Richard Schechner’s Performance Theory Essay Example
Richard Schechner’s Performance Theory Essay Example

Richard Schechner’s Performance Theory Essay Example

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Discuss ways in which Richard Schechner's 'Performance Theory' may be of use to contemporary practitioners. Illustrate your answer with reference to at least one dance or theatre performance which you have seen 'live'. The influence of Richard Schechner(b. 1934) on both theatre production and academic theory has been profound and,in some ways, revolutionary. Schechner has consistently challenged traditionalpractices and perspectives of theatre, performance and ritual for almost half acentury.

His principal contention is that drama is not merely a province of thestage, but of everyday life, and is a cross-cultural phenomenon. 'It isimportant to develop and articulate theories concerning how performances aregenerated, transmitted, received and evaluatedIn pursuit of these goals,performance studies is insistently intercultural, inter-generic andinter-disciplinary'. (Schechner, 1995) As with all academicstudies, performance theory is founded on certain key principles, which includesuch terms as 'presentation of self', 'restored

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behaviour' 1 and'expressive culture', and incorporates social drama and ritual.

His concept ofperformance, which contrasts sharply with previous, principally modernist,approaches to the arts, asserts the importance of different 'systems oftransformations', which vary enormously from culture to culture, and throughouthistorical periods and movements. The radical nature of performancetheory is demonstrated by its all-encompassing, even holistic, approach totheatre and performance, with popular culture, folklore, and ethnic diversityincorporated into the cross-disciplinary mix.

In examining the ways in whichthe theory can be useful to theatre practitioners, it is important to examinein more detail the main strategies it deploys, including the concept of'performativity'. The word 'performative' was originatedby J. L Austin, a linguistic philosopher, who coined the term for the first timeduring lectures at Harvard University in 1955. Expressions such as 'I take thisman to be my lawfully wedded husband' are an example of an

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action in itself,rather than simply the description of an action.

As Austin put it, 'to saysomething is to do something'. (Austin, 1962) 'Performativity' as a concept isclosely related to postmodernism. The postmodern view does not see the idea of'performance' as intrinsically artistic or theatrical, but as something thatpervades the fabric of the social, political and material world. It is aninalienable part of what constitutes power and knowledge. Teaching andlecturing, political speech-making and religious sermonising illustrates thischaracteristic of performativity.

The postmodern view of thingsposits a standpoint that culture has become a commodity in itself, rather thana critique of commodity. It is inseparable from the context of post-World WarII Western society, where new goods and technology, and corresponding culturaldevelopments, emerged from the rubble of post-war austerity. This shift frommodernist to postmodernist thinking in the arts can be located in the 1950s,with movements such as abstract expressionism, modernist poetry andexistentialism in literature and philosophy representing a high flowering ofthe modernist impulse.

The postmodern world, originating in the 1960s,represented a blurring of distinction between high art and popular,mass-communicated mediums, formerly derided as 'low art'. 'Recognising, analysing, andtheorising the convergence and collapse of clearly demarcated realities,hierarchies, and categories is at the heart of postmodernism. Such aconvergence or collapse is a profound departure from traditional Westernperformance theory'. (Schechner, 2002, P. 16)

In the Schechner universe, thepreviously solid foundation of modernism, with clearly defined borders of realityand representation in performance, has been wrenched away, and many of theassumptions in the western artistic tradition, from Plato and Aristotle on,such as the notion that theatre reflects, imitates or represents reality, inboth individual and social life. 'Representational art of all kinds is basedon the assumption that 'art' and 'life'

are not only separate but of differentorders of reality. Life is primary, art secondary'. (Schechner, 2002, P. 16)

In Performance Studies,Schechner asserts that 'performing onstage, performing in special socialsituations (public ceremonies, for example), and performing in everyday lifeare a continuum'. (Schechner, 2002, P. 143) His contention that each and everyone of us is in some sense a 'performer' is difficult to dispute. Engaging in'real life' is often indistinguishable from 'role play', and in today's'surveillance societies' of Western culture, with CCTV cameras seeminglyeverywhere, the scope for performance as an extension of simply being has neverbeen wider.

