Beeman - Performance Theory

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Performance Theory in an Anthropology Program

William O. Beeman

Brown University

(Return to Brown Anthropology Web Site)If man is a sapient animal, a toolmaking animal, a self-making animal, a symbol-using animal, he is, no less, a performing animal, Homo performans, not in

the sense, perhaps that a circus animal may be a performing animal, but in the sense that a man is aself-performing animal--his performances are, in a way, reflexive, in performing he reeals himself to

himself!

"his can be in two ways# the actor may come to know himself better through acting or enactment$ or

one set of human beings may come to know themseles better through obsering an%&or participating in

performances generate% an% presente% by another set of human beings! ('ictor "urner TheAnthropology of Performance*+# *)

Introduction--Performance Theory and Anthropology

"eaching performance theory in an anthropology program reuires relating the act an% practice of

performance to the broa% uestions pose% by the fiel% of anthropology! In the most general sense these

uestions lea% to a comparatie analysis of human similarities an% %ifferences in all times an% oer allgeographical locations! Such an analysis also inoles the four theoretical sub-fiel%s of anthropology#

archaeology, biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology, an% social&cultural anthropology!

With this broa% set of concerns in min%, in my teaching I help bring stu%ents to an un%erstan%ing ofperformance as an inherently human actiity! It is presente% as haing origins in pre-historic behaior

an% haing functional alue in the eolution of human cognitie functions! erformance is seen an

essential aspect of human communicatie capacity that cannot be completely un%erstoo% without a full

appreciation of the roles of language an% other semiotic behaior in human life! In cultural terms,performance is seen as pera%ing irtually all institutions of public e.pressie behaior!

In general there are three pe%agogical goals in my instruction of performance theory! /irst, I want to

help stu%ents un%erstan% the basic human uestions that the inestigation of performance raises!Secon%, I want to proi%e them with obserational an% analytic skills that will help them to con%uctethnographic obseration of performance actiity! "hir%, I want them to be able to analy0e the actiities

that they obsere an% rea% about in terms of performance-specific criteria! /inally, I want to help them

to un%erstan% the 1big picture1--the meaning of performance actiity for broa% patterns of human life,inclu%ing the ways that performance transforms an% is transforme% by eery%ay life! 2y %iscussion

below is organi0e% to a%%ress these pe%agogical goals!

Basic uman !uestions

Anthropological approaches to performance go beyon% %escription! I try to help stu%ents to begin to

think in terms of e.planation! 3uestions such as the following are pose% early in the course an% %irect

much of the rea%ing, %iscussion an% research un%ertaken by stu%ents!Why are actiities inoling %isplay an% ealuation&appreciation so

essential an% en%emic to the human con%ition4

Why %o such actiities coney meaning in such a powerful fashion4

What special tools for behaior an% communication are foun% in

performance mo%e an% what %o they %o4

I will try here to proi%e some of the ways I help stu%ents to approach these uestions, by way of

e.ample, an% through helping stu%ents %eelop research approaches to a series of stu%ies of human
http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Anthropology/http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Anthropology/


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actiities that embo%y performatie skills an% capacities!

5entral to helping stu%ents %eelop this un%erstan%ing is showing them how performance is not somuch a cultural institution as a set of clear accomplishments on the part of human beings! In particular,

successful performance represents the successful accomplishment of cultural representation resulting in

transformations in society! "hese transformations can be ery small or cataclysmic, but no one is leftunaffecte% by performance behaior!

I start with some conentional obserations about 1performance1 an% moe to a gra%ual %iscussion of

1performatie behaior,1 which I consi%er to be a separate concept, an% the main sub6ect of instruction!

2y characteri0ation of the concept of performance is influence% by the work of Richar% Schechner!

/irst, I begin with a %iscussion of performance as mimetic behaior(in the conentional Aristotliansense) an% is imitatie of an 1action1 1"rage%y is the imitation of an action that is serious, complete an%

of a certain magnitu%e (Aristotle +#+ in Schechner **# 78)!

