All the World's a Stage

In this excerpt from one of Shakespeare’s most famous monologues, the author draws attention to ways in which life is a performance. Over the course of a lifetime, one person will play many roles: that of child, sibling, mother, father; friend, acquaintance, lover, enemy; student, teacher, judge, and jury. Additionally, we all perform for each other on a daily basis, whether deliberately or unintentionally. The way we dress, the way we talk, the way we walk — these routine actions not only reflect who we are but who we want to be. Unlike the roles performed by professional actors on stage, these are performed in reality. No matter where these performances are enacted, however, they demonstrate how individual identities are fluid, how personas are malleable, how makeup, masks and clothing can influence one’s behavior and other’s perceptions. All of the works on display touch upon the notion of performance, whether literal or metaphorical, reminding us that, indeed, all the world is a stage.

Heather N. Cammarata-Seale, Curatorial Associate, Modern & Contemporary Art