Or Zubalsky

Meeting Table explores group dynamics, ways of articulation, expression, and being together through the reconfiguration of sonic space. It addresses the importance and challenges of collaborating and horizontal distribution of power in groups. The table, constructed as a responsive drum, amplifies the performers' heartbeats, becoming itself a collective resonant body. Through a series of performances that juxtapose speech, singing, and heartbeat sounds, the audience is invited to consider how individuals can share airtime, learn how to listen to each other, and acknowledge each other’s presence. The piece does not only pose the question, whose voices are heard, but expands on the notion of the individual voice within a group and the various forms it can take. Five handheld devices are connected to the drum for performers to hold against their chest. The signals are passed to a series of analog electronic circuits that are embedded on the inside of the drum, where they are filtered, amplified, and mixed together. The drum then plays itself using an actuator that vibrates the bottom membrane. As the sounds all blend together in the drum, it becomes impossible to distinguish between the heartbeats of the people sitting around the table. The drum plays a continually fluctuating pulse of the group that uses it.

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