Secon%, performance is presente% as 1cooke%1 in the 9ei-Straussian sense, meaning that it is action

that is transforme% through culture into a conentionally un%erstan%able symbolic pro%uct! :elpingstu%ents come to a clear un%erstan%ing of this aspect of performance brings them to an un%erstan%ing

of the %ifficulty anthropologists face in making %irect perceptions of reality! 12aking art is the process

of transforming raw e.perience into palatable forms! "his transformation is a mimesis, arepresentation!1 (Schechner, IBI;#7*)

"hir%, I show performance as one of the most basic ways to stu%y human interaction! 5oncomitantly, I

%emonstrate that regularities in performance %erie from human interaction! "his obseration has been

ma%e by 5liffor%


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lack of receptiity on the part of an 1au%ience,1 or because some unforeseen eent interenes! ?fcourse, the play fails when the actors are ineffectie at coneying the te.t or their characters, but all is

not up to the personal skills of the performer! "he political speech fails when the electricity in the town

is knocke% out by a storm! "he rock concert fails when the au%ience gets in to a brawl! "he marriage

proposal fails when the prospectie partner gets sick an% omits in the mi%%le of making the proposal!

"o sum these iews up, in helping stu%ents to un%erstan% performance behaior I hope to bring them to

focus on# a %isplay, a mimetic representation of iews of human interaction, human situations, humancon%itions, human structurings! "hey shoul% be able to %iscern how %isplays are successful or

unsuccessful to the %egree that they are able to accomplish the representations they set out to present,an% hae a concrete effect on human affairs!

The "thnography of Performance

Discovering Objects and Settings

"he stu%y of anthropology inoles e.periential learning! Research by professionals is most commonly

carrie% out through the practice of participant-obseration in an ethnographic fiel% setting! It is mosteffectie to gie stu%ents some e.perience of this kin% of e.periential learning! "herefore my teaching

of performance theory balances theoretical material with practical e.perience in both participating in

an% obsering the process of performing!

2y classes typically consist of stu%ents from the performing arts who hae no e.perience in socialscience research an% stu%ents from the social sciences an% humanities who hae little or no performing

e.perience! It is a challenge to bring these stu%ents into %ialog with each other! "his is partially

accomplishe% through rea%ing an% seminar %iscussion of a wi%e ariety of theoretical works inperformance theory! "o acuaint eeryone with the process of ethnographic participant-obseration, I

%eise a series of short fiel% e.ercises! "hese consist of obsering an% reporting of mun%ane eery%ay

e.periences that are neertheless highly performatie, such as the eating of a meal in the company of

others, or carrying out greeting rituals! Stu%ents procee% from this intro%uction to the principale.ercises for the course!

"he 1participant1 aspect of instruction is accomplishe% by haing eeryone perform! "he coursefinishes with a 1cabaret1 in which eery member must perform for fie minutes! "his aspect of

instruction also inoles obseration! >ery stu%ent must obsere his or her own preparation for thecabaret, an% the preparation of one other class member (or group of class members)! "hese

obserations are written in performance %iaries which stu%ents maintain throughout the course, an%

turn in at the en% of the course! In a%%ition, each stu%ent prepares a research paper for the coursecentering on the obseration of a performance eent seen throughout its preparation, incorporating the

theoretical materials rea% for the course! "his research paper must go beyon% mere %escription an%

attempt to answer an important larger uestion about the functioning of the performance eent in alarger social&cultural framework!

In the past stu%ent research for the course has consiste% of stu%ies of theatrical presentations, of

political speeches, of musical eents an% of performatie aspects of eery%ay life! Asi%e from many

fine stu%ies of theatrical an% %ance troupes, much research inole% performatie aspects of 1eery%aylife!1 ?ne of the most interesting papers in recent years was a stu%y of a high-school stu%ent preparing

for her high-school prom, stu%ie% as a performatie eent! "he researcher went shopping with the

stu%ent, interiewe% her family, kept a recor% of her interactions with her %ate an% her frien%s an%atten%e% the prom! Another paper inestigate% my own classroom teaching style--a ery enlightening

stu%y for me! Still another was an early stu%y of the 1mosh pit1 an% the performatie %imensions of

being an au%ience member at rock concerts that inole this kin% of participation!


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In these ways I attempt to unite fine-graine% obserational research practice with the larger theoreticalconcerns that typify anthropological stu%ies! Stu%ents taking this course hae gone on to %o a ariety of

things! Some hae become theater or music professionals, or teachers of both! Seeral hae pursue%

professional stu%ies in anthropology, an% still others hae gone on to other professions, such as law or

me%icine! "wo hae become psychotherapists, an% hae written me to tell me that the course inperformance theory proi%e% them with some of their most important operating principles in their

therapy!

