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

在这个为期一年的项目中，我将研究以声音为主导的戏剧的纪念沉默的当代仪式。我将通过举办一系列的三次快闪活动来探索一系列与戏剧中声音和听觉功能相关的研究主题，参与者在活动中默哀。这些表演将为第二阶段的实际工作室为基础的无声戏剧的场景实验提供戏剧材料。第三阶段将包括准备一个播客和DVD，将代表研究过程和结果。结果将由布拉格和美国以及英国的同行评议告知。我的项目将以纪念沉默作为戏剧为主题，通过场景实验来考察戏剧表演中沉默的习俗和禁忌。研究问题包括：不受控制的环境噪音如何与表演中的意义感知和存在感相关？这种噪音在多大程度上是“实质性的轶事”/也就是说，对时间、地点和文化的回忆，以及构成？如何将抽象的概念，如尊重或纪念的行为，与噪音并置作为表演文本？创造纪念场景的可能性是什么？如何使剧院里的噪音成为（卡盖亚式的）音乐配乐？在剧院里，安静聆听的惯例是这样的，来自“框架外”的噪音（说话、咳嗽、汽笛声、交通或电话）仍然是令人厌恶的。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研究领域。因此，剧院声音设计的重点是声景的构成和控制，实际上是对自然噪音的掩盖。尽管自约翰·凯奇（John Cage）以来的音乐学家已经将偶然的噪音（在划定的沉默时期内）视为音乐。默哀的仪式有着悠久的历史，但越来越多地成为后9/11时代精神的一部分。默哀的场合已经发生了重大变化：体育赛事现场的人群现在经常出于各种原因预先默哀一分钟。在某些情况下，这些活动演变成“一分钟的掌声”，以掩盖异议。默哀作为一种参与性的仪式，具有戏剧活动的所有要素。有潜在的或普遍理解的文本（给定的时间，指定的地点，持续时间和共同的纪念主题），并且有基于类型的身体行为和手势的期望。通常还会有适合活动的服装和道具。音乐学家和历史学家之前对这种文化实践的研究忽略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，并支持对剧院噪音的新研究领域的发展。

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.