Blog #12 - The Final One!

First off, during this semester I kept asking myself why I never considered to major or minor in theater? It is MORE than I thought it was and would have loved to study it. Alas, with two weeks left till graduation I will have to release this new found love for theater for post-graduation.

Before this course, I viewed performance as most people do, the time and place when a person acts out a different character then themselves and someone witnesses it. Because of my WGS concentration, I also viewed gender as a performance. From the time we enter to this earth, we constantly have had a certain view of gender said of us and expected. Now, I know performance is so much deeper and broader than this. I still have a hard time in grasping the full definition though.

Although the majority of the theories, articles, authors, in this course were all new to me. The one that stands out to me is Marina Abramovic's boldness in performance art. Even over the Thanksgiving break I was showing my family her performance and explaining to them what performance art is. I had never been exposed to performance as rich as hers. It was a whole new experience of thinking of performance, art, and theater.

Recently, I visited the LASM for a planetarium showing and visited the art museums and discovered a wonderful piece by Heather Hansen. She uses her body, charcoal, and a canvas to create kinetic drawing pieces. How cool is that?! The end results are stunning and I was so bummed to find out I missed her performance that was earlier in Novemeber! Performance art so close! I would love to explore this area more and one day witness performance art in person.

Here are two articles of Heather Hansen's piece for LASM. Enjoy!
http://www.nola.com/arts/baton-rouge/2014/11/full-body_artist_heather_hanse.html#incart_related_stories

http://www.nola.com/arts/baton-rouge/2014/11/heather_hansen_creates_new_pie.html

I am thankful for this class through its challenging readings and difficult questions. Thank you Dr. Fletcher for a great semester and I am so glad I was able to take another course with you!

The Uncanny

For this blog prompt, I automatically think of films that have robots not as props but characters. Films like Star Wars, Wall-E, Interstellar, Big Hero 6 all have in common that the robots are mostly used for what humans cannot do or to assist them in some way. Yet, it never fails that the humans develop feelings for their robot buddies. In these examples, it is not a romantic feeling but of feelings of care. (Spoiler Alert!) As in the newest movie, Big Hero 6, the beloved Baymax sacrifices himself for Hiro. Hiro is deeply saddened to have lost Baymax but Baymax cannot be sad. He is simply caring for his patient and does not grasp that if he leave Hiro will be sad. Same goes for the audience, honestly I was getting teary-eyed in this scene. These feelings were the same as when another beloved character dies in the movie but it did not feel "uncanny" because a person was lost rather than a robot. A robot can be easily replaced if you have the right materials. Even having a phrase or button to push to turn off these robots is another kind of "almost but not quite human or alive" example. Yet it is so easy to become attached to these characters as though they were actual people. I think this is a valuable tool to use to invoke attachment and it has worked so far! I wonder if there will be a time when it is no longer considered creepy to find yourself sad when a robot that has no feelings is lost or gone?

Connections to Empathy

Finding connections in theatre is essentially what makes theatre empathetic. As humans the way we interact and connect with each other is by similarities and differences we find in one another. When a play is relatable to the audience in a sense shows real life examples and solutions to what is actually going on in the community, then there is more room for empathy. We live in a time where we are the center of our own universe, take for example a selfie. The turn of the camera to capture yourself in any environment is what our generation and the next ones will be known for. By expanding our viewpoint and seeing others problems and success, we will be able to relate to one other. Through these relations it would be easier to have continuing dialogue and bring about a change, first in our own lives, then in the lives around us. There’s a point when theatre no longer evokes conversation and action, or even a desire for change, that I would see it not being the answer when faced with issues such as war, oppression, and genocide.

As for Invisible Theatre, I do see it as a successful way of getting people involved that otherwise would not be. Looking back at the last group’s experiment, there were many times I would get agitated and make conversation with the person next to me or desire to get up and shut certain people up (mainly Scott). Yet, I did not do the latter except vocalize towards his direction but did not make much of a difference. It got me involved but I wonder what something more would have received a stronger reaction from not just me but the rest of the class. 

