In session 2.1, the key focus was autobiography as a means of creating a performance. The script we studied was Refreshment by Craig Gingrich-Philbrook. As opposed to the storytelling we had explored the week prior, body and motion were central to the piece. In Refreshment, the writer uses motions such as “gesturing for emphasis” (Gingrich-Philbrook, 1997, 354) and “I step a bit to the side, and say, in a stage whisper”(Gringrich-Philbrook, 1997, 358) for example. Writing such explicit and detailed movement directions allows the audience to visualise the story by setting the scene for them and placing them further in the performance. Gingrich-Philbrook’s imagery which described the story was something that particularly interested me, as he used an everyday item such as food (sorbet) to represent blood. Connotations of the ‘raspberry sorbet’ to represent blood worked well with the overall theme of the piece, detailing the story of a stabbing at an LGBTQ+ pride event. Blood and the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s are closely related and it is difficult to discuss AIDS without blood and transfusions being brought up. With the piece being written in 1997, it acts as a retrospective reflection of this and the writers struggle as a gay man who lived through this time period.
I was intrigued by Autobiographical Performance because it can be argued that it is some of the only work that can be considered truly original, coming from your own memory and person. Seeing as comedy is a route I currently feel I would like to take, I researched into how autobiographical storytelling can be made performative. Many stand-up comedians use autobiographical performance as the basis of their material, including drag queen and comedian Bianca Del Rio. Their ‘insult-based’ comedy was influential as it discussed a way to present information about yourself to an audience without presenting yourself as being ‘above’ them, or as knowing more than them in any way.
Del Rio manages to combine their signature ‘insult-style’ comedy and turn it on their self. As opposed to the style that Gingrich-Philbrook takes, the performance relies less on movement and instead relies on the material. Where the two performances meet are the way in which they interact with the audience. Comedy is a particularly prevalent way to interact with the audience because it establishes a light-hearted nature between the performer and audience.
Comparing the work of Del Rio and Gingrich-Philbrook to Marina Abramovic, whom we were introduced to in Session 2.2, added an interesting debate about performance and using personal details to evoke emotion. In her 2010 performance The Artist is Present, Abramovic places a table and two chairs in the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) and stares into audience members eyes for a minute. The controversy arose when her ex-lover Ulay attended the performance, resulting in the both of them breaking down into tears. Whilst their previous relationship does add an emotional dynamic to the performance, it is highly debatable whether the interaction was genuinely unplanned and wasn’t used as a publicity stunt. As a personal precedent, I believe that if I were to explore autobiographical performance, I would want the work to be genuinely and there would be no ‘stunt’ or ‘gag’ planned. Therefore, whilst I am still intrigued in using autobiographical performance for comedic reasons, I feel as if my own autobiography couldn’t be used in an emotional or exposing way, as it is likely the work could (possibly unintentionally) be altered and ingenuine.
(Skip to 1:25 for relevant section)
WANT: To continue looking into how autobiographical performance and comedy (particularly stand-up) can be merged into one. I also want to discover ways in which I can potentially use body movement, like the autobiographical script studied, introduced.
LEARNT: 1) That movement can be used within storytelling to ‘move’ the audience through the process of the performance.
2) Autobiographical performance does not have to be emotional and evoke strong emotive feelings. There is merit in using your own story to make an audience laugh and appreciate your experiences.
3) There is a fine line between creating a ‘genuine’ autobiographical performance and then focusing too much on the theatrical spectacle. As seen with Abramovic’ work, bringing real emotion to a performance can create a strong reaction, but if it isn’t genuine eventually an audience will be aware of it, as detailed by the controversy and discussion surrounding whether hers and Ulay’s meeting was staged.
EXPERIENCE: Overall, my research surrounding Autobiographical performance has been positive. I’ve discovered the ways in which I would want to present autobiographical accounts and am more aware of the limits to it as a performance style.
Works Cited
Abramovic, M. (2010) The Artist is Present. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS0Tg0IjCp4 [Accessed 15th February 2018]
Gringrich-Phibrook, C. (1997) Autobiographical Performance Scripts. Text and Performance Quarterly, 352-360.