Political Speech For A Hydra

On November 4th, I performed Jason Kunke’s performance script, Political Speech for a Hydra, as part of the Exchange Rate: 2008 performance exchange. The script is essentially a political speech that was primarily comprised of the voices of people who were present during assassinations or attempted assassinations of U.S. Presidents. This included the following: James G. Blaine, Floyd Boring, Jim Brady, Anton Cermak, John Connally, George B. Cortelyou, David Crockett, Albert H. Martin, Henry Rathbone, Mikheil Saakashvili, Oliver Sipple, as well as a description of a college football game between Auburn and Arkansas from October 29, 1994.

These were the instructions for performing the script:

“It must be delivered publicly, by a single orator, and must not be edited. It should be delivered in a manner consistent with political speeches, with gravity and purpose. The orator must attempt to deliver the speech as smoothly and seamlessly as possible, in one voice, though the speech’s content is derived from multiple voices. The orator is allowed to dress themselves and the performance environment in anyway they see fit, using any accoutrements, costumes, effects, or props that they desire, or none at all, so long as the flow of the speech is not hindered, or the content obscured. The orator may use a printed copy of the speech. All errors are quoted verbatim and should be considered [sic]. Some simple stage directions are scattered throughout, denoted by brackets. I apologize for its length; a quick delivery should take between roughly 12-15 minutes, though there is no time limit or minimum.”

The script is available here in pdf format.

Documentation of Performance of Political Speech for a Hydra at the Exchange Rate: 2008 Los Angeles Event – 11/04/08