<p>TALK ABOUT – Chapter 1</p><p>1. Clifford Geertz wrote, “Cultural analysis is intrinsically incomplete. And, worse than that,</p><p> the more deeply it goes the less complete it is” (Interpretation of Cultures, p. 29). Is this </p><p> true of your own department in relation to performance studies? What is the “place” of </p><p> performance studies in your department?</p><p>2. How might performance studies help to deal with some of the problems facing the </p><p> world, such as threats to the environment, the oppression and exploitation of people, </p><p> overpopulation, and war?</p><p>3. At the beginning of Chapter 1, the author details his own subjectivity in relationship to </p><p> this book. How would you describe your own subjectivity? In what context have you </p><p> come to learn about performance studies? What values do you have and what values </p><p> exist in your surroundings?</p><p>4. What are the differences between analyzing text and analyzing performance? What </p><p> different tools must one use?</p><p>TALK ABOUT – Chapter 2 1. Pick an action not usually thought to be a performance – for example, waiting on line at </p><p> a supermarket checkout counter, crossing the street at a busy intersection, visiting a sick</p><p> friend. In what ways can each of these be analyzed “as” a performance?</p><p>2. Select a sports match, a religious ritual, an everyday life occurrence, and a performing </p><p> art. Discuss their similarities and differences “as” performances with regard to venue, </p><p> function, audience involvement, event structure, and historical-cultural context.</p><p>3. Definitions of “performance” change over time. For example, although now we think of </p><p>Ancient Greek theatre competitions as “theatre,” they were considered more “ritual” </p><p> than “theatre” at the time. What are examples of contemporary performances that have</p><p> or may shift categories? In what category, for example, does reality television belong? </p><p>True? Fiction? What about television news? Purely functional? Or aesthetic </p><p> entertainment?</p><p>4. What does it mean to say that “all behavior is restored behavior”? When are we aware </p><p> of our behavior being “twice-behaved” and when do we just “live life”?</p><p>5. How do performances function? In a group, create a list of performances and talk about </p><p> the different functions of performances on your list. When do functions overlap? </p><p>TALK ABOUT – Chapter 3</p><p>1. Consider your day. Describe some ordinary rituals you do. Do you also take part in, or </p><p> witness, any sacred or official rituals? What are the similarities/differences between these two kinds of rituals? Do you consider both kinds to be “performances”? Why or </p><p> why not?</p><p>2. Have you experienced communitas during an event that was not a ritual – for example, a</p><p> concert, sports event, or party? Would analyzing the event that led to your experiencing </p><p> communitas “as” a ritual add to your understanding of what you experienced?</p><p>3. Victor Turner defined the term “liminoid” to account for symbolic actions or leisure </p><p> activities in modern or postmodern societies that compared to, but were very different </p><p> from, the concept of the “liminal,” which he reserved for discussion of traditional or </p><p> premodern societies. Discuss what distinguishes the liminoid from the liminal and try to </p><p> come up with a list of examples of liminoid actions.</p><p>4. What use of ritual in theatre, dance, and/or music have you experienced, seen, been </p><p> involved with, etc.? What types of rituals were used and how were they used? In what </p><p> ways did they change, add to, or create meaning in the performance? Compare your </p><p> own experiences to others.</p><p>5. Rituals change and sometimes new rituals are invented. What makes rituals change? </p><p>What forces create the circumstances for new rituals to be created?</p><p>TALK ABOUT – Chapter 4</p><p>1. Anonymously write out your dark-play experiences. Put the papers in the middle of a </p><p> table and select several at random to read out loud. How do these examples fit the </p><p> theories of Geertz and Bateson? What happens when the metamessage “this is play” is </p><p> subverted? 2. What is the relationship between flow, discussed in this chapter, and communitas, </p><p> discussed in Chapter 2?