The Vaudistocracy

The VAUDISTOCRACY is a dialogue which attempts to explore the evolution of the all-enduring actor—beginning with his slave-like status in antiquity, and ending with his god-like standing in the modern-day world. It also attempts to explore the devolution of the aristocrat, which is claimed to be a "juxtapositional event." —This dialogue begins with a fatuous exchange between the characters, Phalantheus and Qoon, and then advances into a discussion of both the actor and aristocrat's role in the societies of the ancient world. The following four parts then journey through the ages by exploring the actor's role in the Byzantine Empire, Restoration England, etc.—until it reaches at the globalised democracies of the 21st century. Throughout the dialogue, the chief-speaker, Phalantheus, attempts to convince his friend, Qoon, that the death of the aristocrat, and the "apotheosis" of the actor, have resulted in the birth of a most singular entity—an entity which he chooses to deem, the "vaudistocrat."