Performance Theory

by Richard Schechner

This cogent and provocative compilation of essays is now a classic text for students of the emergent discipline of performance studies.

Genres: Theatre, Anthropology, Theory, Nonfiction, Art, Philosophy, Essays

Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Young Kha]

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[Arun Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are very few books that literally transform the worldview. This book is one of those books. There was not even a single which didn't blast my mind. The world view about life, culture, performance, theatre, and art will expand beyond your comprehension with this book.

Schechner brings the exploration of art, theatre, ritual, and performance in such an easy manner that you can't get rid of the effect it has on you. The sheer simplicity of observations with a great understanding of the theatre and performance.

Anyone related to theatre and performance or curious about life should read this.

[Phillip · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will need to someday go back and reread this more thoroughly because I only read specific chapters this time around. But one of the things I found really interesting was Schechner's interest in anthropology and ethology. In all of the chapters I read, Schechner included speculations about the performance/ritual habits of early humans, and he generally discussed the performance/play/ritual of other primates (and sometimes other types of animals). It seems like he spends more time mining these anthropological and ethological premises for insight than he does discussing actual contemporary performance styles. He functions under the assumption that these ancient or animal performances give us valuable insight into how human performance, ritual, theatre, drama, and play are structured. I'm not saying I think he's wrong, but it is an interesting approach.

[Laura Wetsel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Schechner approaches the complicated notion of "performance" by teasing out subcategories, such as theater, ritual, sports, games, and play. Thought-provoking, digestible prose, interesting examples and diagrams, and pictures of chimpanzees. The reader is likely to become more self-conscious of interactions between people. Maybe to the point of obsession.

[Julian Munds · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a dense read. It really is best used in conjunction with building a performance. The observations in this book are sometimes startling and can help in breakthroughs in the building of art. Where the book falls flat is when it drifts into the area of hard science. Schechner falls into the trap of a lot of theatre artists in using a pastiche of scientific research, that blends to a vague agreement with their theories. The chapter on Ethology is the worst part of the book drawing correlations and assuming causation. A good book, but Schechner over reaches at times.

[leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an intense read for this semester but a fascinating one.

Schechner breaks down many of the ways in which performance is seen in everyday life, outside of the conventional realm of theatre and art. Reading this opens your eyes to all the ways humans put on performances to suit their audience or setting - be it the ritualised performance of brushing your teeth in the mirror or putting on a customer service voice that sounds so unlike your natural one to be perceived a certain way.

Would highly recommend sticking your nose into Performance Theory!

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

mindblowing to start with but then schechner starts dipping into the hard sciences and split brains &c and began losing me, but that was only in the final chapters

[Reis Mukhamadiev · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a titanic work.
Compare of tribal rituals with performances on the stage. One of them are moving based on their traditions from ancestors another are prepared for it.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is O.K. I like the diagrams he has drawn. Though I would really rather read some of the sources he refers to: The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Theater of the Opressed, and From Ritual to Theater: The Human Seriousness of Play. Maybe the problem is that I am reading the 1988 version of Schechner's book instead of the most recent one.

[nasim]

The author proposed a very interesting comparative standpoint towards performance types, what he calls himself "horizontal" assessment, rather than "vertical" classic approach on exploring performance theory. I mostly appreciate his concrete examples to support the details of his theory.

[Shalik Maharjan]

publications

[Arun Bhagwat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insights on Rasa are very useful to the student of comparative aesthetics and performance