</p><p>3. Why is tragedy playful? Why are violent videogames playful? Can players keep the frame</p><p> of play intact? Or does violent play somehow make violence? What about military </p><p> training that uses videogame technology? Why is war sometimes compared to a game? </p><p>4. Discuss the differences between deep play and dark play. Create a list of examples of </p><p> each. </p><p>5. Have a discussion about the bias against play. Is the bias warranted in some cases? Does </p><p>“work” have to be separate from “play”? Is play a distraction? </p><p>TALK ABOUT – Chapter 5</p><p>1. The “performative” began as a theory about utterances. It has developed into </p><p> something much broader than that. Do you think that this expansion of the term makes </p><p> it “unusable” or “useless”? Or do you feel that indeed much of postmodern life is lived </p><p>“performatively”?</p><p>2. What are some of the political and social implications of conceiving race, gender, and </p><p> other identity formations as “performatives”? 3. Have a discussion about reality television. Which programs are most “real”? Why? </p><p>Which are most “fake”? How do you know the difference?</p><p>4. How does the concept of the “wiki” – that is, a public, self-editing website – relate to the</p><p> idea of poststructuralism? How does the larger concept of the internet relate to </p><p> poststructuralism? Is the internet, in the end, ineffectual? </p><p>5. Protest and poststructuralism: How can protest be discussed, analyzed, and evaluated </p><p> after poststructuralism? Is it fair to say that protest used to have the potential to make </p><p> change and now it no longer does? Or is it the opposite? Why?</p><p>TALK ABOUT – Chapter 6</p><p>1. What is meant by saying that the “performances of everyday life are as codified as </p><p> ballet”? Is such an assertion useful? Does it help you grasp more effectively what’s going</p><p> on in “real life”? How helpful in this regard is the concept of “restoration of behavior”?</p><p>2. What are the most salient differences between the performing of a shaman in trance, </p><p> the acting of a realistic movie actor such as Meryl Streep, and a mother chiding her </p><p> daughter for really bad behavior?</p><p>3. Is all acting in popular culture “realistic”? Where do you find examples of other kinds of </p><p> acting? Think about television, film, YouTube, etc. 4. What does it mean to “perform yourself”? What roles do you play? Do you have some </p><p> roles you play more or less often? Do you have roles that are more formal than others? </p><p>What changes in your physical appearance (clothes, demeanor)? In your voice? Actions?</p><p>5. What does it mean to “perform yourself” when someone is watching? What if there is a </p><p> camera watching?</p><p>TALK ABOUT – Chapter 7</p><p>1. Recall a performance in which you were a producer or performer. Explain what you did </p><p> or saw in terms of proto-performance, performance, and aftermath. If you have enough </p><p> information, discuss the performance process in terms of training, workshop, rehearsal, </p><p> warm-up, public performance, context, cooldown, critical response, archiving, and </p><p> memories.</p><p>2. How might expanding the idea of the performance process to include the whole </p><p> sequence discussed in this chapter enhance your understanding of social and political </p><p> events? Discuss this in relation to a campaign for political office, a courtroom trial, and a </p><p> medical procedure. 3. What kinds of training have you participated in? Discuss your experiences with a group. </p><p>Can training for very different performances (i.e., ice skating vs. karate) still share </p><p> similarities?</p><p>4. Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of internet performance. How does the experience </p><p> change for performer and spectator? How does the relationship between performer and</p><p> spectator change? </p><p>5. Which version of the performance quadrilogue do you think works the most effectively? </p><p>Why?</p><p>TALK ABOUT – Chapter 8</p><p>1. Has globalization affected you personally? If so, are these effects good or bad?</p><p>2. From the point of view of the majority of the world’s peoples, do you believe </p><p> globalization is good or bad? Whatever your answer, what can you do performatively </p><p> either to advance or to stop globalization?</p><p>3. Have you ever had an “intercultural moment,” when you have miscommunicated or </p><p> been misunderstood because of a difference in cultures? What did you do in that </p><p> situation? What should be done in such circumstances?</p><p>4. What does it mean to talk about globalization “as” performance? Discuss what it means </p><p> to talk about “scenarios” of globalization. 5. Tourist performance: have you ever traveled to a place where cultural performances </p><p> were offered? How were such performances “packaged” for the tourist audience? </p><p>Compare your experiences to those of others.</p>