🎭Intro to Performance Studies Unit 1 – Foundations of Performance Studies

Key Concepts and Definitions

• Performance studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines performance in various contexts, including theater, dance, music, ritual, and everyday life
• Performativity refers to the idea that identities and social realities are constructed and maintained through repeated performances and actions
  • Judith Butler's concept of gender performativity suggests that gender is not an innate identity but rather a series of repeated acts and performances
• Liminality describes the transitional state between two phases or identities, often associated with rituals and performances that facilitate transformation
• Restored behavior is a term coined by Richard Schechner to describe the rehearsed and repeated actions that constitute performance, whether on stage or in everyday life
• Efficacy and entertainment are two key functions of performance, with efficacy referring to the transformative power of performance and entertainment referring to its ability to engage and delight audiences
• Embodiment emphasizes the role of the body in performance and the ways in which physical presence and action can convey meaning and emotion
• Performative utterances, as defined by J.L. Austin, are speech acts that not only describe but also enact or bring about the reality they describe (such as saying "I do" in a wedding ceremony)

Historical Context of Performance Studies

• Performance studies emerged as a distinct field in the 1970s, drawing on influences from anthropology, sociology, theater studies, and cultural studies
• Early pioneers of performance studies include Richard Schechner, who founded The Performance Group and developed the concept of environmental theater
• Anthropologists such as Victor Turner and Clifford Geertz contributed to the field by examining the role of performance in ritual, social drama, and cultural meaning-making
• The influence of poststructuralism and postmodernism in the 1980s and 1990s led to a greater emphasis on the constructed nature of performance and the role of power and ideology in shaping performance practices
• The "performative turn" in the social sciences and humanities recognized the importance of performance as a lens for understanding social and cultural phenomena
• Feminist and queer theory have had a significant impact on performance studies, highlighting the ways in which gender and sexuality are performed and contested through various forms of expression
• The rise of globalization and digital media has expanded the scope of performance studies to include new forms of mediated and transnational performance

Theoretical Frameworks

• Dramaturgical analysis, developed by Erving Goffman, examines social interactions as a form of performance, with individuals playing roles and managing impressions in everyday life
• Ritual theory, as articulated by Victor Turner and others, explores the transformative power of performance in religious and cultural contexts, particularly in moments of liminality and communitas
• Performance ethnography is a research method that uses performance as a means of gathering and presenting data, often through embodied and participatory approaches
  • Dwight Conquergood's work on the performance of culture in marginalized communities is a notable example of performance ethnography
• Postcolonial and decolonial theories examine the ways in which performance has been used both to reinforce and resist colonial power structures and cultural imperialism
• Affect theory considers the role of emotion, sensation, and intensity in performance, and how performances can generate and circulate affective experiences
• Posthumanism and new materialism challenge the centrality of the human subject in performance, instead emphasizing the agency and vitality of nonhuman entities and assemblages
• Critical race theory and whiteness studies interrogate the racial politics of performance, including the representation and enactment of race on stage and in everyday life

Performance Analysis Techniques

• Close reading involves the detailed examination of a performance text or event, attending to elements such as language, gesture, staging, and audience response
• Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols in performance, and how they generate meaning through processes of signification and interpretation
• Phenomenology emphasizes the lived experience of performance, both for performers and audience members, and the ways in which performance can create a sense of presence and embodiment
• Historiography examines the ways in which performance histories are constructed and contested, and how the archive of performance is shaped by power relations and cultural politics
• Ethnographic methods, such as participant observation and interviews, are used to study performance in its social and cultural contexts, and to understand the perspectives of performers and audiences
• Comparative analysis explores the similarities and differences between performances across time, space, and cultural contexts, and how they reflect and shape broader social and political dynamics
• Multimedia analysis considers the role of technology, media, and digital platforms in contemporary performance, and how they enable new forms of interaction, participation, and circulation

