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Wind blowing. Gesel and David are outside walking along the sidewalk in front of a Spanish Colonial-style house. David stops in front of a fern bush and appears to sniff it. Birds chirp. Gesel stops in front of another fern bush ahead of David and pulls a leaf to her nose. David approaches Gesel.

that a fern?

David rubs his fingers on the leaves then holds them to his face, appearing to sniff them.

(unintelligible)

(laughter)

Both Gesel and David turn into the front walkway of the home. Flower bushes line the driveway.

[pointing to a rosebush] Oh, look at that.

David and Gesel each stop to smell a flower.

Oh, look at that. [points to a rose] (unintelligible)

(unintelligible) (laughter)

Beautiful flowers, man.

Gesel and David turn and walk up the steps to the front porch of the house. Gesel presses the doorbell. The camera zooms in slightly on Gesel and David. A dog barks from inside the house.

The front door opens.

(dog barking) My name is Gesel.

[waves right arm in a single arc] Hey!

Howdy, hi.

The dog continues barking as the man pulls the dog back inside the house. David looks back at the camera and smiles.

Cheles, you better get up here.

The camera cuts to a living room.

Have a seat, I got a couple chairs here. Um, (unintelligible)

The camera pans across the room to a dog. The dog barks. The camera pans across a white wall then down a hallway. The dog continues barking. At the end of the hallway is a door standing halfway open. The camera operator begins walking down the hallway. Clunky footsteps are heard on a hardwood floor.

So, what's uh--of the

The camera turns left and enters a room that appears to be a home office.

Oh, okay. I just wanted to make sure he's not out in the front with, uh--

The camera continues turning and shows David and Gesel seated adjacent to the third speaker. The third speaker is seated in an office chair. He is holding a soda can in his left hand.

Gettin' bit.

[laughing]

With, uh--exactly!

The 3rd speaker leans forward while laughing and looking at David.

[laughing] Remember that last time, [laughing] Robbie was like--.

The 3rd speaker leans back in his chair, still smiling, and recrosses his legs.

[laughing]

Well, she-- she startled him, but he ran out of the room.

He ran out.

I'm glad, uhm, he went that way.

Uh, huh. He ran, yeah. [leans forward to adjust glasses]

(laughter)

Otherwise, yeah, 'cause she'd be kind of a like a, a tidbit.

She'd be a snack, uh-huh. He'd be like-- [smacks his hands together imitating jaws snapping shut]

What's it-- what's the dog's name?

Finished.

His name's Mojo.

Mojo.

Yeah, he's a big boy. Yeah. We're [gestures to David] big dog fans.

Uh-huh. [nods, smiling]

Yeah.

(unintelligible)

Camera cuts to Gesel and 3rd Speaker facing away from the camera. They are in the same room, but they are now standing in front of a table. Gesel hands the 3rd speaker a piece of paper.

Yeah, let's do this.

Yeah, so I won't be grabbin' it.

Is this, uh, any--

It's all on here. I don't--

On this one.

Yeah.

Okay.

The third speaker lays down the piece of paper on the table and leans over it.

Now. What did I just do?

Hm.

The camera arcs around the 3rd Speaker's right shoulder to show a microphone with a black pop filter attached affixed to the table.

Seems to work.

(laughs)

The camera arcs around to show Gesel and 3rd Speaker's faces.

Okay, now we won't have any wrinkly stuff (unintelligible)

Right, right, right.

Uh, as long as you don't hit this [taps the pop filter in front of the microphone], ya know what I mean? Ah, you're a little bit [adjusts the pop filter] that actually should work pretty good.

Is this too much light? I mean, like, too much heat? Or are you fine with it?

That's fine.

She's--she likes heat.

Aye yeet(??)

The third speaker steps behind Gesel and walks over to a stereo in the corner. He raises his right arm in the air, presses some buttons on the stereo, and snaps his fingers. Gesel holds a clipboard in her right hand.

Alright, um, if, if I can, can you just start reading? I'm just gonna get some level stuff.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

The 3rd speaker puts on headphones and presses buttons on the stereo.

Funny how it's the little things we remember about the moments we'd rather forget. I remember a magnificent sun, and white steps [holds up left hand] that [flattens hand and waves it in emphasis] glistened like magical porcelain. [wiggles fingers in a soft fist shape] Maybe I remember these things in order to forget the feeling of my heart being crushed. I loved Katherine with all my heart. And I had never known a thrill like running up the steps in front of that courthouse with my arm around her. She was so excited that when I placed my hand on her chest, next to that red flower she insisted on wearing, I could feel her heart [opens hand, facing out] pounding [hand returns to soft fist] through the faded lace of her grandmother's wedding dress. We were [swallows] halfway up the steps when the long line of couples waiting in the sun began to turn and walk away.

Okay, question for you

[turns toward 3rd Speaker] Mm-hmm.

Does anything get really loud or really soft from that?

[shakes head]

--or is, it's generally that.

It's somewhere in there, yeah.

Okay. [turns to David]

[nods, looking in Gesel's direction] Uh-huh.

[turns back to stereo] Um, then I guess we can start.

Um, Gesel, that first sent-”uh, start that one off really kind of informally. Just-

Funny how it's-”

Funny how it's the little things. Yeah.

[nodding] Okay.

Kinda matter of fact.

Do you have something I could stand on?

Um.

Is the mic too high for you?

Is the mic too high? I can lower the mic.

Oh, okay. If I could have it lowered a little bit that would be great.

3rd Speaker reaches down and makes a twisting motion with his arm. The microphone lowers.

I just saw the [points to something at eye-level] thing--

Camera cuts to a sideview of Gesel speaking into the microphone. The 3rd Speaker is standing to the left of Gesel. He is wearing headphones and pressing buttons on the stereo.

Gesel turns toward the camera and holds the clipboard up, blocking her face from view.

Yes.

Gesel pulls the clipboard down and flashes an open-mouth grin at the camera. She turns back to the 3rd speaker. The 3rd Speaker turns and looks in David's direction.

Okay.

Oh, yeah. I better be quiet.

