Naslov
Children’s Reception of High-pitched Voice of Reduced Expressive Power in Theatre

Autori
Gruić, Iva ; Petković Liker, Marina

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Poglavlja u knjigama, ostalo

Knjiga
Youth and Peformance: Perceptions of the Contemporary Child

Urednik/ci
Wartemann, Geesche ; Saglam, Tülin ; Mc Avoy, Mary

Izdavač
Olms

Grad
Hildesheim : Zurich : New York (NY)

Godina
2015

Raspon stranica
117-132

ISBN
978-3-487-15241-7

Ključne riječi
theatre for young audiences, oversimplification, vocal performance

Sažetak
In TYA actors often create their characters by means of a particular vocal performance, whereby they depart from their chest register and an appropriate resonance, from what is usually considered pleasant voice (Laver, 2009 ; Škarić, 1991 ; Varošanec-Škarić, 2005). Instead, they opt for a high pitched, even squeaky voice of reduced expressive power. This choice of vocal performance is unexpected at first sight, since high-pitched and squeaky voices are frequently evaluated as relatively unpleasant (Varošanec-Šakrić, 1998), while reduced expressive power often results in lacking of emotional subtlety (Berry, 1980 ; Houseman, 2011 ; Linklater, 2006 ; McCallion, 1998). The actors’ vocal performance is not the only aspect where the reduction of the expressive power is seen in TYA. The omnipresent paternalistic attitude (Falconi, 2008) leads towards all kinds of ‘protective’ simplifications, both in content and in form (Gattenhof, and Radvan, 2009 ; Schonmann, 2006 ; etc). And since the complexity is an important part of the aesthetic experience (Greenwood, 2011), many theoreticians and practitioners opt for more serious (and/or more artistic) approach towards young audience in theatre, and criticize the dominant social construct of childhood as the age of innocence with the picture of child that needs to be (most of all) protected (Sorin, 2005). We believe that it is not always easy to draw a line between unnecessary oversimplification and reasonable simplifications (because children have less experience and know less about life and theatre). So, we address the problem of simplifications on the example of the use of the actor’s vocal performance. The investigation asks the question how the reduced expressive power in actor’s vocal performance influences children's perception and understanding. In order to approach the issue empirically, an experiment was developed, whereby a short story is told by the same actor in two versions: one with a modal (normal) voice, and the other with a high-pitched, squeaky voice. In order to eliminate the influence of the content of the story, we use gibberish, so that the voice becomes the major component of speech. Other aspects of performance are intentionally minimized. Each of the two versions (the high-pitched and the modal one) is told to / performed for different groups of children at the age of 6 to 7 (which means that in the subsequent analysis the suggestions about stages of young interpretations (Saldana, 1996), developmental differences in viewing theatre (Klein, 1992) (etc.) are taken into consideration). During the experimental performance, the children's responses are observed, and after the performance they are interviewed about the character (who tells the story), her main characteristics and her emotions at chosen points of the experimental performance. The data collected through observation and semi-structured interviews is analysed in order to search for differences in children’s reception related to different uses of actor’s voice. Special emphasis is placed on questions about character’s emotions and on the analysis of differences in participants’ ‘readings’ of those emotions. Conclusions are discussed in relation to the discussion about (over)simplification and its impact on young audiences.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Znanost o umjetnosti, Kazališna umjetnost (scenske i medijske umjetnosti)

POVEZANOST RADA