22: "Performance" is a collective agreement (with Melida Beck)
These days, "performance" is often used with a negative connotation. We don't want anything we do to look like a performance... we'd much rather be authentic.
But what if performance is necessary for collective growth and acknowledgement and celebration. That's Melinda Beck's argument — and honestly, I'm on board.
In this episode, you'll discover:
The surprising etymology of "performance" and how its definition has evolved over time.
Why performance isn't just about the stage - it's woven into our daily lives and social interactions
The complex world of "performing authenticity" in modern media and marketing
How performance serves as a powerful collective agreement and ritual in our society
A behind-the-scenes peek at the casting call process in voiceovers
Why we shouldn't give performance such a bad rap - it's actually a form of consideration for your audience
The mind-blowing way performance can literally sync heartbeats in an audience
From stage to meaning—explore 'performance' in my latest episode:
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Note: Transcripts are AI generated. Please excuse any errors! :)
Nicole: [00:00:00] Oh hello, welcome to It's All Poetry, where in each episode we talk about one word, in depth, with one guest. We will bring you surprising word histories, etymologies, our real life stories about words, thoughts on the way we use those words to connect with each other, yeah, basically it's a podcast about words.
My name is Nicole Cloutier, and I am a copywriter, poet, and general word nerd, and I can't wait to dive into this with y'all, so let's get started.
Hi, Melinda.
Hey, thanks for having me. I'm so glad you're here. Um, for everyone listening, I have Melinda Beck on the zoom or audio for those of you listening, but I can see her on zoom. And Melinda is a Kentucky based voiceover artist. With experience in film, theater, and solo performance, which will be super relevant in just a moment. She currently works in public [00:01:00] programming at the Belle of Louisville, and has worked in various capacities with Commonwealth theater center, Kentucky Shakespeare, actors, theater of Louisville and Seattle Shakespeare company.
And Melinda, you hold a BFA in theater with an emphasis in original works, from Cornish College of the Arts. What does that mean? Emphasis in original works?
Melinda: Yeah. So they, instead of sort of placing a specific label on it, like directing or playwriting, There are a lot of programs that will focus very specifically on, you know, a particular discipline.
And I think instead of choosing one, they wanted to keep the program open for people who decided, well, you know, I kind of want an emphasis in writing, but I'm also interested in brahmaturgy, for example, which we can talk Or they might have said, you know, I'm interested in focusing on ensemble driven generative performance, or something that doesn't necessarily have a label.
So, I appreciate that they really [00:02:00] put thought into that so. I, I like explaining original works, even though I don't, I should have like a better elevator pitch for that now, but at this point, I don't, I just try to describe what I like to do and what I've discovered in my own career. And, you know, we were talking earlier about meeting on flexible office, and I don't know if it's come up on the podcast before, but flexible office is like a, a virtual workspace that's run by Cody cook parrot.
It was freaking awesome, by the way. Like if anyone has a chance to sign up for this, I highly recommend it, but it just offers you space to work and meet other artists and discover other disciplines. And I was just, I was so impressed by things that everyone was doing. And a lot of people at that point were like, I don't even have a label for what I do and I'm trying to figure it out.
Or some people were saying, you know, I'm at this pivotal transformative place in my career and I don't really know [00:03:00] what I need to be putting my focus into at this point. And I really appreciate that artists, I think are figuring out, I can always change. What my focus is. I can always change my emphasis.
It felt a little bit like an imposter for a while when I would always update my website to reflect where my career was in the moment, because I was changing it like every year. Now I realize, Oh, actually that's extremely vital for creating the art that you want to make. It's okay to, to change your label.
So going back to original works. I decided to settle on theater practitioner for a while because I wasn't just an actor. I wasn't just a writer and I was stepping more into voiceover too. So the question became, what do I even call myself? Is anything I'm putting on my website valid or is it just bullshit?
