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. 

Performance and Occassion

I have seen the differences of how I act in my life many times. It is amazing how in one situation you can be a normal calm person maybe even introverted, but get into the next situation and you are crazy, a totally different person than who you were before. Two instances in my life where I have seen a difference of performance involve two different organizations I was part of in high school, one in my church and one in my high school.

When I was in high school, I had two very different areas of my life, one of them being my involvement in my church. At my church I was the chair of the youth group and would pretty much show my true colors. I didn't tend to cover up any parts of who I was at church because I had known my friends forever. I was able to speak in front of my fellow church members at services, lead meetings for youth council, and even play guitar for entire services. These were some of the easiest times to be myself and not worry about what others though. I thought I was pretty good at being in front of others and have them looking up to me.

On the other hand I had my life at my high school. I was a very different person at school, not truly who I was elsewhere. There was more pressure at school that wasn't present in other areas of my life, I felt more susceptible to judgements. I was involved in clubs like Beta Club and National Honors Society. When it came around to election times for these clubs, my friends and I would talk about who was running for what. Sometimes they would ask me if I was going to run for anything and I immediately shot the idea down. For some reason I felt that I couldn't do that, I couldn't talk in front of my fellow schoolmates, maybe I didn't have the confidence in myself that I had in other areas of my life. Whether it was clubs or class, I had a much harder time talking in front of others at school and I never wanted to take the lead in anything.

These two areas of my life were completely different. Sometimes looking back I can't believe how my performances were so different in each occasion, but then I think about my life now and I realize that I still act differently depending on where I am, what I'm doing, and how comfortable I feel.

Performance and Occasion

    One example of performance in my life is my gender performance as a female. As a female, I have been socially constructed to at, look, think, talk, and be a certain way. My audience is my peers, family and friends. As a female, I also perform differently in front of a group of all males, all females, or a group of males and females. I do not choose to act this way most of the time; it is subconscious because that is the way I was brought up. For example, some women may dumb themselves down subconsciously in front of men to make themselves seem more appealing because for some reason, girl think men find that attractive. Another example is if I were in a more sophisticated situation, I might be wearing a dress and heals, and cross my feet at my ankles, because this is how I was taught that a lady should act.

            Another example of performance in my life is my performance in my family as the youngest child. The youngest child in the family often acts differently than the older child, or an only child. Youngest children copy their older siblings or do the opposite of their older siblings, can be less independent, can be babied by their parents more, and use their older siblings as good or bad examples. Personally, I do the exact opposite of what my sister does, without even thinking about it. We couldn’t be more opposite. But also, I look up to her as a good role model for me because she is very smart and determined with her schoolwork. I try to perform well in school so my parents will be just as proud of me as they are of her. I am also slightly babied but I don’t complain about being babied because that is what society thinks is normal.

            The role of occasion plays a HUGE role concerning performance. People act differently depending on the occasion they are faced with. The occasion is much like the audience of the dramatistic pentad. A good performance depends on the understanding of the occasion of the current situation.

Performance Occasion

In this article, it says that the way in which you act depends on the occasion.  This is very true.  The setting that a person is in makes the ultimate difference in the way in which they perform.  There can be causal settings, such as a night with your friends.  Or a more proper setting where you need to watch how you act a little more carefully.  Such as a meeting. Regardless of the occasion, you must perform the way that is appropriate. 

I played volleyball basically all of my life.  My senior year our team went to the state championship.  This was probably the biggest moment of my life.  I was the captain of the team so this meant I held a lot of authority.  With this authority came so much pressure.  I had to give a speech to my team before we played.  Although I was around my best friends and teammates, I still had to preform very maturely. My coaches and whole team were looking at me for guidance and hope.  This was one of my most composed and mature moments in high school.

Another moment I remember was when I led one of our school pep rallys. We were all getting pumped for one of our homecoming football games.  My job was to be crazy and get everyone excited.  I got to act silly and run around while getting the students to `join in with chants and other celebrations.  This was much less formal and I was able to act immature and just have a good time.  

Performance and Occasion

Performance and occasion literally go hand in hand. They both reflect sharply on one another. A person must always tailor their performance on whatever the occasion might be. You wouldn't expect for a person to give a sad and somber speech at a wedding toast.

The first main example I can think of when it comes to a performance was when I was a senior in high school. I had been chosen by the South Carolina Youth in Government leaders to lead a committee during that year's conference in Columbia. I had around 30 students in my committee as well as a co-chair. I was responsible for reading out the docket and talking about all the bills that were to be voted in to the house and senate. This was all taking place at the statehouse so it was a very professional setting. We were all in professional attire and handling our days exactly like we were politicians. When I first started addressing my committee I was extremely nervous. This was a very big deal and we were trying to act like adults. Being in charge of a group of my peers felt weird so addressing them as adults was slightly odd. I made sure to speak in a firm yet professional manner.