(laughter)

Gah-lee! [sound of paper rattling offscreen]

(laughter)

Yeah, we might have to have you-”well, yeah, just sit real still.

Yeah.

[laughter]

It's just like in kindergarten. Alright.

Okay. Um. We're rolling. So, uh, start when you're ready.

Funny how it's the little things we remember about the moments we'd rather forget. I remember a [raises right hand toward the lower right corner of the clipboard] magnificent [forms a soft fist] sun. And, and white steps [fans out fingers] that glistened like magical porcelain. [wiggles fingers in emphasis, then spreads her hand.] Maybe I remember these things [flips hand upward, then gently shakes her hand repeatedly towards her chest] in order to forget the feeling of my heart being crushed. [waving hand up and down] I loved Katherine with all my heart and I had never [lifts voice, raises hand slightly] known [drops her hand] a thrill like [spreads her hand and pounds the air for emphasis] running up the steps in front of that courthouse with my arm around her. She was so excited that when I placed my hand on her chest, next to that red flower she insisted on wearing, I could feel her heart pounding through the faded lace of her grandmother's wedding dress. We were halfway up the steps when the long line of couples waiting in the sun began to turn and walk away. I do not know how to describe a look [nods head in emphasis] of utter devastation. The stoop of the shoulders, the tremble of the fingers, the reflection in the eyes of a heart the does not know if the next beat is worth taking. But that is what I saw in those couples. And right then and there, we knew. The weddings had been stopped. And that ours was, once again, forbidden. I don't know how long we stood there, unable to move, before Katherine managed to put her head on my shoulder. Then I remember the feel of her tears as they [inhales] rolled down my breast leaving tracks over my heart before they splattered onto those magical steps that no longer wished our feet to be there. Eventually, we made it home. We got drunk on a bottle of wine, listened to Nat King Cole. As I fell asleep in Katherine's arms, with her palm stroking my face, I wasn't thinking about the [pauses] politics of it. Or the biology of it. Or the right and wrong of it. No, I was too crushed for any of that to matter. That night, all I could think was, but I just wanted to love her. I fell asleep and dreamed about slaves jumping the broom to marry. But I suppose I was really dreaming about just how far this hatred could go.

Okay. That's it.

That was kind of a-

Camera cuts to a later moment in time.

-off the syllables a bit.

Mm-hmm.

And just go for a more natural flow. The tone of it is natural, but now we want to get the flow of it. And I think that's part of it, that if they--

(unintelligible)

"We knew the wedding had been stopped, and that ours was once again forbidden." It's also getting a sense of the sentence that the word is in. But that was getting there. Yeah, I think it could even have just a tiny bit more energy but not be any faster.

[nodding]

Yeah. We don't wanna give you too many more things to think of. (laughs)

Gesel performs a silly dance by dropping her shoulders side-to-side in an exaggerated motion.

Camera cuts to show Gesel approaching the microphone again. She abruptly raises her hands in the air just below her face with fingers spread, takes a deep breath, then drops her hands and closes them together in front of her.

Let's do it. Take two. Whoops. Rolling.

Funny how it's the little things we remember about the moments we'd rather forget. I remember a magnificent sun and white steps that glistened like magical porcelain. Maybe I remember these things in order to forget the feeling of my heart being crushed. I loved Katherine with all my heart. And I had never known a thrill like running up the steps in front of that courthouse with my arm around her. She was so excited that when I placed my hand on her chest, next to that red flower she insisted on wearing, I could feel her heart, pounding, through the faded lace of her grandmother's wedding dress. We were halfway up the steps when the long line of couples waiting in the sun began to turn and walk away. I do not know how to describe a look of utter devastation. The stoop of the shoulders, the tremble of the fingers, the reflection in the eyes of a heart that does not know if the next beat is worth taking. But that is what I saw in those couples. And right then and there, we knew. The weddings had been stopped. And that ours was, once again, forbidden. I don't know how long we stood there, unable to move, before Katherine managed to put her head on my shoulder. Then I remember the feel of her tears as they rolled down my breast, leaving tracks over my heart. Before they splattered onto those magical steps that no longer wished our feet to be there. Eventually, we made it home. We got drunk on a bottle of wine, listened to Nat King Cole. As I fell asleep in Katherine's arms, with her palm stroking my face, I wasn't thinking about the politics of it, or the biology of it, or the right and wrong of it. I was too crushed for any of that to matter. That night, all I could think was, but I just wanted to love her. I fell asleep and dreamed about slaves jumping the broom to marry. But I suppose I was really dreaming about just how far this hatred could go.

The end.

The camera cuts to a brightly lit facility. The camera operator walks down a hallway with a glass door at the end. The camera operator walks through the glass door and out onto a balcony that overlooks a parking lot. The operator returns through the glass door and walks back down the hallway, which opens into an atrium. The camera operator turns to his left and approaches two doors with vertical windows. The camera zooms through one window to show Gesel, David, and Taisha Paggett in a room with a marley floor. The door opens and the camera operator walks through.

Gesel lies down on the ground at the foot of Taisha lying sprawled on the floor with their right knee cocked to the side on the ground.

I know. You wanna switch her legs?

I think so.

Taisha straightens out their right leg in front of their self and cocks their left knee to the side.

Cause I'm gonna go for whatever leg is closest to me.

Yeah. Uh-huh. Okay, that's good.

Gesel rolls over to lie flat on her back with her wrists crossed over her chest. Her wrists are bound together. Her legs are stretched straight along the ground and her face tilts gently to the right.

Gesel rolls over slightly onto her left side and stretches her arms above her head towards the feet of the other dancer. She pushes herself toward the dancer as she pulls her wrists toward her chest. Then she reaches again and grabs a hold of the other dancer's right foot. She appears to pull the dancer's foot in order to pull herself closer to the dancer. She rests her head atop the other dancer's ankle.

She continues pulling herself up by the other dancer's leg.

See, I'm going to end up pulling myself to her.

Yeah. [crosstalk] One more time.

Gesel flails her legs.

One more time. You wanna stop further away from her.

Oh, to reach her foot.

Yeah. Uh-huh.

