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Performances and Processes
One of the most direct connections between performing and composing can be examined through emergent processes. We know composing is strongly associated with emergence through the writing process. Performance, too, has been cast as a prime representation of ongoing processes linked with phenomena of emergence.
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And both performance and composing participate in the movements associated with emergent processes; they situate becomings at the instances where object and event emerge and converge, the shifting moments where products yield to processes.
What follows is we find performance loosens moorings to possible constraints by virtue of its fluidity, its emergent processes.
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We know that a similar, flexible, active approach belongs in our thinking about composition.
The understanding of emergent moments that develops through performance recasts our thinking about writing and learning.
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As teachers, we can push for and bring into focus emergent modes of thinking, being, and composing through performance.
This is what we did in our class.
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[Transition to the screencast, "Think Process," by Kelley Wollman]
[Transcript of Think Process:]
One of the larger themes that this class has presented to me was this unexpected entire rethinking of the word, process. What I've learned is that the process leading to a finished assignment isn't this mechanical entity that I used to think of it as: for example, you begin with a brainstorm, you move on, then you plan, and then you move on, and then you create, and then blah, blah, blah until you reach a finished project that you can turn in for a grade. And what I've discovered was that a process is actually a more delicate set of actions that are especially tailored to each project and the challenges that each project individually creates.
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That being said, every assignment has to begin somewhere and a generalized first step that has yet to fail me is the brainstorm. This is actually the heart and soul of the process and also, coincidentally, the most overlooked in my case. My most successful brainstorming session began with my mashup. It was in this assignment that I really had to take into consideration a brand new interface for a technology I was unfamiliar with in order to come up with ideas that would give me leeway to deal with the anticipated obstacles. Ultimately, I felt satisfied with the end result of this project entitled "Just a Sweet Transgaga." And I attribute most of my success to the original brainstorming part of my process.
[03:23]
Planning comes next. Depending upon my medium of presentation I will use a storyboard or an outline. And all of my planning is done in pen and ink because this allows for easier scratching and edits. And the beauty of this step is that it doesn't have to be pretty or overly organized. Some of my most successful projects came from the most cryptic of outlines. So here is just a single page of the outline I made for the Watchmen screencast. And as you can see it does a pretty good job of representing what I mean when I say that it doesn't have to look nice, and that this part of the process may even benefit from disorganization, because it allows you to move your ideas around and maybe gain a better idea of what you were trying to say in the first place.
[04:11]
Creation comes next. And what I began to realize throughout the course of the semester is it is important to pay attention to what's successful and what isn't as you are creating your project, and vital that you don't fight this. When I was writing my adaptation essay, I ignored obvious signs that I was losing clarity, which caused the first draft of my paper to be somewhat bland and weaker than it could have been. And so in the editing process I was able to revisit earlier steps of this project, and that helped me repair some serious issues that could have been resolved if I had been open during the creation process.
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The last step is this finishing stage where I've stepped back from my work after a bit of time and some peer commentary and have been able to revisit it with a critical eye. And throughout the course of the semester I realized that this is the point where you could actually make some of the most important discoveries about the work you have created.
[05:12]
As with our PIT Journal essay, my group actually learned more about our topic, after we presented it. And this was able to help us in our last editing stages, which actually added a new layer of complexity to our paper and overall improved its original quality.
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I definitely think that the ultimate discovery about processes that this class has shown me is that a process isn't this linear mechanical thing but rather never really has to end. You can move back and forth through this system in order to create something truly organic and truly beautiful that resists the dull, overworked presentation that everyone has seen so many times before.
[End of Think Process Screencast]
[End of video]