Performance vs. Occasion

Performance vs. Occasion

The occasion sets the tone, pace, atmosphere for any given performance. Every performance is effected by the type of audience in attendance, the situation surrounding the performance, etc.

In high school, I was the Helping Other People Everywhere (HOPE) chair. This role required me to give several speeches at a culminating assembly in December. This occasion was a special one. It is where I got the privilege to announce the final totals for all of our 12 different collection drives (cans, toys, FHF, coats, etc.). In addition to the entire student body and staff, news stations and the non-profit organization representatives were present at the assembly. In this situation, I knew that my speeches had to be uplifting and encouraging. The speech had to inspire people that even in bad economic times we can make a difference. I was not only representing myself, but I was speaking on behalf of the thousands of people we collected goods for that were not ever going to know our names. This type of speech was based on the occasion.

The above speech was way different than the speech I gave to the HOPE committee the night before the assembly. The committee speech was me directly talking to twenty people about the blueprints of the assembly layout out. I was reminding them of the importance of achieving excellence because we were representing our school to the public, but we also our representing all of our hard work.

Both speeches were motivating. However, in the assembly speech, my diction was much softer and inspiring. The flow of my speech was much more creative. My appearance was way nicer. That was because it was a different occasion than the committee meeting. In the committee meeting, my message was the same pretty much, but I was shorter and more direct. I did not “fluff” the speech. It was fast and to the point; this is because that is what the occasion called more. This is just one example, but if you compare any two performances, you will see a significant difference simply just because of the occasion.  

Performance and Occasion

I would say that it is very common for my performance to change based on the occasion. As an example, when i have made speeches in the past, the manner in which i deliver the speech or what I say depends heavily on the audience and occasion. In high school there were two different occasions which I delivered speeches. One was a student body address and the other was a scholarship acceptance speech.

The speech that I gave before the student body was a farewell address that is given by the student body president at the end of each year. In the speech I was able to use more humor. I used pop culture references and did things that were silly and uniquely me. My speech had this quality because the student body was my age and was in the same place in life as me. It was easier to connect with references and allusions.

The speech that I gave for my scholarship acceptance was before the Civitan organization. The Civitan organization is a service organization, whose youngest member was about fifty. The older audience and occasion changed the way that I spoke. The speech was more of a heartfelt speech. The tone was more serious and sincere. The references that I gave were quote from famous world changers or leaders. There was no pop culture or comedic references.

The two separate occasions affected the performances that were given. The audiences and types of speeches were drastically different.

Performance and Occasion

How a person performs is greatly effected by the occasion in which they are performing. Someone could be giving the same or similar performance but because of the setting or the audience, they could change or alter their performance to fit the occasion.

This reminds me of the many basketball games I have played in my life and how the occasion usually and hopefully fits the performance. In sport, the saying, "rising to the occasion" is big. This means when players are playing in a really important game or match they play better than usual and rise to the occasion. I feel I have done this is certain games and have stepped up my play in order to win the "big" game. I may not have played so well if the occasion wasn't so important.

Also, speech and discourse has a lot to do with occasion. How someone gives a speech and the content of the speech, in other words the performance, is greatly effected by the occasion. For example, our head women's basketball coach here at Clemson, Coach Coleman, gives a lot of speeches, but depending on the occasion, they differ. When she is talking to us, the team, before a game or practice, she is trying to inspire us and get us pumped up for what we are about to do. However, we had a booster club meeting the other day and she gave a speech to our boosters. In this speech she was not trying to pump them up but rather inform them about this year's team and persuade them to come out to games a support us. Coach's speech's are not my own but I hear them almost every day and therefore I see how performance and occasion effect each other greatly.

Putting on a Show

          The ‘performative turn’ is the idea of culture as a performance.  In my life, lots of people who surround me everyday use the term ‘fake’ often.  For example, “that girl isn’t even that nice, she’s seriously so fake!”  Being involved in a school of the arts for theatre in my past, I’ve had lots of experience regarding performances.  In my opinion, the modern society we live in today is one big performance, except when regarding the personal relationships that really matter the most to us.

