{"id":761,"date":"2020-06-04T18:22:50","date_gmt":"2020-06-04T18:22:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/?p=761"},"modified":"2023-03-15T11:33:13","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T11:33:13","slug":"in-pursuit-of-the-musical-image-imagining-the-soundscape-of-wild-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/in-pursuit-of-the-musical-image-imagining-the-soundscape-of-wild-man\/","title":{"rendered":"In Pursuit of the Musical Image: Imagining the Soundscape of Wild Man<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Xing Fan<\/strong>*<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abstract<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

This article offers an examination of polyphonic technique in Gao Xingjian\u2019s Wild Man<\/font> (1985). The discussion of polyphony in this play has been predominantly focusing on parts delivered by the human voice. In Wild Man<\/font>, however, polyphony entails many more sonic components than the human voice and manifests in a much more complicated fashion than interactions among human voices. In this article, I present the configuration of the world of sound in Wild Man<\/font>, analyze sounds other than human voices as an active player in stage action, and argue that Gao\u2019s overall musical image in this play is conveyed through the soundscape that the playwright constructs for us.
Keywords<\/strong>: polyphony, anthropophny, biophony, geophony, soundscape<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gao Xingjian\u2019s Wild Man<\/em> (1985) is a notorious challenge, \u201ca difficult play to read and perform,\u201d as Gilbert C. F. Fong precisely puts it, because \u201cit is loose not only in structure but also in content and theme\u201d (105).[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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Gao Xingjian in 2012. Photo: Wikipedia<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Gao, the 2000 Nobel Laureate for Literature, composed Wild Man<\/em>, in his own words, \u201cas an experiment, to see whether there is a bigger capacity\u2014with the limit of several hours and [the limit of] a theatre\u2014for a modern epic which fuses human and nature, modern people, and human beings\u2019 history\u201d (\u201cJinghua yetan\u201d 172). To Gao, all he did was \u201cmerely to narrate, just like telling the history of mankind. . . . The entire play is narrating mankind\u2019s history, an individual\u2019s fate, marriage, and love, the development and destruction of nature, drought, flood, wild men, and so on, [and it includes] all such as tragedy, comedy, and farce\u201d (171\u201372).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This rich play has nurtured analyses from a variety of perspectives. Its reception history has been contextualized in the controversial influence theories in comparative literature studies (Chen). Discussions focusing on dramaturgical and literary analyses shed light on the play\u2019s themes and the notion of freedom (Fong), the translation of the paradigm of modernism into this play (Yeung 51\u201375), and Gao\u2019s experiments in Wild Man <\/em>as an explorative\/socially-committed play (Zhao 80\u201385). Studies with close attention to Gao\u2019s aesthetic pursuits examined his suppositional strategies based on first-hand directing experience (Evans), Wild Man<\/em> as a strongest example of Gao\u2019s search for the total theatre (\u0141ab\u0119dzka 179\u2013206), and the playwright\u2019s alternative aesthetics both in the context of his own creative chronology and in the context of 1980s China (Quah 69\u201389).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite differences in perspective, all these analyses address a central technique: polyphony. Indeed, Gao identifies Wild Man<\/em> as a strong example of polyphonic technique (Gao and Fang 65, 94) and identifies the application of polyphonic technique in playwriting as something \u201cclose to the composition of a symphony\u201d (\u201cJinghua yetan\u201d 189). Much has been discussed about polyphony not only as a structure but also as an effect, and not only as a form but also as a motif, although the discussion has been predominantly focusing on parts delivered by the human voice.[2]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Wild Man<\/em>, I argue, polyphony entails many more sonic components than the human voice and manifests in a much more complicated fashion than interactions among human voices. The Playwright\u2019s Notes indicate the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

This play has several interwoven themes to form a polyphony, in which they sometimes overlap harmoniously or inharmoniously with certain contrast. Not only the language has multiple vocal parts, but the language and music and sounds also form a polyphonic structure, even contributing to a contrast to the visual. Just as the overall musical image that is pursued by the harmony, an overall effect is the pursuit of this play. (273)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

