At 1 pm on Sunday 3 December 2000, just as Mass was letting out, the Surveillance Camera Players (SCP) once again -- for the sixth time in five months -- performed God's Eyes Here on Earth in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. The play is often performed by the SCP, in part because its gently provocative content never fails to elicit interesting responses from the people who see it, and in part because it is designed to be performed at a place that many people visit or walk by, especially during the "holiday season." (The Cathedral is located on Fifth Avenue and across the street from Rockefeller Center, which has already opened its ice-skating rink and erected and illuminated its huge Christmas tree.)
As at previous performances of the play, a number of people stopped to read the boards being held aloft; some of them even read these boards aloud to each other. A few people took pictures. Susan overheard one woman who read aloud -- "Why are there surveillance cameras at the church?" -- until her friend (also female) said, "Don't encourage them by paying any attention," and whisked her friend away. Because the group -- Bill, Susan and Beth -- was short on players, there was no one to hand out flyers and answer questions while the performance was going on. As a result, all of the memorable conversations took place after it was over. Most notably, Susan talked to a tall man in his 60s who came up to her to say, "I like the cameras." Susan responded, "Some people do." "That's because I'm not a Jew," the man replied. Flabbergasted, Susan asked, "What does being a Jew have to do with it?" "The Jews want to undermine everything," the nice man replied. "Do you live in this country, sir?" Susan asked. But he didn't answer and simply walked away.
In attendance at this performance was a journalism student and a photographer, both from New York University; the writer intends to publish a piece on the SCP on the Internet. Also in attendance was a small crew from Canal Plus, the French TV station. There were no problems whatsoever with either police officers or security guards.
Contact the Surveillance Camera Players
By e-mail e-mail:notbored@NOSPAMoptonline.net
By snail mail: SCP c/o NOT BORED! POB 1115, Stuyvesant Station, New York City 10009-9998
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