"A Synergistic Modern Avatar of Multi Media "
Muriel Louveau is a French composer, performance-maker, and singer who creates a polyglot sonic space and leads us into a realm of foreign landscapes.
558 St Johns Place Brooklyn, NY 11238 718–783–4438 info@fivemyles.org
Muriel Louveau presentsa sound installation inspired by Elizabeth Hayes Christopher poems.This meditative and immersive artistic experience is set in darkness and transports the visitor to foreign territories.
"VOCALS IN THE DARK "is a sound Installation and creation inviting the audience to "experience" a series
of Vocal explorations in a quiet room and setting
of darkness with dim lights and with no other "visual
"distraction .The
audience will be invited to
sit in a shared aural space to switch off and listen actively to the pieces This intimate environment will
allow us to focus on the affective power of audio and take us to places
where you don't need your logic mind to analyze this sonic journey;
What do we know about Mary Shelley ? do we know that she was nineteen years when she wrote Frankestein novel?
How do we perceive Frankenstein ? Have you read the book or do you remember the film representations as a gothic tale?
Are you aware that the story was written in 1816 ,"a year without summer "?
At the time Shelley wrote most prolifically, the world had been plunged into semi-darkness, crop-failure, famine, and a significant increase in riots, murders, and fatal illnesses by the cataclysmic eruption of Mount Tambora, in Indonesia.
During this time, Shelley wrote: “Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world.”
As a composer musician, I felt inspired by Shelley's figure,and this chaotic and apocalyptic environment which appears as the dramatic background echoing simultaneously to her own tragical life haunted by deaths and losses .
I could hear the storm and the sounds in this darkness…I could envision Mary's nightmares and the creature of Frankenstein surging like her double ,an avatar, a manifestation of her tortured and revolted soul ,an alter ego ,waking up, dancing , waving between stillness and passion and calling for Hope . I started my research and sound exploration with" Darkness" (inspired by Byron's poem )which is a multi layered vocal piece that enhances textures, atmospheres and deep vocal range .
For each piece, the process is the same : the voice is a spatial component ,expressing different tones like "characters "guiding , inviting the listener to enter , flow with this multidimensional exploration. Words become like sculptural elements inducing movement, choreography and you don't need your logic mind to analyze this experience .This project is not a direct, detailed storyline but a personal interpretation and meditative process inspired by Shelley in which poetry is merging with sound and dance .
I sense Mary Shelley doesn't belong to the past and I feel a deep connection with this visionary and contemporary figure. The underlying issues of the novel including the obsession of Science , the search of Immortality and the philosophical and ecological context that shapes the story fundamentally speak about each of us and address to our Human Nature.
Muriel has been invited to take part in the interdisciplinary project "Schau Raume" during the Play off Festival in Villach Austria ,November 23-24, 2015
Louveau returns to Theaterlab in New York City with Journey, comprised of two pieces, Skana and Mary Shelley Project. She spoke to Works by Women about Mary Shelley, Virginia Woolf and why she’s happy to be back at Theaterlab:
THEATERLAB in NYC will present Muriel Louveau's Journeyas part of the International Artist Exchange Series “Mi Casa Es Su Casa”http://www.theaterlabnyc.com. Journey combines two theatrical pieces- US Premiere Mary Shelley Project andSkana-that share similar themes of straddling the space between light
and darkness, wakefulness and sleep -
Skana, presented in a newly staged version, with dancer Emily Pope Blackman , will be paired with Mary Shelley Project :This new piece ,created in collaboration with artist Autumn Kioti Moonface is inspired by Mary Shelley's story and the apocalyptic " 1816 year without summer" following the cataclysmic eruption of Mount Tambora, in Indonesia. During this time, Shelley wrote: “Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world.” "As a composer and performer, I felt inspired by Shelley's figure and by this apocalyptic environment which appears as the dramatic background echoing simultaneously to her 's own tragical life haunted by deaths and losses .I sense her visions don't belong to the past. The underlying issues of the novel including the search of Immortality and the philosophical and ecological context that shapes the story fundamentally speak about each of"us' SAVE THE DATE OF SEPT , 22 nd, 2015 ! More details here Listen to Muriel 's recording Darkness inspired by Lord Byron 's poem