Or I don't know, it, it became like a whole journey just to figure out how do I [00:04:00] even label what I'm doing. So I appreciate that original works is a, is a label in itself.
Nicole: Yeah. I first, first of all, I want to second the, um, flexible office recommendation. Melinda and I met there and there were so many cool people there.
And we were also just talking about how like much we prefer spaces like that over like social media networking. So much for, Co working space with super cool people. So yeah, definitely check it out. We'll link to it in the show notes. I don't know when, Cody will be running it again, but, they also have other offerings.
So check out Cody Cook Parrott. And also I love hearing you talk about your website because of people who listening don't know yet, but our word for today is performance and hearing you talk about your website and changing it and like defining yourself and your career. It makes me think of. Like that as performance to like the performance that we are putting out into the world as people who run businesses, it's like a whole thing that I hadn't even considered when researching the word performance.
Melinda: Yeah, agreed. [00:05:00] And I mean, there are different natures of performance. And that includes ourselves in our own careers. I'm actually really happy that you did an entire episode on the word career, because I felt like a lot of what you guys talked about in that episode was such a gut punch because it was true.
And we perform having careers, we perform being artists, we perform even just in our personal lives, like we perform motherhood, we perform daughterhood, we perform friendship. And something that I'm discovering, not to be too off topic, something I'm discovering in a lot of casting calls that I see is, you know, clients don't want the word performance to even touch what they're doing because they view it as inauthentic.
So every single casting breakdown you see, it'll say things like authentic voice, use your authentic voice. One of the words that actors just beat their head [00:06:00] against the wall over is conversational. So it'll always say conversational, non salesy, non announcer. So think back to the 90s when a lot of commercials sounded very, polished.
And there was a very specific style in the way a commercial would be presented, for example. And now every single casting breakdown is, you know, non announcer in all caps, non sales. People don't want to be sold to. And so it feels like this layered onion of being authentic, but also hitting what the client wants and the tone and the pacing, but also not seeming like you know what they want.
And just being yourself and then, but then not being too much yourself because then it won't be a commercial anymore. It's just like this constant, you know, onion. Okay. And then it's easy to overthink. So you can't overthink being authentic or [00:07:00] conversational because this podcast is authentic and conversational too.
So anyway, it's, it's easy to get into the weeds of like having performance be this. overwrought, overthought, inauthentic, fake layer of what you think you need to present to other people, when really performance is the opposite. It's a, an opportunity to reflect. It's a collective agreement that you make with people participating and viewing the performance.
It, it's a whole list of things that directly involve authenticity, expression of inner self, And trust and audience agreement were all of it to work and come together. So that's the thing I keep going back to while my anxiety over doing well in an audition or delivering what I think the client wants, and then remembering that it's supposed to be fun, something dark, [00:08:00] like I don't know, Hamlet.
It's still fun.
Nicole: Oh, that's so, that's so good. And, it's so funny because there's an episode coming out this week on the word authentic. So by the time people are listening to this, that episode will already be out. And hearing you talk about it, it's like when authentic becomes like part of a casting call or, For me, like in my work as a copywriter, like part of the way that a brand wants their voice to sound right.
Which is something that many, many brands want, right. Do they want to sound authentic? And then it becomes like a performance of authenticity. Like you have to perform authentic because that's what they want. But really like even this podcast emails, like it all has to be. And the audience has to be considered, you know, they don't want to just hear a completely unresearched or unpracticed performance, right?
Like, there has to be some performance to anything that's public facing, I think, in order to, in a way, it like shows that you're considering the [00:09:00] person who's listening, the person on the other end. So it doesn't have to be this negative thing. I really like the way you're talking about it.
Melinda: I completely agree.
That's such a great way of saying that. And you're also looping in, to your point, you're looping in your audience. as a collective that has agreed to listen to it. Even if it's an ad, nobody likes ads, but you know, there's an agreement that you're suddenly listening to an ad. And so how do you gain people's trust?
