On being a body listening: Vocal expression beyond words in Ant Hampton and Britt Hatzius’ This is Not My Voice Speaking and Nature Theater of Oklahoma’s Life and Times – Episodes 3 & 4

Vocal expression beyond words, such as the excess of speech production found in coughs, rhythm, intonation, and humming, offer a mode of being that does not require the endorsement of the world through language, but rather favours the act of dwelling in sonority. I make use of creative and critical writing to evidence how my body listens in the auditorium. I consider Ant Hampton and Britt Hatzius’ This is Not My Voice Speaking (2011) and Nature Theater of Oklahoma’s Life and Times – Episodes 3 & 4 (2012). The decision to discuss these two pieces arises from an interest in how each makes use (albeit differently) of audio-based instructions and sounds outside of linguistic units. I focus on the respective deployment of disrupted rhythms and altered intonation of spoken language to question how performance and performative writing might reveal, and in turn cultivate our attention towards what is beyond the surface of our dialogical exchanges and vocal interactions. I put forward the idea of dwelling in sonority to extend the moment of perceptive encounter and endorse engagement with more elusive aspects of being.