Transcript

Show Intro

gentle uplifting electronic instrumental music plays underneath.

Michaela: 64. Harvest. Hi, I’m Michaela—a New York Neo-Futurist. While we’re slowly bringing back our on-going, ever-changing, late-night show, The Infinite Wrench, we wanted to keep making art just for your ears. And so, Hit Play continues!

If you’re already a fan of The New York Neo-Futurists, or any of our sibling companies, hey! We can’t wait to see you masked up in our theater again! If this is totally new to you— welcome to it!

We make art by four simple 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. So if we tell you that we’re digging to the bottom of the lotion bottle for the remaining lotion, we’re really digging to the bottom of the lotion bottle for the remaining lotion like I am right now. 

Sound of scraping lotion out of an almost empty bottle.

All of the plays in this episode explore the idea of Harvest- harvesting self, taking care, and recollection. And now, Mike will Run the Numbers!

Mike: Hi, I’m Mike. I’m one of the NY Neo-Futurist. 

This week’s cast is, Michaela Farrell, Kyra Sims, Anooj Bhandari, Greg Lakhan, and me, Mike Puckett. 

In this episode we’re bringing you 5 new plays And that brings us to 278 audio experiments on Hit Play so far. Enjoy!

Music winds down.

Play 1: Recollecting Collecting (1:57)

Anooj: Recollecting Collecting. GO!

Mike: Spoons, the commemorative travel kind, State Quarters, Comic Book and Books in General  

Michaela: Rolling Stones Magazines 

Mike: Pokemon Cards, Magic the Gathering Cards, Yu Gi-Oh Cards 

Kyra: Dragons 

Mike: Video Games, Plays, CDs 

Anooj: Cicada Exoskeletons 

Mike: Bills, Credit Card Offers.

Greg: I don't really collect one particular item.

Mike: Debt.

Sounds of coins dropping and bouncing on each other continue under speech

Kyra: I don’t remember how exactly I got into dragons, I just remember really loving them one day. My first research paper in 7th or 8th grade was on dragons. The first dragon anything I ever bought was a wax incense holder/candle combo thing, I think at Six Flags? My favorite dragon is a one that my dad bought me at Disney World in 2000. It’s a glass dragon with golden spines, its long neck arched down, its face gazing fondly at a collection of pastel porcelain petals it’s holding in its claws. It’s probably one of the most precious items I own. I honestly can’t believe I’ve had it for 20 years- it's like an heirloom now  

Mike: Pill Bottles, Essay, Term, and Research Papers, 

Michaela: The collection started with a cover photo of Zac Efron- with his shirt slightly off and just went from there. It ended just with time and the fact that my parents stopped subscribing to rolling stone i think. You can look up the issues from 2008-2007 and see the photos that really got me twisted. But my collection was awesome- the pictures were all stunning and like really teeny bopper grunge camp. I was obsessed.

Mike: Plastic Bags, Tote Bags 

Anooj: There was a tree down the street I would wait at so that the bus could take me to elementary school and I remember pulling off the exoskeletons and delicately resting them in my bag so that I could get home and put them on the shelf in my room. My mom found them one day while in my room, and threw them all out immediately. I was so fascinated by them. She was disgusted. 

Mike: Jars of spice I already have. Some of these collections were on purpose. 

Greg: I'm technically a collector since I've accumulated so many things over the years. Art from friends, Gemstones, books, Props from shorts and college productions, film equipment, cat toys, furniture, plants...A lot of what I've collected is just stuff thats helped me on my journey, and items i've accumulated from the people who were kind enough to help me on that journey.

Mike: Some of these collections were on purpose. And some were not. 

Coin sounds crescendo alongside a tone and both cut out. 

Play 2: no matter the order, they all still linger (4:43)

Kyra: no matter the order, they all still linger. GO!

​​Sounds of crunching leaves. 

Kyra: Three- Older now, different now. Kansas views from the fifth level of the music building, the floor with the practice rooms. Tired and sore and discouraged but look at those colors. Highest number of trees per capita, someone told me. Starting to learn the meanings of “found family” and long drives and deep thinks. Harvesting grapes in Paola. I was 20 and didn’t know how port worked and poured myself a regular wine glass full. Whoops. 

​​Sounds of crunching leaves. 

Five- Pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin doughnuts, pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin poo-pouri, pumpkin beer, pumpkin cider, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin soup, the Great Pumpkin Blaze, pumpkin candles, pumpkin stickers, pumpkin decor, pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin carving, pumpkin yogurt, pumpkin butter, pumpkin body wash, pumpkin friends. Pumpkin friends. 

​​Sounds of crunching leaves mixed with marching band in the distance

Two- At a football game at the high school, sitting with the big kids and playing their big tunes. I had braces, and had to stuff paper towels between the metal and my inner lips so that the metal of my instrument wouldn’t cause me pain when I pressed my mouth against it to play. At halftime I ate some nachos, and later when I picked up my mellophone to play again, the paper towels were gone from my mouth. I had not taken them out of my mouth. 

Marching band fades into school bell 

One- Pink erasers start to feel lived-in, as does your rhythm, your friends. Gym class outside, and running fast through the cold air, outfoxing the boys who chase you. Harvest decor in the front lobby and turkeys made out of hand outlines and cranberry sauce at lunch it’s all so perfect. I’m not sure if it was the beginning, but it was something. 

A bird tweets

Four- The Black Forest. A German October, overwhelming in color. Trails muted by leaves and roller coasters towering over the expanse. You taught me some words, and it caused confusion in a haunted house. Mein Fledermaus ist verschwunden. Cold snaps on train platforms, and your long pale fingers. Wondering if you feel the same. 

