On 03/04/2008, nescivi <nescivi_at_gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> As a performer inevitably you take on another role than the one you have
> in
> everyday life, which is a form of deceit.
>
> In performance the performer always tries to lead the audience away from
> the
> everyday world into the world of the performer, thus in a way misleading
> the
> audience member, hence deceiving...
> A good performance is usually marked by the fact that it seems to take
> almost
> no effort on the part of the performer, rather than the lot, that it
> actually
> takes to make it seem it doesn't.
You are right, to some degree. The opposite holds true as well, BTW. It's
quite popular for performers to make facial expressions like they are in
pain (play a air-guitar solo, going up in pitch ending in a long, high,
modulated note, then look in the mirror!). Performers that look like they
are suffering (standing in the rain and so on) are very popular in
video-clips. These can be good performances as well, I think.
If I may for a moment talk about a personal experience; last Monday I played
live on my own sequencer, the no-graphical-feedback one I program live
(programing beats and melodies, not code). Partially due to the solid BPM,
partially to audience expectations of dance-music this is a rather intense
affair, I experience it as at least as mentally straining as livecoding. I
should also explain I started doing this partially because of a desire for
more honesty towards my audience and myself.
Last Monday was a interesting moment there because thanks to the experience
I build up I now had some (small) amount of time to also consider my
presentation and gestures (on previous gigs I would almost forget the
audience was there). I had time to spare to consider that I should hit
buttons resulting in a more dramatic change with some grace (instead of just
as fast as possible) but the most interesting moment was when I "got lost"
and needed a moment to think. I stepped back and grabbed the top of my head
with both hands for a few seconds, which is a normal gesture for me to think
under pressure.
I'm telling this because even on the spot I realised something interesting
was going on. I was consciously miming a gesture towards my audience so this
was "a lie" in your context but at the same time I was also very honestly
communicating exactly what I felt. To me it's very different if I do this
while considering if I need a build-up or a break-down next (which the
question came down to) or when I already have the next track lined up as a
perfectly mastered wave-file and just want to add visual drama. It could be
argued, BTW, that this might not matter for the audience who just want to be
entertained but I care relatively little because I started doing things in
this way mainly for my own entertainment and am perfectly up-front about
that.
Yours,
Kas.
P.S., Marije, I also owe you a personal mail.
Received on Fri Apr 04 2008 - 13:33:41 BST