Within the framework of performance, affects have largely been invoked to explain embodied visceral responses to texts. What I propose here instead is to introduce the dimension of affect as a matter of form (Brinkema [2014]. "The Forms of the Affects." Durham, NC: Duke University Press). In other words, the formal composition of performance is itself the result of the work of affects. To demonstrate this claim, I will introduce a close reading of Yvonne Rainer's iconic work "Trio A" (1966) as a formal expression of the mechanisms of shame (Sedgwick [2003]. "Touching Feeling. Affect, Pedagogy, Performativity." Durham, NC: Duke University Press). Paradoxically, this applied affective structure can be mobilised "beside itself" and 'towards an aesthetics of care' (Thompson [2015]. "Towards an Aesthetics of Care." "Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance" 20 (4): 430-441).