Live performances involve complex interactions between a large number of co-present people. Performance has been defined in terms of these performer-audience dynamics, but little is known about how they work. A series of live performance experiments investigate these dynamics, through teaching a humanoid robot some stagecraft, contrasting live and recorded performance, and spotlighting the audience. This requires the development of methods capable of capturing the fleeting responses of people within an audience and making sense of the resulting massed multi-modal data. The results show that in live events interaction matters. Extending the idea that our experience of performance is shaped by interactions with others, namely by talking with people afterwards, analogous social patterns are identified within the event. Specifically, some of the interactional dynamics well established for close, dyadic encounters extend to performers and audience members, despite the somewhat anonymised nature of massed audiences. While individual performer-audience effects were identified, the primary axis of social interaction is shown to be between audience members. This emphasises how it is being in an audience - common across diverse performance genres - that shapes the experience of live events. This work argues that the term liveness is ill-defined, but need not be. These interactional dynamics have a functional basis and depend solely on what is externally manifest. Understanding liveness in this way allows a perspicuous account - relating the perceptual environment within the event to the social contingency of experience - and can provide a systematic basis for design.

The purpose of the paper is to clarify and elaborate on the theories and presentation of the performance of the General Prologue of the Canterbury Tales I gave on April 9th, 2015. Live performance is a valuable method of conveying Chaucer’s work to an audience as it allows an actor to present the many voices of Chaucer in a more liberated manner. I present my case in four sections. First, I discuss the theoretical concepts behind the performance, which includes the value of live performance over silent reading and oral recitation and how the performance should be viewed in an experimental context. I conclude that while oral recitation and silent reading are valuable, neither allows for the freedom to explore Chaucer’s many voices the way live performance does. At the same time, performance cannot replace research and thus performances like ours should be seen as experiments. Second, I discuss the historical context of the performance and how it was forged into a structural foundation. As well, I examine the manner in which the audience was involved. By using the date June 6th, 1389, we were able to create an interactive, visual means for the audience to engage with the voices. Third, I look at Chaucer’s meter, his spelling and the Middle English language in general and how these factors impacted both my rehearsal and final delivery. Ultimately, by committing to the language and Chaucer’s meter as faithfully as possible, I was able to provide a respectful and communicative relationship with the audience. Fourth, I look at three characters (Chaucer the Performer, Knight and Summoner) and how they were performed. I reveal how our performance demonstrates that each character uses many voices, not just one. Finally, I conclude by elaborating on the future of this project and how our performance has been valuable as a teaching tool as well as a means of presenting the work. Chaucer has many voices in the prologue, not just one, and true conveyance of them is most successfully achieved through live performance.

Thesis advisor: Matthew S. Rutledge / This paper finds that musicians have more variable work schedules than comparable gig occupations and they are typically more disadvantaged in finding suitable employment opportunities. They are more likely to be self-employed and face the challenges that come with that status, and typically have less financial freedom. They also often work part-time due to the nature of the profession or take on multiple jobs to financially sustain themselves and their families financially. The pandemic has caused already-low hours for musicians to decrease further, still not fully recovering due to all live events being canceled, without the same ability to work remotely as similar gig occupations. These economic detriments have been accumulating for years as a result of the unstable music industry and the effects have multiplied after the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving musicians searching for a way forward within a broken system. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Economics.

<p>The purpose of this study is to identify the representations and stereotypes that are used in reviews to describe male and female pop artists and further on argue the consequenses these theses bring to the construction of male and female performers in society. The main question is: In what way do live act reviews present male and female pop artists?</p><p> </p><p>A qualitative content analysis with tools from rhetoric analysis was used to answer this question. The content of Swedish newspapers Aftonbladet and Svenska Dagbladet was chosen to represent the media.</p><p>The study is based on social constructionism and focuses on gender and stereotypes. These theories claim that men create the patterns that rule society and that women are unknowingly accepting this. We slowly grow into these stereotypical patterns so that we hardly recognize them anymore. The main reason for this is that the media provides information that is said to be objective, when it’s really influenced by the norms of society itself.</p><p> </p><p>The result of the study proves that female artists are being held back by the unwritten rules of society while male artists are encouraged when it comes to developing themselves and their artwork. Women artists are portrayed as sexual and the journalists focus on details such as flaws regarding their singing skills. Male artists are portrayed in a more positive way and are mainly described as good entertainers.</p>

The purpose of this study is to identify the representations and stereotypes that are used in reviews to describe male and female pop artists and further on argue the consequenses these theses bring to the construction of male and female performers in society. The main question is: In what way do live act reviews present male and female pop artists?   A qualitative content analysis with tools from rhetoric analysis was used to answer this question. The content of Swedish newspapers Aftonbladet and Svenska Dagbladet was chosen to represent the media. The study is based on social constructionism and focuses on gender and stereotypes. These theories claim that men create the patterns that rule society and that women are unknowingly accepting this. We slowly grow into these stereotypical patterns so that we hardly recognize them anymore. The main reason for this is that the media provides information that is said to be objective, when it’s really influenced by the norms of society itself.   The result of the study proves that female artists are being held back by the unwritten rules of society while male artists are encouraged when it comes to developing themselves and their artwork. Women artists are portrayed as sexual and the journalists focus on details such as flaws regarding their singing skills. Male artists are portrayed in a more positive way and are mainly described as good entertainers.

A study has been implemented regarding the acoustical characteristics of a black box and its influence on rock and metal music live performance. Objective acoustical measurements have been made as well as a subjective evaluation in form of a listening test. The results have shown uneven distribution in the frequency domain in addition to exaggeration in the low frequency domain which affects the sound quality regarding rock and metal live productions. It is suggested in general to apply acoustic treatments in form of adjustable acoustic ceiling and diffusers on walls to achieve even frequency distribution. It is also suggested to have specific configurations regarding the sound reinforcement system as well as a proper tuning of the sound to obtain better integration with the acoustics of the hall.

