Looking for a team of 6 street-smart performers to participate in a  project that will be part of Art in Odd Places, a festival takes place on 14th Street between October 11 to 20.  Must commit to two of the four performances: Oct 12, 13 and 19, 20. No pay but promises to fun and interesting.  This performance will be filmed and presented as a documentary in the future. A short description follows.  




Take a Number

A statistical voyage into the numbers that make our city the diverse and disparate metropolis that it is. Choreographer/demographic analyst, Vicky Virgin, investigates how art and statistical literacy intersect in the public realm. Inspired by agitprop | Russian revolutionary style  |  she will direct a band of roving performers as they walk along 14th street stopping along the way as they engage the public with interesting statistics about the city.  

The central element will be an I Mac cardboard box that will serve as the counter from which people will “take a number” – think lemonade stand.  Statistics, written on magnetic computer tape, will flow out of a hole in the box and people will be encouraged to step up and take a number. An oversized pair of scissors will be used to clip off the tape. (I will need two performers for this operation)

A visual element will consist of a string of laminated maps, charts, and graphs that will be displayed at each station in a storyboard format. For example, maps that show the change in the white population from 2000 to 2010, followed by ones for black, Hispanics and Asians tells a story of the gentrification that has taken place over the last decade.  Two performers will be responsible for these visuals and enage people in discussion. In addition, a website made specifically for this project will be available for people that want to download the images on the spot.

The last element involves a camera person and an interviewer who will challenge bystanders to test their statistical liaterarcy of the city. Three questions will be asked, such as, "how many people lived in NYC in 2011 and what is the number of people living below the poverty level?" These interviews will be edited into the documentary that will be created.