The Four Instruments
Performance

This experimental theater and concert was modeled on Noh theatre, and is influenced by a deep cultural connection to sound and space. Traditional Japanese music is less theoretical - lacking written, concrete scores - than classic western music, and is ideal for the improvisations I intend to orchestrate.

My plan was to invite 12 performers, both hearing and deaf, to play music representing the 12 sounds my speech therapist identified with my cochlear implant. There will be no rehearsal. As John Cage once said, “improvised musicians, even audience members can perform without preparation.”.

Their instructions: Express the water cycle, the rain, the river, and the ocean. This video is the score and inspiration for the proposed performance.

Musicians can see my score but are free to decide amongst themselves how they want to play. Hearing people hear sound and deaf people feel the vibrations of the instruments and wires. My goal is to bridge the gap between sound and vibration.

To Activate the Space

1.      Some performers will play their instruments near amplifiers.

2.      Other performers will hit wires by hand near amplifiers, emulating the sound of rain showers in a storm.

3.      Singers perform without any order or provisions. Each will tell an individual story, singing and groaning to imitate the wind.

4.      Dancers will express sound with their bodies, their movements becoming musical scores.

To Create the Sound

1.      Balancing a sound and a silence.

2.      Changing the speed.

3.      Changing the movement.

4.      Creating a balance within strong sounds and weak sounds.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions we were limited in how many performers could participate, the video below documents the result of the performance. This concert promotes a common understanding between deaf and hearing people. We are all human beings, together we are made of the same stardust!