Photos from Things that should not be picked up in the first place: five held at Jura$$ic Park, Chicago, IL on April 21 and 28, 2016.
Things that should not be picked up in the first place: five was created, produced, and directed by Becky Grajeda and performed by Nicholas Davis, Beth MacDonald, Neal Markowski, Jacob Miller, and Grajeda.
Things that should not be picked up in the first place is a series of site-specific performances that use humor, absurd actions, and the displacement of sound to play with an audience's level of discomfort. Each performance begins with Grajeda interviewing another performer and gradually the absurd actions of other performers disrupt and consume the performance.
Actions depicted above include Tube/a-ing Trio and Grunt Volley.
Tube/a-ing Trio for Beth MacDonald, Neal Markowski, and Jake Miller Two performers use flexible electrical and HVAC tubing and small objects (which may be put through the tubes) to create sound. A third performer improvises on tuba, reacting to the sounds created by the tube performers.
Grunt Volley for Neal Markowski and Jake Miller Two performers stand across from each other grunting at each other as would tennis players during a tennis match.