Boring! The Performative Invisibility and Non-theatricality of Asian Americans in Higher Education

Abstract

Boring! The Performative Invisibility and Non-theatricality of Asian Americans in Higher Education Daphne P. Lei (bio) Art objects occasionally perform an act of negation, some classic examples being Ce n’est pas une pipe (1929) by René Magritte and Le Vide (1958) by Yves Klein. The negation or lack of the object challenges the fundamental meaning of the subject’s gaze and complicates the relationship between the subject and object. Why does an object need to be negated, hidden, or erased in order to say something? What does the performative MIA (missing in action) tell us about the social and performance milieu? If the utterance of the missing object is not heard or cared for—that is, no one even notices its absence—does the object ever exist? On the eve of the pandemic lockdown, two site-specific installation performances at the University of California, Irvine—Looking for an Asian American Play (February 11–12, 2020) and Viral Compassion (March 5, 2020)—sought to examine the performative (in)visibility—and to challenge the perception of (non)theatricality—of Asian Americans on university campuses. While in the United States in early 2020 COVID-19 was seen as an Asian virus “over there,” I became aware of the renewed scapegoating rhetoric and increasing violence against Asians and saw the urgency of creating these installation performances as a form of activism. “Theatre” on a college campus is an institution with specific spatial, temporal, ideological, and bureaucratic restrictions, [End Page E-59] functioning as a generally unwelcoming space for BIPOC artists as a result of Euro-American theatrical conventions. The general lack of AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) representation in university theatre curricula and performance seasons not only is detrimental to the growth of Asian American theatre, but also affects the general ecology of theatre. My purpose in producing these installation performances in public space therefore was to confront the general public with Asian American existence/absence by temporally occupying a common space. Performativity and theatricality are interrelated in these two projects. In her Installation Art: Between Image and Stage, Anne Ring Petersen extensively discusses performativity and theatricality in installation performance. Performativity, she suggests, can be better understood by the German word hervorbringend, which Juliane Rebentisch used as a synonym for “performative.” Hervorbringen refers to the attempt to “bring out” (the intention of the artist) as well as “bring forth” (the viewer’s subjective interpretation).1 Claire Bishop describes the key characteristic of installation art as the experience of singular totality, which requires the viewers’ physical presence as well as their sensorial and embodied experience of both the space and the ensemble elements of the art.2 The performativity of an installation performance therefore depends on the viewers’ experience and interpretation. Theatricality, within the context of installation, can refer to the conscious staging, design, or choreography of the “scene,” or even “pathos-filled” artworks.3 Theatrical in design and content, the two works I discuss negotiate AAPI (non)theatricality through a dialectic and a performative process of engaging spectators. Looking for an Asian American Play took place in multiple locations on the UC Irvine campus, between the Langson Library and the Gateway Study Center, as well as inside the library. Langson Library is a large, five-story research library; the Study Center is a building of similar size comprising study rooms and other institutional spaces. Outside of these two big buildings are benches, tables and chairs, wide steps, and large concrete railings that can all be used as staging areas. The passers-by did not seem to notice that a performance was about to take place. The role of Professor (played by me) began by speaking to some students (actors and pedestrians): “Hello! Everyone! Attention, please. Today we are going to talk about Asian American plays . . .” Students (actors) interrupted her with various responses and questions: “Do Asians write plays?” “All the Asian people I know are doctors or engineers.” “Do you mean . . . like Bruce Lee or Peking Opera?” “Don’t you need to speak English?” (Together) “Asian American theatre does not exist!” A question was proposed by the crowd: “Where can we find Asian American plays?” Professor responded by setting up a...