Less pricey coffees, teas, and donuts are prepared by hand each morning by this intrepid individual. How long before a Starbucks flag flies from the stainless steel mask of his portable storefront? His rebel entrepenarial spirit martyred for the sake of pre-measured, centrally warehoused corporate packages.

I suddenly was struck by a great idea. Leave my bag and bicycle helmet at a table next to the window visible from the street. Go back outside. Stand in line for my morning coffee and plain bagel at the sidewalk vendors kiosk and bring it all back to my Starbucks table and take up some valuable real estate for an hour or so. I’m feeling better already.

Everything is geared for quick entrance and exit with product in hand. The music is just loud enough to keep it from becoming pleasing, sonic wallpaper. The service counters and cashiers stations protrude aggressively into the center of the room as if to delineate a sort of stage or contrived "theater-in-the-round" for this show of consumerism. The hectic speed at which the food service people prepare and distribute their goods sets the pace for the customers who necessarily must witness this frenetic dance if they want anything to eat or drink.
Needless to say, it’s hard to sit comfortably for any length of time; one feels compelled to consume quickly and move on. There is a handwritten notice on the only bathroom door that reads "After making a purchase we will gladly buzz you in." On two different occasions I saw a counterperson request that a customer hold up his logo emblazened StarBucks coffee cup before being allowed entrance into the unisex commode. Even the sign that greets people as they first walk in promotes this fast-paced, corporate"thanks- now-take-it-with-you" consumer mentality:

It is precisely this controlledambience that I wanted to challenge and at the same time blatantly point out through my staged public performance. Using the backdrop of StarBucks on a Sunday afternoon as the façade of a public gathering place, I was primarily interested in the reactions of customers as they became unwitting "eaves-droppers" on one-sided cell phone conversations and their responses to the infiltration and polluting of public space due to the misuse and overuse of mobile electronics.

Another residual, underlying concern I hoped to plant in the subconscious’s of those unfortunate enough to be within earshot of this performance, was the subtle whittling away of private space and time by the intrusion of mobile communication devices and the extension of the workplace/commerce ethic into what were once leisure places and times.
In pitting two over-the-top business people against a father, mother and child I hoped to point out the two ends to the spectrum of "How I Like to Spend My Sunday Afternoons" during our public service performance. Going into this performance I predicted that the other customers in the café would join sides with the family in mutual repulsion of the obnoxious business people and that some heretofore unforeseen StarBucks "rent-a-cop" official would oust the actors thus showing StarBucks’ true attitude towards the false atmosphere of communal, public space it has artificially and painstakingly tried to create.

The man and woman immerse themselves in their mobile office meeting which seems to drag everyone around them into it through its sheer frenetic force. Finally the scene climaxes when both the man and woman’s cell phone are ringing, they are both having very loud conversations with unknown persons on the other end, the laptop’s fax/modem is chirping loudly and the man sitting with the woman and child (who is crying at this point), tires of asking them politely to keep their conversations at a dull roar and in a fit of frustration slams the computer shut , pushes the mobile office contents onto the floor and demands that they leave the cafe.

Throughout the performance my two businesspeople received many side-wards glances, snickers and disbelieving smiles. I also noticed that the tables began to have a higher turnover rate especially after the businesswoman joined the man who had at that time also pulled out lots of cables and wires to attach to his laptop computer. Some of the customers near them relocated to other areas of the café and those exiting the line with beverages in hand either sat down and then quickly looked around for another table or simply avoided the area altogether.

Two men at the service counter who had been watching from the beginning, when it was just the businessman causing the disturbance, chose to stand behind the businesspeople for the remainder of the performance and watch the proceedings with a mix of amazement and mischievous amusement alternating on their faces. At one point one of them reached into his own pocket and pulled out a cell phone as if thinking he was in the "cell phone zone" of the café! (maybe in the future there will be areas in public spaces blocked off for cell phone and mobile communications users; a digital cousin to the smoking sections of today.)

Each time the husband and wife stepped in to ask the businesspeople to keep their conversations to a dull roar the table directly adjacent to them seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief but no one came forward to challenge my obnoxious actors until after they had been forced to leave by the husband. I really thought that more people would challenge their behavior but, possibly because the businesspeople were so convincing in their roles, the other customers felt safer to just ignore them.

Two co-eds near the back of the café at a table directly in front of me told me that they had been sitting there all afternoon taking a demographic survey for some movie that is about to be released. They couldn’t believe that my two actors could act so obnoxiously. One of them kept saying to the other, "Did you hear what they said? They are so loud. Why are they here? They should put this in a movie. Oh man, that lady is such a bitch!" I could hardly keep from laughing and blowing the whole thing!

After the husband and wife successfully chased off the businesspeople and their mobile office, the whole section of tables around the performance area applauded their hasty exit. Also the reactive protests by the husband broke the ice for others who had been reticent to voice any disapproval and two people approached the husband and wife with handshakes and words of thanks and approval after having seen the businesspeople ousted.

I also purposefully had the businesspeople not buy anything while they were at the table just to check the reaction of StarBucks’ company policy. In remembering the sign on the bathroom door that reads "After making a purchase we will gladly buzz you in" I thought for sure someone would tell them that if they were going to occupy a table they would have to make a purchase. I guess StarBucks would rather show leniency towards business-minded yuppies then those with bursting bladders.

In retrospect, a lot of what I had predicted about the patrons of the café taking sides with the family came true but not to the degree that I had hoped. The change in the atmosphere of the café after the businesspeople arrived and then again when they were forced to leave by the husband and wife was very apparent.

Before the performance it was much calmer and serene with people sitting at the tables for a much longer period of time and it returned to that energy after the actors had left the building. Although the two businesspeople were quite loud, I think the ambient noise and bustle in the huge space lessened the impact of the ringing cell phones and office chatter that we created. But I do think it left a lasting impression in the minds of those witnessing my obnoxious actors and that they left the StarBucks with a heightened sensibility to the use of cell phones and digital communications gear in so called "public spaces."

Were I to do this performance again I would have the businesspeople take up residence at a table that was not right next to the service counter because some of their actions got diluted b y the general commotion. I also would pick a quieter restaurant next time so that the cell phone conversations could be heard really well.