What is Performance?

In Marvin Carlson's "What is Performance", we aren't given one specific definition of performance but rather many options of what performance can or may be. What seems to be pretty established in the reading is that performance is an 'essentially contested concept', and this phrase tended to stick out to me in particular. We spent our first day of class with a prolonged discussion amongst one another about performance and what is exactly and we found it quite difficult coming up with just one definition of performance. The reason why we struggled with a unified definition is because performance is forever an essentially contested concept, it is something that we will never all fully agree on. Reading further into his article, it was rather eye-opening. I feel that I have been actually quite selfish and almost absent-minded to 'performance' in general and have felt strongly in my belief of what it is and never opened my eyes to the many 'definitions' it can have.


There is another debate going on that in order for a performance to be a performance, the 'performer' or person making the actions should be fully aware that they are indeed 'performing'. I agree with this whole-heartedly. There are people out there who say that everyday of your life is a performance and that we are always giving a performance. This, to me at least, seems a bit extreme and completely untrue. If everyday and action of our lives was indeed a performance, then how would we be able to specify 'performance' as a term and distinguish it from something as simple and basic as taking out the garbage? There can be, I believe, exceptions. Some every-day tasks can be turned into a sort of performance with the consciousness of the 'performer' fully aware. Trying to get a point across to a group of people, or to tell a story from what crazy thing happened out at the bar last night...this can be a 'performance', a sense of convincing your almost 'audience' is clearly evident.


The section in the article about the couple who reenact historical events was very interesting to me. Diane Spencer Pritchard originally, along with improved acts in character and various dialogue, played the piano as her character. She felt this was her displaying 'technical skill' which then drove their whole historical reenactment into the 'performance' world, which was something she did not want. I've seen quite a few historical reenactments at different war sites and historical monuments across the nation, and each time I see the reenactments unfold, I feel as if I am watching a performance. Whether or not piano was involved never gave me the feel or performance, but seeing the individuals (knowingly) engage into these characters was what sold me into 'performance'. Actually, I never even thought twice about whether or not I was indeed seeing a performance, I knew I was.




In the following video, sponsored by Lush, a young woman is displayed herself out of a street-window and undergoing exactly what animals go through while being animal tested for different products. A good majority of the scenes from the video are pretty graphic and eye-opening. She is marked 'SPECIMEN NO. 3252C, just as any animal would be, nameless and then undergoes a plethora of 'torture' basically to get across a point to the passerby's. I, for one, feel that this is a performance in every sense. This young woman is being so vulnerable and knowingly going through  grueling experiments in front of the public in hopes of getting out a message and in hopes of change. She is fully aware and conscious of what is happening, she is getting a message across. Regardless of how you feel about it in general, emotions were evoked and sparked, something was felt...which got people talking about it, which was the goal.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4K9iSyj_lk