1

Things that should not be picked up in the first place: four was performed at Jura$$ic Park at 2059 N. Racine Ave, first floor, Chicago, Illinois on November 16, 2015. The performance was conceived, written, and directed by Becky Grajeda. Performers were Nick Davis, Neal Markowski, Jake Miller, and Becky Grajeda. Pieces/actions/directives used and adapted for this performance are from the fortieth edition of the Fluxus Performance Workbook, ed. Ken Friedman, Owen Smith & Lauren Sawchyn, Performance Research e-Publications, 2002. Below is the score for the first ½ of the performance, including the order and timings for specific actions. During the first ½ of the performance, unless their “actions” dictated it, Nick and Becky mostly were seated in front of the audience in the main room of the venue. Behind Nick and Becky’s seats, at the very front of the main room were full-length mirrors as part of sliding doors to a closet. Unless their “actions” dictated it, Neal and Jake performed in the office connected to the main room, out of view of the audience. The entrance to the office was located behind the audience. At no time during the first ½ of the performance did Neal leave the office. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Things that should not be picked up in the first place: four Score for First ½ of Performance incl. order and timings for specific actions [Notes: 1. Throughout the first ½ of the performance, Becky asked Nick questions adapted from Conversation Questions for the ESL/EFL Classroom, A Project of The Internet TESL Journal, available at iteslj.org/questions/, including: “Have you prepared your cats for disasters?” and “Would you ever give a homeless person CPR?” 2. Becky and Nick performed a variation on Choice 18 by Robert Bozzi once during the first ½ of the performance at an appropriate non-predetermined moment. Choice 18 by Robert Bozzi Performers use mirrors to show the audience to itself. Grajeda variation on Choice 18 Nick and Becky sit with backs toward audience and use the mirrors on the sliding closet doors to show the audience itself and the performers' faces.] #1 (0:00 – end of first ½ of performance/~45:00)

2

NEAL Improvising on electric guitar, slowly crescendo throughout first ½ of performance with as many breaks as needed. Perform the following actions in any order and repeat each action as many times as the performer feels is necessary. Calculations by Davi Det Hompson Sixty two and sixty two and sixty two is one hundred eighty six. Grajeda variation on Finger Exercise by Larry Miller Perform with finger(s). Do this as if stretching the fingers. Examine your hands and fingers. Zen Vaudville by Ken Friedman The sound of one shoe tapping. #1 (0:00 – 5:00) JAKE Wall Piece for Orchestra To Yoko Ono by Yoko Ono Hit a wall with your head. Danger Music Number Seventeen by Dick Higgins Scream! Scream! Scream! Scream! Scream! Scream! #2 (10:00 – 15:00) JAKE Directive for Jake Miller 1 by Becky Grajeda Leave the office space to smoke a cigarette. As you walk through the audience, slowly clasp three audience members’ hands gently and discreetly. While outside smoking the cigarette, open the Red Eye free newspaper box and slam the door shut repeatedly. #3 (23:00 – 25:00) NEAL As soon as Jake returns from smoking/#2:

3

Directive for Neal Markowski by Becky Grajeda Ask Jake to get you a blank piece of paper from Nick. When Jake returns, tell Jake that the piece of paper needed to be drawn on after he got it from Nick. Tell him to go find someone to draw on the piece of paper. When Jake returns with paper drawn on, ask Jake what the drawing means. If Jake doesn’t know, insist that you must know. [Note: This directive was not rehearsed and Jake was not aware of this directive before the performance.] #4/#5 (30:00 – 37:00) JAKE Pants Directive for Jake Miller by Becky Grajeda Find out what brand of pants Nick is wearing without using words. I Will be Back in Ten Minutes follows IMMEDIATELY. Variaton on Ben Vautier’s I Will be Back in Ten Minutes Performer removes all objects from his pockets and puts on the floor between Nick and Becky and the audience announcing ‘I will be back in 10 minutes!’ and goes into another room. #6 (34:00 – until action completed) NICK Interrupt Becky while she is speaking with the following: Smoke Poem by Mieko Shiomi props: cigarettes, lighters, finest markers Each volunteer in the audience writes on a cigarette a name of a person whom he hates or doesn‘t feel sympathetic. In case he has no such person, he may write a name of a fish. Then they smoke all together. The detailed facts of this performance should be hold in secret each other. Grajeda Addition to Smoke Poem: Ask one person if they don’t smoke. Give them a kazoo and have them write the name of a person whom they hate or to whom they don’t feel sympathetic or the name of a fish. Invite all persons participating outside to smoke their cigarettes and play kazoo. #7 (~37:00)

