At noon on Sunday, 6 August 2000, the Surveillance Camera Players (SCP) performed God's Eyes Here on Earth in front surveillance cameras at St. Patrick's Cathedral for the third time in a month. (The other two performances were on 16 July and 23 July 2000.) The only reason the SCP didn't perform in front of the Cathedral on 30 July 2000 -- indeed, the only reason the group doesn't perform the play in front of the Cathedral every single Sunday -- is that the SCP don't want either the New York Police Department or the Cathedral's security guards to get a bead on the group's activities. Mobility and the element of surprise remain among the keys to the SCP's success as an agitation and propaganda group.
But the police do in fact have a bead on the group. (Not so the Cathedral's own security detail, which wasn't even there for the most recent performance.) The SCP's third performance at the Cathedral ended exactly the same way and at roughly the same time of day as the second performance did, i.e., with the driver of a police car headed down Fifth Avenue stopping in front of the Cathedral and demanding to know if the group had a permit to "demonstrate." As a matter of fact, both times the driver of the car was the same police officer! The second time he appeared, he said to one of the SCPers, "Are you protesting against that camera up there again?" In answer to this, the SCPer replied, "We've finished." "Well, you'll have to be moving on again," the cop said. "See you next week!" came the cheerful reply.
Because three performers were on hand (Bill, Gus and new-comer Kristin), the group was able to have someone hand out flyers, while the other two did the play. As a result, the SCP was able to respond to questions and find out what people think about surveillance cameras and the SCP's efforts to expose their existence. Without question, the responses to the play this third time were stronger and more positive than the first two. One fellow said that, if he were a baseball player, he'd throw a fastball at the camera and knock it out. Another, less flippant, said that he wanted the government out of people's private lives and this meant no police cameras in public places.
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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