To start with I didn’t really have a clue what I was doing, I felt completely lost. I didn’t like the idea that I couldn’t control what I was studying and what I was reading about. I felt like I had too much to think about and I got completely confused. Only until the last few weeks of the module when we were putting our piece together was when I realised who much I liked it because of how much it challenged me to try new things and think about why we do what we do, and what is the meaning behind it.

One of the sessions right at the beginning of the module was inspired by Marina Abramovic and Ulay about Nightsea the durational one on one performance of which they stared at each other and were motionless for hours. We did our own version where we all sat opposite someone and stared into their eyes until we were told to stop. I have a problem with sitting still anyway so I found this really difficult. We didn’t have any sense of time so we had no idea how long we had been sat there for. Throughout this experience, I went through so many different mind sets from being bored, to being in excruciating pain. It felt like I was losing consciousness throughout which was a very weird feeling, with times that I would snap back into it and think ‘oh god, I am actually doing this’. Towards the end I felt numb, I felt like I had been plunged back into reality from a very strange dream that seemed so real. There were points that I was either breakdown and cry or walk out and not come back. I finally made it through to the end after what seemed a very long 1hr 45mins. We then all sat and talked about our different experiences after a short break where we listened to how other people got themselves through it. It was very interesting.

Abramovic and Ulay’s Nightsea Crossing was shown in a gallery in 1982 for 21 days over June, August and September. When I looked into this I found it very interesting that they did it in a gallery like a piece of art. They were asked questions in an interview about the work they were carrying out in the gallery. A seven hour durational piece between the hours of ‘10.00am until 5.00pm. The seven hours was also important because we wanted to avoid people seeing the beginning and end. When they come to the gallery we are already there, like any other piece. And when they got a 5.00, the gallery is closed and the guard comes and tell us it’s the end. The public only see one image’ (Nick &Kaye p183). I found this particularly interesting because they didn’t want the audience to see them come out of the zone they had put themselves in because it would have given away the illusion and it would become something completely different. Abramovic and Ulay were then asked ‘Did you state that you would be sitting motionless for the duration of the performance?’ (Nick & Kaye p 184) I found the response really inspiring:

‘No. So people are always waiting for something to happen. But when they finally come to realise that that’s the reality of the thing, they start making contact with the piece itself. In the Nightsea Crossing, after ten,fifteen, forty-eight hours, the whole space is charged with energy. And that energy affects you. To charge a space with energy needs a long time.’ (Abromavic. Nick & Kaye, p184)

People do this when they walk into a gallery and look at the paintings for a period of time and not realise how long they have been staring. I feel that if someone was stood watching someone just sit may be a little different because it’s actually a living person. It may take someone longer to work out the story or the reason why from Abromavic’s piece to an ordinary painting.

At this point, the whole idea of one on one performance’s became quite prominent. I found it really interesting and fascinating to read about a durational piece that was so simple but massively effective at the same time. I also felt the same way about one on one performance’s because from what I have learnt, you can get so much more out of a one on one performance than watching or participating in something that involves a group of people.

After we had done the staring exercise in class, it took me a few days to get over the initial shock of going through mixed emotions to then realise that I actually did like it and of how effective it was.

Nick Kaye & Kaye Nick. Art Into Theatre (Marina Abramovic) pp. 183 & 184. Routledge

Right from the start of the project, Contemporary Experimental Performance was really had to get your head around. There was so much going on and so much to talk about that all the answers ended with an open question.

It took me a while to get used to the idea of not thinking about it too much and just going in with an open mind and just see what happened. After a while I got into it and started to understand that the whole reason behind it is to not get stressed over not getting one aspect of a ‘performance’.

The first lesson really made me think about what a performance is, how and when it is a performance. In the first instance I wasn’t too sure if I wanted to say my own opinion in fear that someone would tell me that I was wrong and that I didn’t understand. But from the discussions I came to realise that I could input my ideas on how I saw the work from my view.

Schechner’s explanation of ‘what is performance?’ made me think about how performing can come across in different ways.

‘In business, sports, and sex, “to perform” is to do something up to a standard – to succeed, to excel. In the arts, “to perform” is to put on a show, a play, a dance, a concert. In everyday life, “to perform” is to show off, to go to extremes, to underline an action for those who are watching. In the twenty-first century, people as never before live by means of performance.’

(Schechner. 2002, p28)

I found this particularly interesting because it explains how in different aspects of life, there is always a performance. I only really had a small idea about this and I didn’t really given it much thought until we had a detailed discussion about what it means to perform.

Another point that I also found interesting from this extract was the breakdown of the different types of performance.

‘”To perform” can also be in relation to:

• Being
• Doing
• Showing doing
• Explaining “showing doing”

(Schechner. 2002, p28)

Looking at performance through the four examples really got my mind thinking about how performing can change so dramatically over different aspects of everyday life and how they are perceived.

From being a young child I have always loved going to the theatre to watch performances, I also love films, anything that I can get into. But I have never thought about the underlying subtext of a story before the discussions in class. Every time I go to the theatre, even now, I go for the storyline, to see the amazing costumes and set design, but sometimes I can’t help thinking about putting into this context of showing doing and what a performance is. Is theatre performance for the audience entertainment? Of course it is, but many people probably wouldn’t look further than what they are watching and thinking about the deeper meaning of what it is to perform.

Restored behaviour was equally as interesting as what is a performance because it made me realise that we do do that in everyday life.

‘Restored behavior is the key process of every kind of performing, in everyday life, in healing, in ritual, in play, and in the arts.’  (Schechner. 2002, p34)

I find it so interesting to see what people do in everyday life. The smallest thing we do is classed as some sort of performance. Some people may disagree with this because it is everyone’s individual opinion.

Schechner, R. (2002) Performance Studies: An Introduction. ‘What is perfomance?’. pp.28 & 34. London: Routledge