Episode 48 This Episode is Sponsored by TKSFCETHC

Thanks for Hitting Play and then listening to Hit Play. This episode: Clown-God, bold fonts, top hats, and window shouts! 

Join us at our 2020 Virtual Gala on October 15th! Any donation to our Just Giving page or subscription to our Patreon gets you an invite link to the night’s events including an auction, and a Zoom Room roulette of digital performances. We’d love to party with you. 

Also we’re wrapping up Season 1 of Hit Play with our 50th episode on October 24th. We’ll be back towards the end of the year with some special episodes of Hit Play, so stay tuned and stay subscribed!

Take care of yourself, pick out what you're gonna wear for our gala, and share it with us on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.

2:23 - When you listen to this play, imagine the following… by Robin Virginie and Julia Melfi

4:02 -  Legalized is a word by Anooj Bhandari

6:30 - Ad Break: The Kyra Sims Fancy Cool Expensive Top Hat Company. Go to tinyurl.com/FancyExpensive to get in on the ground floor. 

8:37 - Audio Experiments Experiments: Experiment no. 3 by Anthony Sertel Dean featuring Laura Killeen

Our logo was designed by Shelton Lindsay

Our sound is designed by Anthony Sertel Dean

Hit Play is produced by Anthony Sertel Dean, Julia Melfi, and Léah Miller

Take care!

Transcript 

Episode 48 This Episode is Sponsored by TKSFCETHC

Show Intro

Wooshy alien electronic instrumental music plays underneath.

Julia: 48. This Episode is Sponsored by the Kyra Sims Fancy Cool Expensive Top Hat Company. I’m Julia Melfi—a New York Neo-Futurist. While our on-going, ever-changing, late-night show, The Infinite Wrench, is on hold for the foreseeable future, we wanted a place to keep making art for you. And so we made this podcast!  

If you’re already a fan of The New York Neo-Futurists, or any of our sibling companies, hello! We can’t wait to skip through a county fairground with you hand in hand, sharing an elephant ear. If this is totally new to you—welcome to it!

We play by four rules: We are who we are, we’re doing what we’re doing, we are where we are, and the time is now. Simply put: we tell stories, and those stories are our own. Everything that you hear is actually happening. (Outdoor noises and Julia is outside) So if we tell you we're recording this part while walking down Flatbush, we are really recording this part while we are walking down Flatbush Avenue. Like I am right now. I'm on my way to the hardware store. 

Two quick things before we get going:

First, you’re invited to our 2020 virtual gala on October 15th! Head on over to justgiving.com/campaign/nynfgala2020 to check that out. We’d love to have you there. 

AND we’re wrapping up season one of Hit Play with episode 50. We’ll be back at the end of the year with some special Best Of episodes, which will be decided on by our Patreon members! So join our Patreon at Patreon.com/nynf to stay connected.

Julia: And now, Laura will Run the Numbers!

Laura: Hello Hit Play darlings, (singsongy) here's the numbers! Hi, I’m Laura, from Degenerate Fox! We're the Neo-Futurist sister company in London. 

In this episode we’re bringing you 3 plays. The first is by Robin Virginie and Julia Melfi. The second is by Anooj Bhandari. And the third is by Anthony Sertel Dean with me, Laura Killeen. Our names rhyme! (Laura giggles) Sorry. 

That brings us to 185 audio experiments on Hit Play. Enjoy!

Music winds down.

Play 1: While you listen to this play, imagine... (2:23)

Robin: While you listen to this play, imagine the following: You walk up to your secret cabin in the woods and pour yourself a nice big mug of Magic Elixir Tea™, someone or something is pecking at the window, you ignore it and turn on your 2005 desktop computer but before you know it THREE EAGLES BURST THROUGH THE DOOR AND START CIRCLING THE ROOM, as they circle faster and faster, the room transforms into a pitch black dreamscape and now you realize the Magic Elixir Tea has kicked in and you are finally able to see the illustrious Clown-God who will tell you all the secrets of the universe, they slowly appear in front of you, you can barely contain your excitement, the Clown-God clears their throat ready to bestow their wisdom onto you and... GO!

Audio collage soundscape: Footsteps. Liquid pouring. Tap-tap-tapping. Electronic musical tones, like a xylophone. CAW! Bird of prey cawing in echoes, ominous music builds as underscore. Lullaby music box music with continuing bird caws. Birds fade out slowly and the music cuts out abruptly. Someone clears their throat. 

Play 2: Legalized is a word (4:02)

Anooj: Legalized is a word. GO!

