What Kind Of Show Is This?

It seems to me that there are three types of performances. I have had occasion to think about this because I have performed quite a bit by my standards in the last year, and have been involved in all three types. Each one has its unique qualities, and I don't quite know what could be the best among them. Now, there is of course the performance that you plan on giving. You want to do it and anticipate doing it, then you do it as you intended. I don't mean that this is a scripted thing as opposed to improv, as it easily could be that. I just mean that it's a predicted thing. That being the case, there is no good cause to believe that anything unusually surprising will happen.

There is also that fairly well-known thing, the command performance. Someone who wields power over you demands that you perform. It may be a malevolent type of power, such as a man with a gun firing at your feet and ordering you to dance, or it might be a softer, more pleasant type of power, such as that of an attractive woman using her wiles on you. In either case, one is left doing things they perhaps would rather not, so as to avoid a worse fate. It's better to suffer a loss of dignity singing a treacly pop standard than to get slapped, am I correct?

It has struck me now that there is that third kind: the surprise performance. This has happened to me more than once now. Given that it has happened with improv performances, I would have to say that its effects were of a positive nature. I am led to believe that it is every actor's nightmare to suddenly be made aware of a performance for which they have not learned their lines or rehearsed. That may be so, but it is in a way a blessing to not know you are going to be performing improv. You can't do much to prepare, so why be aware and therefore prone to anxiety?

I suppose I would prefer my performances to be of the first kind. I know what I'm good at as well as what I should do to grow, so a command performance is maybe not the best thing. I also prefer to have some notice, but only for the reason that I can try to get word to people who are always clamoring to see me do something. After my birthday though, I have developed something of a taste for surprise, so I guess that would have to be my second choice. I think that being thrown off-kilter can be very good for art. Comfort is the enemy. It must be avoided if possible.