Playing Toreador Note: I was provoked into writing this after having a (IMHO) rather bizarre conversation with someone who maintained that playing a Toreador was boring and, moreover, the clan didn't seem to explore any interesting questions (e. g., the Malkavians explore madness, the Nosferatu the difference between appearance and reality, etc., etc.). The Toreador, he asserted, were merely pleasure-seeking hedonists and that was that. It is also partly inspired by talking to one of the Malkavian characters in the vampire LARP game I am in. I was surprised to find that I was one of the few people prepared to talk to him (as far as he was concerned, anyway). I then talked to some other characters about this and discovered that they considered him to be completely incomprehensible, whereas I thought him oblique but generally intelligible. This got me thinking about the relationship between the Malkavians and the Toreador and that led on to further ideas. Introduction I'm inclined to think that if there is any common trait to all Toreador it must be that, at some point or other, they have considered the question, "What is the significance of art to my existence ?'' Whether they've then answered it, ignored it, or what, is up to the character, but I think their reaction to it will be a fairly major character point. I am going to examine one possible answer to the question and show how that alone can lead to a variety of different characters. In the next section I will put forward two hypotheses about the nature of reality in the World of Darkness and the relationship of art to it. This is not really intended as a deep philosophical discussion and anyone who dares to mention Plato is in trouble. Then I will look at "arty types'' and try to explain what they do in terms of the hypotheses. This involves dividing them up into three (probably entirely spurious) categories. These are intended to help me discuss three aspects of "artiness'' rather than the artiste/poseur thing whereby people wander around going, "I'm a poseur what are you ?'' (well they don't, but you take my drift). Finally, I will look at the Toreador relationship to Malkavians and the supposed Toreador link with humanity. I chose these two subjects simply because it was the Malkavian stuff that helped get me going in the first place and the humanity business is all part of the clan strength and probably needed looking at if all the rest of this was to have any value. They are also, perhaps, intended as examples of how Toreador reasoning can be seen/made to arise out of the general idea and also act as guidelines to determining what a Toreador's view on anything may be (politics/prestige/emotion/whatever) and how that view may arise as a result of more deeply held tenets. Two Hypotheses 1. There is an profound something that I shall choose to call reality. 2. We can gain insights into reality in ways that seem to bypass our everyday means of communication, particularly our use of language. What follows in this section is a brief justification for these two hypotheses within the World of Darkness. There is a thesis on Malkavians which runs somewhat along the lines of "at the moment of their embrace, a Malkavian perceives reality as it is, but their minds cannot cope with this knowledge and therefore fragments." Different people put this different ways, but the general outline is that a Malkavian has achieved and possibly subsequently lost some deep understanding of something profound. Hold on to this thought, it leads to the assumption that there is a profound something out there which we everyday types do not have a deep understanding of. What this something may be is open to debate, as is what an understanding of it is. However, in what follows I am going to assume the existence of this something. If it doesn't exist, that is also interesting, but the point is I'm fairly sure a lot of Toreador would believe in its existence (even if they may well disagree on what it is). Most people will agree that our viewpoint on reality is very heavily influenced by our language. To explain things clearly we are inclined to use ever more technical terms and ever longer descriptions. However, very rarely can language adequately describe anything very complex (e. g., Justice). On the other hand, often a poem (for instance) will appear to express something very briefly and clearly. It may not do this for everyone, and those for whom it does "mean'' something may find it hard to express very clearly what it means to them. However, they are left with the impression that it has said something (not necessarily of earth-shattering importance, by the way). It may merely have conveyed the impression of something they once experienced, but it has expressed something that they themselves could not easily have expressed and it has conveyed its meaning using more than the everyday conventions of language. Language is the most obvious filter we possess (and I want to avoid getting too philosophical here if I can help it), but it is also true that our whole world view is filtered through our senses and the way we have chosen