In general, the broa% approach taken in this class has gien it applicability an% brea%th beyon% the

usual clientele for performance stu%ies courses! It is a course that stu%ents regularly 1seek out1 as partof their gra%uate an% a%ance% un%ergra%uate training! At this time when performance stu%ies is 6ust

gaining a foothol% in the uniersity curriculum, I fin% this broa% approach not only pe%agogically

satisfying but also politically useful! ara%o.ically, its construction is in an% of itself a consciousperformance strategy!

"he schema outline% aboe proi%es a wi%e palate for the inestigation of performance behaior! Some

of the more common forms in human life which stu%ents stu%y inclu%e#

! /ace to /ace Interaction

@! 'erbal lay

7! Rhetoric an% ublic se of Speech

! Storytelling an% allie% arts

C! Acting&"heatrical erformance

Another group of actiities coul% be labele% as semi-performatie! Such actiities inole the use of

performance behaior, an% they reuire the presence of an 1au%ience1 to witness their e.ecution, but

the actiity is not %irectly communicatie, or is not %irectly affecte% by positie or negatie ealuation!"hese inclu%e#

! Spectator Sports

@! ;i%actic 5ommunication

7! Rehearsal for erformance

! 5eremony an% Ritual

/inally, we can contrast the aboe categories of actiity with human en%eaors that embo%y few, or

minimal performatie skills! Although they are culturally patterne%, these are largely actiities thathae minimal communicatie or cultural transformational intent, an% %o not reuire obserers for their

e.ecution! "hese eents can uickly turn into performatie eents if the in%ii%uals engaging in them

want to coney a sense of the actiity to others (See 5hapter 7 below for further %iscussion on self-

ali%ating actiities)! "hese inclu%e#

! nobsere% Work actiities

@! Solitary actiities such as rea%ing, eating in priate, hiking alone, %riing a car!

Observing Performance Skills and their Development

Seeing how a performer learns performance skills is an essential aspect of learning to stu%y

performance! Any in%ii%ual who wants to achiee success in performance behaior nee%s to recogni0e

their own abilities--knowing what they are goo% at an% hae an easy facility for! Skills can always be%eelope%! "he process of honing any performance skill inoles three %imensions#


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! Analytic--the performer must assess the task an% what s&he nee%s toaccomplish to achiee successful representation!

@! "echnical--the performer must %eelop the necessary motor skills to

actually carry out the performatie actiity!

7! Interpretie--the performer must %eelop a metho% of making the

performatie actiity uniuely their own--an embo%iment of their ownskill!

"o these en%s the rehearsal process is crucial! SchechnerDs %escription of performance as 1twice

behae%1 is an essential statement of the fact that all performatie actiity is repeate% actiity!

Strategies of performance are arie%, but the following skills are commonly sought to make

performance more effectie!

! "iming--the ability to %isplay symbolic elements precisely at a time

when they will most effectiely coney an inten%e% meaning!

@! 5harisma--the ability to engage an% hol% the attention of an 1au%ience!1

"his can be a share% function, as in a conersation when in%ii%uals take

turns at narration!

7! /ocus an% 5oncentration--the ability to concentrate fully on the task of

accomplishing a representation proi%es engagement for in%ii%uals

being affecte% by the performance!

! /reshness an% Spontaneity--the ability to %isplay symbolic materials innoel an% une.pecte% ways is a means of capturing the attention of an

1au%ience!1

erformers hae a set of uniersal %ifficulties which hamper the effectieness of their performance!

Among these are#

! ushing--showing obious effort in the representation of symbolicmaterials! "he effort can be rea% by others an% %istracts them from seeing

the message of the performance

@! 9osing 5oncentration--when the performer is not totally engage% with

the task of performing, this also proi%es a %istraction for the au%ience!

7! un%erpreparation--lack of a%euate preparation an% rehearsal makes itimpossible to present material in a smooth an% spontaneous way!

! oerpreparation--similarly, too much rehearsal or preparation %e-

humani0es the performance, an% makes it less belieable!