The bolded words throughout the piece are "bolded" with vocal effects, like reverb and louder volume. The italicized words within the text are metallic and distant sounding. The underlined words sound isolated and compacted. 

The ad said we should vote to "legalize!" with "legalize" in bold font but after that it had a comma and the word "regulate" not in bold font and another comma and then the word "tax" also not in bold font and if you followed that all it said to vote to "legalize, regulate, and tax" 

Here’s the thing about language is that my hands have trembled bold font for as long as I can remember when I speak and I always write with my hand resting on the paper to stop the shaking italics and so that you can’t tell which words make me anxious underlined but if the system gets a bold font then why the hell not?

Why the hell not let my letters tremble on paper and the thing about language is that it’s all made up, underlined in red I think, and I record this inside of my room because I figure if my mouth can’t rest on paper to prevent tremors than I might as well say something to the world alone. 

And the thing about language is that I wonder if you can tell which words are making my hands shake as you're listening--the words that make me feel watched, the ones that make me feel seen in a world where if I have to be illiterate across all languages then I don’t think I want to be written into law in the first place be written bold font into a thing about knowing bold font 

And I worked on campaigns for legalization bold font and know quite well that legalization for the populous of those traditionally unseen, means somebody seeing underlined but does it also mean seeing the regulation and the taxation and I wonder whats the bold face legalized worth when it’s the one designed to stand out but not the words that make my hands shake in the ad 

And I watched this ad and thought the thing about language is that if existence has to be so intellectual and filled with language than I’m probably missing out on the truth and yet I ponder if between the bolds and not bolds if when the ad said "legalize, regulate, tax," they actually mean policed and maybe the ad said vote to police tremble regulate tremble and tax tremble 

and I’m not quite sure where I’m left besides back to the tremors in my hands that tell me I would rather hold my body forever constitutionally unnamed and this sentence still wondering what the thing is about language is

The Kyra Sims Fancy Cool Expensive Top Hat Company (6:30)

Julia: And now, a word from our sponsor:

Music winds up, continues as underscore

Kyra: Hi, I'm Kyra Sims. Founder, CEO, and poster-child for the Kyra Sims Fancy Cool Expensive Top Hat Company, and I’m here today with an exciting opportunity for you. The Kyra Sims Fancy Cool Expensive top hat company aspires to make content, and to do a business. 

Do we sell top hats? No. What do we sell? Exactly. 

Cartoon slide whistle

Now, this is how you can get on the ground floor. The KSFCETHC wants to be the biggest sponsor for this year’s New York Neo-Futurist's Digital Gala. Imagine: “this digital Gala is sponsored by the Kyra Sims Fancy Cool Expensive Top Hat Company.” It simply rolls off the tongue, does it not?. I want The Kyra Sims Fancy Cool Expensive Top Hat Company to give a $3,000 sponsorship! Try to beat that, Dow Jones. 

Kyra laughs

If we make our $3,000 sponsorship, our Artistic Director Rob Neill has vowed to wear a top hat to the event, and to mention our company name as much as humanly possible. 

Plus, all of the glittery fancy celebrities will be at this digital gala--me, my top hat. You’ll get the pride in knowing that you’ve helped set up the fanciest fake business since Madame CJ Walker’s Diamond Pony Petting Zoo. And besides--if old white men can have shell corporations, then why can’t I?

Lower slide whistle

See you at the Gala. Go to tinyurl.com/FancyExpensive to get started now. 

Julia: Now, back to the episode. 

Play 3: Audio Experiments Experiments: Experiment no. 3 (8:37)

Laura: Audio Experiments Experiments: Experiment no. 3 

Anthony: And then I'll say, GO!

Laura and Anthony giggle. Intro virtual space underscore

Anthony: Welcome to the virtual space

Laura: Thank you Anthony, I'm so happy to be sharing it with you. I feel, um, I feel a little spacey in it. 

Anthony: Mhm, yeah. I cannot touch you right now. You cannot touch me, and maybe it's best. It's the morning.

They laugh and the underscore fades away

Anthony: Back in May, you wrote a play for this show. The play was called "Spitting Distance"

Clip from Spitting Distance plays of Laura saying “separated by an ocean, but forever connected by spit”. Laura in this timeline laughs.

Laura: Yes, and I was referring back to a play that I performed in New York last year by Julia Melfi. 

Anthony: Yeah, around this time last year, I was in London where you are, and you were here in New York. 

Laura: What’s it like in New York at the moment?

Anthony: (outdoor NY noises) Oh, it's pretty quiet. I hear some children screaming on their way to school. 