How do you, open, open the door for authenticity? Instead of just reading the copy or hoping that people listen to it. There is strategy involved. There is craft involved, even if it's just an ad.
Nicole: Well, and there has to be, I do think that the desire for authenticity and negative reaction to like performing, um, I'm wondering now if that's completely misplaced, just based on what you're saying.
Like, I feel like performance does have to be there. It's, it's, [00:10:00] it's an art.
Melinda: Yes, and there's, there's craft and form and structure and technique involved. There are all these positive, amazing things that I can nerd out about. But you just reminded me of, like, all of the 90s and early 2000s movies where, like, think like fame, I guess that's 80s, but if you think about movies that feature any kind of theater, specifically, or acting in a movie, where there's always a montage of these other art forms that are brilliant, like in fame, they cut to the dancers, and they're all, you know, Juilliard ready, and then they cut to the musicians, and they're playing this complex, gorgeous jazz.
And then they cut to the actors who are, for whatever reason, just really dumb and really bad at it, and, but it's on purpose, and I feel so bad for the actors who were actually cast in those roles, even if they're just these awkward little bit parts [00:11:00] meant for comedic relief, because it, it always felt a little bit insulting, because don't get me wrong, there's a lot of bad theater out there, But why does theater have to be bad in these movies?
I've never seen a film where there's some kind of performing arts school montage and they cut to the acting kids and they're just in, you know, in the throes of this incredible, You know, tearful checkoff scene that had perfect timing and lands incredibly. No, it's never that. It's always a kid doing Hamlet really badly.
Nicole: It's always, I feel like those movies are always like the jock learning to be an actor. Yes.
Melinda: And you know, he can fictional hypothetical jock. You can learn to do him lit and be an incredible, thoughtful actor. I believe in you, but it's also a little bit disappointing. And I always, I think about what it's like to be on set for movies like that [00:12:00] too, because an actor.
Finally, you got cast in something great, like a higher budget, sad film, sad feature or whatever, and they're on set. And then the director says, okay, instead of being good, I need you to play a bad actor. So you have a good actor. Playing a bad actor, but who can't look like it. I don't know. I think that would be kind of a fun role to play.
But also, come on, give us a little more cred.
Nicole: Oh, I'd never considered this before. Uh, I feel like this is a really good segue though, because I would love to talk about, like, your personal experience with the word performance. Like, were you a theater kid? Is this, is this a part of your childhood?
Melinda: Yeah, I am a nerd. I'm definitely a theater nerd. And as a kid, I never considered it to be a career necessarily. I just knew that I really loved doing it. So I would do school plays and [00:13:00] there was an after school conservatory where I took a couple of acting classes or did a couple of plays. And I realized by the time it was, you know, I should start to think about what I want to do.
What school should I apply for? I started really strongly considering theater programs because I just didn't want to stop doing it. At the time I actually thought I wanted to be an illustrator because I was always drawing in a sketchbook. I was focused really heavily on visual art. It felt like a very safe medium for me.
And so I was starting to look into, you know, how do I build a portfolio to get into an art school? And I realized that if I were to become an illustrator or a visual artist, I would have to spend a lot of time by myself in a studio and I really just wanted a collective to, to collaborate with. I really, not to say visual [00:14:00] artists don't have that, but I really wanted to be in a group of like minded people.
I wanted to participate in ensembles. I really wanted to put myself out there as a very shy, introverted, anxiety ridden kid and I realized later, I think like 15 years in the future, I started to step into voiceover, which was something I always wanted to do. And I had this moment with my headphones on in my booth that I was by myself for hours at a time in a studio.
So it's still performance, but you know, we can talk about that later. But I, I realized at the time, I really wanted to be an artistic collaborator. And what did that even look like? So I went to art school, but I went for theater and I'm really happy I did. I don't think that any artist needs formal training to be an excellent artist, but I personally really, really needed, technique.
