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    © All Rights Reserved
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    421 views22 pages

    Richard Schechner - What Is Performance

    Uploaded by

    Geoff Phillips
    Richard Schechner - What is Performance

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Righawe Genechne Per SI rer (Wow YORK: Roetledge 2 WHAT IS PERFORMANCE? What Is “To Perform”? ness, sports, and sex, "to petfarm” is to da something up to a standard — to succeed, to excel. In the arts, perform" is to put on a show, a play, a dance, a concert. In ceverydy life, "to perform” i toshow off, to go to extremes, to underline an action for those who are watching, In the twenty-first century, people as never before live by means of| To perform” can also be understood in relation to + Be + Doing ring doing Explaining “Being” is existence itself. "Doing”is the activity of all that exists, from quarks to sentient beings to super galactic s performing: pointing to, under ning, and displaying doing, “Explaining ‘showing doing’ from each other Itie very important to distinguish thes ic, near oF circular, expandi ‘or contracting, material or spiritual, Being isa philosophical category pointing to whatever people th -eality!*Doing” and “showing doing” are actions, Doing and showing are alway in flux, alays changing ~ he world ofthe pre-Socratic Greek philosopher Heraclitus (c, $35—475 BCE), who said, "No one can step twice into the same river, nor touch mortal substance twice in the same dition?” (fragment 41). The fourth term, “explain showing doing,” is a reflexive effort to comprehend the world of performance and the world as performance. Th comprehension is usually the work of critics and scholars But sometimes, in Brechtian theatre where the actor steps outside the role to comment on what the characteris doing sand in critically developed performance art such as Guillermo Gémez-Peia's(1955- ) and Coco Fusco’s (1.960- Co 1 discuss this sort of critically cons Je inthe Cage (1982), a performances reflexive 22 4 SUaleS Heraclitus of Ephesus (c. 535-475 nce): Greek pllosophe: credited withthe erestion ofthe doctrine of “lux,” the theory that change ir lways happening. This rsllurtrated by is statement that "You eannot step int the same river twice," becase the low ‘ofthe river sure tht new water continually eeplaces the od Reflexive: Referring back to onesel Guillermo Gémez-Pefa (1955 ): Mexican-born bi-national performance artist and writer, His works include both writings = Wari or Gringrtha (1993), The New Wor Borde (1996), Coder ‘and Dengerons Border Crees (2000) ~ and |, Ber Sas Expenglintis (200 performances: Bader Byo (1990), EI Nefazen (199 (1998), and Bownout: Bs vies (2001), Cove Fusco (1960- ): Cubsn-born interdisciplinary artist based in New York City. Cellaborated with Guillermo Goma-Pelia on the Cage (1992) Author of Eaglsh performance The Goplein Here (1995) aid The Boies thot wre Not Oure (2001). Performances Performances mark identities, bend ime, reshape and adorn the body, and tell stories. Performances ~ ofa life — are made of "twice-behaved behaviors” do that they practice and rehearse (see Goffiman bos). That training and conscious effort go into making artis clear But everyday life also involves years of training, of learning appropriate bit of behavior, of finding out how to adjust, Restored behavior: Physical or verbal etons that are not-fr-the fire ime, prepared, or rehearsed. A person may not be aware that she is performing a srp of restored behavior. Also refered to as towice-behaved behavior An |ntRopucten Aaa si pL as { i ; what 15 PERF perform one's life in relation to social and personal circumstances. The long infancy and childhood specific tothe human species ie an extended training and rehearsal period he soccesfl performance of adult adulthood is marked in many cultures and religions by initiation rites, But even before adulthood, some persons more comfortably adapt tothe life they are assigned than do others who resist or rebel, Most pe between acceptance and rebellion. Social poli are large-scale collective protests revolutions, and the ike ‘world. The whele span of individval human development an bie studied "ae" performance (a concept Iwill diseuss later in this chapter). This inclades large-scale events such a8 social actions, revalo how stnall or encompassing, consists of twwice-behaved behaviors Erving Goffman Defining Performance ‘A performance” may be defined as all the activity of a sven participant ona given occasion which serves to fluence in ary way ary of the other participant Taking a particular participant and his performance as a basic point of reference, we may refer to those who contribute to the other erfo ants. The pre-established ances a the aud action which is unfolded during a performance played through on other sions may be called a “part” or ational terms can easly be related to convetio 1 on afferent plays the same part tothe same aus sions socal relationships likely to arise. Defining ment of rights and duis attached toa lven status, we can say that asocal ole wll involve fone oF more parts and that each of these different y be presented by the performer ona series The Presentation of Sef in Every Lite sal 23. ORMANCE? actions that are apparently “once-behaved of Allan Kaprow (1927- What abo the Happen) cor an everyday life occurrence (cookin, 2 ‘walk, talking to a friend)? Even these are constructed from the everydaynese of behaviors previously behaved, in fac everyday life is precisely is familiarity, ts being bust from known bits of havior rearranged and shaped in arderto suit specific circumstances, "Lifelike" art—as Kaprow calls much of his work ~ fs clove to everyaly life. Kapros's at slightly underlines or highlights ordinary behavior ~ paying close back at one sttention to how a meal is prepared, lookin footsteps after walking in the desert. Payin developing a Zen consciousness in relation to the daily, an honoring of the ordinary: Honoring the ordinary is noticing how itual-like daly life i, how much daily life consists haved belivion”™ ‘petitions, Theres na such thing as“once-bel Allan Kaprow (1927): American artist who coined the term “Happening” to describe hie 1959 installation’ perlarmance 18 Hoppenings 19 6 Fores, Asbo Happenings (1966) and Exo the Bling of an Jeff Kelley of semblage, Envieanents ond 93, with There isa paradox here, Can both Heraclitus and the theory of restored behavior be right? Performances are made from bits of restored behavior, but every perfor mance is different from every other. First, ixed bits of bichavior can be recombined in endles variations, Second, 0 ‘event can exactly capy another event, Not only the behavior ftself — nuances of mood, tone of voice, body language, and so on, but also the specific