Theatrical Genetics and Sound Archives: knowledge developed in France for the Tunica Teixeira archive and the Theatre Documentation Centre (USP).

Abstract

The doctoral research entitled Organismo Sonoro-Teatral: o espetáculo do som na obra de Tunica Teixeira (Sound-Theatrical Organism: the spectacle of sound in the work of Tunica Teixeira), supervised by Prof Dr José Batista Dal Farra Martins, looks at the collection of the prestigious Brazilian sound artist, who died in 2019, and, through an analysis of her creative procedures, studies the theatrical sound conception as a whole, the genesis of sound in theatre, its mechanisms, and the impacts of its existence within the scenic event. The almost 50 years of records of Tunica Teixeira's work are representative of sound creation in São Paulo, from the end of the second half of the 20th century to the first decades of the 21st century. In this way, we supply the growing and necessary research in the brand new field of theatre sonology, helping to lay the foundations for establishing a methodology for studying sound in performances. On this journey, I use the methodology already employed in my master's work, genetic analysis. However, the theory developed in Brazil with regard to artistic genetics in general - Process Criticism - engendered by the Brazilian Cecília Almeida Salles (primarily in Gesto Inacabado, 2007) finds deep echoes in the specifically theatrical Genetic Criticism, led by the French Marie-Madeleine Mervant-Roux (in Genèses Théâtrales, 2010). In this way, we believe that a partnership with the THALIM laboratory (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle - Paris 3), where Mervant-Roux carries out her studies, will represent a rich possibility of methodological deepening and an enormous benefit to research.Also of great importance is the exchange of knowledge that will be established regarding the handling of the physical archives themselves, in view of the meticulous culture of preservation of sources undertaken in France. Especially at the decisive moment in which USP's Theatre Documentation Centre (CDT) finds itself - it received Tunica's collection and is still organising its equipment and facilities - the contribution of specialist archival knowledge could transform the handling, maintenance and preservation of this valuable material. The internationalisation of this research is planned in the Young Researcher - Theatre Sound Archives project, coordinated by researcher Rafaella Uhiara, of which this study is a part, with funding from FAPESP.