I needed a lot of, [00:15:00] habits and patterns stripped away, both acting wise and, you know, mentally and emotionally. I needed, I needed a reset into adulthood to figure out, okay, how do I become a good, thoughtful actor? And so I'm really glad I took that track, but at the end of the day, I, I wonder what my life would have been like if I had pursued illustration or maybe graphic design or more of a visual art form.
Nicole: You always can. It's never too late. Change your website again.
I mean, and to be honest, you probably could create a career that is somehow both if you really wanted to, like if you ever wanted to pivot. I feel like that is. Yeah, so I feel very inspired by, this idea of just, like, always changing your career to be what you want it to be, even if that's a combination of things.
Melinda: Yeah, and also, you know, there are no rules. We're coming out of this [00:16:00] time period where the old models for things just aren't working. And I was really happy to see, I don't know if happy is the word, but I was, appreciative that theater companies, coming out of the pandemic were finally changing their, audition protocols and their accessibility.
And the reason I changed my mind on the word happy is because it sucks that it took a pandemic to get to that point, you know what I mean, that's why I was like, maybe not happy, but I'm appreciative that some theater companies were trying out different ways of auditioning people, you know, theater has been predominantly we.
Yeah. Very white and very middle class, and it costs the barrier to entry costs a lot, especially if you want to join a union because you pay your, your initiation fee and then you pay your dues every year. It's just a lot of upkeep, and I don't know, [00:17:00] there's, there's also this idea, this is my anxiety self talking, that you have to perform being good at what you do for other people.
Because as we were talking about earlier, Acting can be a career that's very undervalued. I think we don't live in a culture anymore where it's understood or appreciated necessarily. People are like, why are all these celebrities making millions of dollars and they're just in movies or whatever? But
the thing is performance offers an audience a chance for self reflection. It offers the collective an opportunity for collective growth and transformation. And when those things are being stripped away, where does that leave us? The old patterns of auditioning for things and making a living as an actor, those are being stripped away. So the question becomes, how do I stay truthful to my art form and also carve out a [00:18:00] livelihood for myself and not struggle or worry or play into the starving artist narrative? That's also paired with potential audiences not being able to access your work because of the cost barrier for them.
I, I love going to the orchestra. I can't always afford tickets, for example. So the conversation socially has been, Oh, well, we have this loneliness epidemic because we don't have third places anymore, which is true, but we don't have access to performance. We don't have access to classic arts.
And I say this as an artist, right? It's, it's meaningful when I, I can't access the very thing that. I want to love and cherish and support and spread the word about. It's really interesting that we're living in this time period where we have to both be an artist and be good at our craft, but then also advocate for our own art and that it deserves to exist and be accessible.[00:19:00]
And it's hard. I think every era kind of goes through cycles of this. Because I'm definitely not a person that's like, Oh no, theater's dying. Everything's on fire. We say that every decade. It really doesn't matter. And I, I even think that at the turn of the century, people were saying, Oh no, theater's dying.
Whatever will we do? And the fact of the matter is theater isn't dying. It just, it just changes. But that goes for any style of performance too, I think.
Nicole: Yeah. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Hold on. There's so much I want to say. So. First of all, it's, Interesting how I think we, in the like modern conversation about it, we do equate the word performance with faking, which is funny because the definition of performance has nothing to do with faking.
It is the execution of an act or an accomplishment or the action of representing a character in a play, right? Or performing something like [00:20:00] job performance, like how, you know, How did they perform? How did they do right? So, but it's the fulfillment of a promise or the fulfillment of a request. So it's implementation.
It's not like faking is nowhere in the definition, pretending is not in the definition. The closest it comes to pretending is saying the action of representing a character in a play. But still, I really love that the word they chose there in the dictionary is representing, not like pretending to be. , so
yeah, it's funny when we say performance, like my first thought always goes to pretending or faking. And I think when we talk about marketing or when we go back to what we said about like authenticity and in voiceovers or, they don't want the faking is what they're saying. I think.
