Stumping and Stunts: Walking in Circles in the “Go-As-You-Please” Race

Kirstin Smith

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

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Abstract

New York City, 1884: 14 contestants set out to walk round and round a track for six days in the “go-as-you-please” race, taking as little rest as possible. What does this durational act tell us about a type of performance just beginning to be named in New York slang as a “stunt”? Anticipating early-20th-century dance marathons and later durational performance art, the race enacted and troubled circulation, revealing fault lines of valorization: between work and leisure, work and life, and sporting and theatrical performance.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)129-150
Number of pages22
JournalTDR: The Drama Review
Volume59
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015

Keywords

  • stunt
  • walking

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