Like here?

A little bit closer so you can get the ankle.

Gesel grabs onto the other dancer's ankle and appears to struggle to pull herself closer.

Uh-huh. And now from there is it possible to drag her?

Gesel drags the other dancer toward her.

And then take [crosstalk] yeah, uh-huh.

Gesel rests her head on the other dancer's ankle.

The more you can pull her towards you. Can you stop yourself with your feet in the floor? Taisha, are you okay?

Yeah, I'm great.

(laughter)

You want me to go back to my original position?

Ah, no.

Camera focuses on David David Roussève. Gesel and Taisha are out of frame.

The camera slowly turns back toward the dancers. Gesel is holding onto the other dancer's ankle and attempting to drag herself.

I'm not really—

Grab her a little bit higher and see if that helps.

Actually, can you go back to your original position?

Yeah.

Taisha pushes theirself backwards across the floor approximately two feet.

Oh, it's the bent leg.

Once she gets there it's like-”there's almost like an angle(??).

(unintelligible)

The original position had the other leg?

Oh, no. I just meant I had already pulled her once so she was-”

Okay.

Gesel grabs onto the other dancer's ankle and pulls herself closer.

(unintelligible)

David stands up and walks over to Gesel and Taisha.

You know what? Yeah, that's good.

Although, try- we'll figure out how to get the bent leg but switch the bend. Because then what you want to be able to do is-

David lies down in the floor in front of Gesel.

You can grab her ankle, and her knee—(unintelligible)

David pulls the other dancer closer to him and drapes her right leg over his left hip while wrapping his right arm around the other dancer's torso.

Camera cuts to show David standing with Gesel sitting on the floor looking up at him. Taisha is still lying in their same position. David walks back over to his chair and sits down.

I think visually it wants to be the upstage leg that's bent.

You want me sliding, Marcus?

Camera cuts to a later moment in time.

We're gonna have to add a little drama for the desperation. (laughs) I'm thinking of making it more physically harder than it is. And then that's a good estimate of when you put your head on her chest. And then, boom, boom.

(unintelligible) (laughter)

Camera cuts. Gesel and Taisha lie flat on their backs. Gesel's wrists and ankles are bound in chains. She raises her knees and lifts her chest, then attempts to pull herself up by stretching her arms down in front of her and raising her head off the floor. She falls back down to the floor. She attempts to pull herself to a seated position on the floor, then falls back and makes a grunting sound.

Gesel reaches her arms above her head toward Taisha's foot, then pulls her arms back into her chest, moving closer to Taisha by pressing her right heel into the floor. She repeats this action again, pressing her left elbow into the floor and raising herself slightly off the floor as she contracts her arms into her chest and moves closer to Taisha. She falls back to the floor.

Gesel reaches for the dancers foot then drops her hands to the floor, grips the floor, and contracts her arms to her chest to pull herself closer to the dancer.

Gesel reaches and grabs onto Taisha's foot. She rolls over onto her back and pulls Taisha toward her. Gesel's mouth strains open and she grunts as she flips over on her side.

Yeah. Uh-huh.

Gesel grabs onto Taisha's thigh and pulls herself closer to them. She rests her head on Taisha's right hip. She grips Taisha's torso and pulls herself up to the other Taisha's chest. She rests her head on Taisha's chest with her mouth gaping open. She sighs, as if catching her breath, and closes her eyes.

Gesel contracts her body and pushes herself up on her left hip. She gazes down at Taisha's face. She appears to struggle as she pulls Taisha's left arm close to her face, as if the arm is very heavy, and pulls Taisha's body closer to hers. Taisha's body remains limp on the ground. Gesel unfurls her hand and holds Taisha's hand against her right cheek.

Gesel slowly rubs Taisha's hand down her right cheek as she gazes toward the sky with her eyelids lowered. Gesel gradually contracts her torso as if completely exhausted.

That's good. Okay.

Gesel opens her eyes and looks at David. She lowers Taisha's hand and smiles.

(unintelligible)

Camera cuts. Gesel is standing. She is wearing a long white dress with lace sleeves. Her wrists are bound and resting below her waist.

Can you hold like you're hanging at the very beginning?

Gesel begins raising her arms above her head.

Oh, we see that clearly, yeah.

Gesel adjusts her sleeves and wiggles her body with her arms overhead. She reaches her hands toward the ceiling and takes a gasping breath. She lowers her body by bending her knees slightly. Her arms remain in the air as if hanging from something above.

Okay.

Gesel lowers her arms and returns to a standing position. She adjusts the hem of her dress.

Alright. Ready?

Mm-hmm.

Gesel holds her bound wrists to her chest.

Okay, and sound goes in black.

Over the louspeaker, a raspy voice from what might be an older gentleman from the south begins to speak as if recalling an old memory. Gesel begins taking tiny restrained steps to the right. Her ankles are bound in chains. The voice says "Funny how it's the little things we remember about the times we want to forget." Gesel looks toward her left at the floor. Her fingers slowly extend into a prayer position. The voice continues, "Guess my mind remembers the chirp of the crickets at sunset and the smell of sweet summer grass."

Gesel begins raising her arms and twisting her body as if attempting to free herself from a restraint.

Grab.

She raises her arms above her head and extends her fingertips toward the ceiling. The voice continues "in hopes my heart might forget seeing my wife like that." Gesel raises her gaze to the ceiling and leans her head all the way back. She lowers her body by bending her knees.

Lights are fading up.

The raspy voice continues, "But I could never forget that sight." Gesel's body twists slightly, as if she is hanging from something above. The raspy voice continues, "or that it happend. Just 'cos we was so much in love." Gesel makes a coughing sound.

Gesel begins slowly turning her body to the left. The raspy voice continues "You see I never known nothing greater than the palm of Jesse's hand stroking my face as I fell asleep in her arms." Gesel begins slowly turning her body to the right. She makes a coughing sound. The voice continues, "That's what got me through those hot days of pickin'."