Post #9 Activism

Access to Basic Needs: Food and Water and Shelter

The basic essentials of a human's life is food, water and shelter. Without any of these how is one expected to live and contribute to their community, family, world. My focus would most likely be worldwide since in developing countries there are higher rates of people living without these needs met. Though I dare not turn an eye from Louisiana or Baton Rouge specifically. A few semesters ago I volunteered at a food bank with my class. Yet, this food bank was unlike anything I had ever seen. The unusual name, Client Choice Food Pantry, is part of Hope Ministries that serves as an actual pantry.

For my activism, not only to bring awareness of this urgent need, whether here in BR or abroad, I would use their model of the food pantry. It is simply a room stocked with all kinds of food items. The people who come in to "shop" are given a basket and a list of what items are available that day. This allows for the people to have a sense of dignity that they are not just being given food because they cannot afford it, but are able to choose what their families and themselves actually need. Even at the end of their shopping trip there is a small counter and register where I volunteer (like myself) would "check out" their items. I think having pantries like this in more common places (though it could be costly) would serve as a type of protest. It could also serve as a way for the community to join and serve each other.

I would definitely want the media to be utilized. Actually, while I was there volunteering a local news reports was there filming and interviewing the clients and volunteers. I remember seeing myself on the news later that night as I served as a mock cashier. By using the media the word about the locations of these pantries would be easy access and would draw more people into just knowing about this place, whether they are in need or want to volunteer.

For the last question, I do not think this protest would ever really end until there is access for everyone to the basic necessities of a human life. The issue of poverty has always been something I have sought to change or to help in any way. Though there are many many factors that lead to poverty that I know this only type of activism simply would not end it.

Here is a link to Hope Ministries. It is truly a great place and they are actually helping people.
http://hopebr.org/client-choice-food-pantry.html

Comments!

Blog #8:
http://http//yvettebourgeoisthtr4130.blogspot.com/

Blog #9:
http://laurengraham512.blogspot.com/2014/11/blog-post-9.html?showComment=1415065738096#c5068762168812553604

Blog #10:
http://gracieperformancetheory.blogspot.com/2014/11/empathy.html?showComment=1415918876190#c7857020775739626817

Blog #11
http://muffinsthtr4130.blogspot.com/2014/11/when-life-gives-you-lemons-squirt.html#comment-form

Blog #12
http://laurengraham512.blogspot.com/2014/12/final-blog-post.html?showComment=1417643265484#c6054298126922121584

Time & Pace

Reality, real time, the now, the happening, the present. This is what most people crave. No one wants to be around fake people with unrealistic expectations, people want to be around realness and rawness. Not faked or staged, though there is a time for this as in theater. Yet, many reality shows with their scripts, lights and makeup attempt to show how "real life" - insert your favorite reality show - happen.

In theatre, time is of the essence. If a story line needs to be told within a ten year duration, it must be communicated to the audience through various factors in showing how ten years has passed. As we saw with the Twitter plays, time was shown as it actually passed. As we discussed in class, the twitter play Next to Normal lasted thirty five days reinforcing the reality effect of the play developing over time, real time.

We can see through other multi-tweet examples, the power of pace on the reality effect on these multi-tweet plays. Particularly, I enjoyed the plays where the characters attained their own account and would tweet as if what was happening to them was an everyday occurrence. Seeing their individual issues and reactions helped to relate the followers, audience, in the "right here, right now".

As for an example of a performance piece that I think has achieved this goal, I thought of the 6 1/2 year journey of one young girl taking a photo of herself for those six years and putting them together in a time lapse. Although, Yvette beat me to it and used this as her example I thought I would find another time lapse that I saw fitting. I think examples of time lapse videos are important to note how time and pace is used to show the difference in "..the so-called real and the so-called fictional." I have always been a huge fan of sunrises and found a really cool time lapse of a sunrise (music added for drama of course). What interested me was how the guy ended the video with playing it backwards and ending it back to the sun down. Just go ahead and watch it for yourself and see!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xi4MaJKd1gA

"Space Drive"

With my director's hat on, I would absolutely love to see a production inside of a moving van. The closest I have ever seen something like this is Mutemath's music video, Spotlight. For this music video, all the space is used for the performance. The back of the ban is gutted out to make room for instruments and the band themselves. They played, sang, clapped, danced inside. The front was never shown but understand to be where the camera was positioned. I see this as a transformed space. If I were to use this same space and create a production to perform inside of this moving van, we would need to find a way for an audience even to be present. A possible idea is to have a live streaming of it while the audience was in another moving next to, behind or even in front of the man where the performers will be. 

