Final Performance Assignment

Please note changes in time constraints.

The final performance project will focus on a narrative approach to story-telling. Please choose an event from your own life that you feel is significant in shaping your personal/cultural/spiritual/political/etc. perspective. Your assignment is to recreate this event in a performance with the objective of helping your audience to experience it on as many sensory, emotional and critical levels as possible. Although the concept for your performance is relatively open-ended, please keep the following parameters in mind:

• You must create an original aesthetic text for the performance (the method of delivery, however, is up to you). Cut N Mix is considered a method for original text if the final product is crafted by you.
• You must include at least one material artifact/piece of media/source of additional sensory impact.
• Any videos used that include narration or spoken word must be under 30 seconds in length (unless the person speaking in the video is you). You may use videos beyond 30 seconds in length if they include background noise/ambient sounds or imagery.
• You must arrange for the use of laptops yourselves; the teacher's laptop will be used for recording the performances only.
• The performance MUST clock in at under 7 minutes. The timer will go off at 7 minutes, and you will be cut off after 8 minutes.

On the final day of class, the week before the final performance (Thursday, November 14th), a final self-critique/reflection paper will be due. Please write 1200-1500 words on the following:

1. A brief overview of your performances over the quarter: what improvements you saw, what aspects of performing you continue to struggle with, what you see as the strengths/weaknesses of yourself as a performer (please use the videos uploaded to DU VideoManager as reference)
2. The concept of your final performance: What is the experience you wish to recreate? Why is this event significant to you?
3. The Pentad of the performed experience: who are you performing as (if not yourself) and who else is present? What is the action and why is the action being performed? Where and when is it happening? How is it happening - what are the unique characteristics of this experience that need to be recreated to get an accurate sense of its significance?
4. What are the senses you wish to engage? What are different options for engaging various senses? Please list more options than you plan to use and evaluate the possible effectiveness or lack of effectiveness of each.
5. What is the mode of aesthetic text (lyric, dramatic, epic)? What kind of relationship will the performer (you) have to your audience (closed/open - see various options on page 71).
6. Finally - this part is especially important - please analyze the factors that contributed to your unique perspective of this experience:

• What personal significance does this experience have and how does it relate to your personal development both before and since this event occurred?
• What are the cultural factors that shaped your perception of this experience?
• What were the social norms that influenced your reaction to this experience and how (if at all) did they contrast with your own personal perspective?
• How might your Truth of this experience vary from the Fact?

You may choose to write up each section separately, or write the whole paper as one cohesive essay. If you dedicate only 200 words to each section your paper will be of sufficient length.