The raspy voice continues, "At night when Jesse would blow," Gesel coughs and makes a jerking motion with her body. The voice continues "the blisters on the back of my neck, and wipe my face with her palms," Gesel begins slowly rotating her body to the left, "well, even the life of a slave somehow started to seem worth living." Gesel drops her arms and contracts her torso. Her upper body falls forward and rebounds slightly, as if from total exhaustion.

If Yesterday Could Only Be Tomorrow by Nat King Cole begins to play. The music is soft and romantic. It's long drawn out notes make the song slow and relaxing to listen to.

Gesel slowly tilts her gaze to the lower left corner of the room. She remains hunched over. She jerks, as if startled. She raises her eyebrows in a look of surprise or shock and her palms are spread with fingers elongated. She holds this position and slowly reaches her arms out in front of her, as if reaching for something in the left corner of the room. She appears to be struggling, as if reaching takes all her strength.

Gesel extends her arms fully to the left corner of the room and holds them there. She wavers slightly, as if exhausted. She closes her eyes and begins slowly closing her palms. She pulls her arms back toward her torso as she begins to tilt her gaze up to the right and toward the ceiling.

Gesel makes a gasping noise and tosses her head back to the ceiling. Her mouth is open and her hands are splayed out in front of her chest. She wavers and makes a choking sound. She continues making this choking sound as she slowly unbends her knees and rises onto her toes, creating the sense that her body is being pulled by something above her.

Gesel makes another choking sound and slowly begins lowering her heels and bending her knees. Her gaze remains toward the ceiling, but her upper body gets weaker. She leans to the left and continues wavering.

Gesel suddenly gasps and pulls her hands close to her chest. Her hands are splayed out in front of her chest as she gazes at something in front of her. Her gaze appears to follow something as it moves across the floor in front of her to her right.

Gesel jerks to her right and splays her hands again, as if startled by something right next to her. She gasps as she jerks her hands in front of her face, as if to shield herself from whatever she sees. She holds her left arm over her eyes as she remains hunched forward and slowly bends closer to the ground.

The raspy voiced older gentlemen begins to speak again "I never understood how they could teach us about Jesus and then refuse to let us love." The tension in Gesel's arms gradually releases and she returns to a hunched over position. She makes gutteral sounds deep withing her throat as if attempting to speak, but is unable to communicate any words.

The raspy voice continues, "But on that man's plantation..." Gesel suddenly jerks and raises her body all the way up, as if startled by something unseen beneath her. She splays her fingers out in response. The raspy voice continues, "slaves was forbidden to marry."

Gesel continues making gutteral noises. She suddenly jerks her body to a standing position and tosses her head back toward the ceiling. Her mouth is open and her hands are splayed out in front of her chest. She holds this position and continues making gutteral sounds as the raspy voice continues, "But I loved Jesse with all my heart. And I wanted to hold her forever."

Gesel continues making gutteral noises as her torso begins contracting again. The raspy voice continues, "so while his family was away at church, all the slaves snuck out behind the last field of corn." Gesel slowly extends her body to the left. Her mouth is still open and she continues making gutteral sounds. Her gaze appears to fixate on something in the left corner of the room.

The raspy voice continues, "Oh, we put a broom on the ground. And while everybody was singing and clapping and dancing." Gesel maintains her gaze on the left corner of the room, but her body begins to relax. She slowly turns her gaze to something unseen in front of her as the raspy voice continues, "me and Jesse, we held each other tight and jumped over that broom. Then Jesse, she looked into my eyes and she said, 'I love you.'" Gesel maintains her gaze on something unseen in front of her. The raspy voice continues, "and now forever I am your wife."

She suddenly rises to a standing position and turns her gaze to the sky. Her mouth is wide open and she pants rapidly. Her palms are splayed out beneath her chin. Her upper body rocks as the raspy voice continues, "Didn't take long for him to find out we had married. I come back from the fields on the prettiest summer evening, just dreamin' 'bout the time I would soon spend with Jesse."

Gesel's right hand begins trembling. The raspy voice continues, "and you know what? That was the only time in my life." Gesel's mouth opens wider and her hands tremble harder. She makes sounds with her mouth that seem like she is trying to speak but no words are communicated, as the raspy voice continues, "I knowed how it felt to be a full human being."

Gesel continues making gutteral sounds and her hands continue trembling. She opens and closes her mouth as if trying to speak. She slowly closes her eyes.

Gesel's hands begin to shake in small rapid movements. The shake begins in her arms and head, then in her whole body. She begins to gag and grunt.

Gesel begins hitting her hands repeatedlly against her thighs as her body violently shakes in respone to the rapid motion. She continues making gutteral sounds that get louder, as if in frustration. She begins jumping up and down as she repeatedly slaps her hands against her thighs. Her gutteral sounds turn into gasping shouts. Her frustration increases.

Gesel's panting gets louder, then slows. The raspy voice continues, "and there she was. Strung up by her hands with blood flowing down her back, like tears falling down the wrong side of her body." Gesel's panting slows to silence. She makes a coughing sound, then continues softly panting.

The raspy voice continues, "They waited for me to see her." Gesel makes a gasping sound. "Then they cut Jesse down." Gesel makes another gasping sound. The raspy voice continues, "loaded her into the back"--Gesel makes a gasping noise--"of his rattiest wagon and took her off to be sold." Gesel continues panting.

Gesel reaches her bound wrists out in front of her. The raspy voice continues, "I remember Jesse's lips was tremblin'." The extension of Gesel's arms pulls her upper body forward as she contracts her torso.

The voice continues, "as she looked into my eyes and raised up her arms." Gesel slowly turns her palms upward and extends her fingertips. "Through chains, she turned over her hands and showed me the palms that would never again stroke my cheeks." The tension in Gesel's arms increases and her expression turns to a look of desperation. Her palms are splayed all the way out and pointed toward the audience. "As if to say that for the rest of time, they would surely wish that they could."

Gesel's expression softens and seems to focus on something in front of her. Her upper body trembles again, as if exhausted. Her gaze slowly turns toward the left corner of the room. Her extended arms slowly follow her gaze.

