The following assignment, given to me by my mentor Lin Hixson of Goat Island Performance Group and Every House Has a Door, inspired the production of my “Unperformed Events” scores:
Assignment: 10 minutes everyday
Everyday for one week, use your body to create small actions. Consider these actions gifts. Who or what might they be for? Would your intention be visible to the receiver? Should it be? How long might each action take?
Set a timer for 10 minutes.
Begin.
A few select results:
Sit in a chair with legs crossed and
lightly tap the foot that is hinged (suspended) in the air.
for: Unknown man in his mid-twenties waiting on the blue line.
duration: 1-20 minutes
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Stand next to (a living) tree. Take deep breaths
into sections of the tree beginning at the
tips of the leading most branches
and moving all the way down to the trunk
Extend into the roots.
for: My shoes.
duration: 1-5 minutes.
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Slowly break apart, strip, and tear a wooden coffee stir stick
until it becomes a small pile of 1 cm x 30 mm sized pieces.
Place the little heaping pile at the
bottom of the stairs, just outside the entryway.
for: The philodendron plant my friend and I unintentionally killed.
It was a gift to him from my mom.
duration: 1-5 minutes.
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Rub right eye lid for one minute.
for: The childhood blanket my sister rubbed to pieces.
duration: 1 minute
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Stand intimately close to a standing lamp.
Rub hands against one another until palms are hot.
for: My trusty bedside lamp.
duration: 1 minute.
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Lay on your bedroom floor with half your body
under your bed. Focus on the ceiling.
for: A well used ceramic mug.
duration: 4 minutes.
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With your right hand, press the dull end of a pen
into the palm of your left hand.
Increase force over time.
for: Over worn boots.
duration: 1 minute
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Rub the skin on your right ear lob. Listen closely.
for: Warm wind.
duration: 1 minute
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Bend both ends of a q-tip so that they are facing one another.
for: Inner ear drum.
duration: Until task is complete.
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Sit completely still on a chair for one minute.
Remove yourself from the chair. Slowly,
touch every inch of the chair and
the area of the floor on which the chair is sitting.
Again, sit on the chair for one minute.
for: The walnut desk my dad built.
duration: 3-10 minutes.
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Sit in a train seat, slouch, and roll thumbs.
for: Middle aged woman on train run 239.
duration: The distance between two stops.
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Pick up something that has been discarded on the street.
Closely examine it. Return it to a home that suits it well.
for: Roxy, the golden lab that lived with me.
duration: 1-5 minutes.
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Place a glass half filled with water next to a pepper shaker
so that they are touching. Leave them there for 15 seconds.
Move them away from one another.
Repeat.
for: A dear friend that now lives far away.
duration: 2 minutes
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Set a well loved hat on your kitchen floor
while you cook a good wholesome meal.
for: The last item I lost.
duration: The length of dinner preparation
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Stand in a corner with your back against one wall
and your arm against another. Lean your shoulder
into the remaining empty space in the corner.
for: A Latino business man in a downtown elevator.
duration: 15 minutes
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Sit, while hungry, on a cement floor
for: Dreadlocked man who lives on the corner of Monroe
and the Michigan Ave. alley.
duration: 15 minutes.
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Put your left thumb between your pointer finger
and middle finger (on your left hand). Pull your fingers
closer to your wrist. Relax your palm.
Release your thumb.
Begin again.
for: An anxious, articulate speaker.
duration: 4 minutes.
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Sit on the floor of your kitchen
with your back against the refrigerator.
Feel the motor vibrate through your back.
for: Wilted spinach.
duration: 1-5 minutes.
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Press your cheek up against a cold window pane.
Move your tongue to touch the inside skin of your
mouth cavity on the side of your face that contacts
the cold glass.
Apply pressure to your cheek with your tongue.
for: The incoming spring.
duration: 3-6 minutes.
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Shrug your shoulders in exaggeration.
Repeat while sighing deeply.
for: A lonely colleague.
duration: 60 long sighs.