A light installation developed to support The Other Side of Silence Operatic workshop presented at EMPAC Oct 16, 2024. “The other side of silence” (2024) is an opera centred on the story of a non-speaking person with disabilities who uses augmentative assistive technology (AAC) to communicate and sing, based on the real lives of two of the creative team members of this project. Throughout the opera light in its many varied forms takes on a significance that moves the performers and audience beyond words, beyond speech. Presented by Opera Saratoga and EMPAC Research, The Other Side of Silence was written for synthetic and acoustic voices by librettists Mark Steidl and Katherine Skovira and composer Robert Whalen. The team from Opera Saratoga included director Mary Birnbaum, production designer Camilla Tassi and producer Amanda Robie. Recorded light art reflections developed by Yael Erel and Avner Ben-Natan with Carla Leitao was utilized as part of the Lichttanz component of the production, augmented by Camilla Tassi.
Reflectors were constructed from augmented stainless sheets in the topography of the vocal cords and mouth topography to explore reflecting on the human instrument of generating sound. Metal reflectors were created with the aid or a robotic arm at Renssealer Polytechnic Institute Fabrication shops with the advising of Claire Moriarty & assistance of Renssealer Polytechnic Institute research students Javier Torres, Ethan Aspiras Scott Sigmund. Light projections were developed to reflect onto the reflectors and generate dynamic light reflections. These recorded reflections were projected at EMPAC to accompany the Lichttanz echoing a play of morning light.
We created the installation Reflecting on Silence to explore the same reflectors and projections spatially, as part of an installation in Troy Glow Light Festival at lightexture studio.
The installation allowed the general public to interact with the light drawings, sit and observe as they transmute and change. One can engage in shadow play and discover the projection mechanism. We curated different events to allow audience and performers alike to engage with the light in the public realm – Kinetic Sound Performance of soundscape by Andrea Williams & movement by Ophra Wolf and a live performance by Sam Torres.
Reflecting on Silence was made possible with support by lightexture, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute School of Architecture and The Arts Thrive and Grow Grant. Arts Thrive and Grow has been funded by New York State, Kathy Hochul, Governor. We thank Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins for her extraordinary commitment and leadership, and our elected officials who represent our grantmaking region: Senators Jake Ashby and Neil D. Breslin; Assembly members Scott H. Bendett, Patricia Fahy, John T. McDonald III, Angelo Santabarbara, Phil Steck, and Mary Beth Walsh.