            One example of performance from my own life is with a specific group of people.  Any time there is a town event, where I obviously see the same people at all of them, I become another person than who I am with my family.  With my family, I’m completely myself, whether I’m in a good mood, bad mood, whatever.  With these “townies,” I become an overachieving, overly-confidant version of myself.  In various contexts, my personality changes, and I’m not sure why.  It’s a performance I’m putting on to look a certain way to people that I don’t necessarily love like my family, but am close to and want to subconsciously impress. 

            Another example of a performance in my life is when I’m interviewing for potential jobs.  Granted, I am myself in these interviews, but I’m myself on my “A” game.  I have “performance anxiety” especially on these occasions because I am trying to impress someone to get what I want.  With these different types of performances I’m putting myself in, the boundaries between society and theatre are disappearing.  I’m putting on a show, no matter where I am.

            One of my professors once told me “you’re always selling yourself.”  I don’t like to think of myself as always putting on a show, I like for people to see the “real” me.  This is more difficult to do than it sounds, though.  Depending on different contexts I’m in, different occasions rather, my personality changes.  My performance to the world is ever-changing.

Performance and Occasion

Looking back on my life there have been more times I performed than I realize.  Some performances were more memorable.  Others were more formal than others.  The occasions of the performances have been different too.  There have even instances were the performance was similar but the occasions were different.

One type of performance I became interested in during my latter years of high school was public speaking.  The summer after my junior year I had the opportunity to attend Palmetto Boys State, a camp for boys sponsored by the American Legion.  Soon after the camp, I was contacted by my local American Legion post asking me to come to one of their meetings and speak on my experience and what I learned.  It was a formal occasion and an informative performance.

Other public speaking performances I have given have been more persuasive.  My senior year I had the opportunity to speak in front of my high school's FCA on Thursday mornings.  Here my performance involved sharing something that had happened in my life, explaining what the Bible had to say about that, and then giving some sort of practical application.  These performances were a little less formal than the one I gave at the American Legion.  The occasion was definitely religious, as I was trying to challenge and encourage the FCA body at my high school.

Performance and Occasion

It is clear through this article that as humans we change the way we behave or perform depending on the situation or occasion. I fully agree with this. In fact, in my linguistic anthropology course we just discussed this issue in regards to African American English versus American English and had a discussion about changing our speech based on certain situations.
As in this example, I have changed the manner in which I deliver a speech depending on the setting. I studied abroad in Belgium in the spring and their curriculum is based heavily on oral performance. I gave more speeches and spoke in front of larger crowds in French than in English during a semester at Clemson. Through these experiences, however, my performances changed.
We delivered an interactive poem in front of a large audience. The performance was meant to be very serious and express emotion based on where we were from; therefore, my actions and speech were somber as opposed to being lively like many presentations. I have also never been more nervous in my entire life.
In contrast, for this same class we delivered a performance of a short story in front of a smaller crowd.  This acting and performance was much more relaxed and humorous in nature. The story was not an emotional, personal one so my delivery was light and fun. At this occasion I was much less nervous due to the more laid back atmosphere of the event.

Performance and Occasion

After reading Burke’s article, “Performing History and the Importance of Occasions”, I now understand performances as significant events in one’s life, with reference to religion, culture, or something of the like.  One performance that I believe to be a vital part of my past was my getting baptized.  Baptism is an important aspect of Christianity; while it does not determine whether or not you are a Christian and go to Heaven or not, it’s a public declaration of one’s faith and dedication in following Christ.  I was fifteen when I decided to take this step.  In front of my entire church congregation, I let my youth pastor dunk me underwater as a symbol of my growing faith. 

A second performance I have experienced in my life was my graduation from high school.  Although I did not view this as a major achievement- high school, while difficult at times, was far from impossible- I still considered this is a major step in my life.  Walking across that stage to shake my principal’s hand and receive my diploma was a symbol of completing one chapter in my life and starting a new one.  I was done with high school; it was time to move on to bigger things, like college and a career.  I knew that it would only get harder from there, but it was all a part of life.  With thousands and thousands of friends, parents, and other relatives watching, I took my diploma as a symbol of moving from high school on to greater things.