6 research outputs found
Artaudâs Hyeroglyphic Sign and Böhmeâs Aesthetics of Atmosphere: The Semiotic Legacy of the Avant-Gardeâs Recognition of the Materiality of Sound
Materiality of the sign/sound in theatre appears when various sensory materials remain on the side of the signifier, not trying to reach the signified but energetically pulsating from the stage instead. The semiotics of sound would benefit from exploring the process where the theatrical sign or sound is caught naked in its flight between deliverance and reception, not yet clothed in its signifying dress. Such a semiotics follows oral/aural signs becoming other signs in the area where the senses signify. I suggest that voice and stage sound/noise figure as catalysts of an intermedial flux between sensual, visual, kinetic, and architectural elements of performance, marking a legacy of the avant-garde recognition of the materiality of sound. I demonstrate this using Artaudâs concept of a hieroglyphic idiom as the âexpression in space [in which] objects themselves begin to speak through the collusion of objects, silences, shouts and rhythms,â and through Boehme's aesthetics of atmospheres as the art of the set that creates a poetics/technĂš of postdramatic theatre focused on orality/aurality.Au thĂ©Ăątre, la matĂ©rialitĂ© du signe et du son Ă©merge lorsque divers matĂ©riaux sensoriels demeurent du cĂŽtĂ© du signifiant, ne visent pas Ă atteindre un signifiĂ©, et sâoffrent comme une pulsation Ă©manant de la scĂšne. Une sĂ©miotique du son gagnerait Ă explorer le processus par lequel le signe ou le son est capturĂ© Ă nu dans son passage entre Ă©mission et rĂ©ception, pas encore recouvert par les effets du sens. Une telle sĂ©miotique suit les signes auditifs dans leur devenir autres, lĂ oĂč les sens acquiĂšrent une signification. Je suggĂšre que la voix, de mĂȘme des les sons de la scĂšne, servent de catalyseurs au sein dâun flux intermĂ©dial qui regroupe les Ă©lĂ©ments sensuels, visuels, cinĂ©tiques et architecturaux propres Ă la performance. Il sâagit ici dâun hĂ©ritage laissĂ© par lâavant-garde et sa reconnaissance du rĂŽle jouĂ© par la matĂ©rialitĂ© du son qui fait appel Ă Artaud et Ă son concept de langage hiĂ©roglyphique, vĂ©ritable "langage dans lâespace, langage de sons, de cris, de lumiĂšres, dâonomatopĂ©es [que] le thĂ©Ăątre [...] doit [...] organiser en faisant avec les personnages et les objets de vĂ©ritables hiĂ©roglyphes, et en se servant de leur symbolisme et de leurs correspondances par rapport Ă tous les organes et sur tous les plansâ (Le thĂ©Ăątre et son double [146]); et Ă lâesthĂ©tique atmosphĂ©rique de Boehme comme art de la scĂšne capable de crĂ©er une poĂ©tique/technĂš propre au thĂ©Ăątre post-dramatique ciblĂ© sur la dimension sonore
Dramaturgie du son : la matĂ©rialitĂ© de la voix et lâarchitecture du son / bruit dans le thĂ©Ăątre de Romeo Castellucci et de Robert Wilson
LâĂ©mergence actuelle de la dramaturgie du son nâest pas seulement une question de technique artistique : elle dĂ©coule de la reconnaissance par les avant-gardes de la matĂ©rialitĂ© du son et de la fondation dâune nouvelle esthĂ©tique qui traite le son comme constituant intrinsĂšque dâune nouvelle thĂ©ĂątralitĂ© intermĂ©diale. Elle repose sur deux dimensions indissociables du son au thĂ©Ăątre : la dimension corporelle de la voix, du geste vocal et de lâincantation, et la dimension structurelle du son (concret ou abstrait) de la scĂšne. Le thĂ©Ăątre de Romeo Castellucci et celui de Robert Wilson sont discutĂ©s Ă la lumiĂšre des mĂ©thodes dâavant-garde qui font rĂ©sonner les sons Ă la fois dans le corps et dans lâespace. LâoralitĂ© de la performance vocale et lâauralitĂ© des sons et bruits de la scĂšne sây amalgament, rĂ©sultant de la confluence des impulsions viscĂ©rales / érotiques et structurelles prĂ©sentes dans leurs dramaturgies respectives.The current emergence of dramaturgy of sound is not simply an issue of artistic technique: it stems from the avant-garde recognition of the materiality of sound and from the foundation of a new aesthetics that deals with sound as an intrinsic component of a new intermedial theatricality. It is based on two interrelated dimensions of theatrical sound: the corporeal (voice, vocal gesture and incantation) and the structural (stage sound, both concrete and abstract). The plays of Romeo Castellucci and Robert Wilson are discussed in light of the avant-garde methods that cause sounds to resonate in the body and in space. Here, the orality of the vocal performance and the aurality of stage sound / noise come together thanks to the confluence of the visceral / erotic and structural impulses present in their respective dramaturgies
In and out of âearsightâ â listening to historical theatre sound recordings
This article sets out to explore theatre sound historically by engaging with archival recordings of theatre performances captured in a specific Dutch theatre collection. The usefulness, or aesthetic value, of these recordings for theatre historians has not been systematically explored before. This article examines historical conceptions of sound, both in theatre as well as in the documentary archival format. Departing from Mladen Ovadijaâs concept of the dramaturgy of sound, it combines observations regarding the aesthetic organization of performances with source-critical considerations. This article raises questions about archival research of theatre sound through the discussion of two production recordings: a 1966 production of Lewis Carlinoâs Telemachus Clay and a 1970 production of De Spaanse Hoer by the group Zuidelijk Toneel
Theses for a sceno-sonic turn
This multi-authored article collects a range of position statements made by leading scholars/practitioners in the fields of theatre aurality, music theatre/opera and sound design. Contributors independently prepared short statements in response to a central provocation â namely, the mooted âscenographic turnâ and its implication for theatre sound studies. The article provides snapshots of current opinions about theatre sound design and scenography. It does not advance a single, unified argument but rather outlines some key ways in which sound/music and scenography are operating, and have operated, in theatre, and have been discussed in aesthetic theory. The article ultimately reinforces the importance of attending to sound and scenography as co-constitutive elements, and suggests there is no single or best way of doing this