Photos and score from Things that should not be picked up in the first place: four, held at Jura$$ic Park, Chicago, IL on November 16, 2015.

Things that should not be picked up in the first place: four was created, produced, and directed by Becky Grajeda and performed by Nicholas Davis, 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. 

In Things...four actions were adapted from or inspired by those from the Fluxus movement and the fortieth edition of the Fluxus Performance Workbook. Actions included the following:

Directive for Jake Miller 1 by Becky Grajeda                                                                                                                                                         Leave the office space to smoke a cigarette. As you walk through the audience, slowly clasp three audience members’ hands gently and discreetly.