theatercombinat | 19th october 2017 EXPLOSION OF SILENCE – a silent chorus – a performative monument in the city. by claudia bosse and participants/ theatercombinat, vienna (a)

sprache/language: deutsch/english

diary of the rehearsals (pdf)
documentation (pdf)

essay: pieces of informality. von ella melina felber (pdf)

in times of confrontation between different cultural identities and understandings of public space in a growing vienna, a silent chorus steps into formation. a group of more than 100 people of all ages, diverse national origins, different ways of life and languages assembles at a place in the middle of urban Vienna. its members form a performative monument and for 60 minutes, they bring this place to silence.

social sculpture
in this project, public space is understood as a place for permanent negotiations and a multiplicity of parallel demands and narratives. in urban spaces, one is concerned with overlapping and diverse uses of particular places without territorial markings. the bodies of the silent chorus interrupt the functionalities and norms of everyday routines. how can we create a resistant community? the bodies experience and comprehend relations in space and movements in the city: what are the inscribed practices and rhythms of a place and what are the spatial practices inscribed in our own bodies? in EXPLOSION OF SILENCE – a silent chorus, the single body becomes public, assumes a position, thereby emerges and shows itself to others – the primary condition for a shared, political space – and becomes part of an interdependent choral framework. the body is understood as place and archive of spatial experience and of one’s own life; at the same time, this body opens up the possibility for individual and collective practices. a social sculpture that changes its contours and questions them in the interaction of all participants.

chorus is danger
the chorus is the oldest political-aesthetic praxis
of our western european culture.
the chorus is never product but always process
of manifold conflicts, dissonances, differences.
chorus is an organization of different bodies,
biographies, which through breath and rhythm
grapple with themselves and others.
chorus is a space for negotiations.
chorus is a concrete bodily praxis.
chorus is a societal space.
chorus is danger.
chorus confronting chorus.
chorus confronting individuals.
chorus is the difference of an organization of people,
which confronts another organization of people or
penetrates, subverts, completes, clenches it.
chorus is a framework that grapples with itself.
chorus is the confrontation with a societal potential.
chorus is a collective potential.

claudia bosse

photo: viktoria bayer

EXPLOSION OF SILENCE – a silent chorus. concept/ artistic direction: claudia bosse; participants: ada gulyamdzhis, alex, ali, anna votrubova,arianna mondini, barbara holup, barbara tautscher, beate maria friedl, brigitte hantschk-vavra, carlotta siciliani, ceren görgün, chiara hunski, christa hirnschall, christa zuna-kratky, christine höchtl, christine hohenbüchler, christl landwehr, claudia springer, cosima baum, costas kekis, dagmar tröstler, daniela saceric, denise nguyen, denise roth, edda, elena pichler, ella melina felber, elnaz hoveida, francesca aldegani, georg maché, hanna freya mikosch, ilse urbanek, joana fernandes da silva, julia polzer, katarzyna kuczer, kristina kerekes, laura gnadke, laura steinl, lia tiefengraber, lila ludwig, luka bosse, magdalena marszalkowska, malena martin, marie vrdoljak, mariella schwarten, marina resch, martina morger, monika volk, nathalie yacob, nikolaus neffe, nora baselt, patricia falmbigl, petra, philip scholz, rando hannemann, renata prokopiuk, robin trezieres, salem alhaji, sarah stallecker, sebastian schubert, sonni schwarz, sussane peterka, tabea zimmer, tobias patry, veronika novackova, veronika ruckenbauer, viktoria holter, walpurga müller, wanda olivia purtscheller, yoko; campaign: viktoria bayer; communication: vicky klug; assistant of production: dagmar tröstler, charlotte kallenberg; intern: julia gfrerrer; head of production: roma hurey.

a production of theatercombinat, supported by KÖR kunst im öffentlichen raum wien. media partner: radio orange 94.0

EXPLOSION OF SILENCE – a silent chorus
by claudia bosse and participants

performance:
19th october 2017, 5pm
praterstern
vienna

SCREENING of the film
EXPLOSION DER STILLE – a silent chorus
10th april 2018, 9.00pm
fluc
praterstern
vienna

director of photography: tom jasny, editors: günther auer, claudia bosse

score
by claudia bosse

everyone is taking a position in space
you take a place in space
your position is your space in society
your position is your perspective
you will not talk for 50 minutes
you relate to someone far away
your body is orientated
you construct a network with the others
all of you stand in different directions
you construct a body together not a circle
your connections cross the space in different directions
you relate with each other with the idea of the dimensions of this social body
you stand consciously on your feed
open the muscles of you feed
let the weight of your whole body drop into the floor
you are aware of your muscles and the different rhythms of you body
you observe your rhythms
you observe the rhythms of the city and the other bodies around you
you slow down the city

you close your eyes
you listen to the sound of the city
you open your eyes
you listen to your body
you observe the city without moving your head
your body is vivid engaged and calm
you reconnect with the chorus of standing bodies

you turn slowly towards the other group
turn over your right side
you face the other group
you focus someone more in the back of the group

everything can happen between you and the others
let it happen in your imagination
your body is still still
your feets are relaxed your body releases into your feet
there can be a fight an orgy an demonstration a ritual
in your imagination
you think about who is included and who excluded
you think about who is part of you
you question yourself who is you

your are changing your standpoint
you are changing your position
you go to the person you focussed on before
the person is from the other group
when you arrive the person will leave, no the person will stay for a while
then the person will leave
the whole group will leave
take his or her position
re-orientate in space
listen to the space on the new spot
listen to your body
release
slow down the space
let people move through your social body with the others
connect with your center towards someone else far away

close the eyes
don’t loose the anchor the energy of your body in space
try to feel it while listening to the composition of the city
touch with your left hand your right eye
the hand goes to the eye
feel it with your fingertips
modulate it
feel how the eyeball moves under your fingers
open your left eye

stay still and imagine you stillness is staying still the city

stay still and understand your stillness as a counter-rhythm in space
a basis a spectrum a composition a conflict

stay still
but stay moved
in your stillness

feel the time passing

try to prepare your body and hum the highest tone you can do
continue the humming on 5 breaths
hear how the humms touch each other

connect to someone far away
not someone of the silent body
tell her/ him your life
choose the future tense and speak in your mothertongue
tell you biography
as a possible life
choose the important experiences facts emotions convictions doubts needs
you can be personal or political
you can be intimate or official its you personal choice
what you will tell doesnt need a chronological order
follow your associations
whisper you biography to some in the public space
far away
you can pause in between
but address your thought your whispering towards someone
share your possible life
you have about 10 minutes for it
after you whispered your past in the future in the public space you leave the space and the others