The latest project occupying Kesey and Babbs is a multimedia venture called Twister. A musical play written by Kesey, this is not to be confused with the recent movie of the same name, although tornadoes and hurricanes, as well as the Scarecrow, the Wizard, and Dorothy all touch down here. Kesey, Babbs, and a cast of actors and musicians performed the play live more than a dozen times on the West Coast and, in keeping with the Prankster tradition, videotaped it, too. Viking will publish the play in both book and video formats next fall. Beyond the script, the book will feature photographs and anecdotes from the live productions, and information on how amateur or professional stage companies can produce the play.

Babbs: Twister is about the end of the world and it's about the millennium and it's about what everybody does to get ready for it all. It's got three parts. The first part deals with the winds -- hurricanes and tornadoes. The scarecrow comes in to talk about that. And the Wizard brings back Dorothy. Kesey: The thing we were trying to do with Twister live was go together, get an audience, and teach them the songs and dances as part of the play, so that by the time we get to the end, we're all involved and it becomes more a ritual. Throughout there are certain things the audience is supposed to do -- chant and sing and moan. People love to moan. Babbs: It's interactive. Kesey: You see, entertainment is a part of the whole Madison Avenue thing. But if you're part of a ritual, you're not entertaining and you're not being entertained. You are involved. That's what we're really trying to do with Twister. When you're involved with a ritual, whatever that is, it finds its own ground. I think a lot of this comes from Native Americans. That thing Joseph Campbell talked about -- follow your bliss -- that really cuts in there close, because the one thing you have to know is what your bliss is. What's your real bliss? And what's your fake bliss or what you're bound with? You've got to figure that out. How else are you going to know what your (personal) rebellion is about?

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