It is not specified, nor has it been often asked, what this musical image entails and how it sounds. In this essay, I present the configuration of the world of sound in Wild Man<\/em>, I analyze sounds other than human voices as an active player in stage action, and I argue that Gao\u2019s overall musical image in Wild Man<\/em> is conveyed through the soundscape that the playwright constructs for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Video 1<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Wild Man.<\/em> Part I. Produced by the Beijing People’s Art Theatre and directed by Lin Zhaohua<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Ecologist in Wild Man<\/em>, according to Gao, \u201cis one narrative perspective that runs through the entire play\u201d (\u201cJinghua yetan\u201d 171). Ecologist goes to a mountainous area for tests and samples of a forest. Unfolded along this action line are a series of  plot lines: Ecologist\u2019s wife is not happy with their marriage and they agree to divorce; local wild men attract domestic and international investigations and media attention; an old singer travels around the area, performing exorcist rituals and delivering ancient epics; parents follow the old custom of marriage arrangement for their children despite the younger generation\u2019s own opinions; and the forest is endangered by rapidly increasing felling, both legal and illegal.[[3]<\/a>]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As these plot lines intersect, episodes, folk songs, dances and ancient rituals are shuffled into a narrative that is anything but chronological or logical. As Gilbert C. F. Fong vividly describes,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Perhaps the play, contrary to what most critics think, aims not merely to promote environmentalism and protection of the ecology, nor is it a lament on the depressing fate of the Wild Man. Whatever is wanting in thematic profundity is more than compensated by the overwhelming physicality on the stage, the songs and dances, the shamanistic rituals, the noises of the city and of tree felling, the chaos during the flood, etc. (110)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Fong points to a critical component in Gao\u2019s composition: sound. Into Wild Man<\/em>, Gao weaves a world of sound: those produced by humans, those vocalized by animals, and those produced by natural forces. In Table 1, I present this world of sound, following the play\u2019s sequencing of episodes, each of which focuses on a new action. I adopt Bernie Krause\u2019s categorizations of sound into anthropophony, biophony and geophony, emphasizing on the different sources of sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Video 2<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Wild Man<\/em>. Part II. Produced by the Beijing People’s Art Theatre and directed by Lin Zhaohua<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In addition, I further sub-categorize anthropophony into human voices and man-made sounds that are not vocalized; this helps distinguish the performer\u2019s vocal production\u2014mainly song and speech\u2014from non-vocal sounds, such as playing of musical instruments, machinery and city noises. This table delineates several features of Wild Man\u2019s<\/em> world of sound: anthropophony, biophony and geophony are all present in this world; the sounds of the three sources interact in a fairly flexible fashion\u2014fading in and out, in solo, in duet and overlapping; and, with exceptions, human voices are often layered with other man-made, biophonic, or geophonic sounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One significant yet underexplored feature of the polyphony in Wild Man<\/em> is that non-human-vocal sounds actively contribute to the onstage action. To Gao, action is the key to theatricality. While advocating an openness to different interpretations of theatricality, Gao clearly defines that theatricality lies in action (\u201cXijuxing\u201d 18\u201319), which to him includes \u201cmovement,\u201d \u201cprocess,\u201d \u201cchange,\u201d \u201ccontrast,\u201d \u201cdiscovery\u201d and \u201csurprise\u201d (\u201cThe Potential of Theatre\u201d 44). As human characters perform actions onstage, Gao\u2019s world of sound illustrates, parallels, complements, criticizes, pushes, and hinders these actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Wild Man<\/em>, the simultaneous presence of two vocal tracks (each of which may involve more than one human voice) appears five times, and each of these episodes involves active production of non-human-vocal sounds. The sounds of the gong and the drum proceed with the song of Old Singer and Old Singer\u2019s Assistant as Performers narrate the human invasion of nature (Episode 1.1 in Table 1). The sounds of vehicles and people struggling through water accentuate the catastrophe reaching the point of no return as city residents and functionaries lament their desperation during a flood (Episode 1.4). The sound of bubbling mountain stream introduces Old Singer chanting an epic on the beginning of the world in juxtaposition with Ecologist\u2019s narrative of mankind\u2019s dominance of nature (Episode 2.12). The gradual increase of the sounds of a chain saw, tractor, and diesel engine, with the remote, husky voice of Old Singer, set the backdrop for Actors listing animals destroyed by mankind while a separate actress recites the fate of a tribe (Episode 2.14). And the sounds of a group of hunting dogs barking excitedly culminate a getting-ready-for-hunting scene when international scientists on television debate the issue of wild men as the Wild Men Investigations Team checks equipment and goes through protocols (Episode 