The Economy of Friendship. September 28th, 2012 at the Bill Young Studio.

No rehearsal required, explanation and instructions below.

Please read the following explanation and forward on to friends who may be interested.

An Explanation from Lindsey:

I am inviting you to perform in a projectthisFriday. It requires no rehearsal, it is designed to be an experiment that is best explored only in the moment of performance. The performance of the piece is at the Bill Young Studio as a part of show organized by a choreographer from Denmark named Gemma Peramiquel Borjas.

In creating this piece I am pushing against the economies of friendship and fascination that we all depend on as artists and audience members to edit our ways through this urban context of creative over-saturation. In this piece I am seeking a momentary and radical pause in those economies to try something else and see what it feels like.

Here's the digs:

I was invited to present a work in this show by LuisLara Malvacias, who has been mentoring Gemma during her residency here in New York. Basically, because Gemma is a stranger to NYC, Luis advised her to bring other choreographers in on the final showing of her work so that she would have more audience at her piece.

And so, the premise of this piece is to invite each and every New Yorker I admire and respect to take part in a simple 10-minute performance at Gemma’s show. In this, I am asking you to perform an act of generosity, to perform for Gemma and be audience for Gemma with equal gusto despite the fact that you may know nothing of her or of her work.

Even if you can’t participate in this piece on Friday, you can perform it by forwarding this email to invite as many other people as you can, people you admire, respect, love, cuddle, etc, who might want to perform this piece. The more, the merrier.

The Score:

As stated above, forward this email along to any and all friends, making no assumptions about who might or might not wish to perform it.Show up no later than 7.30pm on Friday September 28thto the Bill Young Studio, dressed in any fashion that makes you feel like, “Hell yeah, I want to perform in this.” Lindsey Drury will be there with a bunch of sticky-backed sheets of paper. You will need to write your name, and any other information you would like, on one or more of those sheets of paper and stick them to your body.You will be performing a very simple score adapted from a performance artist named Amapola Prada, (she lives in Peru). She made this score as a way of embodying something she found interwoven into being an artist in New York City. The basic action involved in the score is as follows:Jump as high as you are able for as long as you can.For this project, the score is adapted as follows: A) when you enter into the performance space to perform the action, continue doing so until another performer touches you. Only then may you stop And B) If you are not performing at a particular moment, you have two choices for entering and beginning to perform: You can enter when you feel empathy for one of the other performers. Touch them, they will stop jumping and you will continue in their stead. Or, you can simply add yourself in as an additional jumper, not touching and therefore not relieving anyone of the task.The trick to this performance is that all performers are free to enter into the system but none can leave it without the assistance of another. So, consider the ramifications of your choices. And, take care of your bodies. I performed this piece for Amapola and my legs were sore afterward for about two weeks. The instruction “As high as you are able” doesn’t mean that you should be stupid about it and hurt yourself. It also means that in moments of exhaustion, tiny little tired hops are fine. Just fine.The signal for the start and the end of the piece is lights up/ lights out. There is no music, no visible clock, etc. When the lights come up, performers who wish to begin the score can enter at their leisure and begin to jump. When the lights dim to complete black, everybody can stop.

Please direct questions to Lindsey atlindsey@drearysomebody.com. And I would love to know if you will do the piece so I can plan for how many performers will be involved. But if you show up without having told me that you’re doing it, I will include you. No one will be turned away, much as we love exclusivity in the arts, not this time!

You can call me with needs and questions as well at646.416.1673and I promise to have my phone on me all day Friday September 28th.