The presence exercise.
I thought I knew what that was. I thought I knew where that was going to go. I didn’t.
There was something very interesting that happened when I spent a solid 5 mins just connecting with someone. What was interesting was that it seemed to change who was watching and who was performing (even though we had designated roles). It got me thinking about Marina Ambromivic’s The Artist Is Present (for anyone who doesn’t know this piece google it you will thank me later). I remember reading something about The Artist Is Present and Marina describing herself as a mirror to reflect the audience (that may be totally inaccurate but interesting concept all the same). It got me thinking in The Artist is Present who exactly is performing? Who is witnessing? Is there a difference between Marina and her audience?
Another quote from somewhere came back to me during this exercise, which was that your eyes are the window to your soul. There is something interesting about eye contact in this exercise. What happens when you close your eyes? Are you more present? With yourself? With the space? With your audience? and Permission. What does eye contact do to the power? What is it to look at someone who is not looking at you?
Today I also realised the simplicity of performance. Performance is being witnessed. That does not make it a “good” performance. But being witnessed makes A performance. Although what makes an experience is another question…
