FIGHTING FOR RECOGNITION

PREFACE: A PLAY

Scene: There is a boxing ring inside a black box theatre. There is a spot light on the ring as well as an empty space on the stage. There is a projection of a green screen behind the ring. This green screen room is a large box down stage right (being filmed) – this is also the green room when players are not acting. There are four actors on this stage. They consist of a trained thespian, a mixed martial artist, a wrestler, and a photographer. If there is a pause in the dialogue the photographer steps in to document the subject with a harsh flash. This flash is to be likened to the flame in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. When the lights come up the thespian is in the boxing ring, the wrestler is lying on the floor, the boxer is in the green screen box (and being projected on the wall), and the photographer is in the audience. All costumes are chosen by the characters to best represent their career. All players must work in the profession that they are acting. 

Note: No one is allowed to see this performance. The photographer is the only member of this play allowed to watch. The document is the only thing that is seen by a wider audience as well as the dialogue in this script. Do take heed that this script is also a falsification of the real script.  

ACT I

Lights Up

Thespian: Looking at the Photographer. This line is from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. It is sung by the character Feste. “But that's all one, our play is done, and we'll strive to please you every day!”

Pause

CAMERA FLASH – directed towards the Thespian. The Thespian bows.

MMA Fighter: Looking at the video camera. This is a quote from Muhammad Ali. "Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even."

Pause

CAMERA FLASH – directed towards the MMA Fighter. The MMA Fighter throws a punch.

Wrestler: Looking towards the ceiling. This is a quote from Dusty Rhodes. “Get a dream, hold on to it and shoot for the sky.”

Spot off on wrestler

CAMERA FLASH – directed towards the wrestler. The wrestler gets in a Greco-Roman grappling position. Holds this pose.

Photographer: Addressing the group. How do you seek validation? How do you seek recognition? How do you fight against futility? How do you use the stage to fight against loneliness? How do you find meaning in your life? What is it like to push your body to the extreme? What is it like to have physical and mental discipline?

Silence

CAMERA FLASH – directed towards the group. The wrestler changes posture. This time sparring with an invisible opponent. The MMA Fighter starts jabbing and kicking towards the camera. The Thespian quietly starts reciting the monologue “All the world’s a stage” from Shakespeare’s As You Like It.

Photographer: Addressing to one’s self aloud. Mind is racing and is expressing internal anxieties. Have I accurately portrayed them? What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to make art? How do I show my questions visually? How do I accurately portray them? Will I accurately portray them? How does my past relate to my present? What drives me to understand what other people do? Am I documenting? Am I fabricating? Am I documenting a fabrication? What does it mean to be an athlete? What does it mean to be a man? Is this toxic masculinity? Is this theatre? Is this violence? Is this power? What is spectacle? What is voyeurism? Do I have power? Am I showing their power? I hope I am showing them. I hope people see.

All the lights go off in the black box except for a spotlight that is now directed on the photographer. All the other characters stop their movements and stare at the Photographer – this is to be felt and heard; not seen. 

Photographer: Addressing the invisible audience. This work is about recognizing the efforts of fringe sports and theatrics. This work is about the body and is ultimately a body study. This work is about site-specific performances. This work is about how documentation is the artifact left after a performance. This work is about how there are different stages – either in real life or imagined in a controlled space. This work is about the South, gender, masculinity, race, socio-economics, being seen, looking and seeing, understanding others, among other esoteric and obvious statements. I am willing to take questions now and will defend what I have made.

Lights in black box theatre turn on. The Photographer turns to the Thespian, The MMA Fighter, and The Wrestler. He steps onto the stage and all the characters go into the green room. The characters chatter quietly for a beat. The Photographer shakes their hands and they exit stage right. Lights off.

END OF PLAY

“Upon entering the Alternative Pro Wrestling promotion in Royston, Georgia one notices a culmination of interesting sights and sounds: the dilapidation of the old gymnasium in which the event is held, children playing with their action figures while their parents laugh and converse with other members of the community, the soft blast of popular country and rock music, attendees flocking to the concession stand for off brand carb-loaded snacks, and the gentle hum of excitement that radiates throughout the air. This scene at first looks and feels like a community gathering in a small town or local church for an agape meal. But below a makeshift spotlight in the middle of the gym sits a ring – bolted to the ground with its turnbuckles, rivets, and shimmering ropes. The audience watches the empty ring in anticipation until the ambient music stops and the disembodied announcer comes over the PA system to summon the participation and recognition of our country’s national anthem. Standing with reverence with our hands and hats across our hearts we watch the screen hanging over the performers’ entrance light up with an image of the American flag slowly waving in the wind. An uproar of applause and cheers erupts after the anthem is played, the spectators take their seats, and the announcer appears in the ring like a carnival barker shouting, “Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to Royston! We sure have a show for you tonight!” A thunderous roar ensues from the small crowd and the spectacle of wrestling – one of the last bastions of violent theatrics – begins.” - Excerpt from “Fighting for Recognition” by William Major

This work was made for Major’s thesis exhibition for his Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Georgia. The work is a culmination of three years of photographing and making videos about wrestling, boxing, and mixed martial arts.