Cage 1952 remix︎︎︎
Students bring in something to perform. I give an example of "a personal way/method of interpreting a line." The performance lasts 15 minutes. A digital timer is presented on a monitor. My computer generates time sequences for each student (i.e. 1:33 - 1:57, 2:19 - 4:34, etc.). They have to perform during their times and sit quietly when they are not active. The result is a typical Cage-like happening, with everyone doing independent actions that have no relationship to anyone else's actions.

Then, I pair people up, and give them 30 minutes to come up with something in which they can perform and interact together. Ideally, it shouldn't simply be a variation on what they did before. Then we do it again as collaborative groups. The collaborative performance ends up being much more interesting and fun, perhaps simply because they know what to expect.

︎︎︎from Arne Elgenfeldt; inspired by John Cage and the Black Mountain College workshops in the early 1950s