Timepiece (2018)

DESCRIPTION
On a recent hike in the Hudson Valley (where I often do my best thinking) I happened upon a flock of turkey vultures taking flight for their evening supper. They circled around (the technical term for a group of vultures is a “kettle”) gaining altitude as they went (the better to then disperse over long distances in search of food.) Vultures are heavy birds, with broad wings, so they don't flap all that much (unlike, say, a sparrow.) Instead, they stretch out their wings like big sails, and ride the rising thermal currents of the wind.

Watching the flight of these vultures that day, I was struck by the way their presence in the air allowed me to perceive a persistent truth about air that is normally inaccessible to my perception – the supposedly “empty” space of sky is in fact full of a constantly shifting topography of wind currents (a fact entirely obvious to a vulture.) Still, I needed the vultures to see it. (In fact, to be more exact, I still couldn't see “it,” only one of its effects, i.e. bearing aloft a kettle of vultures.) When I looked to the left, where no vultures flew, the sky once again appeared “empty.”

This play is called Timepiece. It’s sixty-one words long. It's length is about an hour.

Timepiece is one possible answer to the question “What is the least possible play?” It’s answer is: “remove everything you can, and you’re left with the passage of time. Let’s watch that happen together.”

CREDITS
Written by Jerry Lieblich
Directed by Amy Rosenblum
Featuring Emma Meltzer, Danielle Frimer

PRODUCTION HISTORY
Timepiece has not yet been formally performed. Emma, Danielle, Amy and I rehearsed it for a bit, and performed it twice in an apartment - it was very interesting. I’d like to do it again sometime.