Pendragon would claim the crown of England. These events did come to pass in due course. And when they did, Merlin soon abandoned King Vortigern’s army and swore his allegiance to King Uther Pendragon. Because of limited time to tell this part of the story in our musical, this portion of the tale was rather modified in that Merlin already was in the service of Lord Uther Pendragon. This was done primarily in order to move the production along both dramatically and musically. </FONT></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="#jon_o_brien_s_" TITLE="Merlin Trivia"><U>Return to top of page</U></A></div> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="april_10_2006_1_1"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#0099FF" FACE="Amaze" ><B><U>April 10, 2006</U></B></FONT></div> <div> <IMG SRC="3e34323f0.jpg" border=0 width="50" height="63" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="1" VSPACE="0"><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Amaze" >s a youth, Merlin was considered by many to be an exceptional individual. He had many hidden talents that were not readily available to others. He was a unique force of nature. But he was a young man who was rejected by society. As previously mentioned in my last trivia, he had psychic powers that enabled him to see into the future. He could also command things at will, He was considered to be an unconventional person in some circles where he dwelt. This phenomenon stirred much concern amongst the citizens in the land. According to tradition, Merlin was raised by his mother in a woodland environment. He enjoyed spending time with flora and fauna. He was a day-dreamer. He was a mystic. However, no information was ever truly disclosed about his earthly father. So because of this disgrace, Merlin was shunned and ridiculed by the other children in the land. He was called a mother's boy by today's standard. Similar to today's Charlie Brown or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Merlin likewise was mocked and scorned. It was for these reasons that I chose to illustrate Merlin in this musical fantasy as an unfocused, dejected, an unfulfilled person. My one and only goal was to allow Merlin to realize his true potential by the conclusion of the production. </FONT></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="#jon_o_brien_s_" TITLE="Merlin Trivia"><U>Return to top of page</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B><U> <A NAME="april_14_2006"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></U></B><B><U>April 14, 2006</U></B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="3e35323f0.jpg" border=0 width="50" height="63" ALT="V" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="1" VSPACE="0"><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Amaze" >ery little is known about Merlin's mother. Her actual presence in the Arthurian legend is usually brief or rarely mentioned at all. The magician's mother has been called Aldan in Welsh tales, Optima in French legends, and Marinia in other stories.  Some legends reference Merlin's mother as the daughter of a great king, while other folklore denotes her as a common peasant woman. These different extremes created a dilemma for me when I was attempting to develop the character of Merlin's mother in our production of "Merlin." One thing seems to be quite common in the majority of these legends and stories. Merlin was conceived in his mother's womb without any intervention from an earthly father. Most of the legends acknowledge the fact that the devil was Merlin's father. And that when Merlin was born, his mother has him immediately baptized to dispel the evil that may have been in him. That is the reason why Merlin's conduct in the Arthurian epics mixes good with evil in his persona — but mostly that of good. The evil usually represented his magical powers that most people in the realm could not fully comprehend. With all this information to consider, I chose to combine various characteristics form the past and create Merlin;s mother based on both worlds — as they say. I opted for the Optima (from the French) because for one, I liked the way it sounded — and two, the pronunciation of it reminded me of a person with a sparkling and enthusiastic personality. This character of Optima was based on the idea of combing the nobility of one legend with the peasantry of the other. Hence our Optima is a peasant domestic engineer who sometimes behaves like a reigning monarch.</FONT></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="#jon_o_brien_s_" TITLE="Merlin Trivia"><U>Return to top of page</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="#march_31_2006" TITLE="Merlin Trivia"><U>March 31, 2006</U></A><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Comic Sans MS" ><B><IMG SRC="12d123240.gif" border=0 width="35" height="36" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></FONT><A HREF="#april_4_2006" TITLE="Merlin Trivia"><U>April 4, 2006</U></A><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Comic Sans MS" ><B><IMG SRC="12d123240.gif" border=0 width="35" height="36" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></FONT><A HREF="#april_10_2006_1_1" TITLE="Merlin Trivia"><U>April 10, 2006</U></A><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Comic Sans MS" ><B><IMG SRC="12d123240.gif" border=0 width="35" height="36" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></FONT><A HREF="#april_14_2006" TITLE="Merlin Trivia"><U>April 14, 2006</U></A></div> </td> </tr></table></body>