3.8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together with human voices, sounds of other human actions, from animals, and from natural forces construct a soundscape through which Gao conveys the musical image of the world in his modern epic. The best example is Yaomeizi\u2019s wedding parade (Episode 3.6). The festive episode begins with music and song by the Team of Brothers, followed by Matchmaker\u2019s song and then the entrance of Team of Sisters, who are grouped around Yaomeizi, the bride. The mood is \u201cfestive\u201d (\u201cYeren\u201d 262), and the visual image is filled with bright colors. Inserted in the middle of the Team of Sisters\u2019 song, Gao\u2019s stage directions are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Sound of bubbling brook. Team of Sisters joins hands and goes across the stream. On the backdrop and in the opposite direction, appears the backs of the Lumberjacks. \u2018Whop, whop, whop, whop, whop,\u2019 the sound of chopping trees. The first snap and creak of a large tree is heard. \u2018Whop, whop, whop, whop, whop,\u2019 the rhythm of the Lumberjacks. The sounds of snap and creak increase\u2026 Then the sound of a tree crashing as it hits the ground. This is accompanied by the Lumberjacks\u2019 dance, still seen from behind. This dance is more abstract and simplified than the previous two. The dance continues as the women continue singing. (264)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

By this episode of the play\/production, it has already been clear to the reader\/audience that Yaomeizi\u2019s marriage has been arranged by her mother (Episode 2.10), and she has tried to escape this fate but failed (Episode 2.11). Here, the stage presents at least three layers of juxtaposition: the visual contrast between Lumberjacks\u2019 in leaping dance and a group of women delivering a folk wedding song; the audio contrast between the sound of bubbling brook\u2014which accompanies Yaomeizi\u2019s all previous interactions with Ecologist, the man who she wants to marry (Episodes 2.4 and 2.11)\u2014and the sound of chopping trees and a tree\u2019s falling and crash; and the three-dimensional contrast between the action of ending the life of trees and the action of a young bride opening a new chapter of her life. Perhaps the most powerful element in this soundscape is the contrast between the multi-layered sound surrounding Yaomeizi and the total silence on her part. The playwright does not give her one line or action, even in the stage directions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This essay has shown the challenge of describing and analyzing sound as an active player in onstage action. Again and again, we rely on written language to visualize the sources of sound and the timing of their entrance and exit in Table 1, and we turn to the playwright\u2019s textual stage directions to trace the soundscape in his mind. In the meantime, although all these efforts help identify and conceptualize sonic components in the play, we sometimes fall into the paradox of deafening ourselves to all other sounds by focusing on one particular source of sound, and we still lack the understanding of the sensual experience of the timbre, the pitch and the intensity of the anthropophny, the biophony and the geophony\u2014or how it is when they work together\u2014in this play. As John Mowitt notes, as we align vision with reason, it undercuts, \u201ceven denigrating, the epistemological authority of sound\u201d (79). In this sense, soundscape may be the key to the overall musical image in Wild Man<\/em>. A difficult play to read and perform, its soundscape arouses and challenges us to imagine, to be immersed and to surrender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
Endnotes<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/sup><\/a>Gao slightly revised the play for its 2001 publication. This essay is based on the 1985 version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/sup><\/a>Gilbert C. F. Fong discusses the \u201caudio-visual \u2018polyphone\u2019 that assaults the senses from all directions\u201d (110) in Wild Man<\/em>, but he does not further elaborate on the approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/sup><\/a>In interviews with Fang Zixun (Gilbert C. F. Fong) during 2004\u201306, Gao further analyzes that, for Wild Man<\/em>, \u201cthe playwriting adopts two threads throughout the play. One is Ecologist\u2019s research in the forest and his thoughts, and the other is journalists, academics, and investigators tracing the wild man\u201d (Gao and Fang 94\u201395).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bibliography<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Chen, Xiaomei. \u201cWild Man <\/em>Between Two Cultures.\u201d Soul of Chaos: Critical Perspectives on Gao Xingjian<\/em>, edited by Kwok-kan Tam, The Chinese University Press, 2002, pp. 89\u2013110.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evans, Megan. \u201cFloods and Forests: Gao Xingjian\u2019s Transcultural Aesthetic of Catastrophe.\u201d Gao Xingjian and Transmedia Aesthetics<\/em>, edited by Mabel Lee and Liu Jianmei, Cambria Press, 2018, pp. 181\u201394.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fong, Gilbert C. F. \u201cWild Man<\/em> and the Idea of Freedom.\u201d Polyphony Embodied: Freedom and Fate in Gao Xingjian\u2019s Writings<\/em>, edited by Michael Lackner and Nicola Chardonnens, De Gruyter, 2014, pp. 105\u201320.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gao, Xingjian. \u201cThe Potential of Theatre.\u201d Gao Xingjian: Aesthetics and Creation<\/em>, translated by Mabel Lee, Cambria Press, 2013, pp. 41\u201363.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