The raspy voice continues, "I watched my whole life pull off and disappear in the back of that wagon." Gesel extends her arms toward the left corner of the room. She bends her knees bringing her body closer to the ground as the tension in her arms increases. The voice continues, "and all I could think was, 'but I just wanted to love her.'"

The raspy voice continues, "I fell to my knees." Gesel slowly bends her knees further and drops her hips to the ground. She sits down while keeping her hands outstrenched to the left. Focus of her eyes looking out and past her hands. She slowly relaxes her body into the ground. The voice says, "... and though I have lived for forty more years, I cannot remember if I ever got up again." Gesel continues panting.

Gesel's voice is heard over the loudspeaker. "Funny how it's the little things we remember"

Lights fading up on Taisha slowly.

"about the moments we'd rather forget." Gesel's arms remain extended out in front of her toward the left corner of the room. Gesel's voice continues over the loudspeaker, "I remember a magnificent sun. And white steps that glistened," Gesel slowly lowers her hands and pulls them into herself. Her voice continues, "like magical porcelain."

Gesel suddenly gasps and thrusts her head toward the ceiling. Her mouth is agape and her palms are facing each other, splayed close to her chest. Her voice continues, "maybe I rememeber these things in order to forget the feeling of my heart being crushed." Gesel attempts to free her wrists from the ropes that bind them by pulling her elbows out and back toward her spine.

Gesel's voice continues over the loudspeaker as she continues struggling to free her wrists from the ropes. "I loved Katherine with all my heart. And I had never known a thrill like running up the steps"

Gesel suddenly jerks and hides her face in the crease of her left elbow as if shielding her face from being struck by something. Her voice continues, "in front of that courthouse with my arm around her."

Gesel closes her hands into tight fists which tremble. She remains shielding her face in her elbow. Her voice continues, "She was so excited that when I placed by hand on her chest," Gesel begins shaking her forearms rapidly, as if attempting to free her wrists from the ropes. Her voice continues, "next to that red flower she insisted on wearing"

Gesel makes a grunting sound, and her trembling slows. Her voice continues, "I could feel her heart pounding through the faded lace of her grandmother's wedding dress." Gesel slowly turns her gaze toward the left corner of the room.

Gesel remains seated. She extends her arms toward the left corner of the room.

Program text appears on the recording of performance, Jumping the Broom (2005). Choreography by David Roussève. Text by David Roussève. Music by Nat King Cole Trio "If Yesterday Could Only Be Tomorrow. Recorded voices include David Roussève and Gesel Mason. Lighting Desing by Cheles Rhynes. Performed by Gesel Mason

Stage is in a blackout as a raspy voice from what might be an older gentleman from the south begins to speak as if recalling an old memory "Funny how it's the little things we remember about the times we want to forget. Guess my mind remembers the chirp of the crickets at sunset and the smell of sweet summer grass in hopes my heart might forget seeing my wife like that."

A warm spotlight begins to fade in on the left side of the stage to reveal the performer. The raspy voice continues saying "But I can't never forget that sight"

The performer stands straight up with her arms pulled above her head. Her head is fallen back so she gazes up towards the ceiling.Her body slowly turns to left as if her arms are hanging from someting above. The voice continues saying "or that it happened"

The performer is wearing a tatered lace wedding gown. Her arms are exposed all the way up to the shoulder. On the right side of the dress is a red flower that sits on the performers chest. A rope ties her wrists together.

The performer makes a choking noise and her body jerks in response. Her body contiues back to turning. The voice says "just 'cause we was so much in love"

The performer begins to slowly turn the opposite way. The voice says " You see I never know nothing greater than the palm of Jesse's hand stroking my face as I fell asleep in her arms."

The performer chokes again, her body contracting again in response. The voice says "That's what got me through those hot days of picking"

The performer turns her body back to the left. The voice says "At night when Jesse blows all the blisters on the back of my neck and wipe my face with her palms, well even the life of a slave somehow started to seem worth living."

The performer's voice is strained as she makes a sounds that resembles a grunt and a gasp, attempting to breath.

The performers arms are released from above her head. The weight of her arms pulls her upper body down. She leans over with exhaustion.

If Yesterday Could Only Be Tomorrow by Nat King Cole begins to play. The music is soft and romantic. It's long drawn out notes make the song slow and relaxing to listen to.

The warm spotlight begins to become brighter around the performer

The performer slowly struggles to lift her head to look towards the audience. Her body slowly shaking with fatigue

The performer begins to slowly turn her head to left, eyebrows furrowing, and her face beginning to scrunch together with frustration and fear.

The performer laboriously lifts her arms to the right. Her gaze focused on something beyond her hands

The performer begins to reach for something slowly starting with the fingers which then causes her arms and upper body to reach as well. Her look changes to a look of desperation

The fingers begin to curl into relaxed fists and she folds her body back down. She looks defeated by her body which seems to be barely able to keep her standing.

The performers hands are suddenly pulled behind her on the left. She gasps.

The performer slowly begins to release tension from her arms until they lay down in front of her. Her head and upper body slowly arch back and to the right until she begins to look to the right. She starts to reach to the right again.

The performer's arms are suddenly pulled behind her again to the left. She gasps.

The performer is pulled back further, straining her left arm straight across her body. She gasps

The performer's arms are pulled above her head. She gasps. Her body is bent over to the left, still slowly shaking with fatigue

The performer makes guteral sounds deep within her throat, attempting to speak but is unable to communitcate any words

The performer's arms are dropped. The raspy voiced older gentlemen begins to speak again "I never understood how they could teach us about Jesus and then refuse to let us love."

The perfomer gradually folds her body forward again. The voice sayis "But on that man's plantation, slaves was forbidden to marry"

The performer's hands are quickly pulled towards her stomach. The voice says "But I loved..."

The performer arms tense quickly to her chest, the muscles of her shoulders are tensed up towards her ears. The voice says "... Jesse with all my heart..."

The performer chest pushes towards the ceiling, releasing her head back, keeping her hands near her chest. The voice says, "... and I wanted to hold her forever."

The tension from the performer's arms and shoulders slowly releases. The voice says "So while his family was away at church..."