The evident logical development of this is the ubiquitous 'reality TV'show, as well as the do-it-yourself webcam and personal websites on theinternet, both of which have contributed a new dimension to 'the style ofbeing'. 2 Pop artist Andy Warhol wouldsurely have embraced the new media's possibilities for exhibitionism, andreflected wryly on his own pioneering role in this phenomenon. His films of the1960s and '70s were forerunners of reality TV, and his mantra of '15minutes of fame' has never seemed more applicable.

At first glance,Schechner's hypotheses appears to fulfil both Warhol's philosophy andShakespeare's oft-quoted 'All the world's a stage, and all the men and womenmerely players' as an approach to performance. The key concern of the drama ordance practitioner is to place this into the context of performing a in a way beyondsimply 'being in itself' to the portrayal of a self-contained 'thing in itself'- an abstract presentation of a text or idea, for the purposes of entertainmentor education. (E. g. Theatre-in-education) The actor or 'player' is not alonein presenting self-contained performances, with a beginning, middle and end.

AsSchechner observes, various figures in the public

arena adopt strategies ofperformance and role play, such as politicians, religious leaders, andbusinessmen and women, conducting presentations at meetings: 'Paidperformers all seeking attention, adulation, re-election, and money'. (Schechner,2002, P. 146) They all have their own strategies and scenarios to achieveeffects, towards a specific goal, and, like the theatre/performing artspractitioner, their performances are predicated on self-consciousness.

Across this very wide spectrumof performing are varying degrees of self-consciousness and consciousness ofthe others with whom and for whom we play. The more self-conscious a person isthe more one constructs behaviour for those watching and/or listening, the moresuch behaviour is performing. ' (Schechner, 2002, P. 146) The application of role playing inmany contexts, from psychotherapy sessions to teacher training exercises,follows similar approaches as drama improvisation classes, albeit withdifferent objectives, but no less in addressing the self-conscious and unconsciousimpulses which lie at the basis of performance.

It reflects the in-builtroutines, rituals and conventions of everyday life, instilled from birth, andthrough childhood experience. The Jungian theories of archetypes and thecollective unconscious would suggest that the individual's mind is not a tabularasa (blank page) at the time of birth - the implications of which are potentwith creative possibilities for the practitioner/performing artist. The concept of 'performing ineveryday life' is a central aspect of performativity, as envisaged bySchechner.

'Performativity is everywhere - in daily behaviour, n theprofessions, on the internet and media, in the arts and in the language'. (Schechner,2002, P. 110) It is a natural progenitor of role play and improvisation. Theexpression 'showing off' is heard frequently throughout childhood, but isequally applicable to adult behaviour. Certain jobs and professions haveevolved traditional codes of conduct, some of which have emerged as specificcharacter traits, behaviour patterns and

tones of voice. These have in turnbeen stylised into stereotypical representations: the roles of dignifiedclergyman, ardent reporter, solemn court judge, et al.

They usually adhere tocustom, but have evolved into modes of performance. The implication is that manyindividuals, going about their 'everyday business' are not being themselves allof the time. They are acting out roles, predetermined to the point of beingprogrammed in some cases. 'Performing in everyday life involves people in awide range of activities from solo or intimate performances behind closed doorsto small group activities to interacting as part of a crowd. ' (Schechner,2002, P. 175) Schechner observes that the socialcodes of our daily lives are adapted to greater or lesser degrees by everyone.

The unconventional or rebellious resist the rules, but only revolutionariesseek to break them to achieve permanent change - a principal equally applicableto artists. The arts, and particularly the theatre, have always made use ofstereotypes and archetypes, often parodying or subverting them. Thosepractitioners who set out to achieve truthful performances, to 'get under theskin' of a character, can identify with these typical representations, as roleplay exercises reveal, but the underlying personality lies a layer or twodeeper. 'In the theatre the actor andthe audience both know that the actor is not who she is playing.

But in reallife a person is simultaneously performing herself and being herself. Thematter is, of course, nicely complicated because in some methods of realisticacting, actors are taught how to use their own selves to construct theatricalroles'. (Schechner, 2002, P. 177) In approaching the role of , forexample, a science teacher, and avoid a one-dimensional portrayal, an actormust discover the character as not simply a teacher, carrying out a teacher'srole, but

as an individual when 'off duty' during times, as Schechner puts it,when 'the performance aspect of ordinary behaviour is less obvious, but notabsent'. Schechner, 2002, P. 177)

The actor can draw on his/her ownexperience, be it of a personal kind (i. e. they may have previously been ateacher) or from memories and observations based on an actual person, orpersons. (E. g. a teacher who had taught them) Naturally, this approach placesmore demands on the actor, enabling him/her to enact a performance of a personwho is also a science teacher, rather than simply a science teacher with noidentity beyond his/her teaching duties.