ocasion and context make cach instance nique, What about mechanically, digitally duced replicants of clones? It may be or biologically rp that a fil or a digitized per piece will be the every “thing” is makes each ingtance different, Even th is different. fy other words, the uniqy not in its materiality but in its interactivity. If this is so with regard t0 film and digitized events, how much more so in live performance, where both production and recep: tion vary from instance to instance. Or in daly life, where context is impossible to perfectly control, Thus, ironically, performances resist that which produces them y take place? A paint leads to the question, Where do performances takes place" in the physical object; & PERFORMANCE STUDIES 1a novel, when treated"ae" performance, a concept Tex shor) ke place ony n action intersco, and relation, Performance isn’t“in” anything, but “between.” Let me explain, A performer in ordinary life, in a vital, at phy, or in the performing arts does/shows something performs an action. For example, a mother lifts a spoon her own mouth and then to baby's mouth to show the baby how to est cereal, The performance is the action of lift her's mouth, and then to baby’s the spoon, bringin mouth. The baby is at first the spectator of ite mother's performance. At some point, the baby becomes 4 co jon and tries the same acti performer as she takes the p her lips ‘often at frst missing her mouth and messi and chin with food, Father videotapes the whole show. Later, maybe many years later, the baby is 3 grown womar showing to her own baby a home video of the day when she began to learn how to use a spoon, Viewing this video is another performance existing in the complex relation between the original event, the memory of parents now old cor maybe dead, and the present moment of delight as mother points to the screen and tells her baby, "That was mommy when Iwas your age!” The ist performance takes place” in between the action of showing baby how to use the spoon and baby's reaction to this action, The second performance takes place between the videotape of the first the reception of that first performance by both the baby rnow-mother and her own baby (oF anyone else watching the videotape). What is true ofthis home movie" performance is true of all performances. To treat any object, work for product 26” performance ~ painting, a nove, a shee, or anything at all ~ means to investigate what the object does hhow it interacts with other objects or beings, and how it relates to other objects or beings. Performances exist only as actions interactions, and relationships. Bill Parcells Wants You to Perform A. 1999 full-page advertisement in The New York Times ling the Ca otball coach Bill Parcells (1941~ ) s vader (see figure 2.1), One of Parcels’ eyes is in shadow ac Seville car features American legendary the darkness blending into the background for the stark white-on-black text Bill Parcells (1941~ ): American football coach. Winner of ovo 981) with the New York IF YOU WANT TO IMPRESS BILL PARCELLS YOU HAVE TO PEKRFOKM Underneath a photograph ofa Seville, the text continues in Great p impression on Bill P ers have abways made a big smaller type smaller typ cell, That explains his stro appreciation for Seville [ The ad conflates performing in sports, business sex, the arts, and technology: Parcells excels asa football coach. By making demands upon his players he motivates em and they ata P yt ema ne YOU HAVE TO fig 2.1. root coach 6 Feces in an acvertzerent for Ca 2ctomcbles that eppeaedin Tre ew tr Tnesin 1999, Potog'a 2a WHAT IS PERFORMANCE? respond on the field with winning performances, Parcells excellence derives from his drive, his ability to organize, and his insistence on careful attention to each detail of the game. His stare has*sex appeal ~ his penetrating gaze is that ff a potent man able to control the giants who play foot ball. He combines mastery, efficiency, and beauty. At the same time, Parcells displays an understated ash; he knows he is playing to the camera and to the erowds, All of this informs the ad, which tries to convince viewers that the Cadillac, ike Parcells, isa the top of its gate, is sexy and powerful, well made down tothe last detail, ependable, the hat will stand ot fn 3 leader in its field, and somethi crowd, Eight Kinds of Performance Performances occur in eight sometimes separate, sometimes ‘overlapping situations 1 in everyday life ~ cooking, socializing, “just living” 2 intheares| 3. insports and other popular entertainments 4 in business in technology 6 insex 7. initual - sacred and secular 8 inplay ‘This list does not exhaust the possibilities (see Carlson box), examined rigorously as theoretical eategories, the cight situations are not commensurate. “Everyday life" can encompass most of the other situations, The arts take as their subjects materials fe Ritual and play are not only “ every what and every where enres" of performance but present in all ofthe situations as qualities, inflections, or igh toindiate the Inge territory covered by performance. Some items — those occurring in busines, technology, and sex ~ are not usually analyzed with the ‘others, which have been the loi of ats-based performance x suchasthese theories, And the operation of making cate ithe result ofa particular kind of thinking that i far eg from universal Even notions of history and eulture are eulture-specifi rot universal. [tis impossible to come at @ subject except from one's own cultural biases, But once a project such a this book is undertaken, the best [ean do isto be aware of, and bee pusic, dance, and theatre as the "performing shave withthe reader, this limitation. That having been noted 25 Marvin Carlson a What Is Performance? The term “performance” has become extremely popular in Iterator, and inthe socialsciences. As itspopularity years in. wi and usage has grown, so hae a camplex body of weiting ‘analyze and under stand just what sort of human activity tf «J The lives are structured according to about performance, attempting recoprition that repeated and socially sanetioned modes of behavior ity could raises the possibility that all human ac potentially be consiered as “performance all activity carried out with a consciousness of itsel 11f we consider performance as an essentially contested 5 will help us to understané the {utility of seeking some overarching semantic field cover such seemingly disparate usages as. the performance of an actor, of a schoolcilé, ot 1096, Performance: A Critica Introduction, 45 arts"may seem relatively simple, Buta categories even these ave ambiguous, What is designated "art," if anything al ‘aries historically and culturally, Objects and performances called “att” in some parts of the world are like what is made ‘or done in many other places without being so designated