The performers begins to lean her body towards stage right, head arching up and over towards the right. The voice says "...all the slaves snuck out behind the last..."

The performer's hands drop down and she begins to slowly fold forward again. The voice says "...field of corn. Oh, we put a broom on the ground. And while everybody was singing and clapping and dancing."

The performer begins to gather the bottom of her dress together. The voice says, "and jumped over that broom." It is revealed that chains shackle her ankles together.

The performer begins to roll her spine up until her head is released back, holding onto the above her knees. The voice says, "then Jesse, she looked into my eyes and said 'I love you and now forever I am your wife'"

The performer drops the fabric and begins to slowly hunch forward. She looks towards the audience, eyebrows furrowed with frustation. The voiced continues with a small laugh saying "and you know what, that was the only time in my life, I knowed how it felt to be a full human being."

The performer's hands begin to shake in small rapid movements. The shake then begins in her arms and head, then in her whole body. The performer begins to gag and grunt.

The performer looks down at the ropes that tie her hands and tries to break them against her legs, hitting her thighs over and over again. She stomps her feet and flips her body up and down. She is yelling in frustration

The performer stands still, hands held tight near her neck as her fingers strentch up, her eyes looking up. She gasps for air in short breaths and shaking with fatigue. The voice says, "Didn't take long for him to find out we had married. I come back from the fields on the prettiest summer evening, just dreaming 'bout the time I had soon spend with Jesse. And there she was..."

The performer's breath begins to slow, her finger begin to curl into fists as the voice says "...strung up by her hands with blood rolling down her back, like tears falling down the wrong side of her body. They waited for me to see her. Then they cut Jesse down..."

The performer breathing continues to deepen as she hunches over, hands clutched towards her body, looking out towards the audience in desperation as the voice says "...loaded her into the back of his raggidist wagon and took her off to be sold. I remember Jesse's lips was trembling as she looked into my eyes..."

The performer straightens her arms, and raises her hands across from her face. The voice says, "and rasied up her arms. Through chains she turned over her hands..."

The performer strenches her fingers towards the audience, bending her knees down, struggling to keep her arms up. Her face pleding with the audience in desperation. The voice says, "... and showed me he palms that would never again stroke my cheeks as if to say that for the rest of time they would surely wish that they could. I watched my whole life pull off and disappear in the back of that wagon..."

The performer slowly reaches her body to the right. Bending her legs slowly to lower her body closer to the ground. The voice says,"... and all I could think was 'but I just wanted to love her.' I fell to my knees..."

The performer drops her hips to the ground then sits down while keeping her hands outstrenched to the right. Focus of her eyes looking out and past her hands. She slowly relaxes her body into the ground. The voice says, "... and though I have lived for forty more years, I cannot remember if I ever got up again."

The performer slowly reaches her hands to the downstage right corner. Slowly moving past her legs to reach as far as she can without leaving the ground. A new voice of a women with a deeper tone begins to speak, "Funny how it's the little things we remember about the moments we'd rather forget." Another light slowly reveals another women laying limp at the right side of the stage. The voice continues, "I remember a magnificent sun and white steps that glistened like magical porcelain."

The performer sudders back slightly, as if something pulls her back. She goes back to reaching towards the other women. The voice says "Maybe I remember these things in order to forget the feeling of my heart being crushed."

The performer has her hand quickly pulled behind her. She bends her body back to the left. She faced turned up

The women on the ground wears a brown suit with a black tight shirt. Her feet towards the performer. She is barefoot

The performer struggles to keep her body sitting up. She shakes slightly with exhaustion. The voice says, "I loved Katherine with all my heart, and I had never known like running up the steps in front of that court house with my arm around her. She was so excited that when I placed my hand on her chest, next ot that redflower she insisted on wearing..."

The performers hands are suddenly pulled above her head, arms bent so her wrist hover only inches above her head. She continues to struggle in a small rocking motion. The voice says"... I could feel her heart pounding through the faded..."

The performer curls her fingers into her palms and begins to quickly shake her arms with tension. She then relaxes her hand down again. The voice says, "...lace of her grandmother's wedding dress. We were half way up the stpes when the long line of couples waiting in the sun..."

The performer shifts her weight to the right and look towards the women again. The voice says, "...began to turn and walk away."

The performer attempts to raise her arms towards the women. Even though she moves her arms in a way that makes the look heavy. The voice says "I do not know..."

The performer swings her arms in a small circles, causing her to fall off balance towards the ground. The voice says, "...how to describe a look of utter devastation."

The performer begins to drag her body along the floor towards the women, pulling her body up and over her arms to inch along. The voice says, "The stoop of the shoulder, the tremble..."

The performer flips over her right shoulder onto her back. The voice says, "... of the fingers,..."

The performer continues to ove along the ground inching towards the women. The vocie says, "...the reflection in the eyes of a heart that does not if the next beat is worth taking. But that's what I saw in those couples."

The performer stiffens her torso and curls her head towards her hands. Frustrated by the ropes that contain her. She falls back to the ground. The voice says, "And right then and there we knew, the weddings had been stopped..."

The performer stiffens her torso again, fighting to break against the ropes. Then giving up and fall back down. The voice says, "...and that ours had once again forbidden."

The performer begins to crawl again. Fliping her body to right then left and pushing her arms against the floor to move her body. Her legs begin to work and she pushes the heels of her feet against the floor. Her voice gasping choking with desperation. The voice says, "I don't know how long we stood there, unable to move, before Katherine managed to put her head on my shoulder. Then I remember the feel of her tears as they rolled down my breasts, leaving tracks over my heart before they splattered on to those magical steps that no longer wished our feet to be there. Eventually we made it home. We got drunk on a bottle of wine while we listened to Nat King Cole."

The performer final reaches the women and grabs hold on her foot. Breathing heavily her hands move towards her ankle and her face begins to relax. The voice says, "As I fell asleep in Katherine's arms with her palm stroking my face, I wasn't thinking about the politics of it, or the biology of it, or the right and wrong of it. I was too..."

"If Yesterday Could Only Be Tomorrow" by Nat King Cole Trio begins to play again.

