Assignment/Activity Title— DADA Performance Year— FreshmanSkill— Creative, Media, Group Dynamics, Public Performance Portfolio Category— Social Awareness

For my portfolio coversheet, I chose to reflect on my Dada performance for Drama. This assignment means a lot to me because it was a topic I felt strongly about. For my performance, I got in a group and we performed an abstract miniature play about conformity. I have always felt pressure to conform from all sorts of angles, from my parents, my friends, the people that surround me, even those whom I have never met. The idea that everyone must be the same has existed for centuries and is a significant issue in today’s culture. However, in my mind, few people suffered with the pressure to conform. It was not until my group and I performed our play and our teacher asked the class how many of them could relate to our play that I realized this mindset was not realistic. Everyone feels pressure to “fit in,” even those whom I considered “popular” and who therefore already “fit in.” it was almost freeing to learn this about my classmates because now I knew I was not alone in my beliefs.

Our Dada focused on how conformity was a dated idea that should be terminated and how boring and crushing life was when everyone was the same. I am very proud of our play because I came up with the idea and many of the smaller details for this performance. The play was received extremely well and our point was made easily. Everyone understood how at the end, when one of my group says “…and I think conformity is over,” that we meant that to mean conformity should be over. Many of the Dada plays performed during class were con fusing and the point was hard to understand. They were also less abstract than Dada truly was and seemed to me to lack the true quality of Dada. Our performance was both clear and abstract and seemed very Dada.

Dada was a turning point for me because it forced me to take a step back and look at myself. I realized that trying to conform is one of my biggest weaknesses and although I was semi-aware of this, it took the Dada play for me to really understand. I am constantly searching for the approval of others and I am constantly trying to “fit in.” my clothes may be less trendy than those around me but I still try not to stand out because I am afraid of the fallout if I do. During my Dada, my group members stand in a line and stare at a piece of paper that says “Conform.” When one of us tries to speak and ask why, another shushes them and gives them a piece of tape to place over their mouth. This was one of the key concepts over our performance that I came up with and it really resonated with me. I am a quiet person and I try not to speak out too much because I am worried about someone telling me I am wrong or labelling me as an outcast for saying my opinion. I have metaphorical tape over my mouth and, as was done in our performance, I need to rip it off. In our play, as each person was silenced, the next to speak would speak faster, trying to get their question out quicker so it could be heard. This is also a personal issue for me, I have a tendency to talk very quickly and people are always telling me to slow down. As a weakness, this habit is particularly strong because it causes people to not understand me and, as a result, never quite hear what I am saying. My opinions and thoughts do not get as considered as they could have if I spoke slower. This habit could also be a product of years of attempting to conform. By not speaking when I want to and only speaking when I have to, my words are jumbled and confusing and consequently give me an “odd” label. This forces me to try even harder to conform to shake that label and that is a true weakness. In our Dada, one of my group members finally gets up the courage to speak out and rips the tape off her mouth. She proclaims conformity as stupid and proceeds to rip the paper in half, displaying the true end of conformity. Dada showed me that I need to deal with my weaknesses and overcome them, instead of letting them overcome me.

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