My second example goes from professionalism to play. I'm a huge concert fanatic and have had the opportunity to meet some of the most amazing people in the world. One of my good friends Alex is the lead singer of a band called The Cab. They tour all over the world and it had been a while since we had seen each other so I drove to Nashville to see him play. He's super energetic and fun so the atmosphere surrounding him always reflects his energy and positive nature. After the show was over I went out to his tour bus to see him. Once we saw each other we gave each other a huge hug and started to catch up. All the while, fans kept coming up to him asking for his autograph and for pictures. Even though that was going on, we were still in deep conversation. We had both been to Amsterdam over the summer so that was our main topic of conversation. All the while we were talking, it was like we were two long lost best friends. We were peppy, energized, and couldn't stop talking. Half the time he couldn't take pictures with people because we were laughing way too hard to focus. It's times like those when I love just being able to be myself and laugh while talking.

As you can see, these are two majorly different performances. They took place in two very different settings. When in a profession setting, it's important to talk in a calm and composed manner. When you are with friends, more relaxed and even obnoxious talking is socially acceptable. Both of the occasions I mentioned are 100% different from each other yet I acted appropriately to both scenes. As long as one makes sure to tailor their performance to the occasion, everything from there should go smoothly!

Performance and Occasions

As discussed in the article, performance is influenced by the occasion. Individuals act differently depending on the situation. I do not have the same conversations with my friends that I have with my grandparents. While in high school, I was very active and gave a lot of speeches to a wide range of people, but two specific instances that stick out in my mind for being different are, talking to a group of farmers about my trip to Brazil, and giving the commencement address at my graduation.

I was blessed with the opportunity to go to Brazil the summer before my senior year of high school. As a result of the program, I had to address the farmers in the community about farming in another country. This was very difficult for me, because although I knew a little bit about farming, I was very worried about talking to farmers about how to better do their own jobs. The occasion was more of a roundtable discussion and very relaxed. Because the occasion was relaxed, I was able to better perform. All of my worries were pushed aside and I was able to better communicate what I had learned in another country to the farmers of my community.

On the other hand, I had the opportunity to give the commencement address at the high school graduation. This occasion was very serious, and one to not be taken lightly. I worked on my speech for about a month, and had it reviewed by schoolteachers, administrators and people within the community. I put a lot of pressure on myself for the performance.  Unlike my first performance, I made sure that I addressed every sector of the audience and worked very hard to make sure everything I was saying was politically correct.

From reflection on both of these performances I realize that the occasion definitely alters the performances. The two go hand in hand and it is impossible to have one without the other.

Performance and Occassion

The concept of performance is related to the performance.  Everyone performs differently on different occasions.  Two performances from my life that I can remember are performing in plays when I was younger and performing during swim meets.

When I was elementary and middle school I belonged to my local theater group.  We put on a lot of original plays in front of decent sized audiences.  These audiences consisted of friends and relatives.  The setting for these performances was public, but also somewhat private because we were at a small theater and knew a lot of people in the audience.  When I performed in the plays I had to embrace the role of my character and take on another personality.  I was performing as someone else and not showing the audience who I truly was.

In contrast when I participated in swim meets I was performing in front of a large audience filled with strangers.  I had to perform for my team, coaches, and parents because they were all counting on me to help the team win.  The team had to communicate effectively to ensure that everyone was at their events on time and that our relay races ran smoothly.  The occasion during these performances was more formal than the plays I performed.  I had to put on a professional and confident air to help lead my team to victory.

performance/occasion

I attended a very small school during my time in high school. I spent a lot of my time playing sports and my favorite of all the sports that I played was basketball. I cannot think of a better example of different performances for different occasions than my experiences playing basketball. I played for my high school and on the AAU circuit so my performances were witnessed and critiqued by a set of different people depending on the occasion.

I played on the varsity team at my high school for four years and basketball was a pretty big deal. Our gym would be full for most of the home games that we had. With that in mind, if I had a great or a horrible game, everyone I knew would know about it. People would be very congratulatory or they would have a different attitude towards me depending on my performance in the games. My performance for my school's team had a lasting impact because I would see those people all week.

During my time playing AAU basketball, the environment was a lot more relaxed. The occasion for those games would never be intimidating because whether I had a great game or a horrible game, I would not have to hear about it during my week at school. No one on my AAU team attended the same school as I did, so people were oblivious to my performances.

In this case, the occasion and my performance had completely contrasting consequences. One case involved me having to deal with it during the week, while the other allowed me to move on from my performances.