4

JAKE Once Nick goes outside for Smoke Poem/#6, begin Bean Snow. Bean Snow (for Alison) by Anne Tardos Read [aloud] the text slowly and deliberately [and just loud enough that audience members outside office will be able to hear you]. Using a normal tone of voice. Bean snow. Bean snow beans. Bean snow beans about themselves. Bean snow themselves. Bean snow beans about themselves. Bean snow. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2nd Half of Performance Script: to begin 40-45 minutes into performance [Note for Things that should not be picked up in the first place: four, Script for 2nd ½ of Performance: The below actions were adapted from pieces/actions/directives from the Fluxus Performance Workbook, unless noted otherwise, as follows: “Scream Action” was adapted from Danger Music Number Seventeen by Dick Higgins and Calls, Canto 2 by Bengt af Klintberg "Smiling Action and Lighting Match Action" was adapted from Smile by Ben Vautier and Lighting Piece by Yoko Ono "Cracker Action" was adapted from Lessons by Davi Det Hompson "Watch Action and Water Talk" was adapted from Watch and Water Talk both by Yoko Ono, and not listed in the Fluxus Performance Workbook] Cue: Jake leaves office and goes into Restroom, there continuing Dick Higgins “Scream” Action. When Jake exits Restroom: Nick asks: “Are you/is everything alright?” Jake: “Yes, and it’ll make more sense if Neal’s here.”

5

Jake gets Neal. Neal and Jake begin the following: [Note: Neal, when not directly participating in any of the following actions, may perform Grajeda variation on Finger Exercise by Larry Miller Perform with finger(s). Do this as if stretching the fingers. Examine your hands and fingers.] Scream Action: (Approx. Duration: ≤ 5 min) Neal sets up his guitar, amp and a chair near the Printing Press. Jake stands opposite Neal. Neal begins playing the guitar. Jake hits knives against each other and listens with ear knives, then advances deliberately towards Neal at a measured pace, with one scream per step. Jake’s last scream should be within 5 feet of Neal’s face. End of Action. Smiling Action and Lighting Match Action: (Approx. Duration: ≤ 10 min) Neal sets down guitar and begins walking about the audience while smiling. Jake takes out a pack of matches and lights a match. As soon as match is lit, Jake smiles, watching the match until it goes out. Jake paces while watching the lit match. When match burns out, Jake drops the match on the floor. Jake does this with an entire book of matches. Nick joins Neal in the smiling action when Jake is about halfway through the book of matches. The action ends when Jake’s burnt all matches in his book of matches. Cracker Action: (Approx. Duration: ≤ 10 min) Once Jake is near the end of the pack of matches, Becky lays out nine crackers on the floor or table. She asks Jake which is the most beautiful cracker. Then she has Jake smash the other eight crackers. She eats the ninth cracker. She and Jake do the action a total of five times, so that each performer and one audience member eats “a beautiful cracker”. Nick will eat the cracker in the second to last repetition of the action, and then begin his “Water Action”. Watch Action and Water Talk: (Approx. Duration: ≤ 10 min) After eating his “beautiful cracker” Nick goes to kitchen and methodically gets a pot, fills it with water, puts the pot of water on the stove, turns on the stove to “high”. He watches the water boil. As he watches the water boil, he recites Yoko Ono’s “Water Talk” as many times as he feels is necessary. Once the pot of water begins boiling, he moves the water to a different burner, and turns the burner on “high” to keep the water boiling. He then fills a new pot with water, puts it on the first burner on “high” and repeats the action, watching it boil and reciting “Water Talk”. He repeats this action four times until all burners are filled with pots of boiling water. Action ends when Nick turns off burners. End of Performance