The Performance Ends Now.

Posted on December 16, 2013 by Lauren Bethany Elouise Watson

1 hour and 40 minutes.

From chicken tikka curry and rice, to pouring cream, chocolate, buns and lasagne, our performance was stopped after 1 hour and 40 minutes.

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(Photo credit: Darren Page, 11.12.13)

When the performance was stopped, it came both as a shock and a relief. Although the two hours we aimed for were not fulfilled, I feel as though our performative task had been completed.

I should clarify that we did not stop our performance, but our lecturer did. And for this I am grateful. When “both the performer and the audience are vulnerable” (LaFrance 2013, p. 507), there is a duty of care for both parties, and I will openly admit that as Gainers we were very vulnerable, and not in a good place. Physically or mentally.

“Negligence involves conduct that falls below the standard of care that would be observed by a reasonable person and which subjects another to an unreasonable risk of harm. An act may be negligent if the actor should realize that it involves an unreasonable risk of subjecting another party to harm or emotional distress that is likely to cause illness or bodily harm” (LaFrance 2013, p. 539).

We pushed our bodies as far as we could without causing harm, and as far as our lecturers deemed ethical. The experimental task element behind our performance was completed, and although stopped, I believe it was successful; all six of us pushed our limits, while addressing our frame of Feederism.

Though commenting on Feederism, through the performance I realise that our piece addressed much more than the ‘feeder’ fetish. As six women, our piece contained sexual and social politics focussing on the female form and its relation to food within society. Perhaps it was naive of us to overtly focus on the fetish, as we are complete outsiders looking in on such a secretive and taboo sexual desire. However, the frame it provided us with (a one-on-one relationship of control), created a larger and further encompassing performance, leaving the audience with their own questions, conscience and ideas towards food, women and the two combined. We used our own bodies and limits for performance, however “when a body is prepared for the theatre, this is a specific instance, and operates within the context of the general process whereby a culture produces the body” (Sheperd 2006, p. 6), and because our bodies are not those of Gainers or Feeders, we are exploring our own bodies within the given frame, so therefore in our own culture.

Works cited
LaFrance, Mary (2013) ‘The Disappearing Fourth Wall: Law, Ethics, and Experimental Theatre’. Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law, XV (3) Spring, pp. 507-582.
Sherperd, Simon (2006) Theatre, Body and Pleasure, New York: Routledge.

What have we gained through ‘Feeder’?

Posted on December 15, 2013 by Kirsty Taylor

Food will always be an obsession in human life so there is no reason why it shouldn’t be a part of performance and theatre too. As Di Benedetto states, “food as a component in theatrical entertainments has a long history…in an attempt to unpack the aesthetic uses of food by the futurists and the surrealists in the creation of meaning” (2010, p116). In the Middle Ages, food and entertainment went hand in hand, “food was a performance…Feasting and festivity were inextricably fused in medieval hospitality; the one did not exist without the other” (Cole in Di Benedetto, 2010, p116). This link between performance and food is clear even without noticing it. When entertaining guests, food is expected as an accompaniment, people go and enjoy food as a social occasion with loved ones. Our performance therefore becomes quite a contrast to many people’s perception of food, it exposes the greed, waste and overall negativity that food can also be associated with.

Our piece has become more thought provoking that what we initially anticipated. Our initial stimulus was the feeder fetish but the way in which we presented our piece resulted in a much more varied interpretation. It was a personal experience for each of us. As young female adults in a modern 21^st century country, we all feel the need to look after our body and therefore our view on the over consumption of food is rather negative. As Seid suggests, “Everything, for women, boils down to body size” (1994, p7). However, we challenged our own thoughts and took part in a task which contradicts everything we believe is right regarding food and the body. As Coultate and Davies state, “Quite rightly, almost everyone has on opinion on the food they eat, or don’t eat. We have fads and fancies, compounded with views on what is ‘good for you'” (1994, p1). Interestingly of course, the feeder/gainer fetish is a way of life for some individuals who gain pleasure from the over consumption of fatty foods. This is something that we cannot begin to understand or relate to and certainly isn’t something I admire, particularly when it will have such a negative impact on their health. It seems that for many people, from those who are clinically obese to those suffering from disorders such as anorexia, food is allowed to consume their lives in such a way in which they no longer have control. After all, “food is essential to our survival, social ritual revolving around food are central parts of every culture on earth” (Di Benedetto, 2010, p114). The idea of control was exercised throughout our performance from the buying of the food, to the preparation and finally the feeding. In ‘Feeder’ we explored both personal and social reactions and feelings towards food, the female form in relation to food and in particular the gluttony and greed of many people in 1^st world countries.

