Ensounded

Abstract

Inspired by recent productions in theatre, dance, music-theatre and the sonic arts, as well as by the increasing scholarly attention given to an acoustic/sonic turn in recent years1 ¬– closely linked as well to the growth in scenographic, acoulogical and design studies – this special issue of Critical Stages focuses on the sonification/musicalization of the stage environment, on the Ortsklang or “aural choreography” imbued in spaces and sites, on voices and echoes, mirroring generative sonic and corporeal processes, theatre auralities, testimonials and recitals, tangible and audible interfaces, digital performances and sound design. Dramatic and fictional texts appear too, as espaces musicaux, and the rush of the heard, of the real world sound, is drawn and drawing closer. Sometimes, the frequencies of imagination, as Pieter Verstraete has argued, can cause auditory distress in the ear-witnesses of our world.2 This we may not be able to avoid.