Many celtures do not hive a word for, or eategory called, performances and objects art” even though they create demonstrating s highly developed aesthetic sense Not only making but evaluating"srt" occurs everywhere People in different cultures all around the world ki pinting, and s0 on. But what makes something “good” or bad" varies greatly from place to place and even accasion to ‘occasion, The ritual objects of one culture of one histor period become the art works of other cultures or periods. Museums of art are full of paintings and objects that once were regarded as sacred (and sill may be by pillaged peoples itual objects and stered remain) dimension, it is not necessarily“art." The moves of basketball PERFORMANCE STUDIES shater Dense Belen but one is players areas beautiful as those of ballet danc Figure skat igure 2.2). Deciding depends on context, historical creumstance, u termed sport, the exist in both realms (see what is art local Separating “ar from “ritual” is particularly difficul fave noted that ritual objects from many cultures are ured in art museums. But consider alto religious services and healing, At a Christin evangelical church service for example, people go into trance, dance in the aisles, give testimony, receive anointment and baptism, In African American churches, the gospel music is closely related to blues, jaze, and rock-and-roll, Are such services art oF ritual? Church authorities in medieval Europe such as Amalarius (7 Mass was the theatre equivalent to an £850), the Bishop of Meta, aserted thatthe ient Greek tragedy (see Hardison box). Indeed, more than a few people attend religious services as much for aesthetic pleasure and social interaction as for reasons of belie. Composers, vial artists, and performers have long made works of Fine art sin rituals. In many cultures, participatory perform: ings the core of ritual practices. In ancient Athens, the great theatre festivals were ritual, art, sports-like competition, 4 popular entertainment simultaneously. Today, spprts are both live and media entertainment combining competition tual, and big business Amalarius of Metz (780-850): Roman Catholic bishop and theologian, author of several major treaties on the performance of litargicl ites, including Eelogee de dine Romane (Pastoral 14) an Liber clr Book ef the Serie) Asnoted, some sportsare close to fine arts. Gymnastics, figute skating and high diving are recognized by the Olympics. But there are no quantitative ways to determine winners, lining. Instead, these “aesthetic athletes ae jriged qual the basis of “forms” and “difficulty” Their performances sre more like dancing than competitions of speed or strength ‘ography 5 But with the widespread use of slow-motion pl and replay even “brute sports” lke football, wrest An artful add-on is the taunting and victory displays of athletes who dance and prance thelr superiority For all that, everyone knows the difference between going to church, watching af 1c performing arts, The diference is based on function, sme, or attending one and the behavior expected of the players and 5 of the performing Being tossed at 26 WHAT 15 PERFORMANCE? o.s. Hardison The Medieval Mass was Drama ‘That there i a close relationship between allegorical interpretation ofthe liturgy and the history of drama becomes parent the moment we turn to the Amalarian interpretations. Without exception, they present the Mass as an 1a plot whose ultimate significance is nothing les than ati of the "if, death, and resurrection” o elaborate drama with definite roles assigned tothe participants the le plan of redemption” through the x sd The church is regarded as a theatre. The drama enacted has a coherent plot based on €o ntomoment, At ts ion, culminating ithe passion champion and an antagonist, The ple hasa rs 'sa dramatic reversal, the Resurrection, correlate withthe emotional transition from the Canc of the ass to the of the Resurrection} of Communion. Samethfg like dramatic catharsis i expressed in the gaudium (oy atthe new the Postcommunion.C...) rch vestments then, with their elaborate symbolic meanings, be considered costumes? Should the pate nsidered stage properties? Shou the nave, chancel 3, sudarium, candles, and thurble be term, and altar ofthe church be considered stage, and its windows, ti 4 ian life on which all Christian ie Mass asthe general case for Christian culture, the use onthe profane stage, tf possible to answer yes. Just asthe Mass s 5a ructure the central pattern of embodying int the Mass contains al elements necessary to secular per archetype, Indvidual dramas are shaped in its mold te and Christian Dra 965, christian sock concert is very different from attending the American Ballet Theatre's Giele at New ¢ emphasizes narration and impersonation, either go ork’s Metropolitan Opera well one “does it,” while the House. T tition, and ritual emphasizes show and therefore maybe not really doing tat all sports emphasize participation and communication with transcendent forces or beings. Inbasiness, to perform means doing job efficiently with maximum productivity. In the corporate world, people, machines, systems, departments, and organizations are required to perform. Atleast since the advent ofthe factory in the nineteenth century there has been 2 merging of the human, the technical, an the organizational. This has led to fan increase in material wealth — and also the sense that individuals ave just "part ofthe machine” c figure 2.3) But also this melding of person and machine has an erotic quality There is something sexual about hi performance: business, just as there iss lot that's businesslike in sexu performance. Sexual performance also invokes meanings sex," “How meanings attached to the phrases "performing eee ing tines by the une 1c perform in bed?” and being a "sexual performer” InausynyRadern Times, 27 first refers to the actin itself and the second to how rd implies an clement of | | | i i | | PERFORMA Restoration of Behavior Letus examine the notion of restored behavior more closely. We all perform more than we realize, Ax noted, daily life, ceremonial life, and artistic life consist largely of routines, habits and ritual and the recombination of already behaved shocking,” or “avant behaviors. What's ‘new de” is mostly either a different combination of known, behaviors or the displacement ofa behavior from where iis acceptable or expected toa venue or occasion where isnot ‘expected, Thus, for example, nakedness caused stir in the performing arts when it first was used in a widespread way in the 1960s. But why the shock, why was nudity new? Simply because the nakedness took place in “high-art” live-performance venues, Previously people saw naked ‘bodies only at home or in gymnasium shower rooms, Naked performers were seen only in striptease shows, But this prohibition