C! 2iscalculation of conte.t! "his can cause the performance to fail! It is%ue to seeral causes! "he performer may misrea% the au%ience, an%

present something that they alrea%y know an% will be bore% with, or that

is so esoteric that they cannot comprehen% it! ?ther possibilities are

presenting offensie material, or material that is insulting to persons ofimportance! "he performer may also misrea% the circumstances of the

performance an% present material that is inappropriate, although the same

material might be effectie on other occasions!

>ery performer must perfect a certain basic set of skills! "he techniues use% to implement these skills


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ary from society to society an% place to place, but the skills are human abilities!

"hese skills ary %epen%ing on the specific performatie action being un%ertaken! Among them are#

! "he ability to communicate clearly!

Skille% performatie behaior, %epen%ing on the genre an% type of performance, inoles the use of a

wi%e range of communicatie tools! Among them are clean, purposeful actions, wor%s, physical ob6ects

in the worl%, an% music an% symbolic moement!@! "he ability to focus other peopleDs attention!

9ike 5oleri%geDs ancient mariner an% stage magicians, a persons a%ept at performance skills can getpeople to pay attention to what they want them to see! :ere the 1poetics1 of performance in EakobsonDs

sense are brought into play! (Eakobson +=)! In music, the nuance of style allows the musician to

%irect the listenerDs attention to particular musical phrases (5assals 8*)! In speech, rea%ing the phonebook so that it is interesting! Stage presence!

7! "he ability to conte.tuali0e actions an% wor%s by 1setting up1 the

performance for participants an% obserers!

I utili0e a basic un%erstan%ing %eelope% in an earlier stu%y of stylistics an% %iscourse strategies in

ersian to help stu%ents see how these skills work in haing a concrete effect on an au%ience!#

1;efinitie meanings arise for language elements to a large e.tent as afunction of their role in %efining the conte.ts in which they occur

(Beeman *+# @=@)!

"he process of using the elements of communication to constrain an% %efine the conte.ts for their own

interpretation is a basic performatie skill! "his can be %one erbally (storytelling) or through1pro%uction1 techniues using costumes, sets, props, lighting, an% other players! In face-to-face

interaction %ress, makeup, etc! all play a role!

! "he ability to enter 1flow1

"he psychologist 2ihaly 5siks0entmihalyi has worke% for some years on stu%ying the concept of1flow1 (5siks0entmihalyi 8C)! /low is the e.perience of loss of sense of the physical bo%y or ofconscious control of oneDs own actions when one becomes totally engage% in a gien actiity! "his

typically takes place when the actiity is not so familiar as to be boring, an% not so challenging as to be

an.iety pro%ucing! In %aily life one typically 1rehearses1 %ifficult tasks until they become routine%enough in the bo%y so as to not reuire actie attention to the physical %etails of e.ecuting them!

An e.perience of flow can take place outsi%e of performatie actiity! 5ommon e.amples are the loss

of attention to the bo%y one e.periences when %riing a car oer familiar territory (Wallace +*), or in

achieing me%itatie states! Sports actiity often results in flow! It may be that trance states are theresult of a particularly strong sense of flow!

I woul% conten%, along with "urner (*@# CC-C*) that effectie performance also inoles a theconcomitant ability to enter 1flow!1 art of the ability of any in%ii%ual to engage in successful

performatie actiity is the ability to make that actiity appear effortless an% natural! "his is thebe%rock on which the sense of 1truth1 create% %uring a performatie actiity! "his is as true for the most

commonplace inci%ents of performance, such as when in%ii%uals are engage% in face-to-face

interaction, as it is for highly conscious performance, such as for stage actors, %ancers an% otherentertainers!

C! "he ability to enter into frame% behaior!


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"he concept of the cognitie 1frame1 in human behaior is now well establishe%! I treat it at muchgreater length in 5hapter 7 below! Feertheless, it is important to mention it here! 1/raming1 is a

cognitie conte.tuali0ation %eice whereby all rules for behaior, symbols an% their interpretation are

boun%e% by a particular actiity with its own oerall structure! /rames hae temporal beginnings an%

en%ings, an% often embo%y specifie% physical boun%aries! "he classic notion of frame was e.postulate%by


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so often an% with so many people that the probability of pre%ictable shape in ensemble work with theau%ience is ery great! "hey will proi%e a pre%ictable range of 1reactions1 to elements of the

performance!

