4.1 Recognising and Situating the Performance Event

A performance is a particular enactment of an Art Form. It takes place at a particular time, in a particular place, for a particular occasion, and through the participation of particular people. The same Art Form may therefore be enacted differently from one occasion to another. In the Suvadugal entity framework, Performance is defined as a specific, time-bound event in which an Art Form is enacted: an instance of practice rather than the definition of the Art Form itself.1

The central question of this section is: How do we understand, document and describe one particular enactment of an Art Form as a situated event? Answering this requires more than pointing a camera at what appears before us. The fieldworker must learn what event is taking place, why it is happening now, who makes it possible, what happens from beginning to end, what materials and spaces are involved, what rules govern participation and recording, and what is particular about this occurrence.

Begin with the event, not with the recording

Ask for the local name of this particular event or occasion. A performance may form part of a recurring festival, a vow, a funerary or life-cycle ceremony, a procession, a seasonal observance, a public stage programme, a teaching session or a recording arranged specifically for documentation. These settings are not interchangeable. The proposed interview schedule therefore begins by asking for the exact name of the event, whether it is recurring or one-time, what special occasion has brought people together and whether its timing depends on a season, ritual calendar or other locally recognised condition.2

Do not assume that the title printed on a banner or an invitaion card is the name by which participants understand the event. A festival may contain several performances. A troupe may present more than one Art Form during a stage programme. A ritual may contain a performative sequence within a much longer observance. Record the public or programme title where useful, but also ask what participants call the particular event you are documenting and how it relates to the larger occasion.

Decide what counts as this Performance

The boundary of a Performance is not always obvious. A procession may begin in one location, stop at several places and conclude elsewhere. A festival may continue for several days while a particular enactment lasts only an hour. A ritual performance may begin with preparation or invocation before the first clearly visible artistic action, and it may end only after objects are returned, a closing act is completed or participants disperse. A demonstration recorded for documentation may have a clear start and finish but should still be identified as a demonstration rather than presented as though it were a naturally occurring community event.

Ask the people involved what they recognise as the beginning and end. If several Art Forms appear in a larger event, decide whether they require separate Performance records while retaining a link to the common festival or occasion. If a moving event is understood by participants as one continuous enactment, do not divide it into separate events merely because the camera changed position. The documentation team should follow the cultural and practical logic of the event as closely as possible.

Learn why the event is happening now

An event has a reason for being convened. Ask who called for it, requested it, organised it or carries responsibility for ensuring that it takes place. In one setting the performance may fulfil a ritual obligation; in another it may be commissioned for a wedding, memorial or festival; in another it may be organised by a school, cultural organisation or government programme. These circumstances can influence duration, repertoire, audience, stage arrangement and the degree of freedom available to performers.

Do not reduce occasion to a dropdown label. Record the category needed for the describe - festival, ritual, funeral, procession, stage performance, demonstration or recording session - but also learn what that category means in this instance. A short event note should make clear why people gathered, who recognises the occasion, and what relationship the event has to the Art Form being enacted. The Performance description framework treats event identity, date, occasion and relationship to the Art Form as basic elements of the record.1

Before moving on, the fieldworker should be able to answer: What is this event called? Why is it happening? When and where does it begin and end? Is it part of a larger occasion? Which Art Form is being enacted? Who is best placed to explain what is about to happen? These answers establish the event as something that can be followed rather than merely filmed.