applied only to live naked bodies, Art museums were fll of representations of raked bodies, The “cover” for this nakedness wes that the art displays were presumed to be hon-eratic. OF course, in many cultures nakedness ie the norm, In others, such as Japan it has Tong been acceptable in certain public circumstances and forbidden in others. By the year 2000 no one in any Western metropolitan vente could get rise out of spectators oF critics by performing naked, But don't ty itn Kabul ‘The habits, rituals, and routines of life are restored behaviors. Restored behavior is living behavior treated as a film director treats strip of fil. These strips of behavior can bie rearranged or reconstructed; they ae independent of the causal systems (person, socal, political, technological, etc.) that brought them into existence, They have life of their sth or *source” of the behavior may not cown, The original" ‘be known, oF may be los, ignored, oF contradicted ~ even while that truth or source is being honored, How the strips “ofleavior were made, found, or developed may be unknown or concealed; elaborated; distorted by myth and tradition Restored behavior can be of long duration as in ritual performances or of short duration asin fleeting gestures such as waving goodbye Restored behavior is the key process of every kind of performing, in everyday life, in healing, in ritual, in play, and in the arts. Restored behavior is “out there” separate from “me’"To pat it in personal terms, restored behavior is “me lachaving ai were someone else,” oF as Lam told to do” fas [have learned.” Even if feel myself wholly ta be uy self, acting independently, only a litle investigating reveals that the units of behavior that comprise “m invented by"me” Or, quite the opposite, I may experience NCE STUDIES being “beside myself” “not myself” or “taken over” as in trance, The fat that there are moltiple"me's"in every person snot sign of derangement but the way things are. The ways ‘one performs one’ selves are connected to the ways people perform others in dramas, dances, and rituals. Infact, sf people did not ordinarily come into contact with their ‘multiple selves, the at of acting and the experience of wance possession would not be possible. Mast performances, in “ally life and otherwise, do not havea single author Rituals, games, and the performances of everyday hife re authored by the collective “Anonymous” or the “Tradition.” Individuals given credit for inventing rituals or games usually turn out to be synthesizers, recombiners, compilers, or editors of already practiced ations Restored behavior includes a vast range of actions. In fic all behavior is restored behavior ~ all behavior consists of recombining bits of previously behaved behaviors. Of course, most of the time people aren't aware that they are doing any such thing. People just “ive life” Performances are marked, ned behavior separated out from just ored restored behavior, if you wil, However, framed, or he living life" rs for my purpose here, it is not necessary to pursue this doubling, Ite enough to define restored behavior as marked, framed, or heightened, Restored behavior can be “me” at another time or psychologieal state —for example, telling the story of or acting out a celebratory oF traumatic event Restored behavior can bring into play non-ordinary reality as In the Balinese trance-dance enacting the struggle between the demoness Rangds and the Lion- god Barong (see figure 2.4), Restored behavior ean be actions marked off by aesthetic in theatre, dance, and musi. It can be actions reified into the rules of the game,""etiquette,” or diplomatic ‘protocal" ~ or any other of the myriad, known beforehand actions of fe These vary enormously from culture to culture Restored behavior can be a boy not shedding tears when jagged leaves slice the inside of his nostrils during a Papua [New Guinea initiation; or the formality ofa bride and groom use it is marked, during framed, and separate, restored behavior can be work stored and recalled, played with, made into something reir wedding ceremony. Becs ‘transmitted, and transformed. Restored behavior symbolic and reflexive (see Geertz bbox).Iesmeanings need ta be decoded by those ithe know igh" versor fan knows the rules and strategies of the game, the statistics ow” culture, A sports “This nota question of” ‘of key players the standings, and many other historical and technical details. Ditto for the fans of rock bands. Some restored behavior is esoteric, times the knovledge about privy to only the initiated, Among Australian Native Peoples, 28 Human Behavior as Symbolic Action ‘Once human behavior is seen a of consciousness; but these draw ther mes role they play [Jinan orgaing patter the outback itself and other mat mythical beings. Only the init his adjusting hs groin belt, the throwin the eyeing of his opponent and the final grapple of the two enormous competitors 2.5). Know old tradition linked to Shinto, the native social processes in all their multiple By contrast, American professions 26), Dur tlers are thrd the matches referees are clabbered, w broader sense outin from the ring and cheating is endemic, Al thie Caution! Beware of Generalizations atthe theoretical lee as embodied practices each and every performance is specific and different from every other, The dilference are well determined by lon he athlete's swaggering cicul PERFORMANCE STUDIES e286 by fans who hurl epithets and objects. However, everyone Inows that the outcome of American wrestling isd pretty much “all « show. Fans of sumo and fans of World Wrestling Federation matches know their heroesand villains, can tell you the history of their sport, and react acco to accepted conventions and traditions. Both sumo and what occurs under the banner of the World Wrestling Federation are “wrestling”, each enacts the values of its partie What's true of wrestling i also true ofthe performing arts, political demonstrations, the roles of everyday life (doctor, mother, cop, ete), and all other performances, What is Exch American theatre? Broadway, off Broadway ofT off Broadway, regional theatre, community theatre, communitysbased theatre, and more, Each sub-genre has is nt. And the whole system could be looked at but alco diflere from other perspectives ~in terms, for example, of comedy, ‘melodrama, musicals; or divided according to professio snd others fade away. Yesterday's avant-garde is today's main actice, Particular genres “ake jazz, for example. During ts formative years atthe start ofthe twentieth century, jazz was not regarded as an art. Te was akin to "Tolk performance” or" popular entertaingsent.” But performers moved out of red-light districts into ly si attention to jazz A substa ial repertory of “tact degrgneent semen, Copia Se music was archived. Particular musicians’ works achieved ded as "art canonical status. By the 1950s jazz was re ‘Today's popular music includes rock, rap, and But that isnot to say that rock and other forms ded for classical music is now. The of pop music will not someday be listened to and re in the same way that j with ideology, politics, and economic power than with the formal qualities of the music “Is” Performance ‘What is the difference between "is" performance and "ae performance? Certain events are perfe what "is" performance. Bu events less so. There. just about anything can be studied "as" performance Something “is” « performance when historical and soci context, convention, usage, and tradition say iti. Rituals Jes of everyday ife are perform cannot determine what "a performance without hing 10 specific cultural circumstances. There is inherent in an action jn itself that makes it a performance or sisqualifiesit from beinga performance. From the vantage of formance theory lam propounding, every the kind c action isa performance, But from the vantage of cultural practice, some actions will be deemed performances and 1d this will va historical period to historical pe Let me use the Europear explain in more detail how definitions operate within 30 dition as an example to WHAT IS PERFORMANCE? contexts, Whats” ors not” performance does not depend ‘on an event in itself but om how that event is received and placed. Today the enactment of dramas by actors “is P y heatrical performance, But it was not always so. What we today call "theatre" people in other times did not The ancient Greeks used words similar to ours to deseribe the theatre (our words derive from thers), but what the Greeks meant sactice was very differen from what we mean, Durin redans Aeschylus (c, 525-c. 456 B epoch of the t Sophocles (c. 496-c, 606 ack), and Euripides (485: «405 act the best play than it was theatre nour sense, The occasions for the playing ofthe tragedies were religious festival. Highly sought-after prizes were awarded, These prizes were based fon aesthetic excellence, but the events in which that exce 1 artistic but ritual lence was demonstrated were Ik was Aristotle, writing a century after the high point of Greck tragedy as embodied performance, who codified the aesthetic understanding of theatre in its entirety ~ in all its “six partsa the philosopher parsed it, After Aristotle, in the entertainment-aesthetic Hellenic and Roman times, aspect of theatre became more dominant as the efficacious elements receded x 456 MCE): Greck playwright and actr ‘works inelude The Aeschylus (6. 52 ‘regarded asthe Bist great tragedian, Surviving 472 net) and The Ore (488 RCE), Pains ( Sophocles (¢,496-c. 406 nr): Greck playwright, ereited with ody. Surviving plays Introducing the third actor ont the stage oft include Oedipar Tyrannus ($29 CE), Eley (date uncertain}, and ovgone («41 BCE). Euripides (¢, 485-c:405 ace): Greek playwsight whose surviving sworks nel Medea (431 ACE), Hyppabjear (428 nce), The Trojan Nomen (415 nce), and The Bocchoe (405 RCE) Let ue ship ahead a millennium or more, During much of writeen dramas on the medieval period in Europ OF popular emertanment held people’ atemon, Thee puppet shows, and what would later become the commedia 31 dell'arte, Also from early medieval times, the Chore offered a rch panoply of feasts, services, and rituals, By the fourteenth century these had joined the great cycle plays celebrating and enacting the history tion through the Crucifixion and of the world from Cr Resurrection to the Last Judgment. These we would now call "theatre," but they were not called that atthe time, The anti-thestrial prejudice of the Church disallowed any such designation. But then, inthe fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the revolution in thought and practice called the Renaissance began, Renaissance means “rebirth,” and what the humanists of the Renaissance thought they were bringing back to life was the classical culture of Greece and Rome a's Teatro. Olympico When works were staged in Vice Theatre of Olympus), the makers felt they were reinventing Greek ... theatre (not vival), Whetheran even theatre of not, performance oF not, depends on the dominant thinking ofthe day Make another leap in time to the last third of the nine teenth century. The notion of theatre as an art was by then In fact, maovements called "avant-garde" erupted frequently as efforts well established 0 well founded that counter: among radical artists to disrupt the status quo. Each new wave attempted to dislodge what went before. Some o yesterday's avant-garde became torly's establishment. The list of avant-garde movements is long, including realism, uralism, symbolism, futurism, sorreslism, construc: tivism, dada, expressionism, cubism, theatre ofthe absurd, Happenings, Fhaxus, environmental theatre, performance art and more. Sometimes works in these styles were considered theatre, sometimes dance, sometimes music Sometimes visual art, sometimes multimedia, ete, Ofte enough, events were attacked oF dismissed as not being art at all —as were Happenings, an antecedent to performance art, Allan Kaprows, creator ofthe first Happening, jumped at this chance to make a place for what e called "lifelike art" (See Kaprow box). The term "performance art” was ‘ined in the 1970s a an umbrella for works that otherwise The outcome is that today many events that formerly would not be thought of as art or performance are now so designated. These kinds of actions are performed every not just in the West The work of a where The feedback loop is ver complicate effect » German choreographer whose dances in turn are elaborated om by a Mexican performance artist... and s0 fo cultural Timits, Beyond composed art works is a blurry world of fon without definite national “accidental” “incidental” performance. Webcams broadcast what people PERFORMANCE STUDIES allan Kaprow Artlike Art and Lifelike Art ‘Wester art actualy has two avantgarde histories: one of atlike art, andthe other af ifelke art. everything ese. Ino 0 be a specialist; the maker of lifelike art, generalist. avantgarde artixe at oc cf the mainstream Western art-istorical tradition, in which mind is separate nature, and each art f separate from the ether. in (or does not eliminate) the continuity ofthe traditionally separate genres of visual a civilization is separate fro ete.d artis separate from lite and everything els, while lflike at holds that artis conoe like art, in contrast, concerns an inter uxartsts, Earthworkers, body artists, proves, petal artists, concestualist with people in genera, civilization with na “ter example, a mechanical fiddle playing around the clock to a cow in t ‘Avantgarde lifelike artis not nearly as serious as avantgarde artlke art. Often J, and soon Thus itmixes up the traditional art genes, or avoids them entirely 1 Simelistcally pu, edt