Six Quiet Homages to Ken Friedman
Secret Fluxus Performs a Travelling Concert of Events by Ken Friedman
Stoke-on-Trent
February 7, 2004
1 New Shoes Dance Theatre, 1991 Stoke Train Station
2 Mandatory Happening, 1966 Staffordshire University
3 Long Ships Event, 1989 Staffordshire University
4 Fast Food Event, 1964 Burger King, Potteries Shopping Centre
5 The Judgement of Paris, 1964 Potteries Shopping Centre
6 Tristan + Isolde, 1992 Waterstone�s Books, The Tontines Centre
On Saturday, we went to Stoke-on-Trent to hear Ken Friedman speak at a conference. We had planned to perform some of his events on the way. We wanted to perform one of the events just before or after his presentation, but since we wish to remain Secret Fluxus, we did not want to introduce ourselves or be identifiable during the performance. We decided to perform Long Ships Events just during the applause at the end of the talk.
For the original Long Ships Event, performers enter from stage left and stage right, each standing at the far edge of the stage. The first shouts, �Hail, Einar!� The other answers, �Hail, Ragnar!�
Our plan was to stand at opposite ends of the hall at the back, performing just as the audience broke into applause. Unfortunately, we were unable to find the conference.
Later, we learned it was a small research seminar, primarily for doctoral students and their supervisors. We missed it, but we had a grand day performing in Stoke.
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