On April 28th, 2015,Bernadette Wycks, Carmen Ocampo and Andrew Winchur organized a re-enactment of the CUPE picket lines, as part of their final class performance for the FES Cultural Production Workshop. Scroll down for a full itinerary of the day’s events, as well as scripts, photos and more.
WHO:
AW = Andrew Winchur
BW = Bernadette Wycks
CO = Carmen Ocampo
SM = Sara Marino
0-5 min
SM orders participants to walk in a circle, in the same manner as the picket. AW writes “Mapamundi” in the middle of the circle. BW and CO read a script of “Voices from the Strike” to sections of the circle.
5-7min
SM blows the whistle and orders participants to the side of the path. BW enlists volunteers to play puppet parts for an upcoming activity. AW enlists volunteers to continue reading “Voices from the Strike.”
7-12 min
SM blows her whistle again and participants resume walking in circles. Volunteers continue to read “Voices from the Strike” to various participants. As they read the last lines of dialogue, CO leaves the circle and returns with a ball of yarn, which she launches into the circle and then retrieves. This signals the end of the first “act” of the performance, as well as AW’s duties as a main performer. Meanwhile, BW coordinates with her volunteers on the logistics of an upcoming activity.
12 – 14 min
SW blows the whistle and orders participants to the side of the path. BW and her volunteers stage an improvised puppet scene, which attempts to act out a primary conflict of the strike: the neoliberalization of the university.
14-19 min
SW blows her whistle again and participants resume walking in circles. BW discusses puppet performance with participants: Were there good and bad characters? What is victory? Solidarity? Education?
19-21 min
SW blows the whistle and orders participants to the side of the path. AW and BW continue to enlist critical analysis and feedback of the performance. CW prepares for her final performance and enlists a participant to be a volunteer.
21-30 min
CO performs a therapeutic acupunture service on her blindfolded volunteer. Meanwhile, AW and BW begin throwing around a ball of yarn, in such a way that each member of the line is eventually holding a length and symbolically connected to every other member of the line. When Ocampo lifts the blindfold off the volunteer’s eyes, SA blows the whistle one final time, signaling the end of the performance.
Picket Parade 