Born at Sea, at the mercy of the winds which blow before us all.

Norton remembers a quieter time, when life was full of distractions.

Norton sails to the land of milk and honey, oh yeah and GOLD!!!!!

Norton and Captain Deach peer at the abandondend ships littering the San Francisco Bay.

Joshua and his fellow merchants take a break from their tireless devotion to building an Empire to watch the city burn.

Mr. Sam Brannan instructs Norton in the finer points of vigilantism.

Hubris gets the better of Norton as he tries to corner the rice market.

Norton is haunted by the ghosts of his parents as he tries to find a way out of his collapsing life.

Norton is reborn as the First Emperor of the United States.

Norton begins to establish his Empire, one loyal subject at a time.

Is Norton an Emperor dreaming he is a train, or a train dreaming he is an Emperor?

Norton leaves, more myth than man,
more Mystery than History.

Norton, I (Being the Most Noble Tale of The Fall and Rise of Joshua Abraham Norton, the First Emperor of the United States of America and Protector of All Mexico)

Instigated by Lluis Valls
cast Jubilith Moore, Craig Neibaur, Lluis Valls
videography Gabriel Guzman, third eye Libby Zilber
lighting Stephen Siegel, sets Lluis Valls, costumes Christephor Gilbert

A portrait of San Francisco's most beloved eccentric.
"He marched to his own drummer. And everybody else pretended they could hear the music, just because they wanted to be part of the band. " -Pat Sweeney

Joshua Abraham Norton (1818 - 1880), was born in London to Jewish parents who shortly emigrated to South Africa. He inherited a small fortune upon the death of his father in 1849, his last significant remaining family, and quickly set off to make a new life in the boomtown of San Francisco. He shortly amassed a larger fortune, and like many in his day, lost it all shortly thereafter. In 1859, the day after a crazy and fatal duel between a Chief Justice and a Senator, Norton walked into a local newspaper with a Proclamation declaring himself Emperor of the United States of America, and offering his services to a troubled nation. He lived for the next 20 years making proclamations, abolishing congress, ordering the building of a Bay Bridge, and issuing bonds in his own script. Through a combination of sympathy from the citizens who had known him as a pillar in the community, and tourists eager to meet and greet the Emperor, he made a modest living, and always paid for his room on time. His funeral procession was attended by over ten thousand mourners.

An inspiration for many writers of the time, such as Mark Twain and Ambrose Bierce, Norton was both ridiculed and pitied, and made his way through an insane world the best he could, with dignity, humor and more than just a touch of grace.

Drawing from his own proclamations, written accounts from the time and the writings of William Drury and other scholars, the piece is a journey through time and space, utilizing modern theatrical techniques, mixed with classical Japanese visual aesthetics and forms. The haunting images and music of a golden era, mixed with modern audio/video techniques, and healthy a dose of the theater of the absurd are needed to portray the world within, and without, of the man who would be King, (or rather Emperor.)

More info on his Majesty NORTON, I
can be found at:

www.emperornorton.net

www.zpub.com/sf/history/nort.html

www.discordia.org/~keeper/norton.html

www.notfrisco.com/nortoniana/

www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/norton.html

www.macchiarinicreations.com/norton/norton.htm

Funded by Califonia Arts Council, Grants for the Arts / Hotel Tax Fund, The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, The Zellerbach Family Fund, and The Mathais Lloyd Spiegel Foundation