The Vapor Point

I read an article in the times listing the six most physically (and in some cases emotionally) charged performances this season in the Big Apple. Some ranged from individual performances, like James Corden in the updates version of Goldoni's masterpiece Servant of Two Masters entitled "One Man, Two Guv'nors", to the obvious intense choreography given to an ensemble in musicals like "Newsies" I found it amazing to finally see a specific eye given to the sheer aerobic nature that certain performances can have, something that is slowly coming into the collective conscious of creators and artists.

Audiences want to see the sweat pouring off your face, the muscles tighten in your calves, the ethereal place you can achieve after being so physically exhausted that you think you can't go on much more...and then you do.

As an audience member, I want to see that. And as a performer, I've witnessed the audiences clamoring for more. Case in point, I recently got off of a four month long rehearsal/performance process that saw us come from nothing more than a group of people and a space to a fully fleshed out show. Defying the confines of what we call a play, theatrical performance, or performance art the piece began to lean heavily on sheer willpower, determination, and strength.

But why? What about seeing someone stretch themselves to their limit is exciting? My mother, after seeing the performance that culminated in a prolonged 6 minutes of simple jumping said "I wanted it to stop!". She liked the piece, but she couldn't bear anymore seeing a group of people (one being her son) push themselves to the breaking point. But why do others (myself included) enjoy this type of theater?

It's, as a college professor would describe it, the vapor point. The point in which you see that the performer, the artist, the creator has pushed themselves to a place of utter freedom and openness. They've forgotten about everything they've learned through the years and they are now just present and alive. The luster a performer has once they reach that well deserved point is brilliant.

Look for the artist pushing themselves to the vapor point, it's usually not that hard to spot.

-jacob