Fisher Center, John Cage Trust
John Cage’s Empty Words
June 30, 2012
Tickets: $55
John Cage’s Empty Words is a 12-hour, overnight event during which participants will collectively experience a rare recorded performance by John Cage of Empty Words (1974), a marathon text drawn from the Journals of Henry David Thoreau. Empty Words is one of Cage’s most sustained and elaborate moves toward the “demilitarization” of language, in four parts: Part I omits sentences, Part II omits phrases, and Part III omits words. Part IV, which omits syllables, leaves us nothing but a virtual lullaby of letters and sounds.
The Overnight Program*
| 7 pm | Settling in/Meet and Greet (wine and vegetable crudité) |
| 8:29 pm | Part I |
| 10:59 pm | Intermission (garbanzo and lentil soup) |
| 11:29 pm | Part II |
| 1:59 am | Intermission (brown rice and vegetables) |
| 2:29 am | Part III |
| 4:49 am | Intermission (Bancha and Gen Mai Chai, with seeds and nuts) |
| 5:29 am | Part IV |
*A simple macrobiotic meal will be served at intervals throughout the night, to Cage’s specifications. Dusk & Dawn Music provided by Josh Quillen of Sō Percussion, in a program of works scored for amplified plant materials, water, conch shells, and burning pinecones.
Before You Buy
- All participants must arrive for registration no later than 7:30 pm.
- There may be videography and/or photography documentation of this event, in which case you will be asked to sign a release.
- All participants must be age 16 or older.
- Please do not bring alcohol, drugs, or outside food or drink into the venue.
- All participants are asked to stay for the duration of the event. Those who elect to leave will not be readmitted between the hours of midnight and 4:30 am.
What to Bring
- Please arrive dressed in clothing appropriate for sleep.
- Please bring your own bedding (duvets, quilts, pillows, inflatable mattresses).
- Please bring a flashlight and toiletries (restrooms are available, showers are not).
This event is part of the worldwide celebration of John Cage’s Centennial Year. It is a co-production of the John Cage Trust, New Albion Records, and the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts.
Tickets for this event are extremely limited and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, contact the John Cage Trust at 845-835-8022 or emartin@johncage.org.
Tickets for this event are $55 per person. If you are ready to order tickets, please call the Fisher Center box office at 845-758-7948. The box office is open Monday through Friday from 10 am to 5 pm.