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performativity of ordinary behavior

looking at the performativity of ordinary behavior
I address phenomena inextricably interwoven
into my empirical experience
my internal mediation of that experiencethis sense of performance
is radically different from those events
in which I as a theatre artists
establish an imaginary world that
in Wolfgang Iser’s terms
is bracketed off from ordinary experience.aIser positions fiction by claiming that narrative is not mimetic, not a representation of empirical reality but that narrative puts forward the details of an imaginary that we conceptualize in the processes of reading. That imaginary world allows us to conceptualize what is, in the world of empirical reality, inaccessible. We challenge the empirical through putting the imaginary up against the empirical. The separation between the imaginary and the empirical allows us to juxtapose the two and, through that juxtaposition, witness their interaction.performance art addresses
the performative aspects of non-theatrical activity
a recognition of the constructedness
the fulfillment of quasi-aesthetic regulations
gives insight into ordinary behaviorhowever
I believe I do have a mandate
as a theatre director
to hypothesize the ways in which a culture
defines
differentiates
“brackets” theatrical performance
as the site in which imaginary worlds are built
that relate to
but differ from
empirical realitythe “as if” conceptualization that theatre performances build up
implemented through actual human beings
is often stimulated by complex
multivalent texts
texts that metamorphose in performance
adjusting to the idiosyncrasies
of actors and directorial interventions

for me
this phenomenon
remains the principal element in my work

traditional theatre
especially in the U.S.
that conventional theatre
framed by the proscenium
has aged to become analogous
to the performance of opera or the symphony…
arcane performances addressed
to elitist and uncurious audiences

performances of popular culture
are rarely subversive
relying on rigid and overused conventions
framing the freedom of performance
within the containing liminality
of allowed suspension of the rules

it is true
dramatic texts are univocal and repressive
but my goal
my hope in removing the theatrical walls
creating site specific paratheatrical performancesbThe term “paratheatre” was coined by the late Polish theatre director, Jerzy Grotowski, to address a highly dynamic and visceral approach to performance that aimed to erase traditional divisions between spectators and performers. Paratheatre was also executed outdoors in the forests of Poland as non-performance events. After 1975, Grotowski withdrew from theatre entirely as a public performance medium to redirect his focus towards non-performance oriented group dynamics that developed through various stages: Paratheatre (1969-78), Theatre of Sources (1976-1982), Objective Drama (1983-86), and Art as Vehicle (1986-present). Grotowski’s work continues today at the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards in Pontedera, Italy.
complicate the chosen text
and establish sites of material energy

of course
simply taking the “performance” outside the theater
does not make this happen
performers must find new techniques
designers new aesthetic models
and the audience…

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Posted on Tuesday, January 27th, 2015 at . Filed under: Speculation Tags: , RSS 2.0 feed.

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