SCRIPT

As the group of people that know about this project expands, more interesting things begin to happen. Today a girl from my psychology class wrote a “first real conversation” into my script and it happened. This is what this project is about! Rethinking our interactions and patterns and imagining the possible deviations and what interesting things might come from them. The lines between performance and life, internet and physical world begin to blur further. If two people meet in this way, how does that affect how they get to know each other?

The frequent thought stage directions appearing in my script are also of interest. Can you tell someone what or how to think? The easy answer seems to be no, but I find myself coming back to the directions throughout the day. Walking to class thinking about how this project might be dumb or worrying about what I’m doing in general with everything, I suddenly remember that I’m not supposed to worry and just be walking, and that somehow works for me to some degree. I agree to put off the worries for a day and deal with them tomorrow, but then find the tomorrow script contains a similar instruction. It sounds very trivial but it doesn’t feel that way.



[Setting: bedroom, 6am. LAUREN wakes up, gets dressed to go running.]

[Setting: sidewalks of Westwood 8:00 am. LAUREN is running. The weather is warm and sunny. Lauren thinks about her friends who complain about living in cold places with miserable weather. She feels glad about sunshine and decides to try and really FEEL the sun today. She wonders if being cold is really that bad. She decides to take a freezing cold shower to see if it really bothers her, and then tweet about how it feels.]

[Setting: UCLA gym shower, 9am. LAUREN showers, alone with her thoughts. She decides that today she will break the script in one location of her choosing, she will leave something in the script but not perform it. She also decides to try to focus on whatever she is doing at the moment during the day - while she is working, she'll work, while she is eating, she'll eat. She won't be thinking about other things.]

[LAUREN stops on the way to studio to buy something to drink. She has an extended conversation with the person at the cash register.]

[LAUREN wants to experiment with touch in communication - she decides to hug people today. Lauren holds most people for a 5 count, mentally recording how the length of the hug affects both parties involved.]

[Setting: CASEY's office, 11:30am. LAUREN meets with CASEY.]

LAUREN: Hi, Casey.

LAUREN: [Taking out her phone] Do you mind if I record this conversation?

LAUREN: So this is one project I’m working on… This is a performance, all of it, to some degree. It was scripted yesterday, by a number of different people.

LAUREN: [Pulling out her computer.] What I mean is…

LAUREN: See here is the script, and here is the part where we are right now… [LAUREN explains project further.]

CASEY: [Thinks for a few seconds then proceeds to ask many questions rapidly.]

LAUREN: [Leaving CASEY's office] Thanks, Casey. See you later.

[Setting: 4th floor computer lab, 12:30pm. LAUREN holds office hours.]

[Setting: Franz Hall elevator, 1:55pm. After a few weeks of staring at each other during their mutual Metacognition class, LAUREN and DAWN finally have a real conversation.]

[Setting: Franz Hall, 2pm. LAUREN sits down in her metacognition class.]

[Setting: grad studio, 3:30pm. LAUREN returns from class.] She pulls out her HERO and decides to call her brother JACK

LAUREN: Hey Jack, any news on the log-in issue with the soccer website? I would really like to get this off my plate. You know if you guys can’t figure out this glitch, I’m going to have to start charging you for the down time. For an MIT-trained computer sci-major, that would net out at something like $180 and hour, I think. Please tell THAT to your frat brothers, thank you.

[After hanging up the phone, she decides to text her mom.]

LAUREN: [texting] PLEASE DON’T volunteer me for anymore webmaster jobs, thank you. Love, Lauren.

[Discovering yesterday that she doesn't own very many colorful clothes, LAUREN decides to order some more online. She wonders if pink could be become her new fav color.]

[Setting: restaurant, 5:30pm. LAUREN arrives at weekly meeting with studio class. LAUREN is much more mellow and less worked up than normal in class today. She wonders if it's just because of the script, the beer, or a slight shift in perspective...or some combination of all three?]

[Setting: Lauren's apartment, 9:30 pm. LAUREN thinks about how many people she hugged today, feels mildly uncomfortable and thinks about ways to offer hugs without actually touching people. She wonders if this is normal, thinks about it....forgets what she was thinking about, and decides to have some Kashi.]

[Setting: LAUREN's apartment, 10:30 pm. LAUREN finds some overripe bananas and decides to make banana bread. Feeling disappointed that she missed JOHANNA last week with the cookies, she packs up some of the bread to take her instead.]

[Before going to sleep, LAUREN spends some time drawing. She sends it to HANA for her birthday.]