Stu%ents come to see the %eelopment of these skills by working on a specific performance for

presentation to the class at the en% of a semester, an% by keeping a performance %iary that embo%ies theprinciples state% aboe! "hey likewise obsere another person preparing their own performance, an%

keep a careful %iary of what the other person is %oing! "hese 1fiel% notes1 are preparatory to the finalterm paper in the course where stu%ents use a large repertoire of obserational performance skills to

trace the course of an% analy0e the %ynamics of a particular performance!

Analy#ing Performance

Seeing Reglarities and Patterns

"he obserational e.ercises, prepare% performances an% term papers use% in coursework are %esigne%

to lea% stu%ents to see that performance is structure% an% regular--in%ee%, that it mstbe in or%er to

achiee any effect!

Stu%ents are often surprise% to see that een a simple greeting routine has structure, or on a more

comple. leel that a teleision %rama is usually organi0e% into a simple three-act form! ?nly byobsering raw %ata themseles can stu%ents fully appreciate the highly organi0e% nature of any

performance form!

?nce they are able to see the oerall pattern of any gien performance form, they are then able to seehow the in%ii%ual performatie elements are arrange% within the pattern to proi%e oerall

effectieness for the form! A simple e.ample is the pattern of olume contrast in a goo% public speech!

?nce stu%ents hae a grasp of the oerall structure of the speech, they can then see how elements suchas olume sere performatiely to make the message of the speech effectie!

It is important, as mentione% aboe, that stu%ents come to un%erstan% the organi0ational patterns of

performance as accomplishments of performers rather than passiely receie% structural elements, as is

often the case in anthropological stu%ies of ritual an% ceremony! >en the pattern in a simple greetingroutine must be accomplishe% through choices of action! ?f course, such comple. performance

actiities as %rama reuire far more preparation an% effort to accomplish their patterning!

Analy!ing Positively and "egatively #aled Performance Activity

?nce they are able to see the organi0e% nature of performance, stu%ents fin% it particularly interesting

to %iscuss the reasons why performance is positiely or negatiely alue%! I help stu%ents to see that inor%er for performance actiity to be positiely alue%, it must accomplish a successful representation of

symbolic reality! It must also fulfill a series of a%%itional criteria! It must be spontaneos, tre$ skillfl$

and effective

Seeing a successful performatie representation of symbolic reality reuires an obserer to be able to

see how that performance correctly embo%ies a culturally recogni0able form an% %isplays it so that itcan be recogni0e% an% reacte% to by obserers! "he number an% range of culturally recogni0able forms

are infinite, an% eer e.pan%ing, since members of a society can continually create new ones, proi%e%they can constrain eents in such a way that these new forms become recogni0able! Among possible

forms that performers can represent are emotional states (anger, sincerity), alues (human rights, basic

%ecency, etiuette, pity, kin%ness), culturally recogni0able arguments (contra%iction, congruity,para%o., authority, common knowle%ge, scientific metho%), cultural archetypes (martyr, hero), actual

legen%ary figures (5hrist, Rama, 2ohamma%)!

sually the repertoire for representation is %rawn from a stock of cultural material that is rea%ily


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accessible to members of the public! "he performer must then inoke the correct form, %raw attentionto that which is to be represente%, an% attempt the representation!

"he reuirement that the representation be spontaneous refers to the nee% for ealuators to see that the

representation is being presente% %irectly, without the nee% to account for the me%iation of the act of

presentation! "his is %ifficult to achiee, but when performance falls short of spontaneity it is lesseffectie, because it is seen as less 1pure!1 Sincerity an% truth in performance are relate% to the relatie

perception of me%iation!

Fegatiely alue% performance is by contrast# non-/lui%&Stilte%, self-conscious, inept&nskillful, an%

therefore ineffectie

"he au%ience shows positie ealuation by symbolically encouraging continuance of the performance,reuesting repetition of the performance, rewar%ing the performer!

It shows negatie ealuation by symbolically %iscouraging the continuance of the performance through

with%rawal of attention, through lack of enthusiasm, trough oert %isapproal, by failing to reuest

repetition of the performance, an% by failing to rewar% (or by actually punishing) the performer! "heperformer learns to recogni0e the symbols of positie an% negatie ealuation

In the research e.ercises carrie% out in class stu%ents come to see how performance can be successfulor unsuccessful een in ery small an% limite% situations such as in greetings or in retail interactions

using these criteria! "his helps them to be able to ealuate more comple. forms of performance, an% tosee the skills that are nee%e% in any performatie situation!

