Yasmin Kaytmaz & Justine Neuberger

Night Shift

In One Act

Title: "How many miles to Babylon? Three score miles and ten. Can I get there by candle-light? Yes, and back again... If your heels are nimble and your toes are light, You may get there by candle-light"

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SCENE 1

LONG SHOT OF SYMBOLIC SCENE

A woman makes her way home. It is 2 am and her vision blurs into the city. She has had two cocktails. Her body aches. Her shirt is covered in grease. She lights a cigarette. She decides to stop walking and looks around. Lights come from behind her as cars pace by. She glances toward them and decides to look up.

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Title: Today like many of her other days

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SCENE 2

CLOSE UP OF WOMAN'S FACE

An image in the sky pulls her head back. Her eyes grow large and her mouth drops. The fog drifts away from cement buildings and the city emerges from heights previously impenetrable by human conception. She stands in her exhaustion, frozen, with an ash erect cigarette. The city seems empty.

Title: WHISPERS!!

Title: Is Someone there?!?

People wander from behind cement corners. With her particularly overworked body, she drags her head down and tries to stare into the faces of all those around her. However, they are blurred and appear to have a slight glow following them.

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Title: What is this chanting!?

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SCENE 3

MEDIUM LONG SHOT OF SIDEWALK

Slowly a line finds itself near the cracked sidewalk that she stands directly upon. The glow becomes radiant. She sits like a shadow near the edges of the building. She observes strategically, but falls to the ground further cracking the cement with her heavy, overworked body. The line begins to protrude into the streets.

Title: Chanting Continues. Break! Disturb! Smash!

Title: Throwing rocks at wood homes reveals only the cement walls will survive!!

CLOSE UP OF MEN FIGHTING

They besiege their childhood homes and their mothers beg for their treasures to be shown mercy. After hours of fighting against those at odds with the destruction, the men and women finally have destroyed the city.

MEDIUM SHOT OF DESTROYED HOMES

They wander off picking their new homes reminding their children to live amongst the destruction rather than to build upon it to make it their own.Of course there are those who will do so and they will fight til death to keep their possessions.

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SCENE 4

ClOSE UP OF WOMAN

Title: The woman, now a bit warmer as flames congregate around debris, decides to now proceed ahead.

Title: It remains unsaid why she was able to see the consciousness of the city that night. It may be worthwhile to consider it was only through her exhaustion and overworked body she could see the rapid internal collapse the city faced. A purposeful end to a greater beginning.

Title: To live amongst destruction is the only way the city does not erupt into itself. Instincts can flourish and dark unusual passions may arouse. Nothing succeeds there except the collective hope that regeneration will begin again.

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Title: "How many miles to Babylon? Three score miles and ten. Can I get there by candle-light? Yes, and back again... If your heels are nimble and your toes are light, You may get there by candle-light"

Yasmin Kaytmaz (b. 1995) previously attended Parsons The New School and focused primarily on sculpture in the Fine Art Department. This is her second exhibition at 17 Essex. She is currently a living and working artist in New York City.

Justine Neuberger (b. 1993) received her BA in Studio Art and Art Histroy at Oberlin College in 2015 and her MA in TESOL in 2019. She currently lives and works in New York City.