Laura laughs

Anthony: How's it like in London right now?

Laura: (outdoor London noises) It's--there's quite a thick film of condensation on my window so the world looks kind of pale and bubbly. And yeah, I can't hear a thing from outside. It's quite peaceful. 

Anthony: That's beautiful! I feel like that condensation paleness--I feel like that resonates in my mind as an image of London. 

They laugh

Laura: Yeah, no doubt. It's cold outside, is what that means. 

Anthony: Funny how our first meeting was as passing ships, both on opposite sides of the ocean. Do you ever sit, staring out the window, like we are, thinking about who’s out there right now? On the ocean, passing by one another, near or far?

Wave sounds fade in

Laura: physically or metaphorically?

Anthony: exactly! What are they hearing as they pass?

Laura: Do you think they can make a connection in that time?

Anthony: over that distance?

Laura: And just how far are they hearing?

Sound of tub water fades in alongside the wave sounds

Anthony: Right now, I’m not hearing much past my bathroom, splashing these waves around my tub.

Laura: I can, I think I can hear the radio in the kitchen, but I can't hear much else, but obviously I can hear you through my computer and the splashing as well. 

Anthony: an ear to the virtual space

Laura: Ooooh!

Sound of turning off faucets, waves cease

Anthony: What time is it right now in London?

Laura: It is 12:21 pm. It's a palindrome number! 

Anthony: Ooh! No palindromes over here, it is 7:21 am. And 35 seconds! 

Laura: What time is it for you listening? Yes. You, listening to this podcast, what time is it?

Anthony: Time and space are both broken by this virtual framework

Laura: There’s a delay over our call, Anthony; and there’s a delay from our talking to the listener

Anthony: Hi listener! I hope you are… as smiley as I am recording this play, whenever you're listening to this

Laura giggles 

Laura: For so long, sound was dependent on space

Anthony: and you knew where you were depending what it sounded like

Laura: (London window sounds) London 

Anthony: (NY window sounds) New York

Laura: (market crowd sound recording) A market

Anthony: (cathedral sounding reverb on Anthony's voice) A cathedral

Laura: (bubbles, vocal effect to sound underwater) Underwater

Anthony: (normal) But we’re just at home. Sorry, no markets or cathedrals here.

Laura: We’re about 3,500 miles away right now. You and I, I don’t know how far away I am from the listener.

Anthony: And sound travels through air at about 760 miles per hour - give or take a bunch of variables

Laura: So I could get my voice to you in just over four and a half hours!

Anthony: Speedy!

Laura laughs

Laura: but we’re talking right now

Anthony: Here in the virtual space

Laura: you’re here too, listener!

Anthony: We did it. We broke time and space, just for all three of us to be here together

Laura: Amazing. I feel, um, yeah, I think somehow less spacey because I'm connected to you! 

Anthony: Yeah, it's nice to depend on time and space, sometimes.

Laura: but listening in to the virtual space to escape it, as we need

Anthony: Laura, I don’t really want to sign off with you in this almost-instantaneous virtual space, but let’s say goodbye now, (Opening window, outside noises) into our physical space, and let it travel, so that maybe in just over four and a half hours, though the sound may dissipate, there might be just some ringing of the other person that made it to our space, if we listen just close enough. 

Laura: I love that. I'll listen out for it. (Opening window)

Anthony: (shouting out of the window) bye, Laura!

Laura: (shouting out of the window) bye, Anthony!

Outdoor noises fade out

Show Outro

Wooshy alien electronic instrumental music plays underneath.

Julia: Thanks for Hitting Play and then listening to Hit Play. If you liked what you heard, subscribe to the show and tell a friend! If you want to support the New York Neo-Futurists in other ways, consider making a donation at nynf.org, or joining our Patreon–Patreon.com/NYNF. 

We're releasing Shelton's uncle's response to Shelton's play "The email I wrote my conservative family members and their reply if they bother to send one" from episode 46 exclusively to our Patreon supporters, so become a member! We’d really appreciate any support in these difficult times. Contributing to our Patreon helps us continue to pay our artists. 

Take care of yourself, pick out what you're gonna wear for our gala on Oct 15th, and share it with us on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.

This episode featured work by: Robin Virginie, Julia Melfi, Anooj Bhandari, Kyra Sims, Anthony Sertel Dean, and Laura Killeen. Our logo was designed by Shelton Lindsay. And our sound is designed by Anthony Sertel Dean. Hit Play is produced by Anthony Sertel Dean, Léah Miller, and me, Julia Melfi. Take Care!

Music fades out!