How does audience driven performance art differ from other forms of performance art?
Introduction:
In recent years, a form of performance which relies as much on the audience as it does an artist has be growing increasingly popular among those who appreciate the meta. There is a sort of curiosity associated with participating in art and the creation of art which is refreshingly different from what is often found in performance. In this paper, I will focus on the audience and their role in watching, thinking about, interpreting, and changing performance art, I will not be interested in the intention of any artists. It is especially important to focus on the interactions and feelings which are formed from attending and participating in performance (even if that participation is simply viewing). Thus, the works that I will be examining will have no spoken words because I feel that words serve to distract from the interpretation of audience-in-performance that I will put forth. Therefore, the pieces I have chosen are a kind of Invisible Theatre (a term that I have co-opted from Augusto Boal), this Invisible Theatre serves as the foundation of the analysis I will offer and is crucial to the discussion of the role and effect of audience (277). Invisible Theatre is “public theatre which involves the public as participants in the action without their knowing it” (Boal xxiii). The three pieces which I will examine, Gala by Jérôme Bel, 4’33” by John Cage, and The Passing Winter by
The audience then became lost and frightened as there were no signs leading them to their next destination, once again forcing them to partake in the performance. This physicalisation not only successfully involved the contemporary audience, but demonstrated the necessity of physical composition to give audiences that real experience. This use of physical composition provided immediate reaction and emotional expression through action and contrast. These elements ultimately enhanced the mood and symbolism of the performance, allowing audiences to not only partake in the production on an intimate level but also on an emotional level. Another way in which mood and symbol can be created is through the use of complicité.
How Brecht achieves producing this state of consciousness is more subtle and elegant than the previous technique of having actors walk out with blatant placards to remind the audience that they are watching a play. One of the marks of Brecht’s epic theater is his alienation effect, or “a representation which allows [the audience] to recognize its subject, but at the same time makes it seem unfamiliar” (Brecht 1948, 8).
My viewing of the One Man, Two Guvnors production in 2013, and the feelings of chaos, shock, anarchic laughter and anticipation sparked my interest of exploring this play, and why its lazzi and improvisation added to the heightened experience I had, whist viewing this performance. I became interested in how much the One Man, Two Guvnors play written by Richard Bean, was based of the traditional Commedia dell’Arte play The Servant of Two Masters written by Carlo Goldoni. I planned to explore the extent of how much the play was improvised and the extent of how much it was scripted and planned. I looked at why Commedia dell’Arte used improvisation and the approach of incorporating improvisation and lazzi into a performance. I went about doing so by comparing the characters and the scripts of Bean’s One Man, Two Guvnors to Goldoni’s The Servant of Two Masters. I researched the role of Improvisation and Lazzi in traditional commedia dell’Arte and compared it to its role in One Man, Two Guvnors. I decided to carry out my research by surveying audience members who had viewed the production of One Man, Two Guvnors , and finding out how the incorporation of improvisation and lazzi heightened the experience for the audience and impacted them.
This paper researches what Teatro Campesino collaboration process response is, how it responds to its environment, with a special focus on contemporary urban culture, practicing radical inclusion theatre, and activation of a space into a performance stage. I argue that the activist aesthetics have been transcending its functions, evolving into a new theatrical organism. This paper analyzes books, articles, and it includes a study with all artists who are part of the exhibition, as well as interviews with various scholars.
Our choice to tell stories should exist in the same moment that we identify an audience who needs to hear that story – now, in this context, in this time, and in this medium. The best relationship with an audience begins dramaturgically, at the beginning of a rehearsal process. We must ask: How can we keep our minds open to the audience we have and also to the audience we want and the audience with whom we hope to collaborate? How do we enter a community and work with new people, learn from them and hope they learn from us? Partner with our similar goals and share resources. Work with them and never for them. Theatre isn’t a service—it’s a
I found myself intrigued in Sara Schneckloth’s reads this week because of innovative way she performs her arts, which are according to both the papers involves it audience (the spectators).
