Critical Feedback to Will

Critics seeing performance as a communicative act

       “Critics seeing performance as a communicative act primarily focus upon the interchange between performer and listener.” (Shaffer and Pelias 185) Performance is a way to communicate, because it always shows some information to the audiences. It’s so important that the audiences get the correct information. So, make sure your audiences truly understand you. Will shows a very good example. If he just read his version, I couldn’t understand him a single word. He explained his imagination well, old man, disaster, destroyed City, and sad story. And when I heard the word like “tomb” or “dynasty”, this picture of destroyed city truly came in my mind. I guess that means I understood him well, which means this performance is a good communication.

Critics viewing performance as an artistic event

       “Critics viewing performance as an artistic event assume that artistic events should possess certain qualities and responses should be.” I feel this artistic event is asking the performance is whether beautiful or not. Will’s performance have the characters of artistic events. Find connection between words and create a story. From Will’s story, I see the power of nature, the power of time, and the big conflict between the city in the past and now. That distinct conflict is really beautiful, well, at least in my opinion.

Critique Conceptualizing Performance as a Cultural Process

       “Critics conceptualizing performance as a cultural process see all performance events as an indication of cultural assumptions and beliefs” Form Will’s performance, I can see that there are several values and assumptions he holds. An old man represents the respect of time and experiences. He speaks to his people to give them hope show two things. The first one is showing that value of giving up and rebuilding. In my opinion, American people are quite optimistic. There is always hope. The important thing is how you look at that. Other thing is the individualistic heroism. Maybe because of the movie and novel, American people love to put all good qualities to one man and let him became a hero. Well, actually Chinese culture also has the same thing, but not that much. The people’s hope is given by one old man as an individual.

Conclusion

       Will is good at using pause. That makes me feel the emotion in the performance. Just like an epic, with deep inside sense of history, his story makes me to be absorbed in it. I can still remember his first performance (that letter to past self), he was nervous at that time. However, he is quite fluent this time. That means well practicing and confidence. I believe confidence is the first step and the basic step of every performance. I think he can still work on it, and tried make more eye contact. And just in my opinion, he could speed a little up next time maybe.