This environmental theatre would serve as a diminishing factor along the lines of the interaction between the audience and the performers. Even possible arguments could include how this is different than someone watching a YouTube video on their own. I would assert some time before and after for an interaction to happen between the audience and the performers. Something that would be interesting to work out would be the possibility of having both vans stop and one or two audience members join in the performing van. 

When I first read Kantor's quote, I found myself agreeing with his view because countless times people go to see a theatre piece that the story has been established and everyone knows how it begins and ends. Then after thinking about it for a bit more, I disagree with this view because even in those times where we know where the story is bringing us, there can be elements of surprise. Especially, with performance art, no one really knows how everything is going to turn out so there is space for "drama to be materialized."

Here's the link for the music video to get a sense of performance in a moving vehicle which would be pretty awesome to see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry6GAwDCI2I

Post #6 Performance art!

It is true that today anything faster is better. The time it takes to connect to wifi or ordering that complicated coffee drink even taking the perfect selfie is wanted instantly. Though it is refreshing to see in real time the connection between people meeting for the first time, enjoying every bite of a meal and simple being with a friend face-to-face. I do not see theatre becoming completely diluted in that hopefully we will always desire those "present" times rather than a click away. Personally, it is hard to always be in that mode of truly being present somewhere without thinking of 101 things and more. Every time I catch myself in that state, I resent being there but it so easy and convenient to not be in the present. Abramovic's performance art does exactly the opposite. She is all there and no where else. My favorite piece of hers is one we watched in class, "The Artist is Present". Here is a beautiful performance art piece where she opens up for people to sit across from her and stare. No dialogue, no faces, just being present. 

For the second question, my thoughts immediately went to the Highland Coffees ordeal. Personally, I have not been face to face with the owner or the landlord wanting to sell HC but after countless articles, blogs, comments, and conversations, the story I know now has been filtered through many perspectives and lenses. I know people of both extremes, furious that it's closing and excited for a new beginning somewhere else. The Tuesday after everyone heard the news I went to HC for a few hours and I felt very present there. I took time looking around at the structure, the paintings, the people, even focused on the smells and sounds because in that moment I was conscious of mine and everyone else's presence there. Mainly because as of now in a few months no one will be "present" there. 

http://www.businessreport.com/article/20140929/BUSINESSREPORT0112/140929829

After reading this article, all I could think of is, "Really another restaurant and most likely bar?!" Why?! But now I see how what other people were sharing about the closing changed my view of the place. Instead of being thankful and remembering the good times there, I found myself on the side of being angry that a wonderful local business would be replaced with yet another restaurant, assumingly to bring bigger bucks into the area. 

Is it there? Nope, I don't think so!

The first theatrical abstraction that came to mind after reading this week's prompt comes from the Broadway musical Beauty and the Beast. I had the privilege of seeing it last semester at the Union Theater and it was fantastic! Though what stuck with me most afterwards was how Chip was portrayed. Remember the beloved little tea cup with a tiny chip on the top? Well, this beloved character turned into a slightly terrifying abstraction. Instead of placing a kid actor into a tea cup costume, they chose to only use his head on top of a moving round table. I assume what was used to cover his body was some sort of reflecting prop, but it did not help with the creepy look of a head floating around. I even had seats on the third row on the right side of the stage and could catch glimpses of the backstage but still was not able to see how they were hiding this kid's body. By not showing his body (until the end when everyone turned human again), they were participating in Sofer's concept of dark matter. Having his body absent the entire show gave the convincing illusion that his floating head was the tea cup, Chip. Personally, I was distracted for a good part of the time by this high-pitched, cute floating head. Though I think it accomplished what it wanted to do and that was to be effective in showing Chip. 

