In which Auslander meets up with Klingons, Confederates, and Jousters

I'd like to start drawing together a few threads from this blog and moving toward an idea I've been thinking about this semester-- particularly as my blog will be viewed and reported on this week, and Kelly will want to know where all these discussions are going.

As a medievalist who reads science fiction in her spare time, when I started into this performance studies course, I was immediately interested in the question of popular medievalism in modern culture, particularly conventions and reenactments.

Auslander's concept of the persona is a useful tool for evaluating what exactly is happening in these situations. His understanding of persona is divided into three layers: the real person, the performance persona, and the character. These layers function differently for the cosplayer than they do for the actor or for the glam rocker, and the key difference is that the cosplayer is simultaneously performer and audience. The dynamics change depending on the specific situation, so I will look at three similar situations of role play or reenactment. We might as well start with the Klingons.

via g4tv.com

The stereotypical staple of sci-fi conventions everywhere, Klingon cosplayers seem like a good place to start. This group attended Comic-Con 2012 along with other fans of all breeds. Since they won't be mingling just with other Star Trek fans, the costumes are as much about projecting the real person as they are about the performance persona or the character. They are identifying themselves with a particular group in a very visible way, and they might act gruff and stomp around Comic-Con grunting and yelling "Qapla,'" but I doubt they put together a permanent, unique character for themselves and spent the whole day without breaking character. In this performance dynamic, the real person is in the ascendant, despite the rubber foreheads. They are making a statement of allegiance to their culture of choice.

http://joseherworld.blogspot.com/2009/06/civil-war-reenactments.html 

Here is another type of costumed performance, but this one is very different from the Comic-Con cosplay. I would argue that in this situation, the performance persona is the most important aspect of the trinity, just as it is for Auslander's glam rockers. The real person and the character are both faintly present, but the overall persona is more important than either. To participate, the real person must have reasons for choosing to play Confederate (their great-great-grandfather was a Rebel, they live in the South, they like a lost cause, they're secretly racist, etc.), and some of them might have a specific character that they are choosing to portray. But the most important aspect of this performance seems to be the broad persona. You choose either Union or Confederate. You join up with the group of your choice, and you act like a civil war soldier for an afternoon.

via sca.org

Finally, here is the situation that most interests me. The Society for Creative Anachronism is one of the largest organized groups for medieval-themed role play, but there are many others like it. Local chapters host several annual events ranging from sword-fighting tournaments to demonstrations of medieval crafts. Then all the local groups gather for a national meeting once a year, engage in a massive mock-battle, and crown the winner as king. Character is the important element of persona here, as members of the society create their own names and construct a history for the character they play. However, it is a social outlet, where many members form their primary friendships and romantic relationships, so the real person must also come into play for many of the participants. In this situation, a complex relationship exists between archive and repetoire, person and persona, absorption and theatricality, audience and spectator. I want to explore these relationships further this semester.