Melinda: Absolutely. Yeah. I absolutely love the actual definition of it because there's no way that I can put that.
I think people feel very personally about what they see in movies. [00:21:00] So just maybe to offer a very tiny acting lesson, people will equate acting or performing with emoting, and that is not at all what acting is. Yes, you have to have a healthy relationship with your emotional body and be internally connected.
So that you're not worried about what is being represented, as you put it, or what's coming out. Emotion is a secondary result of the action that you're playing. So action, acting. You are, as the character, trying to get what you want. You are playing an objective, which is also why it's called play, right?
So, an objective might be, I don't know, let's do something weird, like, I want to rob a bank and get lots of money, and robbing the bank is how I'm going to get lots of money. So, there, and then the rest of the story is all of the roadblocks to getting [00:22:00] what your character wants. So, there might be someone on your bank robbing heist team that suddenly has a change of heart for whatever their reason is and convinces you to not do it.
And so then you build conflict by reinforcing what you really want. I want that money and I'm going to rob the bank. And so then all of the other ways in which your character addresses that conflict, like playing a different tactic. I'm going to bully this person out of their opinion. I'm going to cajole them, or I'm going to entice them, or I'm going to offer tenderness to them, or compassion, or I'm going to, I don't know, threaten them, or whatever.
You're, you're putting verbs in there to help play different tactics, and it's so interesting to watch actors try different tactics in the scene that they're playing. And it's not always visible on film because of the power of editing, but what makes really good acting [00:23:00] is your ability to listen and receive what the other actor is giving you.
So if they're playing their objective, you're listening and reacting to that objective, and that's why you can't fully necessarily plan a scene or how you want to play something because you're constantly in, , a Cycle of listening and giving listening and giving
Nicole: that's awesome. Um, and if you look at the etymology of the word perform, part of the definition that's standing out to me as you're speaking is, so, and I just want to say like for performance, for etymology, you kind of have to break it down into perform and unce.
, so perform comes from middle English. And the part of that definition that's standing out to me as you're talking is carry out. So they're like carrying out this action and like constructing and putting together this thing in front of people and I love that. I don't think I'd be able to do that in front of 500 people. I get super, super anxious. When I was a kid, I used [00:24:00] to, like, black out if I had to give a presentation. Like I wouldn't remember it. I would just be up there and like completely blank, completely blackout. Like I have memories that are just gone because I was so scared.
Melinda: But that's happened to me too. And now I do it. Professionally. So I wouldn't I wouldn't discount what anything that happened in the past. That doesn't mean you can't do it now. Just like what you were saying about being an illustrator. It's not too late.
Nicole: I don't know. I've always, well, I was a pageant kid when I was like five and I think that kind of scarred me. Like after that, I like, couldn't, I just couldn't even like give class presentations. Like I said, or even kickball, I would black out like any sport where I had to be like center of attention for a minute.
I couldn't do that. Yeah.
Melinda: Yeah. Those in a way, those are all performance. Pageantry is performance. Athletics is a type of performance. I think there's a lot in common there. [00:25:00] You know, we were talking a little bit ago about collective understanding and what what we missed out on during the pandemic or even before the pandemic that I think people are really realizing that we need now.
And performance is a type of public ritual and you can lump so many things into that category like, , graduation ceremonies. That is a ritual or a rite or performance. Weddings are a ritual, but they're also a performance, and when we don't have this collective, coming together and agreeing and trusting that we're all going to participate in this thing together, that some people deserve ceremony, appreciation, being viewed, that we start to lose our individual selves a little bit, we start to lose collective purpose a little bit, and so a lot of what came out of the pandemic was people, you [00:26:00] know, having very deep reactions to not having access to basic ritual in their lives.
Like, , I keep going back to weddings because that's sort of the obvious one, but, um, you know, really anything. I would even view, , protest as a performance. And that, you know, it's a collective agreement to carry out. As you put it, something deeply vital and important and self reflective to the community.
