Sound archives of theater: implementation of a basis for research on the sound dimension in performing arts

• Grant number: 22/15032-4
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• Start date: October 01, 2023
• End date: September 30, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Arts - Theatre
• Principal Investigator: Rafaella Uhiara
• Grantee: Rafaella Uhiara
• Host Institution: Escola de Comunicações e Artes (ECA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Ana Cristine Wegner ; Angeliki Poulou ; BERILO LUIGI DEIRO NOSELLA ; Carlos José Ferreira dos Santos ; César Lignelli ; Chloé Larmet ; Elizabeth Ferreira Cardoso Ribeiro Azevedo ; Eric Lewis ; Fábio Cardozo de Mello Cintra ; Fernando de Oliveira Magre ; Francisco Mendes de Freitas Leal ; Jose Augusto Mannis ; José Batista Dal Farra Martins ; José Geraldo Vinci de Moraes ; Juliana Coelho de Souza Ladeira ; Ligia Souza de Oliveira ; Manuel Silveira Falleiros ; María Denise Cobello ; Marie-Madeleine Mervant-Roux ; Melissa Lynn Van Drie ; Noemie Fargier ; Rogério Luiz Moraes Costa ; Sayonara Sousa Pereira ; Wania Mara Agostini Storolli
• Associated research grant(s): 25/01572-5 - "Sounds in Theater: terms and concepts, AV.BR
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/08049-6 - Current overview of terms for the 'Sonorities of the Scene' Dictionary with a focus on selected theatrical jargon, BP.IC; 25/06327-9 - The influence of Heitor Villa-Lobos on the Teat(r)o Oficina Uzyna Uzona: analysis of the composer's devouring in the spectacle Macumba Antropófaga, BP.MS; 25/08780-2 - The Sound Universe of Nelson Rodrigues: A Survey and Analysis of Music and Sound Effect Cues in Stage Directions, BP.IC; + associated scholarships 25/00802-7 - Elements for a history of sound technique in the performing arts Survey and analysis of the contribution of sound designer and sound engineer Flávia Calabi to the São Paulo theater scene between 1978 and 2012., BP.MS; 24/16903-4 - Inventory of working documents in Tunica Teixeira's collection, BP.TT; 24/22957-0 - Sound processing of digital files: Technical restoration and aesthetic manipulation of digitised sound files for content recovery and use in research and creative processes., BP.TT; 24/17077-0 - Documentary qualification of catalog cards for the conversion of analogue devices to digital formats, aiming for access, information retrieval and reuse, BP.TT; 24/16020-5 - The sound's acting: Scientific communication and dissemination planning of the project "Sound Archives of the Theater", BP.JC; 24/00933-1 - Technological Transitions in Theatrical Sound Design: Historical and Transcultural Perspectives (1970-2010), BP.PD; 24/12137-5 - How do we speak about the sound aspects of theater? A lexicon mapping of the terms used to designate the sound aspects of theater, in brazilian academia, art scene and archives., BP.IC; 24/07165-0 - Sound processing of digital files: Technical restoration and aesthetic manipulation of digitised sound files for content recovery and use in research and creative processes., BP.TT; 24/00709-4 - Between Echoes and Scenes: discovering the universe of Sound Archives of Theatre, BP.JC; 24/03184-0 - Documentary qualification of catalog cards for the conversion of analogue devices to digital formats, aiming for access, information retrieval and reuse, BP.TT; 24/03004-1 - Description and cataloging of the documents in Tunica Teixeira's collection, BP.TT; 24/04090-9 - Description and cataloging of sound documents of Tunica Teixeira's collection, BP.TT; 24/04019-2 - The sound's acting: Scientific communication and dissemination planning of the project "Sound Archives of the Theater", BP.JC; 24/00708-8 - Between Echoes and Scenes: discovering the universe of Sound Archives of Theatre, BP.JC; 24/02172-8 - Survey of academic production on sound aspects of theater in Brazil (except voice), BP.TT; 23/15591-6 - Theatrical Sound Organism: the spectacle of sound in the work of Tunica Teixeira, BP.DR; 23/12789-0 - Sound Archives of Theater: Implementation of a Basis for Research on the Sound Dimension in Performing Arts, BP.JP - associated scholarships

Abstract

This project aims to implement a new research subject, which is not yet covered in Brazil: the study of the sound of performances as a whole. The lack of a methodology for the treatment of sound archives of theater became evident when the University of São Paulo Laboratory of Information and Memory acquired the estate of Tunica Teixeira, a sound designer who worked for 48 years with the main names of São Paulo theater. Considering that the sonic dimension of performances, unlike visuality, has never enjoyed the same prestige or the same interest from researchers, an important groundwork is necessary. Given the extension of the work, our multidisciplinary and multinational team, with experienced and pioneer researchers in the area, is organized around 4 axes of work: a first dedicated to the vocabulary and concepts of the sound of theater; a second, to the study of the sound creation process, in order to understand which documents are generated, by which agents and how to interpret them; a third, to the study of the constitution of multimedia collections, which interrelate documents in different media, and, finally, a fourth and last axis is focused on the use of sound files on stage and in creative processes, a study that aims to bring the archives and the technical and artistic communities closer together. The results will be disseminated throughout the 5 years of the project in the form of 2 international colloquia, 2 bilingual books and a thematic issue in the Brazilian Journal of Studies of the Presence, an open access double-blind peer-reviewed journal. (AU)