Noise, Memory, Gesture: The Theatre in a Minute of Silence

在这个为期一年的项目中，我将研究当代仪式的纪念沉默作为声音主导的戏剧。我将通过举办一系列的3个快闪活动来探索一系列与声音和听觉在戏剧中的作用有关的研究主题，在这些活动中，参与者将表演纪念性的沉默。这些表演将为第二阶段的无声剧场的实际演播室透视实验提供戏剧材料。第三阶段将涉及制作一个播客和DVD，介绍研究过程和结果。结果将通过布拉格和美国以及英国的同行评审来了解。我的项目将通过以纪念性沉默为主题的舞台实验来研究戏剧表演中沉默的习俗和禁忌。研究问题包括：如何不受控制的环境噪音与知觉的意义和存在感的表现？这种噪音在多大程度上是“物质上的轶事”/也就是说，让人想起，以及构成，时间，地点和文化？作为一个表演文本，如何将抽象的概念，如纪念或纪念的行为与噪音并列？ 创造一个记忆的场景有哪些可能性？ 剧院里的噪音怎么能像凯基的音乐强调那样起作用呢？在剧院里，沉默倾听的惯例是这样的，以至于来自“框架外”的噪音（谈话、咳嗽、警笛、交通或电话）仍然是一种诅咒。它的影响是如此具有破坏性和不受欢迎，以至于它们不被视为一个合法的调查领域。因此，剧院声音设计的重点是声景的构成和控制，实际上是对本地噪音的掩蔽。尽管自约翰·凯奇（John Cage）以来的音乐学家已经将偶然的噪音（在划定的沉默时间内）视为音乐。纪念沉默的仪式有着悠久的历史，但越来越多地成为9/11后时代精神的一部分。默哀的场合已经发生了很大的变化：体育赛事的人群现在经常出于各种原因进行一分钟的默哀。在某些情况下，这些活动已经演变成“一分钟的掌声”，以掩盖异议。作为一种参与性仪式，默哀仪式具有戏剧性事件的所有要素。有潜在的或共同理解的文本（给定的时间，指定的地点，持续时间和共同的纪念主题），并有基于体裁的身体行为和手势的期望。通常也有适合活动的服装和道具。音乐学家和历史学家以前对这种文化实践的研究忽视了纪念沉默的戏剧性。我自己的探索将试图填补这一空白，研究听觉戏剧的新方法，并支持剧院噪音研究的新领域的发展。

In this one-year project I will examine the contemporary ritual of the memorial silence as sound-led theatre. I will explore a range of research themes relating to the function of sound and aurality in theatre by holding a series of 3 flashmob events, in which participants perform memorial silences. These performances will provide dramaturgical material for a second stage of practical studio-based scenographic experimentation with silent theatre. A third stage will involve the preparation of a podcast and DVD that will represent the research process and results. Outcomes will be informed by peer review in Prague and the USA as well as in the UK.My project will examine the conventions and taboos of silence in theatre performance through scenographic experiment on the theme of memorial silence as theatre. Research questions include: How does uncontrolled environmental noise relate to perception of meaning and sense of presence in performance? To what extent is such noise 'materially anecdotal'/that is, reminiscent, as well as constitutive, of time, place, and culture? How can abstract concepts such as the acts of honouring or memorialising be juxtaposed with noise as a performance text? What are the possibilities for creating a scenography of remembrance? How can noise in the theatre be made to operate as (Cageian) musical underscoring? In theatre, the convention of silent listening is such that noise from 'outside the frame' (talking, coughing, sirens, traffic or telephones) remains anathema. Its effects are so disruptive and undesirable that they are not seen as a legitimate area of inquiry. Thus theatre sound design has focused on the composition and control of the soundscape and, in effect, the masking of native noise. This is despite the fact that musicologists since John Cage have recognised incidental noise (within demarcated periods of silence) as music.The ritual of the memorial silence has a long history but has increasingly become part of the post-9/11 zeitgeist. The occasions for mourning silence have changed significantly: crowds at sporting events now often perform a preludinal 'minute's silence' for a variety of reasons. In some cases these events have evolved into 'a minute's applause' in order to mask dissent. As a participative ritual, the memorial silence has all of the elements of theatrical event. There is underlying or commonly understood text (a given time, designated site, duration and shared subject of memorial) and there are genre-based expectations of bodily behaviour and gesture. Often there are also costumes and props appropriate to the event. Previous work on this cultural practice by musicologists and historians has neglected the theatricality of memorial silence. My own exploration will seek to fill this gap, investigate new approaches to aural dramaturgy and support the development of a new field of inquiry into theatre noise.