A-Gender, produced in 2004 byJoey Hately, artistic director of Transaction Theatre Company, was a postmoderntheatre piece that adopted many of the elements of new theatre and performancetheory very effectively. Ostensibly a presentation of gender politics portrayedas a personal case history, A-Gender presented the issue of transsexualism ina powerfully theatrical manner, deploying methods of performance outside therestrictions of conventional theatre.

The use of the 'one man (or onewoman) show' format (a prototypical popular cultural form) and the 'stand up'routine, interwoven with visual media (video sequences) and other performancemodes, enabled the artist/performer to convey the confusion, pain and anger ofperson whose gender identity causes them to believe that they have been born inthe wrong body, the wrong gender. A-Gender adopted a modusoperandi of style and performativity that placed it squarely in the new theatreapproach. Its subject matter determined this, and evident devices to unsettle,or even alienate, the audience were adopted by Hately effectively.

Some ofthese devices were not exclusively of postmodernist origin, having close linksto the Theatre of the Absurd and Brechtian strategies of alienation, but themulti-media technique of juxtaposing

live theatre with pre-filmed videosequences, was pure new theatre. In fringe, community, and streettheatre performances, the scope for applying Schechner's performance theory isvirtually limitless.

The roots of street theatre are varied and eclectic,having both a primitive, ritualistic dimension, with antecedents in ancient andtribal cultures, as well as avant garde origins of performance art at the startof the 20th century (e. . surrealism, dada, etc), culminating in thepop art, post-modern dance and 'Happenings' of the 1960s, a movement from whichSchechner's early work in the theatre emerged. Street theatre performancescontain some elements derived from Happenings, which Allan Kaprow outlined in Theseven qualities of Happenings. (Kaprow, 1966) There are essential differences. Street theatre is usually played out for the benefit of an audience, albeit oneof a generally random nature, some of whom may become participants, but not inthe same way as in Happenings - with everyone performing and no audience.

Oneelement they do share is the idea of the 'found space', which is crucial to'environmental theatre'. Kaprow stated, 'it doesn't make any difference howlarge the space is. It's still a stage'. (Kaprow quoted in Schechner,1977) Schechner elaborated on this principle with his axiom that 'thetheatrical event can take place in a totally transformed space, or foundspace'. (Schechner, 1977) Whereas traditionaltheatre restricts the 'special place' to an area (the stage) marked clearly asthe space for performance, new theatre creates a space that is 'organicallydefined by the action'.

As in the Happening, and street theatre, space istransformed by the participants, who discover their own sets and scenery, usingtheir surroundings, the various elements 'found in the environment of thespace, including decor, textures and acoustics. Outdoor stage performances haveadopted this principle, with many touring theatre

companies using castle ruins,woodland clearings and riversides to stage Shakespeare's Hamlet, A MidsummerNight's Dream and The Merchant of Venice.

This use of transformed space isperhaps a more conservative application of Schechner's theory, as it retainsmany of the conventions of traditional theatre. The theatrical stage is simplysubstituted for its outdoor counterpart. Much of street theatre approachesadopt a radical use of space in the environment. There are innumerable ways in whichperformance theory and new theatre are a useful alternative to traditionaltheatre. The application of other (visual) media has already been noted, as inthe example of A-Gender.

Schechner proposes others: 'I suggest other tools, otherapproaches. Mathematical and transactional game analysis, model building,comparisons between theatre and related performance activities - all will provefruitful. ' (Schechner, 1988, P. 27-28) This demands a high level of intensephysical and mental rigour from the practitioner, as Schechner sees theatre asalive, experiential, organic, rather than something that merely replicates orreconstructs reality.

His theory offers many practical methods for both studentand practitioner to follow, in the form of both things to think about andthings to do. These are inter-disciplinary andencourage an expansionist outlook, which is cross-cultural, as well as makingexplorative use of the inner life of the performer. This dynamic andmulti-faceted approach can be adopted by the full range of performing arts,which the theory so comprehensively reflects. For both actors and directors itcreates new space and new possibilities, especially to the experimental andfringe theatre practitioner.

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