The performer pulls the women closer to her and turns on her stomach. Reaching her hands up along her body, pulling herself along the woman's body. The voice says, "...crushed for any of that to matter. That night, all I could think was that I justed wanted to love her."

The performer looks at the woman's face, confused and disappointed, her hands rested against the women. The voice says, "I fell alsee and dreamed about slaves jumping the broom to marry. But I suppose I was really dreaming about..."

The performer places her head gently onto the woman's chest, trying to listen for a heartbeat. The voice says, "just how far this hatred could go."

The performer lifts her upper body, changing her expression to scared and frantic, gasping for air. She attempts to speak "I love her"

The performer drags the woman's body closer to her by the woman's arm. Her words riddled with fatigue and desperatation "I just." She continues to pull the women saying "to love her"

The performer pulls the women on to her lap. The woman's head hanging heavy over the performer's legs

The performer brings the woman's hand to her cheek and begins to force her head up and down the woman's hand. Mimicking a stroking motion against her cheek. She says "I just wanted to love her, I just wanted to love her, I just wanted to love her."

The spotlight around the performer and the woman fades to black

Applause

Program text appears on the recording of performance, "Jumping the Broom (2005). Choreography by David Rousseve. Text by David Rousseve. Music by Nat King Cole Trio "If Yesterday Could Only Be Tomorrow." Recorded voices include David Rousseve and Gesel Mason. Lighting Desing by Cheles Rhynes. Performed by Gesel Mason"

The video begins in blackout.

Program text appears. Jumping the Broom (2005). Choreography by David Roussève. Text by David Roussève. Music by Nat King Cole Trio, "If Yesterday Could Only Be Tomorrow." Recorded voices include David Roussève and Gesel Mason. Lighting Design by Cheles Rhynes. Performed by Gesel Mason

David Roussève's voice is heard over the loud speaker. His voice is raspy and sounds like an older gentleman from the South. He speaks as if recalling an old memory.

"Funny how it's the little things we remember about the times we want to forget. Guess my mind remembers the chirp of the crickets at sunset and the smell of sweet summer grass in hopes my heart might forget seeing my wife like that."

A warm spotlight slowly fades up to reveal Gesel standing upstage right, wearing a tattered white lace wedding gown with a red flower afixed to the center of her chest. Her arms are exposed all the way to the shoulder and her wrists are bound by a chain. Her body slowly turns to the right. Her arms are raised above her head as if hanging from something and her gaze is toward the sky. The raspy voice continues.

"But I can't never forget that sight. Or that it happened. Just 'cos we was so much in love."

Gesel's body makes a jerking motion.

Gesel makes a gasping sound.

The raspy voice continues, "You see, I never knowed nothin' greater than the palm of Jesse's hand stroking my face as I fell asleep in her arms."

Gesel slowly begins turning her body to the right.

Gesel makes a coughing sound and her body jerks in response.

Gesel continues turning to the left, then slowly begins to turn to the right.

The raspy voice continues, "That's what got me through those hot days of picking. At night, when Jesse'd blow on the blisters on the back of my neck, and wipe my face with her palms, even the life of a slave somehow started to seem worth living."

Gesel makes a coughing sound.

Gesel's hands drop to her chest and the weight of her arms pulls her upper body down. Her body wavers back and forth slightly as if totally exhausted.

"If Yesterday Could Only Be Tomorrow" by Nat King Cole begins to play. The music is soft and romantic. Its long, drawn-out notes make the song slow and relaxing to listen to.

The warm spotlight begins to become brighter around Gesel.

Gesel slowly struggles to lift her head and look toward the audience. Her body shakes with fatigue.

Gesel slowly turns her gaze stage left. She reaches her arms in the direction of her gaze. Her arms seem heavy as her fingers slowly wriggle, as if reaching toward something beyond her gaze.

Gesel slowly curls her fingers in and lowers her arms. Her face shifts from a look of determination to sadness, as if what she is reaching for cannot be reached.

Gesel slowly lowers her arms and drops her head. Her upper body crumples forward and slowly relaxes toward the ground.

Gesel suddenly flings her hands behind her to her right. She gasps.

Gesel's arms slowly lower as her upper body dips closer to the ground, arching toward the sky. Her gaze slowly turns upwards. She gradually comes to a standing position with her gaze still raised toward the sky.

Gesel's body arcs to the left and her upper body slowly crumples toward the ground as she lowers her gaze toward the ground.

She suddenly flings her arms back to her left side and gasps. Her body rebounds from the force and her upper body tilts forward slightly. She holds her gaze toward the downstage left corner.

Gesel's arms fling to the left again and she gasps.

Gesel flings her arms up above her head and her upper body drops to the left. She makes deep, gutteral sounds from her throat as if trying to speak but produces no words.

Gesel's arms drop to her left and her torso flops over as if from total exhaustion. She slowly drops her torso to the front and hangs limply.

The raspy voice continues, "I never understood how they could teach us about Jesus and then refuse to let us love. But on that man's plantation, slaves was forbidden to marry."

Gesel gasps and quickly pulls her hands into her chest. She gasps again and returns to a standing position with her hands still clutched to her chest.

The raspy voice continues, "But I loved Jesse with all my heart."

Gesel gasps and thrusts her head backwards and holds her face toward the ceiling. She pants slowly.

The raspy voice continues, "And I wanted to hold her forever. So whilst his family was away at church, all the slaves snuck out behind the last field of corn. Oh, we put a broom on the ground and while everybody was singing, and clapping, and dancing, me and Jesse—we held each other tight and jumped over that broom."

Gesel drops her torso to the left, still panting, and then drops her head toward the ground.

Gesel begins scrunching the hem of her dress up her legs, revealing chains shackling her ankles. She slowly returns to a standing position and tilts her head toward the sky. She is still panting.

The raspy voice continues, "Then Jesse, she looked into my eyes and said 'I love you and now forever I am your wife.' And you know what? That was the only time in my life I knowed how it felt to be a full human being."

Gesel slowly turns her gaze forward and her face changes to a look of determination.