Understanding the Big Picture

%ltral performances and social meaning

2erely un%erstan%ing how a particular performance works is not a%euate for the anthropological

stu%y of performance! Stu%ents must eentually be %irecte% to the large human uestions mentione% atthe beginning of this %iscussion that the stu%y of performance can answer!

In helping stu%ents %eelop a 1big picture1 approach to performance, the work of 'ictor "urner is ery

helpful! "urnerDs work forms an essential foun%ation for the anthropological stu%y of specificinstitutionali0e% structures of organi0e% performance! :is interest in performance centers on concernswith uniersal institutions! :is work therefore plays a large role in my performance theory courses!

"urner helps stu%ents to unify in their min%s the institutions of

! ;rama

@! Ritual

7! 9iminal behaior

as well as make a connection concern with the uniersal processes of#

! Social %ramas

@! Ritual processes

A thir% important concern reflecte% in his writings has to %o with the ways in which societies construct

meaning in life

!! ! ! any society which hopes to be imperishable must whittle out for itself

a piece of space an% a while of time, in which it can look honestly atitself! ! ! ! the supreme honesty of the creatie artist who, in his


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presentations on the stage, in the book, on canas, in marble, in music, orin towers an% houses, reseres to himself the priilege of seeing straight

what all cultures buil% crooke%! (*+# @@)!

"urnerDs concerns reflect those of 2ilton Singer, whose work, &hen a 'reat Tradition (oderni!es, is

often cite% as the starting point for most anthropological stu%ies of performance phenomena! In%ee%,Singer i%entifie% the ob6ect of stu%y as 1cultural performances!1

"hey inclu%e% what 1we in the west usually call by that name--for

e.ample, plays, concerts, an% lectures! But they inclu%e also prayers,

ritual rea%ings an% recitations, rites an% ceremonies, festials an% all thosethings which we usually classify un%er religion an% ritual rather than with

the cultural an% artistic! (Singer 8@# 8)

5ultural performances are compose% of 1cultural me%ia1 consisting of 1mo%es of communication1 that

inclu%e% not only spoken language, but also non-linguistic me%ia such as song, %ance, acting (an%acting out), graphic arts an% plastic arts! All of these phenomena combine an% contribute to creating an

eent for public e.pression an% %isplay that accomplishes representation in eery%ay life!

erformatie eents hae other ualities that relate to their basically social nature! /irst, they are not so

much reflectie as refle.ie--they hae concrete effects on the societies in which they occur! Some ofthe principal functions they sere are cultural prophyla.is, cultural regeneration, an% cultural

reinforcement!

"here is also the point, often note% by "urner that mainstream society generates its opposite (**# @)!

"hat opposite picture is then presente% in performance frames in or%er to in%icate both the possibilityof change, an% the importance of the basic structure of society! I will treat this topic below at greater

length in 5hapter

erformance is sub6unctie! "urner has use% the notion of liminality an% the phenomenon of liminality

e.tensiely in his %iscussions of ritual an% performance! 9iminal states %issole all factual an%commonsense systems into their components an% 1play1 with them in ways neer foun% in nature or in

custom, at least at the leel of %irect perception! ("urner *+# @C)

Drama and Social Drama))Special *orms of %ltral Performance

"he bulk of my stu%ents come to the stu%y of performance because they are specifically intereste% in

%rama an% theater! ;rama consists of literary compositions that tell a story, usually of human conflict,by means of %ialogue an% action, an% are performe% by actors, an% presente% to an au%ience, the nature

an% %egree of whose inolement an% participation aries from culture to culture (cf! "urner *+# @8)!

:elping stu%ents to see %rama in a larger cultural conte.t is a challenge, particularly because so many

are inole% themseles in %ramatic training an% performance, an% they ten% to see %rama as an all-encompassing enironment! In haing them stu%y performance ethnographically, I hope to help them

reali0e that %rama can be an effectie way to scrutini0e the uoti%ian worl%! :ere too, "urnerDs work is

an essential element through his analysis of social %rama--public eents that hae a ritual or semi-ritualcharacter, an% that inole performatie actions! "hese 1social %ramas1 are often seen as political in

nature! "hey are outline% e.tensiely in "urnerDs publications, particularlyDramas$ *ields and

(etaphors (8) an% The Anthropology of Performance(*+)!