​​Sounds of crunching leaves

Play 3: Math, Amphetamines (7:34)

Mike: Math, Amphetamines. GO!

The rattle of a pill bottle. The sound of pills rhythmically dropping into a bottle

Mike: I’ve been taking Adderall for 18 months, and I took Vyvanse for a year before that. Because the DEA scheduled these drugs in the same category as methamphetamines, opium, and fentanyl, I can only get 30 pills at a time. To prevent resale, my doctor can only put in for a refill every 30 days. So if I can’t pick up my medication the very same day my doctor orders it, I’m forced to go off of my meds.

Voice is distant, coming through right ear only

Mike: And I hate going off my meds. I become a ghost in my own mind. Thoughts become ethereal wisps and I get stuck in this rut of dream logic, where things only make sense for exactly as long as they need to.

Pill bottle shakes.  Pills clinking resumes. Return to normal voice.

Mike: But then I get a refill. Another 30 days of peace. But not quite. Because the same thing will happen 30 days later. The doctor won’t see my e-mail or the pharmacy will be out of stock. And so I choose days throughout the month where I consciously skip my meds- 

Voice is distant, coming through left ear only

Mike: -which ensures that I’ll have a few leftover pills at the end of it. It’s a decision I hate having to make-

Return to normal voice. 

Mike: -but it’s easier to do when I’ve taken my pills-

Voice is distant, coming through right ear only

Mike: -than when I’m a ghost.

The sound of pills clinking. The rattle of a pill bottle. 

Play 4: A Controversial Self Care Technique (8:42)

Michaela: A Controversial Self Care Technique. GO!

Michaela:

Break your own heart

I know that sounds kind of harsh

But do it before they can do it for you

I know that sounds sad

But do it while you still have one to break

I know how it sounds.

Take yourself through the stages of grief

Go through denial and remind yourself it’s denial

Go through anger and remind yourself it’s anger

Go through depression and remind yourself it’s depression

Have your finger on the pulse of the entire experience

When the lows feel low remind yourself you built the flow.

Light piano underscore begins

Break your own heart so you know exactly how to put it back

So you know the intricate ways in which each shard fits in to the whole

So you don’t have to go looking for that one missing piece that got lost in the swells

You can just wait for the tide to come in. 

Go through acceptance and heal in the ways that you can.

Heal in the way that allows you to stay in on a Saturday night

To lie in a park with a notebook

To redecorate your bedroom wall

Heal in a way that reminds you of before

The before you knew how harshly a heart could break

It’ll never be completely like before again

But the reminders are what keeps the us vulnerable

And delicate.

I forgot about my heart until I broke it. 

What a relief it was to control this one thing

What a privilege it was to have something to break

And to pick up my own pieces

In my own vast currents. 

Play 5: Non-Prescription Glasses User Manual (10:55)

Anooj: Non-Prescription Glasses User Manual. GO!

Anooj: Step One: Take the glasses out of the new box. Watch them, watching you. You’ve done this before, been doing it since you made the order. Been doing it since you started wearing clothes. 

Step Two: Think about approval. With the texts you sent that say hey should I get these glasses, knowing very well that you don’t need corrective lenses but wanted to try a different look, sent the pictures of the frame with the price tag cropped out and made sure to put lol or haha at the end just in case somebody’s answer was no, no, absolutely not, because then you would have room to pass the idea off as a joke. Think about approval. How the people you texted are people you seek it from. How you have watched them, watching you, but are working on stopping that.  

Step Three: Try them on. Feel beautiful. Enjoy the colors on the frames you’ve picked out and look in the mirror, us watching us. 

Step Four: Think about how when you were a kid you were the only person in your family who didn’t need glasses. You still don’t need them but can’t help but wonder if having these non-prescriptions ones is breaking that pride streak. You wonder what else you’ve kept up because you’ve been too proud. 

Step Four: Harvest. The mesh, both the cut off and the long sleeve, the crop top, the jumpsuit, the short shorts with metallic stripes, the frock, the dress, the chain, the silk. Pick what memories you want to carry of each of these, and oscillate between the ones where you take them on and off, and the ones where you’re actually wearing them. Feel the exhale of removal, how sweet it can be to stop having to think. Feel the excitement, the possibility, or wearing, how beautiful it feels to blossom. Both feel good, but which feels better? You walk to the brown bag in your kitchen filled with clothes to give away. Harvest.  

Step Five: Wonder when your new glasses are going to end up in a donation bag. Think about the price. Laugh to yourself as you try to remember when it got so difficult to get dressed. 

Step Six: Put the glasses on again. There are only glasses, after all, but hey while you’re putting them on, contemplate feeling guilty for wanting a change. 

Step Seven: Take them off again. 

Step Eight: Put them on again. 

Step Nine: Close the box. There’s room left on your desk to put them when you’re ready to take them off. Know that when you do, they’ll be waiting for you to continue the conversation. 

Step Ten: Remember all the parts of yourself that you had to get used to wearing before you stopped thinking. Remember, it’s really just us watching us. 

Show Outro

gentle uplifting electronic instrumental music plays underneath.

Michaela: Thanks for Hitting Play and then listening to Hit Play. If you liked what you heard, subscribe to the show, tell a friend, and leave a review on your listening app of choice! If you want to support the New York Neo-Futurists in other ways, consider making a donation at nynf.org, or by joining our Patreon - Patreon dot com slash NYNF. 

This episode featured work by: Mike Puckett, Anooj Bhandari, Michaela Farrell, Greg Lakhan, and Kyra Sims.

Our logo was designed by Gabriel Drozdov. And our sound is designed by Anthony Sertel Dean. Hit Play is produced by Kyra Sims, Hilary Asare, and me, Michaela Farrell. Alright, Take Care!

Music fades out!