31 of may 2003
Rue de Rive Geneva, Switzerland from 14.45 to 17.00
team - video operator, Patrick and swiss reporter

I am in Geneva, since 11 this morning, for the G8 and art and activism summit.
I was invited precisely because of my experiments with the puppet theatre-like platform ACT 2. To see if it could be relevant in a demonstration like atmosphere.

The first plan was to start tomorrow, as everyone else involved, and also the demonstrations. So this afternoon I decided just to go around the city for a recognition tour. To see what could be the right spot for the action. I was looking for the commercial areas of geneva. To stir up my favorite audience, city dwellers on a shopping mission.

And it is summer time in Geneva, everyone is out, even if the city is half desert, because of the expected demonstrations, and probable riots, half the shops are also bordered up with wood.

So I was going for a walk, just as one of this demonstrations tourists, looking at the grafittis on the new wooded walls, taking a few pictures, enjoying the weather, when, walking down one of this commercial streets that are just the same in every big city in europe that i realised that i had to take Act2 out today. Tomorrow the city will be under heavy policial control, and blocs and demonstrations will pop up everywhere, And this is not the perfect situation for Act2. Today was the perfect day, people are in a sort of expectation atmosphere, there,re a lot of people that cam just for the demonstrations, but the atmosphere is totally relaxed. people are not expecting so many things going on today, and i can still provoke those i mostly want, the shoppers.

I run back to the SOIA headquarters- la Usine- totally decided, its has to be today! got the crew together, which means Patrick, a guy from SOIA that would come and report the event. And on the mean time a journalist form the Swiss television, doing a documentary on the summit decided to join.

We headed to the city centre, taking with us the G8 delegation inside the box: Blair, Bush, Chretien, Berlusconi, Chirac, schroder, Prodi, Koizumi and Putin. found the perfect spot, a small square with a fountain in the half boarded up, but still busy commercial street rive. A bit of performative show off - the video maker, first set the tripod, the frame is decided, and then i came in and open up the box. At this time the TV reporter is also following all my moves. the three of us back from it. And it just starts immediately. people stop, and pick the puppets and play, again and again. Of course there's a special atmosphere in the city, almost festive like, of something that is about to happen, there's a bit of adrenaline in the air.

I wondered if all this people came to demonstrate against the globalization or actually came to see a city under siege?

Wonderful to see it being used do quickly, causing such a big interest, the three of us were quite amazed, and surprised my swiss hosts, that argue that swiss people are usually more reserved, which say's a lot for the atmosphere or the number of foreigns in the city.

We film, photographed the play, I gave an interview to the Reporter, and we could not stop being amazed by the interest it aroused. Mostly the number of people that stopped and photographed the puppet theatre -or better the characters. And i mean really a huge amount, like 70% of all the passers-by (actually quite striking also the amount of people carrying a camera). The whole G8 theatre stars. I suppose as a souvenier.

In the mean time, my team went back to base, but I decided to stay, after all it was such a nice day, and people were enjoying it really! So I sat in the sun, and kept amazed and amused by the reports, today everyone is a reporter of my platform!
Moved away from the sun, already feeling my arms quite burned. Sat next to fountain, saved a young sparrow of drowning, kept watching the performers and reporters. enjoyed the fact of not being recognized as the responsible, and that actually most of the people wasn't looking for one.

After a couple of hours, I felt it was time to wrap it up, and when I was about to leave, a group of boys inquired me about the structure, what was it, and what was meant for. ( as usual, when I am there there's so many questions about the reasons) and 2 boys, sweating exclaimed - "Oh! no are you leaving we came on porpose to play", they had meet some friends that told them about it. I decided to open it again: to show the 3 guys how it works, and let the 2 swiss boys play. And they put up quite a show, more than 20 people gather to watch and even clap in the end.

This is what Act 2 got from a demonstrating atmosphere.
And I had a nice time in my first time in the city of the water jet.
posted by carla at 5:09 PM