life and ‘words, there's arta the service of art, and art at the service of life, The maker of artike art tends es the majority of attention from artists and public It is usually seen as serious and apart vidual is separate from ‘om body J Avantgarde atike art basically believes musi, dance, Iimerature, theatre, lent minority (Futurists, Dadas, guatal, Happeners, noise musicians, performance poets, shamanistc ass, suite humorous, with mind, invidual ri things the laundromat. barnyard. OF going Dessite formalist and idealist interpretations of art, lifelike art makers’ principal dialogue isnot with art but with everything est, one event suggesting anot the lifelike at that's born of i, Indee it’s never certain fan artist who creates avantgard Udo at home over the internet. Television frames the news as entertainment. Performance theorists argue that everyday lie is performance ~ courses are offered in the aesthetis of everyday life. At that isnot performance nt there is hardly any human activity or someone somewhere, Generally, the tendency over the past century has been to dissolve the boundaries separating performing from not performing, art from not-art. At one end of the spectrum it’s clear what 3 performance is, what an art work is atthe other end of the “As” Performance In hey studies of cooking as performance, Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett proposes a theory very close to my fovwn, She says that to behave, and to show (see Kirshenblatt-Gimblett box). I want to go further. Any behavior, event, action, oF thing can be studie “as” performance, ean be analyzed in terms behaving, and showing Take maps, for example you don't know much about ite, 32 1 iss much ofthe meaning of elke art isan ats. 1983, "The Real Experiment,” 3, 38 Everyone knows the world is ound, but flat maps are extremely useful. You can't see the whole world or even a significant part of it atthe same time on a globe. Globes can't be folded and easly carried. Maps flatten the world the e, tack them to a wall better toy ovt territories ona tabl or tuck them in a briefease, Maps depict anything from nations to topography to demography: On common world maps, nations are separated from each ather by colors and lines, and cites appear as circles, rivers as lines, and oceans as large, usally blue, areas, Everything is named — achieving status is being “on the map” But the “real earth” does not look like its mapped representations ~ or even like a globe. People were astonished when they first saw photographs taken from space of the white-flecked blue ball earth (see figure 2.7), There was no sign of a human presence at al. Nati picture the world as a map they see it divided into nation ates seem so natural that when most people states, But maps are not neutral. They perform a particular interpretation of how the world ought to be, A map is 2 projection, "a particular way of representing sphere on ala, surface. On maps, nations donot overlap or share territories, Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett Food as Performance Food and performance converge conceptually at anctures. First, perform isto do, execute, 10 10 completion 1 discharge @ duty ~ in other tation, ‘words, all that governs the production, p and disposal of fo08. To perform in this sense is to rake food, to serve food. Its about materials hmiques, procedures, actions. It is about gett fiat and forem: ring kt ‘Second, to perform isto behave. This is what Erving something done. that we can speak of the pert Goffman call the performance in everyday life. Whether az matter af habit, custom o aw, the divine eta sand liquor Heenses, oF ‘health an sanitation cabar codes, performance encom that are part and parcel of what Pierre Bourdie ses the social practices s.To perform inthis sense is [11930- Deals had behave appropriately in relation to food at any point in whieh its production, consumption, or disposal, each may be subject to precise protocols or taboos. Jewish ‘tual purity and formal etiquette detail, They and Hind law stipulate the requirements in exauis ve the performance of precepts as well as precepts performance, ow: When doing andbehaving Third, to perform it are displayed, wh are invited to exer spprecition, {009 events move towar ally, towards the spectacular. It is and taste as an mare spe aesthetic faculty converge. The conflation of the two meanings of taste can be found in Enlightenment aestheties and inthe Hindu ptf rasa alle. 1999, "Playing othe Senses Food as a Performance Mecium, Boundaries ae definite, For more than one nation to enforce ses claim to the same space means wa, as between Pakistan and India over Kashmir or Palestine and Israel over Jerusalem The most common projection in use todays derived from the Mercator projection, developed inthe sixteenth cen the Flemish geographer-cartographer Gerardus Mercator as 94) (see figure 28) WHAT 15 PERFORMANCE? ig2.7, The wester hemssphere of planet ean 2s ptogropned by $8 Zcagorary sateen 1995. Copynant Popper Gerardus Mercator (1512-54); Flemish geogrpher-catographer ‘hone basic approach to map-making Is sll practiced today. His oat nme war Gerhard Kremer, bat ike many European scholars thie day, he used a atinned version of his mame. vill in for ‘The Mercator projection distorts the g ofthe northern hemisphere, The farther north the relatively bigger the territory appears, Spain i as large as Zimbabwe North America dwarfs Sou ‘meriea, and Europe is one fourth the size of Africa. In other words, Mercator’s map acts the world asthe colonial powers wished to view it Altho th century the preponderance of world economic and military power Js imeshave changed since the sx Femains in the hands of Europe and its North American inheritor, the USA, Perhaps it won't be this way in another century or wo. Ifs0,a dif vse. Inded, with satellite photogt ofthe globe isting place. There ae also maps showing the world “upside dow population, showing China and India four cloped map times the size of the USA. The Peters Projection de in 1974 by Arno Peters (1916- ) isan “area accu ion toeach world’s area sized correctly in rl ther (see figure 2.9), No longer is Greenland the same sive en in fact Africa is fourteen times larger than as Africa wh n inaccuracies Itis Greenland, But the Peters map hasts 0 33 PERFORMANCE STUDIES fig2.8. Acontermprary vation of he Marcser Projection ot correct in terms of shape — the southern hemisphere is clongated, the northern squashed, Making a flat map of a round earth means that one must sacrifice ether accurate shape oy size. I the Peters map looks “unnatural,” then you know how much the Mereator projection - or any other ‘Arno Peters (1916-): Germin historian, Developed in 1974 an sre: aceurate wérld ap, known asthe Peters Projection, One of the meanings of "to perform" ie to get things done