I love the sound of whooshing jump ropes.
We began this piece with the jumprope. Ben spun it above his head until it made whooshing sounds. He spun it and walked around in a circle until his arm grew tired. As he did this I played with the portable radio. I walked around and crouched beneath the swirling jumprope. I changed the volume and the channel with each movement so that each time I changed places a different sound came from the radio. Once Ben's arm grew tired he threw the jump rope on the ground. I dropped the radio.
We met in the middle of the room and sat cross legged facing each other. We pulled two spoons from a glass filled with peanut butter and coiled our arms around each other to eat a spoonful of peanut butter. We chewed and stood up again.
We changed places. I now had the jump rope and Ben had the radio. I spun it above my head until I was tired. Ben differed from me in his radio movements. He crouch-walked and danced a bit, the radio on static. Once my arm grew tired I dropped the jump rope, he dropped the radio, and we walked out of the room.
One of the hardest things about this piece was trying to keep a straight face. We didn't practice, I didn't know how it would turn out but I was happy with the end product. I didn't expect to feel the power I did when holding the jumprope, and the caution I felt when holding the radio, avoiding the reach of the jump rope above my head.
I was really happy with the symbolism the other students saw when watching the piece. Some said it reminded them of a relationship. One more powerful and another more submissive, made equals communicating while eating, and then trading places. I think that was a good metaphor for the piece.
The piece could maybe be improved with more peanut butter, and perhaps a different item instead of the radio, something that makes a more subtle noise than the jump rope. I also need to think of a better title.