EXP 12/4/07

Platonic Love Day

Q: What is Platonic Love Day?
A: A long lost ancient Greek holiday, created as a forum for friends to share their affection for one another through complements without agenda or the expectation of reciprocation.

Q: When is Platonic Love Day?
A: Tuesday, December 4th.

Q: How can I celebrate it?
A: Compliment your friends! Be as genuine and specific as you can, but compliments can take on many, many forms. Please feel welcome to share your experiences and thoughts regarding the day in comments on this post.

Also, EXP will lead three short (under 10 minutes) events on the main green to celebrate. If you'd like to participate, please bring 2 friends at the following times:
Midnight Monday night
Noon Tuesday
Midnight Tuesday night

Q: What is that symbol?
A: The trefoil knot. It was found punctuating the original document that outlines Platonic love day.

Q: Document?
A: Yes, document. A text written in the style of Plato's dialogues was recently discovered near the ruins of the Temple of Apollo in Corinth. Most of the document has been lost, corrupted by the ravishment of time, but the legible portions discuss Platonic love (which, oddly enough, bears more semblance to the modern notion of Platonic love than the theory of love Plato outlines in his Symposium) and the creation of a holiday celebrating it. Authorship is uncertain. A new translation appears below.

The opening section is corrupted and unreadable.

Apollodorus

But that is simply not how I conceive of love. It is just a bit unwieldy. And I don’t think that is where the belly-button came from.

Plato

It is fact, Apollodorus. Science.

Apollodorus

You are the boss. But maybe I can speak for a moment on love between friends? Love based on affection, without any sexing? A love devoid of exclusivity?

Plato

That is something else entirely.

Apollodorus

I will call it Platonic love with your permission.

Plato

You do not have my permission.

A fragment is missing, presumably in which Apollodorus gains Plato’s permission to use his name.

Apollodorus

So this Platonic love, it is all around us!

Plato

If that were the case, why would people not shower one another with affection willy-nilly?

Apollodorus

Maybe they cannot.

Plato

What is to stop them?

Apollodorus

Why, the shackles of a society which tells them no! The norm is to complement someone if you want something out of them, whether it be sex, money, food, entertainment, what have you.

Plato

That’s not at all true. Apollodorus, I think you have beautiful eyes. And I am not even trying to get into your toga.

Apollodorus

First of all, yes you are. Secondly, your agenda for complementing me was to disprove my point. Thirdly, this conversation created a framework in which you could complement me. A decontextualized complement is a rare and suspect creature. So they generally do not happen. But that does not mean that Platonic love does not exist. It is just squelched and internalized.

Plato

So why do you not create a framework in which people can complement each other and show affection without the assumption of an underlying agenda?

Apollodorus

Such as a forum?

Plato

Broader?

Apollodorus

A new country?

Plato

Something a little more manageable with slightly less military imperative perhaps.

Apollodorus

A holiday!

Plato

Go on.

Apollodorus

We shall establish a day on which the conventional norm is to compliment without agenda or expectation of reciprocation.

Plato

And how are you going to coerce people to display affection towards one another? Prizes for the best complement? Free food for participants?

Apollodorus

The act of giving and receiving love is incentive enough. The point of the framework is not to bribe people to act in a way they would not normally act. The assumption is that people want to display their affection for one another; it is just hard to do spontaneously.

Plato

And love will spread…

Apollodorus

Like what future generations will refer to as a “virus.” The viral transmission of love. One person will complement another, who will complement three others, and so on.

Plato

Hmm. Describe the day to me.

Apollodorus

Well, there is a feast of

The section describing the day has been lost, except for the fragment outlining the ritual.

Plato

And this ritual shall occur when?

Apollodorus

Thrice, at even intervals across the day. Midnight beginning the day, noon, and the midnight ending the day. It will be elegant and simple, so that anyone can participate with ease.

Plato

So pairs of people

Apollodorus

Trios.

Plato

Why?

Apollodorus

Pairs of people are your thing. Trios are mine. I think it is as important and joyful to witness friends complimenting each other as it is to give and receive. So the three shall stand in a triangle, cross arms, hold hands, and take turns complimenting each other, once around as the sundial processes, and once in the reverse direction, so that each gives to the other two, and each receives from the other two.

Plato

What should the complements be like?

Apollodorus

Genuine. Specific. Heartfelt. They can be anything though.

Plato

Are you going to name it after me?

Apollodorus

Platonic Love Day.

Plato

Ah. When will it be?

The rest of the text is missing.

CLIPS AND CHIPS Questionnaire

Curious about the expiration date stickers posted around campus?


They announce the date of EXP's latest UNLIKELY EVENT. But is this unlikely event for you? Well, please take a moment to consider this questionnaire...

1. You have an attention span of approximately 1 minute and 30 seconds
2. You love cartoons but worry about age-appropriateness
3. You eat food provided for you
4. You've often thought: "Why can't watching YouTube be a community-building activity? Why must I always choose between my laptop and my friends? Why doesn't somebody just rent a projector and play some animation on the wall of their living room and then give me a blanket and a beer and can't there please be a Klezmer band too?"

If any of the above apply to you, EXP has a solution:

CLIPS AND CHIPS
Student animation, food, drink and live music
Friday 11/31, 9:30
208 Williams (off of Hope), 3rd floor.

Brown Snapshot Project Video

EXP. 11/10/07 - The Brown Snapshot Project

Curious about the expiration date stickers posted around campus?

