The volume presents over 300 pages about performance studies, about performance, ritual, play, performativity, performing, performance process and performance in the global world.
The first thing we have to know about performance and this book is that: ``Performance (is) a major site for knowledge and power`` (p. 26). Therefore performance is an engaged process, a tool, just like the study of performance, it does not happen just for the sake of ``art``.
Every chapter is followed by three theoretical and practical applications: ``Talk about`` - containing quotes or questions meant to incite discussions or thinking moments, ``Perform`` - practical exercises meant to help surface aspects of performance or performance studies and ``Read`` - further references. Another important feature of the book are the text boxes scattered around inciting to though and dialogue or adding an extra nuance to some of the ideas. These boxes along with numerous dictionary articles of terms and personalities from fields of theatre, anthropology, linguistics, philosophy etc, make the book a good history of culture guidebook.
One way to understand performance is using is or as. Considering things as performance we one can look at the process or ask performance questions of events (How is an event deployed in space and disclosed in time). ``Is performance refers to more definite, bounded events marked by context, convention, usage, and tradition.`` (p. 49) But the distinction between is and as are blurry and life seems to be more and more a ``connected series of performances that often overlap`` A possible way of analyzing this field would be ``to arrange the performance genres, performative behaviors and performance activities into a continuum: play-games-sports-pop entertainments-performing arts-daily life-identity construction-ritual``.
Performativity is the large category including performative and performance. There are several ways to apprehend performativity: ``Performative may be a specific speech act such as a promise, bet, or contract.`` (p. 167) or it may deal with constructed social realities or a pervasive moor or feel ``I smell something funny going on``. Just as there are no theoretical limits to the performativity there are no limits to performance. But as an academic discipline there are some specific questions and also specific study subjects.
``Performance process can be theorized in as an orderly sequence of training, workshops, rehearsals, warm-up, performing, performance, contexts, cooldown, critical response, archives and memories.`` (p. 261) or ``it can be understood as a complex relationships among four types of players – sources (writers, researchers, composers), producers, performers and partakers.``(p. 262) with one persons filling in for more than one role, at times.
One interesting application of these notions is the short analysis of ``surgery as performance``. In an operating theatre there are several performing elements: there is an audience, there are costumes differing the roles doctor, nurse and patient, there are star surgeons. Besides this showing of a doing the surgery performance also ``involves a coordinated team working at an extremely high level of skills``.
The greatest quality of the book is that it is more than an introduction to concepts dealing with the fine line dissociating theatere from life. It is a great invitation and support for exploratory thinking and reality examining work outs. Including cooking and serving food and all suffusing activities.
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