Works Cited

Coultate, Tom and Davies, Jill (1994) Food: The definitive guide Cambridge: The Royal Society of Chemistry

Di Benedetto, Stephen (2010) The Provocation of the Senses in Contemporary Theatre UK:Routledge

Fallon, P., Katzman, M., and Wooley, S. (eds.) (1994) Feminist Perspectives on eating disorders. USA: The Guilford Press

And for dessert…

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Kirsty Taylor

Our final performance: three feeders, three gainers and two hours to eat as much as individually possible. 11^th December 2013

The performance: Taken by Darren Page 11/12/13

Due to the result of the drawing of straws, for the performance I was given the role of feeder, much to my relief. In the lead up to the performance we filmed various sequences of the three feeders in a supermarket buying the food which would be consumed and consequently the cooking and preparation.

Preparation of food: Taken by Kirsty Taylor 10/12/13

It was important for this footage to be part of our performance so the audience could see our process and how the food had got to the table. We set up our performance space as it was for our work in progress with the addition of lighting and video footage set behind the gainers. This meant they could not see what had been put into the food they were about to consume reflecting the gainer/feeder fetish in which the feeder could be in control of what went into the food they can eat. The control of the feeders continued as we tied our gainer to the chair using an item associated with the outfit they are wearing. My gainer, Abbi, wore gym clothing and so she was tied to the chair using socks.

Gainer and feeder: Taken by Jess Jarvis 11/12/13

After we had laid the table and reheated all the hot food our performance could begin. The hot food added an important sense to the performance and allowed the audience to have some direct connection to the piece, the sense of smell, “Smell is said to be the most direct route to memory, emotions, mate choice and the immune system” (Di Benedetto, 2010, p93). By placing the food in close proximity to the audience, not only could they see exactly what was being eaten but can experience the food through smells thereby creating thoughts and feelings as Di Benedetto suggests, “Taste, like smell, can evoke memories that are laden with emotional qualities” (2010, p114). Consequently each audience member can create an individual personal response.

Display of food: Taken by Kirsty Taylor 11/12/13

To heighten the control we were aiming for, the three feeders held a neutral facial expression whilst the gainers reacted naturally to the task they were completing which was received positively by the audience as they were real, honest reactions. Because the performance was of a nature which couldn’t be rehearsed, it was a task trying to keep a straight face whilst deciding what food I should feed to Abbi. I was tentative at first deciding how much to put on the plate and what combination of food I should use, but gradually I became more confident and sure of what to do. It also became more clear which food my gainer preferred over others. As the performance went on, it became clear it was going to be a much harder task than anticipated. The physical struggle of the gainers and the mental guilt of the feeders increased dramatically and reached a climax when Abbi had to be sick. This was a shock for us all; although sick bags were in place we never expected they would be used as we didn’t think it would get to that point. I tried my hardest to remain in control of the situation despite the tidal wave of emotions; I felt panicky, guilty and full of concern yet still had the overbearing apprehension of keeping the performance going and completing my task as feeder. Although we never focused on the audience and made a deliberate choice not to make eye contact, it was at that point some members of the audience had to leave, clearly uncomfortable with what had just happened. Unexpectedly, our performance was cut short and stopped forty-five minutes before the expected finish.

Although it was not planned, we were all relieved the performance was over. We were all exhausted; we had pushed our bodies to the limits of what we could have handled either mentally or physically. The performance may not have ended how we anticipated, but we were all proud of the effort we had put into both the process and final piece.

