Post 1 Performance Vs Theatre
I’d say that performance is general and theatre is a particular
type of performance. It can be argued that any time of demonstrative behavior
is performance. So, in other words, any repeated behavior or skill done in
front of an audience for the purpose of showing (either to teach or to
entertain) is a performance. Theatre is a specific kind of performance. Theatre
is often seen for the purpose of entertaining, but it can also be for teaching.
The distinction would be that theatre aims to teach through entertainment. Theatre
is also a learned set of skills/lines which are rehearsed to tell a certain
story. Performance could be as simple as showing someone how to write in cursive
or as elaborate or water skiing.
Sports would be an example of performance but I’d argue that
it’s not theatre. A play requires actors to perform in a certain way to reach
an already agreed upon outcome. In sports, the outcome is unknown. The caveat
is sports have two possible outcomes (three if you include ties), but which one
of these outcomes will occur is still unknown. A play is also repeated night
after night and though a sport is also repeated the main distinction between
the two is a repeated outcome.
The issue with this definition would be when we consider performance
theatre. For example, improv performances are technically considered theatre,
but the outcomes are always changing. So, according to my previous definition,
improv wouldn’t be theatre. So, why is it still considered theatre? Maybe it
has to do with character work. Part of the definition of theatre would be to include
the distinction that the performers typically don’t play themselves and if they
do it’s some sort of caricature of themselves. Once again, the same could be
said about athletes. Athletes often times have personas while they play and
that could be an argument for sports being theatre. Not to mention both a play
and game are performed for a live audience. However, there is a tacit agreement
between the audience and actors of a play that what is happening on stage isn’t
truly “real.” This means that it’s accepted that the actors are playing
characters. That two actors getting married on stage is symbolic for the story
and that they aren’t actually married once the play is over. Whereas, in a
football game it is totally accepted that everything that is happening in real-time
is “real.” Once again, this has more to do
with repeated learned behavior that is that reaches a known outcome versus an
unknown outcome. The possibility of an unknown outcome not only invokes the excitement
of uncertainty, but also makes it closer to real life. Maybe that’s where the definition
of performance and theatre lies. The closer the performance is to reality, the
less theatrical it is.
Personally, I don’t think that there is a clear distinction
between performance and theatre because it seems like the definition changes
from case to case. To me, it might as well be the same thing.
I guess my devil's advocate position would be: if, to you, performance and theatre might as well be the same thing, then why can't sports be theatre? There is an accepted stage (stadium), there is an audience (the crowd), there are actors (players), there are directors (coaches), and there are producers (the owners). There are people who go to the theatre for a heightened look at humanity, searching for insight into why we do what we do as people. I would argue there are just as many people (more, probably) who go to sporting events searching for the same thing. Athletes fighting on the field of play are engaged in the same give and take that actors with opposing motivations engage in on stage. Clearly, the NFL isn't on equal footing with a Broadway play, but neither is performance art that takes place in the back of an art gallery in SOHO. So maybe sports deserves designation as some kind of sub-category of theatre. Which would of course make Tom Brady eligible for an Oscar. :-)
ReplyDeleteI actually do believe that sports are a sub category of theatre. I think the biggest difference would be a lack of a story arch. Of course, you can argue that the the story is simply this: Two teams (or people depending on the sport) are looking to win a game to advance to the next stage so they're one step closer to the championship. Then that story is repeated until someone wins the championship. Then to story could continue to "create/cement" a legacy. It's a fairly simple story, but maybe some athletes cheat or take steroids, someone accepts a bribe to throw the game, the referees are dirty and teams in denial believe Tom Brady sucked the air out of some balls with his mind. So it may not be a lack of a story arch, but it's more like a long running soap opera. I really don't think that there is much difference between performance and theatre. Though Tom Brady may never win an Oscar, I'll certainly dedicate mine to him if I ever win!
DeleteSo I had to jump in here. Not only because of all this blah-blah-blah Tom Brady talk going on (Fly Eagles Fly!), but because this is such an interesting topic to me. Sports and Theatre! What gives?! There is so much cross over as both you and Mike pointed out and yet there seems to exist in general a clear, unspoken agreement that they live in two different camps - two subsets under the umbrella of performance. One of the things you mentioned Dharmik is that there is a definite "unknown outcome" in sports game. I think there is a small element of that in traditional theatre as well when you see the same play performed by different actors in different theatres. Though I'm still thrown by the similarities of the two, I think you made a great point with the "real" statement. When we see a game and we feel it's rigged, or if we are watching WWF wrestling, it feels like we are watching something scripted and that takes the fun out of watching it. The fun of watching sports is the real physical skill exerted, in real time, with unknown outcomes. But that's also part of the fun of live theatre. So yeah. Maybe sports are theatre.... Maybe theatre is a sport....
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