Entering Performance Studies.

Richard Schechner explains that performance is not just theatre. It includes rituals, play, sports, politics, and daily life. Performance Studies is interdisciplinary and comparative, linking: 1)Theatre 2)Anthropology 3)Sociology 4)Cultural Studies. I must choose how to begin my exploration:

Choice 1 : Study performance only as theatre.

Choice 2 : Explore performance in rituals, play, and daily life.

Choice 3 : Explore Schechner’s Four Commitments.

Theatre.

If I choose to study performance only as theatre, I look at plays, actors, directors, scripts, rehearsals, audiences, and stage sets. The focus is on art, literature, and aesthetics. But Schechner warns: theatre is only one small part of performance.

Choice 1 : Staying with traditional theatre.

Choice 2 : Expanding Beyond Theatre.

Staying with Theatre.

I remain with theatre studies. I learn acting methods, dramatic texts, stage design, and audience reception. But soon I realize something is missing: Theatre is limited. It ignores ritual roots of performance. It cannot explain sports, festivals, political rallies, or daily interactions. Schechner reminds me: theatre is a branch, not the whole tree.

Choice 1 : Remain in theatre studies.

Choice 2 : Reconsider

Expanding Beyond Theatre.

Now I widen my lens. I see that theatre and rituals are connected. Schechner calls this “restored behavior” → actions that are repeated, rehearsed, and symbolic. Examples: Religious ceremonies, Weddings and festivals, Political speeches and sports events and Ordinary roles (student, parent, worker).

Choice 1 : Rituals, Play, Daily Life.

Rituals, Play, Daily Life.

I study performance as a broad cultural process, not just theatre. Performance becomes a lens to understand human society.

Choice 1 : Focus on Rituals and Traditions.

Choice 2 : Focus on Everyday Life and Play.

Choice 3 : Move to Schechner’s Four Aspects of Action.

Rituals and Traditions.

I study rituals as cultural performances. Examples: Birth ceremonies, weddings, funerals Religious processions and festivals, National holidays and parades. These are “performances of community and identity.” They preserve history, values, and collective memory. Schechner says: Rituals are as important as plays because both are rehearsed, structured, symbolic.

Choice 1 : End.

Everyday Life and Play.

Schechner shows that people are like actors in everyday situations: A teacher performs authority in the classroom. A student performs attentiveness. Families perform roles at home. Children perform play in games. Play is crucial because it combines: Imagination, Rules, Freedom and Sports is performances with rules, audiences, competition, and drama. This expands into Schechner’s broad spectrum of performance.

Choice 1 : End.

The Four Aspects of Action.

Schechner explains that performance can be studied as actions on 4 levels: 1)Being – simply existing in the world. 2) Doing – carrying out actions. 3)Showing Doing – performing for others. 4)Explaining Showing Doing – analyzing and reflecting on performance. These aspects remind me that performance is not just art, but all human action.

Choice 1 : End.

The Four Commitments of Performance Studies.

Schechner lists four commitments that make Performance Studies unique: 1. Behavior is the object of study. (actions, not just texts) 2. Artistic practice = research. (performance is knowledge) 3. Fieldwork = participant observation. (researchers join in, not just watch) 4. Engaged scholarship. (no neutrality; performance is political). These commitments lead to the avant-garde spirit and intercultural approach.

Choice 1 : End.

What Makes Performance Studies Special.

Richard Schechner makes Performance Studies special because it is: 1)Interdisciplinary → connects theatre, anthropology, sociology, cultural studies. 2)Broad in scope → includes theatre, rituals, play, politics, sports, daily life. 3)Action-focused → studies being, doing, showing doing, explaining showing doing. 4)Committed → to practice, participation, and political engagement. 5)Transformative → changes how we see the world. Final realisation: All human activity can be studied as performance.

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