Blog # 5
In “The Actors Bodies” David Graver explains that modern theatrical portrayals of corporeal existence intersect with dance, theater, and performance art. Graver suggests that “presence” is an essential component of performance which should be acknowledged in order to fully explore the “ontological permutations of corporeal display”. Graver explains that the uninformed audience member perceives “presence” as dichotomous rather than complex and complicated. The general audience member usually views performance as involving an actor who “pretends to be a particular character while remaining his/her real self or that the actor represents a character while presenting his/her performance” and thus Graver seeks to establish a distinction between artifice and reality and presence and representation.
Graver explains that the stage displays more than the simplicity of a character, rather he contends that presence is essential to a performance, yet it is difficult to describe because it is usually identified minus credentials. When I reflexively think about the connotations of presence on stage, I can picture myself stating “she displayed exceptional stage presence” yet I honestly had no idea what I was referring to other than commenting on a thought provoking or aesthetically pleasing performance. According to Graver, appearances gain meaning through interpretation; however individual interpretation is shaped by the discursive structures available to the interpreter/audience member; meaning we are born into a world of discursive structures, belief systems, and epistemological assumptions that are engrained into our subconscious. The discursive structures then become an individual’s reality and are often digested as facts. By analyzing the worlds in which actors establish corporeal existence we are searching for the interior, exterior, and autonomous forces that drive behavior and being.
Graver identified seven ontologically distinct forms of corporeal existence which performers deliver on stage: character, performer, commentator, personage, group representative, flesh, and sensation. Personally, I found sensation to be the most interesting.
According to Graver, sensation is the most private because it happens within the performer and can be disguised or played upon by the performer. Individuals who posses the ability to experience pain, pleasure, happiness, numbness, etc. can attempt to understand what emotions and sensations the performer feels but their efforts will never truly be realized.
I also found flesh to be a very interesting aspect of corporeal existence. Although I have heard of performances in which the performers are stripped of all clothing, I never witnessed such a performance, and had I witnessed such a performance before reading Graver’s article “The Actor’s Bodies” I would have most likely seen the individual on stage as a naked person rather than an medium used to portray a performative message.
In order to understand what it means to be a body on stage it is imperative that we understand the various discursive realms that impact performance on stage as well as theatrical display, otherwise the most intricate meaning and opportunities for understanding our existence will be lost.
