Home 1. Introduction 2. Markers 3. Archive 4. Audible Markers 5. Visible Markers 6. Notational Markers 7. Conclusion
3.1. Integrated Silences 3.2. Inherent Silences 3.3. Silent Discourse 3.4. Meta-Silences 3.5. Silencings
Experimental composer Tom Johnson’s work is influenced by the Dadaists and the French Situationists. During the spoken-word performance of Lecture with Repetition, which must be read from a script, the audience can yell “More!” to have performers continue or “Enough!” to make the performers stop the phrase they are performing and skip to the next sentence. This piece’s unusual means of control (commands from the audience) serves to disrupt the performer—a micro-political silencing in which the audience temporarily takes control of the performer’s actions.
Sometimes, many people are calling out simultaneously, with conflicting instructions: “More!”, “More!!”, Enough!!!”. The performer must make a rapid choice of which audience instructions to follow, resulting in a sensation (for the performer) of temporarily regaining control. But this sense of surety is invariably upset during the next sentence by more “More!”s and further “Enough!”s. The performance becomes increasingly unstable as the audience gains control.