As for the second question, I have a hard time in seeing events such as the Holocaust should even be represented as artwork. Understanding the intense emotions these pieces provoke does help to see why they would be important, but if someone would to create a piece about a rape, should we approach this in the same way? I guess I'm not fully decided on where I stand on this issue because I see how both ways, whether they should be represented or not, could offend or upset those actually involved, whether it is the Holocaust or rape. Additionally, I think of films about the Holocaust such as the Schindler's List, how watching this shows a more positive side, if there even is one, to this event. I would agree that making this film allowed people, whether alive then or born after, to experience a different outlook.

Disturbance with a twist.

So, I have been on a mariachi kick lately. I know it's not super popular here in Baton Rouge, but I have been studying the different styles of mariachi bands, especially all female ones. The interaction between the performers and the audience is really never known. For most mariachi bands their main stage are restaurants, where people are already sitting down and as the band walks around playing requested songs the interested folks give donations and their undivided attention. On the other hand, there are those folks that have no interest in listening to a mariachi song and simply ignore them. Culturally speaking, people will request mariachi bands for birthdays or to serenade someone. Below I have added a clip to a novela where a man brings a mariachi band and performs with them to show his affection for the woman. I'm really not sure what's going on with the second guy, the only practically squeezing her face before she goes out to meet the lover guy, but I thought this perfectly shows how one can participate in a performance while providing a disturbance. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQwwsxNvifk

After watching this clip, the first thought I had for seeing a change in theatre today is for regular people like me (or the lover guy) to be more involved in performance. The last time I performed in a play was my 10th grade year in high school and I have no plans on actively pursuing anything performance related, but I do love attending productions or being part of non-traditional ones such as protests, street performances, etc. If there was a way of spontaneously getting involved in these types than that would be great. For example, any ordinary day in the French Quarter, one can see a street performer performing and entertaining those who pass by. Something like a challenge for those watching would be a neat idea to incorporate in their performance. Maybe something like instead of just watching a group of people playing a song, come up and take part in our song and play an instrument (drums, tambourine, triangle, simple ones to not completely ruin the performance). To echo a few others, I would definitely suggest having theatre in every day places like by a cross walks, parks, malls, really any public space where there will be crowds of people. For LSU, the free speech alley is a prime place for such ideas because no matter what it's a guarantee there will be people walking through. Going beyond the four walls of a typical theatre and closing in the gap between the audience and performers is what will bring change to theatre. 

Blog Post #3: Naturalism, Truth, Reality, Oh My!

*Sorry for the lateness! I could not access my blog because I was using the wrong gmail address!

As a few others have said, I too have not had much experience in working in productions or evenattending productions. I can count on my hand the plays I have seen in the past few years. The main ones being Beauty and the Beast the Broadway Musical, The Phantom of the Opera, and Russian’s Ballet Swan Lake. All three of these would most definitely fit into the entertaining aspect of performance. Hands down I absolutely loved and enjoyed every moment of them but there was nothing that informed or convinced me of something that was true. Yes, there was an unusual love story in Beauty and the Beast but the goal was not to show how real or terrifying the beast was, or was it? As I am writing this, I could potentially see the argument of how the way the actor walked, talked, and dressed and even how the other actors/actresses behaved around him, giving us a sense that he was indeed intimidating. Or I can be totally thinking too much on this, you tell me!

As for movie productions, that I am well acquainted with. The one I chose to highlight is the 2010 dark comedy, Four Lions. First off, if you have never seen it, go to your Netflix, Amazon Prime Instant Video, or local library as I did, to get it! This provocative film follows five British Muslims become suicide bombers. Though it doesn't focuses on religious ties but attempts to shed light on terrorists, shockingly in a humorous way. Personally, I had trouble understanding the actors because of their heavy accents and even when I put subtitles on the only option I had was Spanish. After the many attempts of understanding what exactly was said, the ending became the reason for choosing this production for this post. The whole movie is headed to their final plan of terrorizing the London Marathon with ridiculous costumes on. Throughout the film, we see how these five men come together, work together on making the bombs, and strategizing their next step. Seeing this became truth for the viewers, mainly because we don’t have much to compare. Other productions about terrorists rarely give them screen time, let alone a complete focus on their lives before.

