What makes a performance worthwhile?

What constitutes a worthwhile performance?
By Dineo Moema


I interpret a worthwhile performance as something that is performed and leaves a lasting impact on its audiences. Whether it is a political, social moral or entertainment. To make my answer more precise I will draw focus on performance in terms of theatre. A performance should always show that the concept has stemmed from somewhere; therefore, the performance should show a level of understanding to the subject matter. The performer should demonstrate extensive knowledge around the subject matter, in order for them to leave an impact on their audience. If the performer is able to do so, the performance will be worthwhile as we as the audience are able to connect with what is being performed. I think it is easy to look at a performance and disregard it because we do not necessarily agree with what is presented, an example would be the video of the kitten ‘Animal Cruelty.’ However, it makes the audience connect, think or react on an emotional or even an intellectual level, so it could be argued as a worthwhile performance.

There are instances that could be argued that are not performances, an example of this would be Facebook and Youtube. When videos are posted on Youtube, are they always posted for the purpose of performing? Although people may post them with the intention of fun or light entertainment, they are still performing as their intention is for the footage to be seen. The same can be applied to the new craze of myspace and facebook. Both can be seen as a performance as it allows the performer to take on a character, when using the example of facebook, I question whether it can be valued as a worthwhile performance. This proves that this question is a personal opinion and interpretation.