I have always understood the concept of performance as a greater form of theatrically rendered set of actions presented for a direct audience in question; a vision that necessitates a response or interaction, eager to stimulate or transform. However, viewed from a rather new perspective, Richard Schechner interprets the act of performance as a more organically developed set of actions and responses in relation to our day to day life. He brings the over charmed and over praised concepts of what performance has historically stood to be, to a more tangible and mundane concept of basic interaction between two or more identities in question. The world is seen as an ever evolving stage where the actors interact with one another by simply being, doing and responding to one another. Whether a person is self-aware or completely aloof to his own interaction with another, it is still considered a performance for in essence it is an exchange between two or more identities. This concept of performance is even stretched further as he includes the effect of inanimate objects, words or forms in relation to the viewer, such as the effect a painting may have on an individual.
From a personal perspective, I consider Richard Schechner’s view of performance as the interaction of life itself to be a rather refreshing yet problematic concept. For once you include all things within the definition of a single word its meaning loses power and potency. If I were to attend a show expecting a performance in its more traditional expression and where to find a mum feeding her son a banana for two hours, I could perhaps be a little disappointed in such a ‘performance’. If it is something I can do on my own without effort or care, why should I spend my time or money giving value to such a mundane act? On the other hand, I can also understand how all things acted in relation to another person are naturally changed or altered at a certain degree. The way you may speak to an elderly man will defer to the way you speak to an infant. Your speech or ‘performance’ has been rendered in relation to the recipient. However, if one believes that performance is all and all is performance, then we are back to the same question, what