And, yeah, I, I watched people during the pandemic do their best to elbow their way into maintaining ritual, maintaining collective agreement, maintaining, freedom of expression and all of those things that we really have to dig our heels into now in the 21st century, I feel like we're still dragging ourselves into the 21st century.
In terms of artistic practice and access and all of the stuff that we've been talking about.
Nicole: [00:27:00] Yeah.
Melinda: And we'll get there. I really think that, you know, it's going to take some changes in other aspects of our lives, like economically and politically and a handful of other things, but we can always choose to put our appreciation towards something that is vital, like even just going to a play,
going to a ballet, going to a concert, you know, whatever.
That is an act of, you know, collective support and enjoyment and freedom and self expression, even as a viewing participant or a listener. And yeah, I appreciate that the definition that you read involves craft. You're constructing something. There's a bit of nerdy info that I wanted to add.
Nicole: Yeah.
Melinda: Working, working for a Shakespeare company, It's said that the word role, like being offered a role as an actor, comes from, in the days of Shakespeare, when they didn't [00:28:00] have a magical photocopier where you could just photocopy the scripts, the author, the playwright would have to write everyone's lines on individual parchment.
Then they would just write them per character. So if I were playing Juliet, I would receive a parchment that only has my lines on it, and then the cue line. So I know sort of when I'm supposed to respond, but I don't have the full picture or the full story. So those actors would have about three days. To memorize everything on their parchment, which was doing like the action of rolling up paper, , right, literally.
So that's why it's called receiving, you know, you're playing a role. And then in, in terms of rehearsal back then, there was no director. Everything that you were supposed to do was just put directly into your line. That's why you hear a lot of Shakespeare characters say things like. Good Sira, [00:29:00] I kneel before you.
So it's common sense that you should maybe like kneel, I guess. There was there was no director. There was no third eye. It was really up to actors to determine how they were going to move and what they were going to respond to. And you had to be an active listener, because you didn't know the full story until you're on stage with everyone, collectively, and you determine, oh, this is the conflict, this is the story and you have to, there is no other option but to respond authentically to that.
Nicole: Yeah, and you have to react going back to what you were saying about acting being reacting like you have no other choice Yeah, but to react like that's a huge part of it. Wow, that's amazing. I love that nerdy detail too about the role. Well, and so looking at the other half of the word performance is the unce, right, is an action or process. So it's, that's what makes it, like, a thing performed, or a thing carried out. The act of carrying out. [00:30:00] So it adds, like, the act to it.
So it's from like the 1590s, this first like accomplishment or completion of something as performance. And then the act of performing a play doesn't really come around to like the 1610s and public entertainment, but Comes around as like 1709.
Um, and so it like keeps growing. And then of course we get to the 1970s and we have performance art, Yoko Ono, that idea of it having to be like this live and kind of reactionary thing again. Yeah.
Melinda: Yeah. I'm really happy you brought up Yoko Ono because there were so many things about her that I didn't know until recently, and I think she's been really villainized in a way because of the Beatles.
And I actually had no idea that she co wrote a lot of John Lennon songs and, , she was a really incredible. I mean, she's still alive. [00:31:00] She's, she was an incredible artist in her own right. And I, I just had no idea. It really makes you question your, your perception. Not just performance art, but people who perform it as well.
It would be really easy to get into the weeds in terms of, you know, performance art theory, like, for example, how do you define audience? If you're, let's say you're a performance artist and you're constructing or carrying out your piece, whatever that looks like, In whatever the current context looks like, what if there's no audience there?
Is your rehearsal still a performance? If you are aware that you are audience to your own action, does that make you the audience with a capital A? It's just really easy to get a little bit nerdy about this because if you're aware of the performativity of a thing or an [00:32:00] action, Does that make you the audience?
Yes. Are you an audience member to something, even if you're the only one? You know, I feel like this happens in public all the time. You know, I'll be in the grocery store and I'll be watching, I don't know, an older woman carefully choose what cereal she wants and slowly put it in her cart. If I am aware of this action as performance, since we're both in public, and I am also a viewer or participant, does that suddenly become a momentary performance art gesture?