In the words of Gay McAuley, “for an activity to be regarded as a performance, it must involve the live presence of the performers and those witnessing it…” (McAuley, 2009, cited in Schechner, 2013, pp.38). This statement recognises the importance of both the actor and the audience for something to truly function as a performance. In addition, Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones highlights the significance of the theatrical space and how it can influence an audience stating that “on entering a theatre of any kind, a spectator walks into a specific space, one that is designed to produce a certain reaction or series of responses” (Llewellyn-Jones, 2002, pp.3). The relationship between actor, audience and theatrical space is no less important today than it was at the time of theatre during the Spanish Golden Age and the creation of Commedia dell’arte in Italy. Despite being very close geographically with theatre thriving for both in the same era, sources that explore the social, cultural and historical context of these countries and the theatre styles will bring to light the similarities and differences. This essay will analyse the staging, the behaviour of the audience as well as the challenges the actors faced, and how this directly influenced the relationship between actor, audience and theatrical space.
Discuss this statement with consideration of how audience interpretations of artworks have caused debate in the art world.
The above example illustrates not only how the theatrical performance affects the audience, but also how the audience influences its dynamics, development and the characters within it. The actors feel a certain level of acceptance from the viewer, who demands a certain way of depicting the character. Theatre is not just entertainment, itís something much more than that ñ itís education. Theatre should always represent things, rather than
The world of theatre arts possesses a rich and diverse history, in which lies one of the most unique and influential styles of performance: Commedia dell’arte. After emerging in 16th century Italy, Commedia dell’arte revolutionized theatre, most prominently with the introduction of widespread improvised performance and the newfound involvement of women in theatre. In this seminar, students will delve into the extensive history of Commedia dell’arte and its impact on performance arts. Why were great minds like Molière and Shakespeare inspired to include it in their works? How did the Commedia masks make their way into popular operas and ballets? Students will also examine the controversial effects of Commedia dell’arte
In this essay I will analyse performance works, particularly by female artists in the decades after minimalism. How they used both the literal body, and participatory art as a vehicle to communication contemporary art practice. Evaluating the affects these works have had on contemporary art practice.
This paper will explore a range of perspectives on the relationship between the live event and the document within performance practice, specifically focus on in relation to body, time and space. Performance art is commonly known as a performance presented to a viewer within a fine art context. Through performance artists emphasize the body’s role in artistic production. Performance archive has been characterized as a false representation of the art performance in the past. Yet, in contemporary art the relationship between live performance practices and documentation has overcome to reconciliation. Whether, the performance is scripted or unscripted, the performer’s body is present or absent. Performance art can happen in any type of venue and for any length of time. Documentation of performance practices documents the actions of an individual or a group at a particular place and in a particular time.
This paper will explore a range of perspectives on the relationship between the live event and the document within performance practice, specifically focus on in relation to body, time and space. Performance art is commonly known as a performance presented to a viewer within a fine art context. Through performance artists emphasize the body’s role in artistic production. Historically, performance archive has been characterized as an unfaithful representation of the momentary art experience. Yet, in contemporary art the relationship between live performance practices and documentation has progressed towards reconciliation. Whether, the performance is scripted or unscripted, the performer’s body is present or absent. Performance art can happen in any type of venue and for any length of time. Documentation of performance practice documents the actions of an individual or a group at a particular place and in a particular time.
Academic and artistic interest in something is usually a sure sign that matters are unclear, conceptual boundaries are blurred and that old certainties are anything but that. There is also little doubt that the major challenges we face: the media revolution, globalization and migration, climate change, the erosion of public finances and services (to name just a few) – have all in some way a bearing on the public sphere, the realm where issues are debated and where citizens are free to enter and engage in discourse. As the public sphere is primarily a discursive arena located outside and between state bureaucracies on the one hand and economics and business on the other, it occupies a crucial role in the functioning of so-called free societies. The question to be explored here is what role theatre and performance in practice play in this realm and how performance and theatre theory can contribute to the debates.” (Balme
In these works, there is also evidence of the nature of the technique, the presentation style and the response of the audience”(20).