The Evidence
John Fitz Rogers
About this work:
"The Evidence" is written for actor (e.g., demagogue) and tape. The character should be a very conservatively dressed, middle-aged, WASP male. The stage should be bare except for a lectern with a microphone attached to it. A speaker should be placed directly in front of the lectern (or concealed within the lectern). This speaker should amplify only the actor's voice. The stereo speakers for the tape should be placed on either side of the stage so that the lectern is between them. Additional props, such as a handkerchief or glass of water, are optional. The tape player and people who operate the lighting and sound equipment should be concealed from the audience. The piece begins by bringing the house lights down. The tape part should start before the audience is completely settled. After the audience has quieted -- ten to twenty seconds after the tape has begun -- the actor should walk slowly towards the lectern. When he reaches the lectern, and in the time before he speaks, he should prepare himself and his papers for his "address." The lighting should be stark and dramatic -- the house lights are black, and the actor is lit with a single spotlight, or perhaps from underneath or behind to create unusual shadows. A moment after the actor says his last phrase (". . . depends on it") all lights should go black. The tape part is both a commentary on the speech and a reflection of the character's fears and anxieties. Consequently, the actor should not attempt any sort of parody or caricature. The speech should be delivered earnestly and with conviction, but not in an overwrought, televangelist-like style. The tape should be played at a loud volume -- enough that the sound fills the space but is in no way uncomfortable. The actor's voice should be lightly amplified and should match the tape. In softer sections, his voice should not predominate over the tape. In louder sections (such as when he speaks of isms threatening to "overawe, override and overpower" American art), he should have to raise his voice and should be amplified such that he must compete with the tape. These gradations in volume can be controlled by his proximity to the microphone. The score indicates when the actor should be begin speaking various sections of the speech and where phrases or words are spoken in relation to certain sounds. Timings are indicated only for the purpose of learning the tape part and the relationship between the text and tape. A stopwatch should not be used in the performance. Rather, the actor should listen to the tape part and pace his speech accordingly, taking prolonged pauses only where noted. The text to "The Evidence" is taken almost entirely from a speech given before the United States House of Representatives by Congressman George Dondero of Michigan on August 16, 1949. The tape part was created by digitally manipulating phonemes, words and phrases from the text using SoundDesigner II and SampleCell.
Year composed: 1992
Duration: 00:07:00
Ensemble type: Electronic Instruments and Sound Sources:Prerecorded Sound and Live Instrument(s)
Instrumentation: 1 Narrator, 1 Prerecorded Sound (Tape/CD/Other)