Performance and Occasion

Performances are greatly influenced by the occasion. Just like we act differently around our best friends than we would our grandparents, our performances change when the occasions change. Two performances I can think of giving are when I spoke at a Students Against Drunk Driving convention and when I spoke to my senior class in high school right before graduation.

When I spoke at the Students Against Drunk Driving convention I was speaking to an audience of people I did not know. Some were students and some were parents. I knew some of the people in the audience but not all of them. Because of the seriousness of the occasion the speech was not light hearted, but instead very deep. I did know that everyone in the audience was there for the purpose of students against drunk driving, so that part of the occasion helped me tailor my speech to the severity of that problem and I was able to know that my audience was in agreement with what I was saying. This occasion was serious and I went in not knowing about the background of my audience, so it made for a speech that was more on the surface.

Right before graduation I was chosen to speak to my senior class. I went to a small all girls school so our class was pretty close. I had known these girls for 4 years and had memories or inside jokes with most of them. This occasion made for a very different speech. One that could incorporate humor and nostalgia. Unlike my first performance, this one did not have to be tailored so specifically to my audience. As long as it was about my graduating class, it could have been about anything.

Because of the extreme differences between the two occasions I had to change my performance. At the Students Against Drunk Drivers convention I had to be serious, while at the graduation speech I was able to use my humor to reminisce on the good times. 

performance and occasion

Performances are highly affected by the occasion or situation someone is in. Two performances that I gave was my Salutatorian speech in high school and a toast at my sister’s wedding. Because of my audience and the occasion that was being celebrated, my performances were different.

My salutatorian speech at my high school graduation was very formal in which I was not only in the presence of my classmates, but also of my community members and leaders, my family, and my teachers and school administrators. It was an honor for me (accepting the honor of being salutatorian) and it was my responsibility to thank everyone for sharing the occasion with us and also to share my story to inspire my classmates. I was polite, articulate, humble, and confident. Because I wanted to present myself as appreciative, humble, and deserving of the honor of speaking at my graduation, I spoke of things that was appropriate and was approved by my audience.

In contrast, my sister’s wedding was far more casual. First of all, it was not my accomplishment being celebrated, but the union of my sister and her husband. I did not feel as much pressure and that I was being judged by my audience because I was ultimately surrounded by family who know my good, bad, formal, and informal sides. Because of this, my toast, compared to my graduation speech, was full of humor, sarcasm, and childhood memories. I was more relaxed and comfortable if, for example, I stumbled over my words or something. My sister’s wedding was more intimate being surrounded by family in contrast of being surrounded by all of my classmates’ families.

Because of the different audiences and the different purposes of my performances, my performances were different. Acting the way I did at my sister’s wedding at my graduation ceremony would not have been deemed appropriate by that particular audience in that context.

Occasion's Impact on Performance

People react in a different manner depending on the situation they are involved in.  The situation impacts their performance and how they interact with those around them.  The mood of the situation plays a role in how the message is delivered and the type of audience will also influence the information being presented. 

One performance I gave was at my parents’ fiftieth birthday celebration.  My entire father’s side of the family was present, which consisted of about forty people.  It was the largest audience I had spoken to at the time, and despite them being my family, I was still nervous.  However, the occasion was one to celebrate, and the speech I gave my family was full of humor and memories that everyone could relate to.  It was more a conversation with a large group of people than a formal, structured presentation.  My voice was loud and full of enthusiasm since there was n entire room full of people that needed to hear me.  It gave everyone an opportunity to share fond memories they had of my parents and the whole performance was very light-hearted.

A very different conversation took place though with my grandfather before he passed away.  Sadly, his battle with cancer was coming to an end and everyone in the family knew it but it was a fact they were trying to ignore.  The last conversation I had with my grandfather was much less jovial than that of my parents’ birthday.  I noticed I spoke in a much softer tone and at a slower rate than I would have in any other conversation.  It was obvious I was at a loss of words most of the visit, and I knew it was painful for my grandfather to speak.  In this case, it didn’t matter as much what was said but rather enjoying the company of each other and speaking when we both felt it was necessary.

In my previous examples it is clear how the situation impact the performance.  Somber occasions call for a more serious conversation where your audience will hold on to every word that is said.  More festive occasions are more fun and put everyone in a good mood.  It is the delivery of the message.  Softer, slower speech will draw an audience closer while a loud joking manner will release any tension there is in the room.  Finding a way to relate to the audience is the most important way to have an effective performance.  It is about the quality of what is said more than how many words are spoken.  Each individual situation influences the performance of the speaker because each situation calls for a different attitude and way to convey the information and emotions.