according to a particular plan or seenario, Mercator’s maps proved very helpful for navigating the seas because straight lines on the projection kept to compass bearings. Mercator drew his maps to suit the scenarios of the mariners, merchants, and militery of an expansionist, colonizing sche new mapshave Western Europe Similarly, the author: scenarios of their own which their maps enact, Interpreting to examine map-making “as performance. nly represents the earth in a specific way, but also enacts power relationships Ie'snot just maps, Everything and anything ean "=" any discipline of study ~ physies, economics law, ete What these” saysis that the object of study will be regarded 3a WHAT IS PERFORMANCE? perspective of*in terms of*interrogated by" “ron particular discipline of study For example 1am composing this book on a Dell Dimension 4001 desktop computer. I regard it“as physics." I would examine its size, weight, and other physical qualities, perhaps even its atomic and subatomic qualities, IT regard “as mathematics I would delve into the binary codes ofits programs. Regarding it 10” would mean interpreting networks of patent, copyrights, and contracts, I were to treat the computers performance" would evaluate the speed ofits processor, the clarity of its display, the usefulness of the pre-packaged software its size and portability, and so on, Tan er Bill Parcells staring ovt*at me telling me how well my computer performs Make Believe Versus Make Belief What about the many performances in everyday ife? Playin professional roles, gender and race roles, and shaping ‘one's identity are not make-believe ations (as playing a role on stage or in a film most probably is), The performances more det of everyday Ife (which I will discuss in chapters 5 and 6) "make belie" — create the very social realities they enact. In “make-believe” per and what's pretended iskept distinction between whats real clear. Children playing doctor” or dress-up” know that the are pretending, On stag itselfasa distinct domain, the opening and closing a curtain ts, the curtain eall, ete, — mark the distinction between pretending and being. When people go to the movies or the theatre they know that the social and personal worlds enacted are not those of the actors but those of the characters, Of course, i is this distinction that de and later the media and the internet successfully sabotaged ain» clearly marked boundary ay reality. Make= belief performances intentionally blur that boundary _Make-believe performances mal between the world af the performance and every Public figures are often making belief - enacting the cffects they want the receivers of their performances to accept “for real.” When an American President signs an piece of legislation, or makes a grave a ‘ment of national importance, his handlers stage the event in 35 the Oval Office of the White House where the President can perform his authority. Behind him is an array of VIPs, inchuding the Vice-President. A large Presidential Seal provides an appropriately patriotic foreground (see figure 2.10), Atother times, the national leader may wish topes 268 friend ora good neighbor talking informally with"Fellow citizens" (see figure 2.11) By nov, everyone knows these kinds of activities are staged in every detail. Today's American Presidency at least ts public Face — is a totally scripted performance. The President's words are written by professional speech: writers, the backdrops and settings carefully designed fo he Chief Executive himself well rehearsed, Telepronapters insure tht the President will appear to speaking off the culf while he is actually reading every ‘word, Each details choreographed, from how the President kes eye contact (with the camera, with the selected maximum ee audience’ a¢ 4 town meeting), to how he uses his hands dresses, and is made-up. he goal ofall ths is to"make belief” first, to build the public's confidence inthe President, and second, to sustain the President's belief in himself. His performances convince himselfeven ashe strives to convince others Arguably, the President is an imps virtue of his position of authority, But with the exponential growth of media, hordes of citizens have jumped into the make-belie business, Some are hucksters selling everythin 1d firm buttocks to everlasting saleation in the blood of Jesus. Others are venerable net bic stant personage by from cooking utensils work anchors” Familiar voices and faces holding the amidst the swift currents of the news, Still oth ets" — economists, lawyers retired generals, ete whose euthority ie sometimes ereated simply by their frequent appearances. Then come the “spin masters.” ‘employed by politicians and corporations to turn bad news into good. As forthe producers bel is to make certain that whatever is going on is dramatized ‘enough toattract viewers. he grester the number watching, igher the revenues from sponsors. Some news is inherently exciting ~ disasters, wars, crimes, and tials, But stock media mafters have learned how to dramatize market and the weather, How to build the “human interest™ roducers know thatthe same angle into every story, The information is available from many diferent venves, <0 tractive sideshows, Paradoxically 1, With so many kinds the result ie a public le of performances on view, people are sophisticated and suspicious deconstructors of the theatrical eechniques PERFORMANCE STUDIES er aad tae 36 = eam WHAT IS PERFORMANCE? Blurry Boundaries Let's veturn to Mereator's map. The world represented there ‘sone of neatly demarcated sovereign nation-states. That world rnofonger exists, fit ever did (in Mercator’ day the Europes nations were constantly at war with each other over who controlled what), Today national boundaries are extremely porous, not only to people but even more so to information 1nd ideas, The newest maps ean’t be drawn because what needs to be represented isnot territories but networks of relationships. Mapping these takes fractals or streams of their shapes and values numbers continvally. changing “The notion offixity has hen under attack atleast since 1927, when Werner Heisenberg (901-76) proposed his incertainty principle.” Few people outside ofa sel ‘understand Heisenbe ‘of quantum physicists could theory. But “uncertainty” of “indeterminacy” rang a bell It ‘was a very appropriate and powerful metaphor for the icin many disciplines. Ie-was a all to in kind of art, John Cage (1912-82) epoch, it affected tho the making of a used indeterminacy asthe bass for his music, influenc sin many field, whole generation of artists and theor Werner Heisenberg (1901-76): German physics, winner of the Nobel Priv fr Physics 1932, ie est known principle John Cage (1912-92): American composer and music theorist whose interests spanned using indeterminacy to make art, Zen Fddhism, and