For both examples, there was no verbatim method happening. Especially for Four Lions we are never introduced to “real life” terrorists. Unlike Aftermath, this was not based on a true story, yet was based on what we see terrorists as. I see a difference in showing how a specific person’s life alters their choices and paths to showing how generally people’s lives will always have choices and various paths.

Performativity featuring Tyra Banks!

For this week's post, I chose a short clip from the fabulous Tyra Banks show as an example of someone accomplishing something greater than saying certain choice words. There are a few possible performative acts and utterances to examine so I will start with the obvious. As a whole, Tyra IS performing on her own show and with that comes certain styles of performing herself for the audience and viewers. She starts off the clip with a seemingly unflattering picture of herself in a bathing suit. This I saw as the second performative act, exposing something that would otherwise be tucked in a tabloid somewhere. She openly talks about her own body image, posing the great statement, "The bottom line is that most people are used to seeing me looking like this and like this and all that (poses unaturally). And everyone seems to be pretty okay with that. But for some reason people have a serious problem when I look like that..(poses naturally)". By showing her picture on her own TV show, she had the power to turn the ridicule on all the people that were "shocked" at her "unflattering picture". Even more so, her choice of wearing the same bathing suit from the picture stated that she wasn't shameful or even embarrassed. At this point in the clip, I saw her going beyond her TV show "performance" and we catch a glimpse of the "real" Tyra. Her infamous statement, "Kiss my fat a#@!" can be seen as a performative utterance by saying to all the haters to back off her and other women like her. Of course, she isn't literally meaning for them to kiss her rear end but using a statement like this shows that she's not playing around. It was also a way of empowering other women with similar issues to rise above any criticisms, comments, and situations they find themselves.

check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mOQh3evqsI

What is Performance? No, really what is it?!

Reflecting from Marvin Carlson's Critical Introduction of Performance gave us an "analysis and commentary may at first seem more of an obstacle than an aid." (1) This quickly became true for me as I was going through the chapter. I found myself finally grasping one idea only to turn the page and be introduced to a whole new idea. After the first two, I sat back and digested what I had just read only to be given an even bigger chunk of Carlson's definition of what performance looks like.

What caught my attention at first was Strine, Long, and Hopkins take on performance developing into a "sophisticated disagreement". Defining performance became no longer about who was right or who had the most articulated definition but rather gaining the best version of all positions for a fuller understanding of "conceptual richness of performance".

As we further study Carlson's introduction we are introduced to Richard Schechner's label "restored behavior" as the quality of performing with a constant distance of "self" and behavior of the character being performed. The first example that came to mind were people who participate in cosplay. Yet, after reading this introduction I began to ask is cosplay even a performance? Yes, there is dedication and long hours that go into creating the various costumes and accessories but are the cosplayers looking to perform for others or merely mimic their favorite Doctor Who, Lord of the Rings, or Star Wars character? Even as I'm writing this post there is a continuing wrestle between whether or not cosplay can be found under the concept of restored behavior.

After a little research, I found what is termed Masquerade cosplay. Basic cosplay only involves to look like a certain character whereas when cosplayers are masquerading, they attempt to act as their characters would. Whether they have memorized lines their character would say or remember scenes these cosplayers are certainly considered as performers, at least in my book. It brings us back to the notion that performance is not only a display of skills but of behavior and attitude.

Below is a link in which the cosplayers costumes and accessories are considered better than the originals. I tried finding a video of Masquerade cosplay but most of the characters I am not familiar with and really wouldn't know how well they were to the original. So feel free to look for yourself and share!

http://www.bitrebels.com/geek/10-epic-cosplay-costumes-that-are-better-than-the-originals/