Works Cited

Di Benedetto, Stephen (2010) The Provocation of the Senses in Contemporary Theatre UK:Routledge

The World is our Stage

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Jessica Jarvis

What is performance? This can be seen as a bit of silly question as there is no right or wrong answer. Everything could be justified as a performance; to do something to a certain level is seen as performing. So what happens when we put it into the context of food? This is something we do in our day to day lives, who’s to say it is a performance?

Although food is something that is in cooperated frequently in my daily routine, I’ve never questioned it as a performance, I don’t do it to perform I merely do it because my body needs it. Although put into social situation, usually food related, I will be influenced as to what I should eat, whether that is because of where I am or who I am with, this could potentially mean I am thinking of the audience, the other person, the reaction as to what I eat, allowing me to think through my actions and become something that I am not, this self-control is lost, which is something we are looking to explore thoroughly in our performance task.

Our performance is a performative task in which the Feeder has to feed the Gainer the food for two hours without losing self-control and becoming dis-orientated. The Gainers task is to eat the food given to by their feeders, pushing themselves physically. Although this isn’t the traditional aspect of performance it is still a performance for people to watch and interact with.

‘A “performance” may be defined as all the activity of a given participant on a given occasion which serves to influence in any way of the other participants. Taking a particular participant and his performances as a basic point of reference, we may refer to those who contribute to the other performances as the audience, observers, or co-participants. The pre-established pattern of action which is unfolded during a performance and which may be presented or played through on other occasions may be called ‘a part’ or a ‘routine’…a social relationship is likely to arise.’ (Goffman,1959, 15-16)

The above quote will help people to understand the concept of our performance; our piece explores the role the audience plays within our experimental. Not only are we setting out to achieve relationship between the Feeders and Gainers, but naturally do to the nature of our piece, we will create a relationship with the audience members, pushing the emotional intelligence of some audience members. The audiences contribution listening and being able to see one another will help other audience members act in a certain way, making them perform in a certain way. This is one of our reasons why we want our lights to be on the audience too, making them a participant in our experiment.

Work Cited

Goffman.E (1959) The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life.

Primary Nights 1-2-1: Rebecca Gamble

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Kirsty Jakins

Keeping up to date with current news in the area, it came to my attention that Rebecca Gamble was putting on a piece as part of Primary Nights: 1-2-1 which was a series of one to one performances at hatch in Nottingham. Below is a description of the piece:

‘You are invited to encounter a 1-2-1 gastronomic performance that plays with notions of host and guest. Choose your instrument at the door. You are invited to either feed or eat. The encounter ends on the sounding of the bell’ (Hatch Nottingham, 2013)

This reminded me of an earlier idea we had which involved the audience feeding us. This piece on the other hand is one on one and left the audience member to their own devices when it came to decision making. Although we moved away from this idea, it still plays with the element of intimacy and ‘host and guest’. Two people’s relationship with food and the idea of what is appropriate when it comes to someone feeding another person.

I contacted Rebecca Gamble via her website hoping to find out more information on her piece and why she chose to explore the host and guest relationship, as we are exploring the feeder/gainer relationship.

(Click to enlarge the image and read the email to Rebecca Gamble. Taken by: Kirsty Jakins 4.12.13)

It also got me thinking about whether these two relationships are similar in anyway and if so how? In our piece we are exploring control, whereas Gamble seems to be looking at intimacy and pushing the audience. We too are pushing the audience but in a completely different way. They are as much involved by having to view what the feeder will put the gainer through. In Gamble’s piece the audience could feed her as a host, which is breaking what is the norm. We are also breaking a norm with feeding as you normally feed yourself and can control what enters your body. Here complete control is given to the feeder. These relationships will be discovered tomorrow when we discover out roles in the straw drawing process.

Works Cited

Hatch Nottingham (2013) Primary Nights 1-2-1. [online] Available at: http://www.hatchnottingham.org.uk/?p=3055 [Accessed: 4.12.13].

Feeder.

We are six female students exploring food, fetish and our own personal relationship to it all.

Category Archives: Audience