My submission:

SPONTANEOUS GAMES

I wanted to create something which seemed a dramatic and quick intervention into someone’s daily routine. To turn a person into a performer without any previous introduction to the rule of the performance means that I had to pick an intervention which drew on the shared experiences of many individuals. This intervention is intended to happen on a sidewalk, or in another heavily trafficked area.

Spontaneous games would intersect a person’s day-to-day life for only a few short seconds. Using simple visual cues, the spectator/temporary performer should be able to tell immediately what the nature of the game is and how to play it. Some examples:

Sidewalk Limbo –
Two people hold a stick below head height across a sidewalk. Ideally, they take up only half of the sidewalk to allow for those who aren’t willing performers to pass by. Otherwise, the move for people who seem impatient or not willing to participate. Participants limbo under the stick on their way down the street.

Sidewalk Hopsctoch –
A hopscotch game is drawn in the middle of a busy downtown sidewalk. The people who set up the intervention take turns playing and inviting others to hop their way down the sidewalk.

The Ground is Lava –
Tiles depicting either lush grass or a hellish torment-scape full of fire and spiky looking things are laid in an area semi-randomly. Those who remember the old “ground is lava” game may recognize the visual cues and react accordingly (striding/jumping between the grassy spots)

Red Light, Green Light –
A person stands on a sidewalk with an exaggerated image of a stop light (not a stop sign, so as not to confuse pedestrians with standard construction zone cues). Small sliding cardboard panels either turn “on” or “off” the stoplight. People may or may not stop when they see the light go from green to red.

Red Rover –
Two people join hands and stand in the middle of a sidewalk. As someone approaches, they shout out the standard “Red Rover, Red Rover, let X over!”. X, in this case, is a description of the person approaching them. Encourage total strangers to run headlong into your linked arms!