I don't know. I'd like to think so. I
Nicole: think I want it to be. I want, I want that to be the case. I like the idea of us all. I think people can say something like, well, the quote, this is Shakespeare, right? Correct me if I'm wrong, but like the world's a play. And is that Shakespeare? [00:33:00] Yeah. And all,
Melinda: um, uh, everyone merely players.
I forget the exact phrasing.
Nicole: Yeah. I think there's a way in which, like, when I've heard that quote in the past, it's felt very nihilistic. Like, it feels like depressing. We're all just acting. We can't even get to know each other truly or be authentic with each other. But this conversation, is making me think.
Like more positively about that quote or about that sentiment, you know, just I like the idea that this woman putting something in her car is, is part of a performance and you are part of it as the witness.
Melinda: Yeah. And I think it goes back to something you said too, which is that everyone has their part, everyone.
Has their contribution to creating something amazing, or even if it's not amazing, it's still counts, you know, so everyone's participation is valid and worthwhile. That's why I [00:34:00] also appreciate the, the idea of audience so deeply because I keep going back to trust. You have to earn your audience's trust in what you are representing and what you've, you know, you're giving them the respect of caring about what you've made and your performance doesn't necessarily exist without them unless you get really like what we just did esoteric about being your own audience.
If you're aware of your awareness of your acting, which doesn't sound super mentally healthy, There was a study done in the West End, I want to say like six or seven years ago, where in the West End, by the way, is like the big theater district in London, they put heart monitors on some audience members, and they wanted to study, how people responded to what they were seeing on stage.
And what they determined [00:35:00] was that, , people, people would start to sync their heartbeats. no matter where they were sitting in the theater, depending on what they were watching. So after a few minutes of everyone sitting together and collectively, listening to this musical, everyone's heartbeats would start to sink and their pulses would start to sink.
And during intermission, when the action stops, Everyone in their own little in groups talking about the play would start to sync with each other, but they would not synchronize to everyone else's in groups or the people that they came with. And then act two would start and everyone would sync again.
And I had no idea that that was a thing. I can link the article for you in the show notes too if you want.
Nicole: Yeah.
Melinda: But it really shows you there's such an incredible power to what the audience can do. brings to, to a [00:36:00] production. I mean, this is why it's really hard for me to handle other actors who have this huge ego.
Like I'm not a perfect person, but I really can't stand working with people who are all about themselves
because in my opinion, it doesn't make them a very good actor. It makes them unappreciative of what the audience is bringing to them in their trust and agreement to watch you, you know?
Nicole: Yeah, I love how you keep using the word agreement, like collective agreement. I, I think that is very, very, very important.
relevant to performance in a way that I hadn't considered before. So what, what is like your hope for the future of the word performance? What's your dream? What, what life do you want it to have from here on out?
Melinda: Well, there are a few places in society where you can, to use the word agreement again, when you agree, To go into that venue [00:37:00] or participate in that group.
You're open to expanding or changing your mind or your heart. So, for example, a museum is a really good, , example of that, or a library, because as soon as you walk through through the doors, or you purchase a ticket and admissions, you are making the mental agreement that you are open to changing yourself or transforming or learning something that you didn't know before.
And the same is true for a theater or a concert or something like that. Any performance I think counts. And we live in a time that's so polarized. And so, quick and dismissive and condescending that we have to have spaces where people are willing to change or open their hearts to things that they didn't know.
So privately, it can be reading a book, it can be, you know, going to a museum on your own one day. It can be, , [00:38:00] gosh, I'm trying to think of other things like going to a music festival, whether it's free or paid. It doesn't really matter. You're making the agreement that you're going to show up somewhere and leave a different person.
