REPRESENTATION vs. PERFORMANCE

Hello, As we said yesterday, one of our readers, Vicky C., asked us about the word throughout. In her e-mail, she also wrote: I worked in the theatre about 6 years ago. Can you tell me if it's correct to say "play" or "representation"? The word representation is a false friend. Today we will talk about its correct meaning and translation. Tomorrow we will talk about the word play. REPRESENTATION: a sign, symbol or picture of something; a person or group that speaks for another person or group. PERFORMANCE: the act of performing a song, a dance, a play or another type of entertainment. Used with the verb give: to give a performance Example 1: The colours in that painting are a representation of nature (la naturaleza). Example 2: We are sending Don Barker to the negotiations as our legal representation (or legal representative). Example 3: All of the actors in the play gave a strong performance. I was so impressed with their talent! So, to answer your question, Vicky, the word representation is incorrect if we want to talk about actors in the theatre. Performance is the word you were probably looking for. In reference to the theatre, tomorrow we will look at the word play. If you have any questions about today's Daily Vitamin, please don't hesitate to contact us. Enjoy your day!