Composing Methods of Musical Narration in Postdramatic Theatre
Doctoral student: Rita Mačiliūnaitė-Dočkuvienė
Supervisors: Prof. Mindaugas Urbaitis, Prof. Dr. Antanas Kučinskas
Research consultant: Prof. Dr. Rasa Vasinauskaitė
Department: Composition
Duration: 2013–2017
Abstract
Rita Mačiliūnaitė-Dočkuvienė | photo Ana Ablamonova
The present artistic research thesis distinguishes and analyses a form of postdramatic theatre that is characterised by the dominance of music discourse which rejects the dramatic text or its coherency. The author refers to this form as postdramatic musical narration theatre (further – PMNT). It is emphasised that the author discusses a specific type of theatre which has arisen from the theatricalisation of musical events, where a wider music discourse gives rise to a new meaning of performance’s musical score. PMNT is understood as the musicalisation of dramatic narrative or the creation of a new musical narrative/discourse characteristic to postdramatic theatre. This research revealed that musical narration can be composed by a composer (using music notation or pre-prepared soundtracks), created during rehearsals, during the process of devising-communication with the help of actors’/musicians’ vocal abilities, physical movement, gestures, changes of locations, special features of the space, as well as being influenced by other factors (like sound effects and media technologies) and audience’s perception.
The choice of this research object was determined not only by the formation of new theatre phenomena and music becoming an equally important element in the overall context of theatre, but also by the personal interests and professional creative work of the author. Because the research object analysed in this thesis is identical to the author’s, as composer’s, creative practice, the author’s research represents both, theoretical and artistic/practical sides and she, in the context of her research, acquires the role of a participative observer. Music is analysed using a narratological aspect, however, not in order to bring it closer to literature, but because of its pre-existent principles of narrational construction. The analysis is done in three stages:
- Distinguishing two categories of musical composing:
- composing with the elements of sound;
- musicalisation of theatrical elements;
- These categories, in order to achieve a detailed analysis of composing methods according to the main devices and their attributes, are broken down into smaller groups;
- Discussing the composing methods of narrative discourse on the music level (the analysis of practical examples).
