Performance Indication #39

romantic con schmaltz






- John Zorn


Date: Friday, February 25, 2005, 6:58 pm
Line: "SFO/Millbrae" BART train (car 1530)
Location: between 12th Street and West Oakland stations

A middle-aged gentleman with puffy brown hair and a long face boards at Powell Street station. He wears a beige sweater while carrying a warm-up jacket under one arm and two plastic shopping bags in the other. He shuffles over to the seat and notices the indication. Deciding it doesn't present a problem, he sets his bags down and takes a seat next to it. He offboards at the very next stop, carefully and deliberately getting off the train at Civic Center station.

Performance Indication #38

wistfully elegant






- George Crumb


Date: Tuesday, February 22, 2005, 7:29 pm
Line: "SFO/Millbrae" BART train (car 1814y)
Location: between 12th Street and West Oakland stations

A gentleman boards at West Oakland station. He wears blue jeans, a blue coat, and a brown and white and orange striped stocking cap topped with a single fuzzy orange pom-pom. He prowls the train for a spare newspaper finally discovering an abandoned copy of the San Francisco Chronicle. With his new reading material in hand, the gentleman takes a seat next to the indication, positioning himself with great deliberance yet never noticing the indication. Having found his preferred sitting position, he slumps back into his chair, propping both knees against the back of the adjacent seat.

Performance Indication #37

cultivate renunciation






- Erik Satie


Date: Wednesday, February 16, 2005, 7:14 pm
Line: "SFO/Millbrae" BART train (car 1637y)
Location: between 12th Street and West Oakland stations

A lady boards at Embarcardero station. She wears black-rimmed glasses, a black sweater, black and white checkered pants, and a soft maroon hat. She clutches a white jacket with a fur-rimmed hood. As she takes her seat opposite the indication, she notices it and considers it with a long and thoughtful look. She then sits down, facing the indication, and folds her arms. She nervously fidgets with her hat, then her jacket, and then her cell phone.

A gentleman boards at Montgomery Street station. He is tall and wears a blue collared shirt. His hair is short-cropped and gelled, and his face is pock-marked. He sits next to the indication but never notices its presence.

A second gentleman boards at Powell Street station. He wears a white sweatshirt that says: "TEAM ATTITUDE - RUMMEL BASKETBALL." He takes a seat, but like the first gentleman, never notices the indication. He simply sits down, propping his head on his hand.

Performance Indication #36

like a flash of light






- John Zorn


Date: Wednesday, February 16, 2005, 6:45 pm
Line: "Richmond" BART train (car 1756y)
Location: between Hayward and Bay Fair stations

A lady boards at Bay Fair station. Her hair is tied in a pony tail with a brown scrunchy. She wears a fleecy, dark blue hooded sweatshirt and carries a white plastic bag. Without ever noticing the indication, she tosses her bag into the seatwell and follows after it, swinging herself into the seat and on top of the indication. She frequently but discretetly looks around the car. She is particularly drawn to the gentleman to her right who is engrossed in a conversation on his cell phone.