I detta kandidatarbete har vi utforskat huruvida teater som ett medium för upplevelser skulle kunna översättas till ett digitalt spelmedium. Då ‘upplevelse’ som begrepp är mycket stort har vi valt att fokusera främst på känslan av exklusivitet vid liveföreställningar, och använt ett flertal metoder för att utforska detta, bland annat designperspektivet ‘simulering’ med vilket vi ämnat att simulera den agens en skådespelare har vid varje föreställning. Vi har dokumenterat designprocessen, från idégenerering och konceptplanering till vår arbetsprocess, samt gestaltningen av vår undersökning. Slutligen har vi kritiskt granskat resultatet av detta, och har därför kunnat fastställa att vår frågeställning inte har ett konkret svar utan snarare är en pågående process, i vilken fler nyanser av ‘upplevelse’ skulle behöva utforskas för att skapa en tydligare bild av vad en upplevelse faktiskt är. / In this Bachelor Thesis, we have explored whether theater as a medium for experiences could be translated into a digital game medium. Since 'experience' as a concept is very large, we have chosen to focus mainly on the feeling of exclusivity in live performances, and used a number of methods to explore this, including the design perspective ‘simulation’ with which we intended to simulate the agency the actor has in every performance. We have documented the design process, from idea generation and concept planning to our work process, as well as the product of our research. Finally, we have critically examined the result of this, and have therefore been able to determine that our question does not have a concrete answer but rather is an ongoing process in which more nuances of 'experience' would need to be explored to create a clearer picture of what an experience actually is.

In this text, I aim to provide a critical account of a practice-based process where I composed the pieces: No Future, Futuribile No.2, celycib~, and radiocib~. In this iterative process, practical explorations provided foundations for theoretical development, which in turn, guided the following iteration of the practical work. In addition to this, I will critique the concept of the post-acousmatic, using the theoretical insights that emerged from the iterative process. In presenting the artistic results, I will describe the compositional intentions, the process, the aesthetical decisions I made, and a critical reflection on the results. The outcomes of my compositional journey might be regarded as heterogeneous in terms of musical results, and I strongly regard this occurrence in a positive manner. Despite the heterogeneity of the artistic outcomes, a conceptual framework emerges from the critical reflection on the works, linking them together. The conceptual basis of my work is related to two main aspects: one linked to my interest in political issues, the other to artistic and aesthetic matters. I see the artistic space as an opportunity to stage a potential socio-political scenario, in which different possibilities can be prototyped and explored, showing that a broader horizon of possibility can exists, even if in the confined boundaries of the stage. The artistic and aesthetic matters are related to my interest in acousmatic music. In this text I will show how I frequently make use of acousmatic techniques in a post-acousmatic context, which will be described in the Critical Reflection. The description and the critique of the works will highlight how such techniques contribute to this idea.In this text I will frequently make use of the term acousmatic. I am aware of the ambiguity of using this term, which in my understanding, might refer either to a phenomenon or a music genre (see The Post-Acousmatic section). However, I find it a useful tool to address a set of intentions and compositional strategies, aesthetics, and communities. My political and artistic stands relate to each other through my belief that an experimental approach to arts can contribute, to some extent, to the socio-political context. I regard the compositional approaches developed in relation to the acousmatic condition as the most interesting development in new music of the last century. Nevertheless, in the last decades, a standardized way of composing has emerged from the acousmatic communities. My belief is that this led to a speculation over self-referential aesthetics, and consequently, excluded new audiences to get access to it. On the other side, the absence of acousmatic music is noticeable in the programmes of venues, or the online listeners communities, and therefore, the everyday life of people. My belief is that an experimental approach towards arts, including acousmatic music, might be beneficial for contributing to a less hierarchical society: an experimental attitude in arts is the way to explore a broader horizon of possibility.

Practising Shadow Theatre in the West today means to subvert the predominantly negative view of shadow in the Western psyche, to transcend the faintly racist notion of shadow theatre as the quaint practice of traditional people of the East and to contend with the dominant influences of the electronic media on this once powerful and popular art form. This research is through creative practice in the form of the production, Cactus. This performance investigates the use of the screen in contemporary Shadow Theatre and the optimisation of the live theatrical experience. The performance also seeks to integrate mediatized and non-mediatized performance through the combination of live performance and projected images. My research is a social constructivist process to creative practice as research using a pluralistic approach including elements of action research and autobiography. The literature included for review in this study includes work by Brook, Grotowski, Auslander, Sontag, and Schechner. The literature analysis and previous training with Italian company, Teatro Gioco Vita, served to inform the application of my theories as praxis. The central question of this research project is: How can I break the fifth wall (which is the screen) in shadow theatre performance? Subsidiary questions are: How can we harness the advantages of both mediatized and non-mediatized performance to produce a contemporary shadow theatre form catering to the needs of a twenty-first century audience? How can I optimize the live theatrical experience? What is contemporary Shadow Theatre?

Hear Color and See Sound - What happens when I combine flamenco guitar and film in a live performance? This master thesis explores the combination of two art forms. The purpose is to use live projections to enhance my guitar composition with movie. My research question is: what happens when I combine flamenco guitar and film in a live performance? I explore if visual qualities add a deeper meaning to my instrumental music by experimenting with color science and video telling/editing techniques. I’ve tested through surveys and live performances if the audience perceive my music differently, by showing contrasting footage or footage that synchronize with my musical compositions. Resulting in an exam concert where I control the prerecorded video compositions with a touch screen interface through the video-jockey software Resolume, while also performing the music (which have been timed for the videos) live together with a flamenco singer and dancer.