mushrooms, Author of Slee: Seleed Leaures and Wings (1961) and A Yeo from Monday (1967). His many musica ompostios include Fontana Mi (1960) and Rearecvo (1982). Boundaries are blurry in different ways, On the internet people participate eflortlesty in a system that transgress national boundaries, Even languages present less ofa barr than before, Already you can login, write in your Tangvage, and know that your message will be tran the language of whe ‘facility isavallable in ony alin mever you are addressing. At pre ed number of languages. But the repertory of translatables will increase. le will be 5 Kikuyu speakers routine for Chinese speakers to add tr for someone in a remote village to address a message to any number of people globally. Furthermore, for better of worse, English ha be al rather than national language, At the United Nations, 120 countries representing more than 97 percent of the world's populations choose English as their medium for international communicato 37 Heisenberg uncertainty principle: A principle of quantum rnechanics which sate that socurate measurement of one of to related observable quantities (for example, postion) produces tucertainy in the measurement ofthe other Fr example, elo), y on ie 0 that wile each quantity may be measured accurs town, both together cannot be measured beyond a certain degree tf accuracy. First formulated by German physicit Werner Heisenberg (1901-76) The dissolution of national boundaries fs accurring in relation to manufactured objects as well as with regard to politics and information, If, for example, you drive an “American or Japanese or Swedish or German or Korean ca pel it you may believe it came from the country whose Ia ‘isplays. Bot where were the parts manufactured? Where was the car assembled, where designed? The brand name refers to itself, not ta a place of origin. Japanese cars are rade in Tennessee and Fords roll off assembly lines in Canada, Europe, and elsewhere. Mexico isa major assembly point for many cars. And what about your clothes? Look at be pore the labels of the clothes you are wearing your dress, pants, shoes, and blouse come from the same hed oF country? Do you even know where they were si by whom and at what wage oF under what kind of working But are also blurring, “Globalization” is accelerating Airports ate ethan cars and clothes are transnational. Cultures the same wherever you travel; standardized fast food i sailale in just about every major city in the world, American television and movies are broadcast everywhere. But the USA itself isincreasingly intercultural styles. The profusion of international arts Festivals and the hosts of artists touring all parts of the in both its populations and its iv ai world are a major means of yes of performing “World beat” music combines elements of African, Asian, Latin American, and Euro-American sounds, New hybrid ave emerging all the time. People are arguing whether 0 hot all this mixing is good or bad. Is globalization the equivalent of Americanization? Question of globalization and Serer performance willbe talen vpn caper 8 The Functions of Performance 1 have touched on what performance is and what can be studied as performance. But what do performances accomplish? It is difficult to stipolate the functions of performance. Over time, and indifferent cultures, there have been a number of praposals. One of the most inclusive is PERFORMANCE STUDIES that of the Indian sage Bharata Muni (c, second century IcE~<, second century CE), who felt that performance was « comprehensive repository of knowledge and a very pow tefl vehicle for the expression of emotions (see Bharata, box). The Roman poet-scholar Horace (65-8 RCE) in his ‘entertain and educate, Ars Poeicaangued that theatre ought an idea taken up by many Renaissance thinkers and later by the German playwright and director Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956), Bharata Muni The Functions of Natya (Dance-Music-Theatre) [The god Brahmal have create the Natyaveds to show th the gods and sentation of the entire tives werlas {000 ard bad actions and feelings of yourselves. Hise 1 dharma and not only of the gods or of yourselves. duty, oow arth (strategies), now kama Clove, now burr, now fights, now greed, now ling. Natya teaches right to people going wrong tases enjoyment for those Wo are pleasure seekers; it chatises those who are itsbenaved and promotes tolerance inthe well-behaved It gives courage 10 cowards, eneray tothe brave, It enlightens people of litle intellect ang gives wisdom to the wise. Natya provides entertainment to kings, fortitude to those grief stricken, money to those who wan make a living, and stability te dsturbed minds. Natya is @ representation of the ways ofthe world involving various emotions ard differing circumstances. It relates the actions of good, bad, and midaling people, giving entertainment, and happiness, as wll vce toll [brings est and peace to persons afficted ut, gril or elplessres. There iso art, that st foun in no knowledge, ne learning, no aes atyasasra, chapter 1 1996 (second century wee Bharata Muni (c. second century nct-second century CH} yasoa, the primary Indian «age credited with authorship of The ‘cortical teats of asia nda theatre and dance Horace (65-8 nce): Roman poet whose Ar Pcie (The Ar of Poy) ‘llers advice on the constuction of drama, His asicinstracton hat artshould both “entertain and educate"is very close to Brech's ideas con the function of theatre Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956): German playwright, director, and performance theorist. In 1949 he and actress Helene Welge) (1900-71), hie wife, founded the Berliner Ensemble. Majr works include The Thuspeony Opera (1928), Ths Rise and Fl ofthe Cy onny (1930), Alsr Courage and ber Chilven (1981), Galle (1943), Th God Woman of Sechruan (1963), and The Caucasian Chalk ice (1948 Eng; 1954 Ger.) The dates reer to stage premiere. Many ofhietheoretical writings are anthologied in English, Beek on Theatre (1964). Putting together ideas drawn from various sou find seven functions of performance + To entertain + Tomake someth + Tomark or chang. + Tomake or foster community Tohesl To teach, persuade, or convince identity To deal with the sacred and or the demonic. These are not listed in order of importance, For some people cone or a few of these will be more important than others, But the hierarchy car to who you areand what ‘af these functions, but many performances emphasize more than one Very rarely does a performance focus on one ar even Wo functions. A street demonstration ot propaganda play may be mostly about teaching, persuading, and convincing ~ but such a show also has to entertain and may foster community foster community, and Shamans heal, but they entertain as

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