to (or are programmed to) organise the information we receive from them. This is why I am choosing to call the something reality since each person's world view is their own interpretation of reality (the miracle is that so many of us have world views that are compatible for so much of the time). A Malkavian's interpretation of reality is just one where the differences are more obvious than to the outside person. It may or may not be a more profound interpretation. You choose. Arty People Having chosen the above hypotheses, I now want to examine the possibilities they offer to playing Toreador. To do this, I shall try and examine the ways people interact (for want of a better word) with art. To do this I intend to split the Toreador into three categories. These three are creators, performers, and appreciators. I should, at this point, stress that I do not at all regard these categories as mutually exclusive, they are just different ways of describing people to whom art is important. a) Creators The Creators are the authors, composers, painters, etc. A creator has the ability to produce a work of art that allows others to gain an insight into reality. Whether the creators, themselves, are actually expressing a deeper understanding that they possess, or whether their "genius'' is merely coincidental, is a moot point. In general, one would expect them to have a deeper understanding, however, I am told by my history and English teachers that Shakespeare was an unashamed commercialist, far more interested in beer than playwriting and generally had to be locked up to persuade him to finish his latest work. They seemed to think that if he had been alive today he would be in Hollywood churning out the blockbusters. Of course, for all I know, this may be consistent with a deeper understanding of reality. But in general, it may be said that the creators have some kind of vision of reality which they seek to express to others and that they are successful in appearing able to communicate that. b) Performers Performers are the singers, dancers, actors, etc. They take an existing work of art and interpret it. Of course, each interpretation is different and brings aspects of the performers own "vision'' to the piece, this is one reason why I am insisting that my categories are not mutually exclusive. Part of the reason I wish to distinguish the creators and the performers is that to most of us, performers, in general, can appear terribly superficial. Where we can take seriously the artist in the garret striving for their vision, it is much harder to believe that your average luvvie, surrounded by the glitter, tinsel, and soap-opera lifestyle has any deep insight into anything. Well, maybe they don't. I want for a moment, however, to talk about Rudolph Nureyev. Towards the end of his career, Nureyev came in for a lot of criticism for perpetually playing "Nureyev the star." Persistently dancing the young heroic parts when he no longer possessed the stamina, strength, nor technical finesse required. Nureyev persistently insisted that he had a simple need to perform and should someone provide him with a suitable role then he would happily dance it. Eventually someone did create such a role, that of an old man, temporarily suffering delusions of grandeur because he purchased a new overcoat. The choreography required the dancer's standard repertoire of jumps and moves. The point being that the character and pathos would come from Nureyev's inability to perform these anymore. From the ruin of Nureyev the dancer came the character. It was generally agreed that (although a fairly uninteresting ballet) Nureyev's genius showed through. His performance managed to convey something to the onlookers. Performers, more so than creators (though creators appear to have a touch of it too) seem to need to continue to perform. Sometimes constantly (hence the melodramatic lifestyles). They don't merely need to express, they need to have that expression acknowledged. They require an audience. The perpetual need for an audience is what creates the artificial lifestyle (let's face it, most people's every day lives are pretty uninteresting to others much of the time), the ego massage, etc., etc. But then, in performing, the expression of the art is so inextricably linked to the existence of an audience that the performer can't really be blamed for finding them hard to disentangle. I can't really say what performance has to do with reality, unless it is a need to try and communicate that reality to people. Having seen the reality in the created work (the play, the music) to interpret that for more people. And of course, each interpretation is different, has its own message to send. It is the great plays that live on, that appear to have something to say to any generation, an interpretation that has a reality for all comers. In the case of Nureyev, he didn't need the glitz, the applause, or the heroic glamorous part, it was just he would take that if nothing better offered. He needed to be conveying something to his audience. People produce art for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is