LIVES OF PERFORMERS is a feature film written, directed, and produced by Yvonne Rainer in 1972. The film aims to explore issues of power and gender that impact the emotional lives of performers. It combines various styles of filmmaking, such as documentary, fiction, script readings, dance snippets, still photos, and tableaux vivants.
Through Lives of Performers, Rainer tries to reveal the disenchantment and dissatisfaction felt by female artists who struggle with issues of humiliation, jealousy, and professional rivalry, among others. The central character of the film is Hanna, a young woman who is both an actress and a modern dancer. We follow her as she tries to understand why her romantic relationships with men are always unsuccessful.
The film is structured in five parts, each of which deals with various aspects of the performers' lives, such as their career challenges, emotional struggles, and relationships. It features an all-white cast, which Rainer has discussed as one of the film's limitations retrospectively, and the performers' conversations are in both English and French.
Overall, Lives of Performers is a landmark work of feminist cinema that deals with the complexities and contradictions of women's lives, both on and offstage. It underscores issues of gender and power, revealing how these dynamics impact the life choices and emotional lives of performers.