They announce the date of EXP's latest UNLIKELY EVENT. This Saturday November 10th 2007 from 2pm-4pm THE BROWN SNAPSHOT PROJECT, a visiting student group that aims to capture the ways we EAT, SLEEP, and LEARN, will be offering insider tours of the university. In their own words:

"Sometimes it's just amazing to think about how many things are happening at once. One student might be studying for an exam, and another might be talking to a friend. We hope that through our tour project we can help people appreciate and explore the wonder of different things happening at the same time. Come get the inside scoop. We promise it will leave you thinking!"

That's Saturday the 10th 2-4 pm on the Main Green. EXP hopes to see you there.

EXP. 10/7/07 - Staging the Revolution

On October 7th, 2007, EXP brought dodge balls, megaphones, tableus, lighter fluid, and Karl Marx to Brown University. In other words, a revolution.

EXP. 10/6/07 - Door-to-Door Performance Artists [on paper]

The script, the script!



(me)
Hello, good afternoon,
I hope you’re having a wonderful day
We are a performance group from College Hill, and we’d like to show you a short play.
To perform it take five minutes tops
We can do it right here, outside, in sunshine or rain drops.

Alright, well,, without further ado, we present to you our show,
It’s all in good fun, so please don’t go…

(Jose)
Much thanks for letting us perform for you,
We’re excited to tell you this story anew.
It’s sort of sad, so tears may seep
But I have with me tissues in case you must weep.

(Elise)
Ay, he’s right, it’s a tale of great woe
Where a brave soldier doth fight, and his life doth go.
He is married you see, and his wife is saddened.
But a genius doctor arrives who is skilled though maddened.

(me)
And now we’ll act the story from here
Because we don’t want boredom too near.
From the left we see the soldier enter
Speaking casually with his fighting mentor.

(Soldier)
Oh man, I married this amazing girl.
She’s my love, my heart, my body’s pearl.
If anyone dares take her from me,
A fight will have to be his fee.


(Mentor)
Yes, yes, understandably so,
Your wife is as pretty as a golden doe.
[To the side]
So pretty in fact that I want her for me.
I’ll steal her from him today by three.

(Soldier)
What’s that dear mentor, do you talk to yourself?
Oh please speak up, not like some small elf.
[looking at his clock] Woah, it looks as if I’ve lost track of time
It’s nearly 3, so to work I must climb.

(soldier climbs away)
(mentor approaches soldier’s wife)

(mentor)
Hello there miss, you’re looking real fine
I was just wondering if you want to be mine.
I’ve got money and gifts and a home for you
We could be together in love us two.

(wife)
Oh dear I’m really sorry to say
I recently married in the month of may.
My husband, he’s a brave soldier in town.
He makes me so happy I never frown.

(mentor)
[getting evil] Well then, I’ll have to take you by force,
Your love will not affect my course.
You’re to be mine you see, I love you so,
Don’t think about running, there’s nowhere to go.

(Just then the soldier enters)
(soldier)
What’s this mentor? Do you steal my wife?
Aha! Well then! Meet my knife! [He wips out his sword]
Let’s duel, you and me, until someone dies
Because you can’t have my wife! Oh look! She sighs!

[wife sighs]

(wife)
Dear husband, please, you must win this fight
I love you so much, with all of my might.
If you die today, I don’t know what I’ll do,
I’ll mourn all my life at the church’s pew.

(mentor)
Even as she’s about to faint, I think she’s the loveliest of all
(soldier)
[angrily] Don’t even think about it mentor, you’re about to meet your fall.
(mentor)
Oh, you make me laugh you soldier you
I’ll kill you in a moment, on the count of two.

(crowd counts to two)
(soldier and mentor fight)
(mentor kills soldier, who yells out)
(wife rushes to his body, hysterical)


(wife)
Oh my God! You’ve killed him now!
I hate you, I do, you’re the worst kind of foul.
Run away from here, I’ll never be yours!
[to the crowd]Is there a doctor here who knows many cures?!
(mentor runs away in horror)
(mad doctor appears from the crowd)

(doctor)
Yes, there is, I can save your man’s life
I’m an expert, you see, at curing wounds from a knife.
I’ll give him two drops of this magic potion
And in one minute, his body will be back in motion.

(Doctor administers potion. Soldier returns to life)

(wife)
Hooray! You’re back! I thought it’d never be so!
I couldn’t stand the idea that you had to go!
This doctor saved you, he’s amazing, the best!
Though he does wear funny clothing, just look at his vest!

(doctor)
Now, now, don’t judge me by the way I dress
I happen to be a lunatic, I must confess.
But my lunacy makes me the best doctor on earth
And no one can deny that I bring them much mirth!

(soldier)
You certainly do, doctor, thank you so much.
For saving my life, I’ll treat you to lunch.
My wife and I are excellent cooks
We’ll reward you for all the effort you took.

(The three march off joyfully to lunch)

(Jose)
And so, you see, the tale does not end so crappy.
(Elise)
That’s right, happiness was resolves awfully snappy.
(Me)
What we hope is that it’s made the audience happy
(Jose)
Despite the fact that it was awfully sappy.

(everyone)
The end!


(me)
Thanks you for watching, and now we’ll move on
Have a wonderful weekend once we are gone!

Instantly, Jose hits play on the boom box!

EXP. 10/6/07 - Door-to-Door Performance Artists

On October 6th, 2007, EXP harnessed the Mummer Within and brought door-to-door medieval performance to the fair citizens of Providence, RI. WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW!

The Dates:

Weekend of "Unlikely Events" : October 6 & 7
Undergraduate New Play Experience : October 26 & 28
Weekend of "Unlikely Events" : November 10 & 11
Weekend of "Unlikely Events" : December 1 & 2