purely for themselves, sometimes it is purely for the sake of acquiring an audience. Most often it is somewhere on a spectrum between these two, with creators tending to be at the "for themselves'' end and performers tending to be at the "for an audience'' end. Unhappily, for those moralists out there, the quality of the art produced appears to have little to do with the artist's reasons. For every Van Gogh (who never sold a picture in his life, yet continued to paint) there is a Shakespeare (who was doing it for the money and the attention, allegedly). c) The Appreciators The appreciator would seem to be the poor cousin of the creator and the performer, since she has the passive role of simply viewing, reading, hearing the art. However, as has been pointed out, the creator and performer may or may not have a vision to express or an understanding to convey. The appreciator, on the other hand, is the person to whom the insight is conveyed. They are the ones who gain the insight, who understand the meaning, who have some inkling of what is being expressed. The appreciator will constantly seek for further insights, acquiring more art/beautiful things. Other Issues a) Toreadors and Malkavians Many artists appear a bit, if not very, mad. And, as I've said before, Toreadors appear to understand this a bit better than some other clans. If we take the view that Toreadors are continually trying to express and/or interpret reality in ways that bypass the limitations of language and that Malkavians have perceived reality. Then it seems that they are standing on either side of a divide. The Malkavian knows reality but cannot explain it (even to herself?), the Toreador does not know reality but constantly seeks it and through art has some framework within which it can be glimpsed. Therefore a Toreador has more chance of comprehending a Malkavian than most. Of course, this observation hinges on the fact that most of the Malkavians I have met have used a good deal of metaphor and symbolism when trying to explain anything. It is important not so much to try and string together the words into something intelligible as to try and string together the ideas/emotions suggested by the words into something intelligible. b) Humanity And the Toreador obsession with humanity? Well, the progression towards the beast can be seen as a progression towards an animalistic state with no capacity for understanding and hence no chance to perceive reality (then again, a Toreador may regard "dumb'' beasts as noble and beautiful and more in touch than "civilised" man and hence revel in savagery and seek out the beast). The temptations of a protracted existence lead vampires to give up trying to understand the more complex ideas (such as justice, goodness, beauty, the importance of emotion, etc.) and dismiss them as illusions that are irrelevant. The temptation is to say, such and such cannot be defined, therefore it does not exist. A Toreador should be aware that there is much that cannot be defined, (as I pointed out, they may decide the whole thing is an illusion, but if not...) which is nevertheless important and which can only be understood obliquely (e. g., through art). If so, many of these difficult concepts seem bound up with humanity, then a Toreador (particularly an appreciator) wanting to perceive more of reality will perceive humanity as important since lack of humanity goes hand in hand with a lack of interest in these concepts. Conclusion A Toreador may be made up of different parts creator, performer, and appreciator. How much of which will determine (for instance) where they stand on the Artiste/Poseur divide, and how much attention they crave and how superficial or hedonistic they appear to others. Moreover, although (I suspect) most Toreadors are aware that art allows them to glimpse reality (after all that is what the clan weakness is all about) what they think of as art, what they think reality is, and whether they think it is merely an illusion all depends on the character. Some may think that reality can be perceived as well, through experiencing heightened emotion (hence the assumption among some that the Toreador are the only clan to experience human emotion -- they are certainly the clan most likely to seek it out and think it of some fundamental value), sensory pleasure, or pain (the hedonists and sado-masochists). In fact, I haven't discussed the role of emotion at all. A lot of the above can probably be applied to emotion too. Art tends to speak to emotion more often than reason. Emotion is all bound up in art, its significance, and appreciation. How, I leave to the player. The above is meant, not as a set of templates for playing Toreador, but rather as a springboard for ideas. You may agree or disagree . Of course, as it happens, I'm a logician, not an artist, so I could be very very wrong about the whole thing. -- By Louise Dennis Le Salon de la Rose [ Front Page | Contents ] [ Grand Salon | Artistes | Poseurs | Amour | Milieu ] [ Voix | Célébrités | Couture | Personnages | Autres ] Webmistress: Trystan L. Bass URL: http://www.trystancraft.com/toreador/