—. \u201cJinghua yetan\u201d [\u201cNight talks in Beijing\u201d]. Dui yizhong xiandai xiju de zhuiqiu <\/em>[In search of a modern theatre<\/em>], Zhongguo xiju chubanshe, 1988, pp. 152\u2013241.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

—. \u201cXijuxing\u201d [\u201cTheatricality\u201d]. Dui yizhong xiandai xiju de zhuiqiu <\/em>[In search of a modern theatre<\/em>], Zhongguo xiju chubanshe, 1988, pp. 15\u201321.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

—. \u201cYeren\u201d [\u201cWild Man\u201d]. Gao Xingjian xiju ji <\/em>[A collection of Gao Xingjian\u2019s plays<\/em>], Qunzhong chubanshe, 1985, pp. 200\u201371.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

—. Yeren <\/em>[Wild Man<\/em>]. Lianhe wenxue chubanshe, 2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gao, Xingjian, and Fang Zixun. Lun xiju <\/em>[On theatre<\/em>]. Lian jing chuban shiye gufen youxian gongsi, 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Krause, Bernie. \u201cAnatomy of the Soundscape: Evolving Perspectives.\u201d Journal of the Audio Engineering Society<\/em>, vol. 56, no. 1\u20132, 2008, pp. 73\u201380.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141ab\u0119dzka, Izabella. Gao Xingjian\u2019s Idea of Theatre: From the Word to the Image<\/em>. Brill, 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mowitt, John. \u201cImage.\u201d Keywords in Sound<\/em>, edited by David Novak and Matt Sakakeeny, Duke UP, 2015, pp. 85\u201393.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quah, Sy Ren. Gao Xingjian and Transcultural Chinese Theatre<\/em>. University of Hawai\u2018i Press, 2004.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sakakeeny, Matt. \u201cMusic.\u201d Keywords in Sound<\/em>, edited by David Novak and Matt Sakakeeny, Duke UP, 2015, pp. 119\u201331.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeung, Jessica. Ink Dances in Limbo: Gao Xingjian\u2019s Writing as Cultural Translation<\/em>. Hong Kong UP, 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zhao, Henry Y. H. Towards a Modern Zen Theatre: Gao Xingjian and Chinese Theatre Experimentalism<\/em>. School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 2000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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to see all tables click on the image<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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*<\/a>Xing Fan<\/strong> is Associate Professor of Asian Theatre and Performance Studies at the Centre for Drama, Theatre, and Performance Studies at the University of Toronto. She is the author of Staging Revolution: Artistry and Aesthetics in Model Beijing Opera during the Cultural Revolution <\/em>(Hong Kong University Press, 2018).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Copyright \u00a9<\/strong> 2020 Xing Fan
Critical Stages\/Sc\u00e8nes critiques<\/em> e-ISSN: 2409-7411<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Creative<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This work is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution International License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":766,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[13],"class_list":["post-761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-special-topic","tag-special-front"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/06\/xing-featured.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":911,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/the-new-soundscape-of-global-culture-editorial-note\/","url_meta":{"origin":761,"position":0},"title":"The New Soundscape of Global Culture: Editorial Note","author":"Xing Fan","date":"June 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Octavian Saiu* This special topic of Critical Stages\/Sc\u00e8nes critiques feels genuinely . . . special, as it reflects the deep, eternal relationship between two artforms that share so much, yet remain fundamentally independent. What they share is not only an elementary reliance on sound and presence; they share the same\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Special Topic"","block_context":{"text":"Special Topic","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/category\/special-topic\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/06\/Octavian-Saiu.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":561,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/musicality-in-simon-stephens-plays\/","url_meta":{"origin":761,"position":1},"title":"Musicality in Simon Stephens\u2019 Plays","author":"Xing Fan","date":"June 1, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Brigitte Bogar* Abstract This article deals with Simon Stephens\u2019 use of music in his plays to enhance the narrative structure and as an underscoring emotive musical subtext, highlighting the playwrights\u2019 musical skills in addition to his already acknowledged talent as a writer. The main focus will be on Carmen Disruption,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Special Topic"","block_context":{"text":"Special Topic","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/category\/special-topic\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/image2-20.