EXTREME DEFINITIONS OF PERFORMANCE!!!

Upon reading this introduction, the idea that really stuck out to me is Carlson’s suggestion that all conscious action is a type of performance. Of all the definitions given, this makes the most sense to me, even if it’s in an inclusive, “All the world’s a stage” kind of way. Carlson says, “The difference between doing and performing, according to this way of thinking, would seem to lie not in the frame of theatre vs. real life but in an attitude—we may do actions unthinkingly, but when we think about them, this introduces a consciousness that gives them the quality of performance.”

I mentioned in class that Scott and I talked about this in regards to going to CVS—99% of the time, when one is out in public, purchasing toiletries, libations, or peanut butter-filled pretzel nuggets, one is performing the character of “regular, not-weird human being.” Despite how much I may want to mumble to the cashier, or how much I feel the urge to bite my fingernails or dance like an idiot, I will ultimately do none of these things, as I have to consciously speak up to the cashier in order to obtain my peanut butter-filled pretzel nuggets, and there is likely a policeman outside waiting to curb my hooligan dance-shenanigans. 

No matter what “auto-pilot Jordan” wants to do in a given social situation, this is usually turned down so I can consciously choose to do something more interesting, sanitary, or “good,” as in “what other people think would be a good thing for me to do.” I would certainly agree that it always feels like performance, especially the more one continues to think about his actions.

With that in mind, I’ll actually be going in a different direction with my fringe theatre of choice—I feel like having my primary example be “going to CVS” would be stretching our definitions of performance a little too thin in my world. Therefore, I’m going to introduce to you a world most of you are likely unaware of—deathmatch wrestling. Deathmatch wrestling is similar to regular professional wrestling, but with an emphasis on weapon-based violence, bleeding, and extreme “bumps”—falls from huge distances or onto dangerous surfaces. The stipulations for deathmatches can be anything, from including barbed-wire, light tubes, or even “Fans Bring the Weapons.” One of my favorites is “Double Hell, Light Tubes, Electrified Light Bulbs, Electrified Light Tubes, Barbed Wire Board, Light Tube Caribbean Spider Web, Ladder & Lobsters Match.”

The video I’m linking is a deathmatch between Jon Moxley (a personal favorite) and Brain Damage (possibly not the most subtle wrestling name).  This match is from CZW’s “Tournament of Death” card, where the winners of each match continue forward into the tournament, where the stipulations get increasingly dangerous. This is a first-round match, and it is a “Dining Room Deathmatch,” a stipulation for which there is certainly no codified rulebook.  Warning—the video is very graphic, as there is a ton of weapon violence (standard wrestling fare such as tables and chairs, but also plates, forks, saws, etc.) and blood, especially at the 12:40 mark, where Moxley takes a (rigged) electric saw to the forehead.

Let me try to justify this as performance in all three ways that Carlson suggests. (1) The public display of technical skill—this is slightly harder to argue in deathmatches than in traditional professional wrestling, but the same idea is still there. The athleticism is there (more for Moxley than Mr. Damage), but the performance also requires technique in regards to how to fall, how to not hurt your opponent (arguable, in this case), how to play to the crowd, and how to blade oneself (taking a razor to the forehead to cause bleeding). (2) Exemplifying “restored behavior”—again, this is harder to argue than in traditional professional wrestling, but the elements are there. It is tempting to assume that Brain Damage and Jon Moxley went into this career because they are insane sadists, but that’s not necessarily the case. I’ll attach two more videos below—one of a Jon Moxley promo (basically, monologue) and one of a Jon Moxley shoot (basically, out-of-character interview). You can easily see the difference, and it is clear that Moxley is an actor. (3) Something that can be judged—you can judge a performer in this about as well as you can judge an actor onstage. Clearly, Brain Damage is less mobile, so Moxley has to do more work and move more quickly to entertain the crowd. This is often called “carrying the match” for someone. Also, Moxley is much better about selling his injuries to the audience.  In professional wrestling, the metrics by which one usually judges in-ring performance usually come down to safety, speed/athleticism, crowd awareness, psychology, and maintaining the illusion of reality.

Also, if you want to see an example of someone “carrying a match,” I’ll also add one of my favorite matches of all time, Kota Ibushi (a personal favorite) vs. YOSHIHIKO (an inflatable “love doll”).