Presence II

What if in contradistinction to the inherent embeddedness of being, to persist in the space of this play is to continually render oneself and only oneself through speech? If one is only insofar as one can be heard above the murmurs of community and fate, then in what ways does Hamlet describe several varied retreats into solipsism? Find in this sonification the voices of several solitary souls iterating their isolation. Here each character has been assigned a sound that is particular to them. Beginning at relatively low volume on the edges of the auditory field, the first time each character speaks, her sound will play. With each word that belongs to her, her sound will increase in volume, while edging closer to auditory center. For every word that does not belong to her, her sound will slowly fade and retreat back to its starting place on the margins. Here each player emerges out of silence and obscurity in order to iterate themselves solipsistically. In this way, the ebb and flow of each character’s presence is made audible and comparable the other characters of the play. Similarly, the slow decay of each voice after its player has ceased speaking causes periods of overlap and blending whence the listener may observe how the reins of power and presence are passed from character to character. As you listen, consider how the aggregation of words, as opposed to their specific meaning, articulates a desire to move freely beyond the dictates of ethics, of mood, and of fate.