Mise en sound: A research on configuring a cinematic space on the stage through sound design

Abstract

This research study regards the ‘re-theatricalization of theater’ from a film sound perspective by examining the emergence of the cinematic theater as a new theater form, which borrows from the medium of film. In theater moving towards a more stylized and more explicitly theatrical theater, sound design becomes a vital part of the dramaturgical design of performance. The central question of this thesis is: “in the performances Knock-Out and IK…eh ik, how is the soundtrack, in relation to the visual scenes, an integral part of the dramaturgical design of the cinematic stage?” In answering this question, this thesis demonstrates that the cinematic theater can be regarded as a type of intermedial theater which is informed by a configuration of intermedial transmissions between movement and film sound. On the stage, the composition is informed by the intermedial process of the different attending artistic elements. The thesis demonstrates that within this composition of the cinematic stage, a new conception of space as a cinematic space is configured by the elements and their mutual influence. Two performances, stemming from the category of visual theater, Knock-Out by Jakop Ahlbom Company and IK…eh ik by Het Houten Huis/Nordland Visual Theater highlight how, on their stage, the sound design configures a cinematic space reminiscent of a sound film. The concepts of synchresis and Raum are proposed to be credible in analyzing this particular cinematic space on the stages of Knock-Out and IK…eh ik. In both case studies, the soundtrack (in relation to the visual scenes) and its function within the dramaturgical design of both performances is analyzed. The thesis demonstrates that the soundtrack (in relation to the visual scenes) of Knock-Out and IK…eh ik can effectively be looked at, using the concepts of synchresis and Raum, as a defining spatializing and narrativizing element in their dramaturgical design.