Her hands begin shaking. The shaking continues up her arm and into her shoulders until her whole body is shaking. She makes gutteral sounds from her throat that gradually get louder. She attempts to break the ropes that bind her wrists against her thighs by hitting her thighs repeatedly. She yells in frustration.

Gesel suddenly returns to standing and holds her hands splayed below her chin. Her mouth is gaping open and she pants rapidly. Her body pulsates in response to her panting. Her face is tilted toward the ceiling and her eyes are rolled back in her head.

The raspy voice continues, "Didn't take long for him to find out we had married. I come back from the fields on the prettiest summer evening just dreaming about the time I'd soon spend with Jesse. And there she was. Strung up by her hands with blood rolling down her back like tears falling down the wrong side of her body. They waited for me to see her. Then they cut Jesse down and loaded her into the back of his raggediest wagon and took her off to be sold."

Gesel's breathing slows and her panting deepens. Her body gradually relaxes as she bends her upper body forward.

The voice continues, "I remember Jesse's lips was trembling as she looked into my eyes and raised up her arms. Through chains she turned over her hands and showed me the palms that would never again stroke my cheeks, as if to say that for the rest of time, they would surely wish that they could."

Gesel extends her arms out in front of her and appears to be gazing at something beyond her reach. Her hands are splayed and her fingers are spread wide. She is breathing deeply and her body writhes with her breathing. She has a look of longing on her face.

Gesel's face turns to a look of anger and determination.

The voice continues, "I watched my whole life pull off and disappear in the back of that wagon. And all I could think was, 'But I just wanted to love her.'"

Gesel appears to become aware of something in the distance stage left. She slowly turns her gaze to the left.

The voice continues, "I fell to my knees. And though I have lived for forty more years, I cannot remember if I ever got up again."

Gesel reaches her arms toward stage left as her body slowly sinks to the ground. She comes to a sitting position and continues reaching toward stage left. A spotlight slowly lifts on stage left to reveal another dancer lying on the floor.

A recording of Gesel's voice is heard over the loudspeaker. She says, "Funny how it's the little things we remember about the moments we'd rather forget. I remember a magnificent sun and white steps that glistened like magical porcelain. Maybe I remember these things in order to forget the feeling of my heart being crushed."

Gesel suddenly twitches and pulls her arms back slightly then reaches her arms again toward stage left. She furrows her brow then rapidly pulls her arms back toward her and flings them over her right shoulder.

The stage lights brighten to reveal another dancer lying limp downstage left of Gesel. The other dancer is wearing a brown men's suit with a black shirt underneath. Gesel gazes toward the ceiling and appears to struggle to hold her body upright.

Gesel's voice continues, "I loved Katherine with all my heart. And I had never known a thrill like running up the steps of that courthouse with my arm around her. She was so excited that when I placed my hand on her chest next to that red flower she insisted on wearing, I could feel her heart pounding through the faded lace of her grandmother's wedding dress.

Gesel flings her arms above her head. Her mouth hangs open. She appears to be both in pain and exhausted. Her body writhes with discomfort.

Gesel's hands and arms begin trembling. She lowers her arms to her right shoulder. She gazes toward the other dancer and reaches her arms toward her with longing and falls forward onto the ground.

Gesel's voice continues, "We were halfway up the steps when the long line of couples waiting in the sun began to turn and walk away. I do not know how to describe a look of utter devastation. The stoop of the shoulders, the tremble of the fingers, the reflection of the eyes of a heart that does not know if the next beat is worth taking. But that's what I saw in those couples. And right then and there, we knew. The weddings had been stopped. And that ours was, once again, forbidden."

Gesel presses her arms into the floor to drag herself across the stage toward the other dancer.

Gesel falls onto her back and gazes up at the ceiling. She reaches her arms above her head and uses her upper arms to continue pulling herself across the stage.

Gesel struggles to sit up. She falls back onto her back, then attempts to sit up again. She continues dragging herself across the stage. She moans with the effort.

Gesel's voice continues, "I don't know how long we stood there, unable to move, before Katherine managed to put her head on my shoulder. Then I remember the feel of her tears as they rolled down my breast, leaving tracks over my heart before they splattered onto those magical steps that no longer wished our feet to be there."

Gesel's voice continues, "Eventually we made it home. We got drunk on a bottle of wine while we listened to Nat King Cole. As I fell asleep in Katherine's arms with her palms stroking my face, I wasn't thinking about the politics of it, or the biology of it, or the right and wrong of it. I was too crushed for any of that to matter. That night, all I could think was, 'But I just wanted to love her.'"

Gesel lies flat on her back and grabs onto the dancer's left foot.

"If Yesterday Could Only Be Tomorrow" by Nat King Cole begins to play.

Gesel slowly extends her hand up the other dancer's ankle and drags the dancer toward her. Her face gives the impression that dragging the other dancer takes a tremendous effort.

Gesel extends her hand to the dancer's knee and pulls herself toward the dancer's limp body. Gesel continues dragging herself up the length of the dancer's body until her head comes to rest on the other dancer's chest.

Gesel's voice continues, "I fell asleep and dreamed about slaves jumping the broom to marry. But I suppose I was really dreaming about just how far this hatred could go.

Gesel struggles to sit up. She makes grunting sounds from deep in her throat and slowly drags herself closer to the other dancer's face. She grabs onto the other dancer's right arm and attempts to lift the other dancer off the ground. She continues grunting as if the other dancer's body is extremely heavy.

Onstage, Gesel weakly cries, "I just wanted to love her."

Gesel strokes the other dancer's palm down the side of her face and gazes up at the ceiling.

Gesel repeats, "I just wanted to love her."

Gesel continues stroking the other dancer's palm against her cheek.

Gesel repeats, "I just wanted to love her."

Gesel's voice softens and the lights fade to black.

Applause

Program text appears. Jumping the Broom (2005). Choreography by David Roussève. Text by David David Roussève. Music by Nat King Cole Trio, "If Yesterday Could Only Be Tomorrow." Recorded voices include David Roussève and Gesel Mason. Lighting Design by Cheles Rhynes. Performed by Gesel Mason