"What is Performance?” Performance: A Critical Introduction by Carlson

Something that really intrigued me in this reading was the question of "What makes performing arts performative?" and the suggestion that they require "the physical presence of trained or skilled human beings whose demonstration of their skills is the performance"(3). While I can see that most of the general public could agree on this definition, I'm not sure that performance is always about "demonstration of skills". I don't think that performers always do what they do because they want to display their skills, but want to experience what they are doing with an audience, having a shared experience.

The example that particularly interested me was the idea of performance as a "public display of technical skill"(3).

Diane Spencer Pritchard and her husband practiced the activity of "living history"; dressing in period costumes and acting out scripted or improved scenes, in this case at a historical site for tourists. Diane at one time decided to play piano music of the era to further authenticate the atmosphere that she and her husband were presenting. She later abandoned this practice because she felt that this "display of technical skill" took their living history display into the realm of "performance".

It is interesting to me that that though this woman dressed and acted as if she "lived" in the 1830's, she never considered it a performance until the display of her piano skills was included in the display.  To me, everything that her living history presentation utilizes is a form of performance. She knows a great deal about the character she is playing, enough that she can improvise scenes and answer questions as this historical figure. Those are skills that I do no have, and if her definition has to do with that "public display of technical skill", then I would consider her "living history" a performance.

I am a table top gamer. I enjoy playing games in a social environment, and play both team-oriented and competitive games. A game that I have enjoyed for a long time is Magic: The Gathering. It has a strong casual following but also has a very large international competitive following. At higher levels of play, some of the social aspects of the game change into a more focused attitude, as the game is somewhat of a "mental sport". It is very much like chess in this way. I feel that the attitude and persona that is displayed in these environments is somewhat a performance. Still, there are many competitors that know each other and are good friends, but still at these high competitive levels, become more like streamlined machines, trying to figure out the best lines of play at any given moment. Because this game has an element of chance, sometimes crazy unexpected moments occur. Though you may not understand whats going on, try to see the tension in these moments. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8J5AQMZ8V0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vZv7ijdK2g