The most powerful, I think, because I'm biased, the most powerful version of that is when you go to a performance. because you are making the commitment to be changed by the end. And I'm not saying every single show you go to is going to be a banger, but I'm saying that by the end, you're going to feel differently.
Even if you can't place a conscious words or phrasing around how you've changed, you, you leave different and you've already synced with the show. Anywhere from five other people to a thousand other people. And I think there's nothing more powerful than that. So even though part of our conversation has been a little bit acknowledging [00:39:00] some doom and gloom or lack of access or.
The classism that's inherent in a lot of performance at the moment that I think is still consistently being deconstructed and unpacked and shed by artists in our age group, continuing to work. I really do think that the future of performance is not only powerful, but necessary for collective growth and acknowledgement and celebration.
Nicole: I love that. I love, I especially I like want to like zoom in on what you said about like when you buy a ticket to a performance you're like agreeing that you're willing to think about something differently or you're ready to change or you're ready to learn something new. I love that like entering into that agreement.
I think that's beautiful. Makes me want to like go to a museum right now. Come to Kentucky. I'll show you around. Oh my gosh, I would love to. Oh my gosh, I can't believe we're like at the [00:40:00] end of an hour.
This conversation felt really, really, like, mind opening. I feel like I I'm thinking about the word performance in such a different way than I did when we started talking, which is like the best I can ask for out of a conversation like this. What about you? How are you feeling about the word from the beginning of our conversation to now?
Melinda: That's a great question. , especially since my feelings have changed as I've changed myself as a performer too. And now, like at the end of our conversation, I feel really energized to create and maybe get writing again or figure out what I'm going to do for the next festival. I really hope that, that listeners on this episode also feel excited about supporting their own arts collectives.
And, you know, I'm sure the people listening to the podcast are already very staunch art supporters and absolutely agree with what we're saying. But, yeah, I hope that you guys [00:41:00] take the opportunity this week to support an artist you love, whether they're a performer or not, but I definitely feel energized after this.
Nicole: Yeah, same. Okay. So people who are listening, where can they find you, Melinda? Where can they find out more about you and your work on the internet?
Melinda: Yeah, thanks. , my website is artistmelindabeck. com. And I made a, an audio fiction last year called Moss Hollow, and that's on most podcast platforms. So if you just search Moss Hollow, there's also a link to it on the website too.
And yeah, if you're into Appalachian cozy horror, I hope you give it a listen.
Nicole: Yeah. I love that. And we will link to all of those in the show notes as well, so people can access it easily. Just scroll down and click and check those things out. Oh, all right. Thank you so much, Melinda. This conversation has been awesome.
Melinda: Thank you, Nicole. I'm so happy I got to come on and yeah, I really appreciate it. Thank you.
Nicole: [00:42:00] Thank you so much for listening to It's All Poetry. You have no idea what it means to me to have you here. This podcast is recorded and produced and edited by yours truly. I've had to learn a lot of tech, y'all. You can find all the resources and links from this episode in the show notes. At Nicole copy.com/ it's all poetry.
The music you hear throughout is by Jack Pierce. And if you enjoyed this episode, there is a bunch of other stuff that you might want to check out from my weekly newsletter with marketing prompts to one-on-one copy coaching for your business to branding guidance, uh, and more things that I'm not even aware of at the time of this recording because I add stuff all the time.
But it's all right there@nicolecopy.com. Thanks again for loving words with me. I'll see you next time.
Plus, Melinda shares a mini acting lesson that changed my perspective on what it means to truly perform.
Check out Melinda's work at artistmelindabeck.com
Give Melinda's audio fiction "Moss Hollow" a listen on most podcast platforms
Learn about the Belle of Louisville, where Melinda currently works in public programming
Connect with It's All Poetry:
Have thoughts about the episode? I'd love to hear from you! Email me at itsallpoetry.podcast@gmail.com
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And I leave you with this…
The earlier noun in Middle English was performing (late 14c.) "state of completion, accomplishment of an act." Performance art is attested from 1971.