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/image2-20.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/image2-20.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/image2-20.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":75,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/on-migration-towards-europe-simple-as-abc3-the-wild-hunt-by-thomas-bellinck\/","url_meta":{"origin":761,"position":2},"title":"On Migration towards Europe. Simple as ABC#3: The Wild Hunt by Thomas Bellinck","author":"Xing Fan","date":"April 29, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Garcia Martinez Manuel* Abstract Simple as ABC#3: The Wild Hunt, directed by the Belgian director Thomas Bellink, evokes illegal migration to Europe, which has been taking place since the so-called Arab Spring of 2011. The show criticizes the attitude of rejection adopted by European countries toward migrants. It presents an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Essays"","block_context":{"text":"Essays","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/category\/essays\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/03\/image4.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/03\/image4.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/03\/image4.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/03\/image4.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":391,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/transforming-the-dark-using-colour-to-compose-sound-in-dark-matter\/","url_meta":{"origin":761,"position":3},"title":"Transforming the Dark: Using Colour to Compose Sound in Dark Matter","author":"Xing Fan","date":"June 3, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"A discussion between Martyn Roberts* and Dr Jeremy Mayall** Abstract Dark Matter is a performance with light as the main character and a soundscape composed by Dr Jeremy Mayall with Martyn Roberts. The theatre space is extremely dark with all care taken to eliminate all visible light. The audience, unable\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Special Topic"","block_context":{"text":"Special Topic","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/category\/special-topic\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/featured-Trans.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/featured-Trans.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/featured-Trans.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/featured-Trans.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":83,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/siri-are-you-female-reinforcing-and-resisting-gender-norms-with-digital-assistants\/","url_meta":{"origin":761,"position":4},"title":"\u201cSiri, Are You Female?\u201d: Reinforcing and Resisting Gender Norms with Digital Assistants","author":"Xing Fan","date":"May 2, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Kimberley McLeod* Abstract This article outlines a performance as research project that questions how performing with voiced digital assistants (for instance, Amazon\u2019s Alexa, Apple\u2019s Siri) impacts understandings of the openings and constraints for the female voice in performance. In addition, the project considers how performance might be used to subvert\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Essays"","block_context":{"text":"Essays","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/category\/essays\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/03\/kimberly-featured3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/03\/kimberly-featured3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/03\/kimberly-featured3.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/03\/kimberly-featured3.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":569,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/have-you-ever-had-an-intention-the-postmodern-condition-and-the-failure-of-epiphany-in-michael-john-lachiusas-little-fish\/","url_meta":{"origin":761,"position":5},"title":"\u201cHave you ever had an intention?\u201d: The Postmodern Condition and the Failure of Epiphany in Michael John LaChiusa\u2019s Little Fish","author":"Xing Fan","date":"June 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Mara Davis* Abstract Michael John LaChiusa\u2019s 2003 musical Little Fish is a work that engages with the conditions of living in the postmodern age. This article analyses how LaChiusa manipulates the formal properties of the musical in order to express the disconnection and fragmentation of postmodern living. It examines the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Special Topic"","block_context":{"text":"Special Topic","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/category\/special-topic\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/image2-21.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/image2-21.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/image2-21.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/image2-21.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=761"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1191,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/761\/revisions\/1191"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}