What is Performance Studies?

When most people hear the words “performance studies”, they automatically think of theatre. After all, is performing plays, musicals, and even poetry not the heart of theatre? Yet performance studies encompasses not only theatre, but all areas of life.
To define performance studies, one must first define performance. “The word performance derives from a Latin root meaning ‘to furnish forth’" (Jackson). Performing is an action verb. It is a showing. When thought of in a theatrical sense, it is measured qualitatively, but performance can also be measured quantitatively, as in how well a piece of equipment or person performs its job. Performance has a purpose and an objective, has a clear beginning, middle, and end, is repeatable, and affects people spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.
Performance studies then includes theatre, dance, poetry, personal narrative, culture, identities, political positions, communication, creative expression, audience interpretation, everyday actions, religion, technology, public speaking, literature, and gender studies. Performance studies, then, is a broad, open topic, covering not only the visual arts topics, but also the everyday and international.
Schechner breaks performance down into seven categories. He says, “Ritual is one of several activities related to theater. The others are play, games, sports, dance, and music. […] Together these seven comprise the public performance activities of humans” (6). He then outlines qualities that they all share: time, objects with a special meaning, non-productivity, and rules. There are three different types of time: event time, set time, and symbolic time. Theatre utilizes event time and symbolic time. Other performances, however, also utilize set time (Schechner 6). While it is relatively easy to define theatre, performance studies defies definition because it is constantly being expanded and reinvented. The root word of theatre means “a place for viewing” in Greek, while the root word for performance means “to furnish forth” (Jackson). Theatre, therefore, connotes watching, while performance connotes doing. Performance studies is a way of questioning and exploring the world and discovering more about it and oneself. Theatre is certainly a part of this process, but it can only go so far. The rest of performance studies is required to develop a well-rounded worldview.
Performance studies covers more than merely theatre. It covers every aspect of life, from getting ready in the morning to the presidential election. It helps people see the world in a different light and discover more about themselves.