I make a strong attempt to help stu%ents recogni0e social %ramas in the worl% aroun% them by comingto recogni0e the series of eents# a breach in the social fabric, cause% by a social action, natural

%isaster, %isagreement or other %isruptie eent$ a resulting cultural crisis$ a re%ressie action on the

part of social actors$ an% finally a reincorporation of the society as either a return to thestats +o ante,


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or as a new social or%er!

A goo% %eal of effort is %eote% to helping stu%ents see how performatie acts pera%e social %ramas!9ike stage %rama, social %rama inoles passionate social refle.iity! "he breach may inole

performatie actiities that characteri0e the society an% its opposite! "he strength an% power of the

crisis may hinge upon the success of accomplishing representation of the threat or %anger to societypose% by the breach! "he thir% stage# redress$ may often contain episo%es of purification an% sacrifice,

both of which aim to remoe the pollution of self-sering or factual con%uct an% restore, sometimes inthe image or an i%eal or mythical past a pure state of relations among the members (Ibi%# +)! In this

stage, the purification an% sacrifice cannot take place unless the ob6ects or in%ii%uals being purifie% orsacrifice% can be %emonstrably i%entifie% as symbolically potent! erformatie skills are nee%e% to

make that i%entification operatie! As "urner states#

"he 1force1 of a social %rama consists in its being an e.perience or

seuence of e.periences which significantly influences the form an%function of cultural performatie genres! Such genres partly 1imitate1 (by

mimesis), the processual form of the social %rama, an% they partly,

through reflection, assign 1meaning1 to it! ("urner *+# C)

Seeing &hat Performance %an Do"he bottom line for my instruction is to bring stu%ents to the reali0ation that performance is the

means--perhaps the principal means--through which people come to un%erstan% their worl%, reinforce

their iew of it an% transform it on both small scale an% large scale! It can be employe% for conseratie

an% for reolutionary uses! As a conseratie force, it reinforces the truth of the worl% an% enacts an%erifies social or%er! It %oes this by e.ample, as in %ramatic presentations showing the workings of

goo% an% eil as culturally %efine%! It also %oes it by contract, showing the worl% as it looks in an

inerte% state through para%o., contra%iction, come%y, an% confrontation!

As a transformational force, performance behaior has the power to restructure social or%er through thepersuasie power of rhetoric, an% through the power of re%efinition of both au%ience an% conte.t! It has

the power to transform social structure in seeral ways! /irst an% foremost, performance skills can beuse% to re%efine the role of the performer him or herself! Richar% Bauman notes in commenting on theautobiography of ;ick


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?ne of the great lessons most stu%ents learn is a personal one# they come to terms with their ownperformance abilities in a powerful way! Stu%ents in the performing arts are able to e.amine what they

%o as performers in ways that help them become more effectie! Stu%ents with little performance

e.perience are surprise% at what they can %o themseles, an% how sharp their obserational skills

become with regar% to other performers an% performances!

/or anthropology stu%ents the lesson is particularly effectie! 2uch of anthropology has taken the lea%

presente% in literary stu%ies an% has treate% culture as a 1te.t1 to be rea% an% analy0e%! "he stu%y ofperformance in human life shows burgeoning anthropologists that culture is %ynamic an% mutable, an%

that much of the une.pecte% changes that take place in cultural life are the result of effectieperformatie actiity on the part of strong members of the society! In this way the stu%y of performance

not only helps stu%ents, it helps anthropology strengthen a iew of culture in which in%ii%uals hae an

essential role!

Bi%liography

Bateson,

niersity ress!

ring

8! /rame Analysis! 5ambri%ge# :arar% niersityress

9e., Barbara

8! Feurobiology of Ritual "rance! In >ugene


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%DAuili, 5harles ;! 9aughlin an% Eohn 2c 2annus, e%s!"he Spectrum of Ritual! Few Gork# 5olumbia niersity

ress! pp! 8-C!

2acAloon, Eohn, e%!

*! Rite, ;rama, /estial, Spectacle! hila%elphia#Institute for the Stu%y of :uman Issues!

Schechner, Richar%

**! erformance "heory# 9on%on an% Few Gork#

Routle%ge!

7! "he /uture of Ritual! 9on%on an% Few Gork#

Routle%ge!

Singer, 2ilton8@! When a

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