Cultural and Social Implications

• Performance can serve as a site of cultural resistance and political activism, challenging dominant norms and power structures through embodied and symbolic action
• Performances of identity, such as drag and cross-dressing, can subvert and destabilize binary categories of gender and sexuality, while also revealing their constructed nature
• Ritual performances, such as rites of passage and religious ceremonies, can create a sense of community and shared meaning, while also marking transitions and transformations in social status and identity
• Performance can be a means of preserving and transmitting cultural heritage, particularly in the face of colonialism, displacement, and cultural assimilation
  • The work of performance artists such as Guillermo Gómez-Peña and Coco Fusco engages with issues of cultural identity, border-crossing, and decolonization
• Performance can also reproduce and reinforce social hierarchies and inequalities, particularly when it comes to the representation and treatment of marginalized groups
• The commodification and globalization of performance can lead to questions of authenticity, appropriation, and cultural ownership, as well as the uneven distribution of resources and opportunities in the performing arts
• The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the precarity and vulnerability of performance industries, as well as the importance of live performance for social connection and collective meaning-making

Practical Applications and Case Studies

• Applied theater and performance practices, such as theater of the oppressed and community-based theater, use performance as a tool for social change, education, and empowerment
• Performance studies approaches have been used to analyze and intervene in organizational and institutional contexts, such as corporate culture, healthcare settings, and educational systems
• The work of performance artists such as Marina Abramović and Tehching Hsieh pushes the boundaries of the body and the self, exploring themes of endurance, vulnerability, and transformation
• Digital performances, such as virtual theater and online dance challenges, have emerged as new forms of creative expression and social connection in the age of social media and pandemic restrictions
• Site-specific performances, such as environmental theater and public art interventions, engage with the physical and social geography of particular places, and invite audiences to experience them in new ways
• Autobiographical and testimonial performances, such as solo shows and oral histories, use personal narrative as a means of exploring larger social and political issues, and of bearing witness to marginalized experiences
• Intercultural and transnational performances, such as global festivals and touring productions, raise questions about the politics of representation, translation, and exchange across cultural and linguistic boundaries

Emerging Trends and Debates

• The rise of immersive and participatory performance formats, such as escape rooms and interactive theater, is blurring the lines between performer and audience, and creating new possibilities for agency and co-creation
• The increasing use of virtual and augmented reality technologies in performance is expanding the scope of what is possible in terms of sensory experience, embodiment, and interaction
• The growing recognition of the need for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the performing arts is leading to calls for greater representation and access for marginalized groups, both on stage and behind the scenes
• The intersection of performance and social justice activism is generating new forms of protest and direct action, such as flash mobs, die-ins, and guerrilla performances
• The ecological crisis and the Anthropocene are prompting artists and scholars to rethink the relationship between performance and the environment, and to develop new models of sustainable and regenerative practice
• The turn towards affect and emotion in performance studies is leading to a greater emphasis on the sensory and embodied dimensions of performance, and on the ways in which performances can move and transform audiences
• The ongoing debate over the definition and boundaries of performance studies as a field is raising questions about its disciplinary identity, its methodological approaches, and its political commitments

Further Reading and Resources

• Schechner, Richard. Performance Studies: An Introduction. Routledge, 2002.
  • A comprehensive overview of the field, covering key concepts, historical developments, and theoretical approaches
• Phelan, Peggy. Unmarked: The Politics of Performance. Routledge, 1993.
  • A influential text that explores the relationship between performance, representation, and identity, with a focus on feminist and queer perspectives
• Conquergood, Dwight. Cultural Struggles: Performance, Ethnography, Praxis. University of Michigan Press, 2013.
  • A collection of essays that showcase Conquergood's pioneering work in performance ethnography and his commitment to social justice and activism
• Taylor, Diana. The Archive and the Repertoire: Performing Cultural Memory in the Americas. Duke University Press, 2003.
  • An examination of the ways in which performance functions as a form of cultural memory and transmission, particularly in the context of Latin American and Caribbean history and politics
• McKenzie, Jon. Perform or Else: From Discipline to Performance. Routledge, 2001.
  • A provocative analysis of the ways in which performance has become a dominant cultural paradigm in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, shaping fields such as management, technology, and politics
• The Performance Studies Reader, edited by Henry Bial and Sara Brady. Routledge, 2016.
  • An anthology of key texts in the field, covering a wide range of topics and perspectives
• The Centre for Performance Research (CPR) in Wales, which hosts conferences, workshops, and publications on performance studies and related fields
  • Website: https://www.thecpr.org.uk/