All Ears

When I started listening to the BBC radio version of the play, I kind of thought I was in one of those old black-and-white pictures, where the family’s gathered around their radio, captivated by stories about cowboys and spacemen. Everyone in the pictures looks completely engaged, as if nothing else could distract them; they seem to understand that listening requires undivided attention. The families in the photos’ intentness isn’t exaggerated; I found myself doing the same things even though I was wearing headphones.

Entertaining?

Besides sound effects, all the actors had to tell the story was their voices, so as I listened the qualities of their voices and production techniques became more and more apparent. At the beginning of the play, when Electra is complaining about her predicament, the actor had to exaggerate her delivery. I originally thought Electra was overblowing her circumstances, and that her voice was too whiny, but I had nothing else to reference. Electra’s voice and my imagination were all I had to gauge her emotions. Once I grasped this fact I began to connect more with the play and it held much more appeal.

I also began to notice how certain production techniques mirrored the actors’ emotions. When the actors sounded far away and then came nearer, like when the Chorus chided Electra either to action or inaction, it gave the effect of Electra’s troubled psyche becoming increasingly louder, moving from the background to the foreground of her consciousness. In the same vein, when Electra and Chrysothemis argue about killing their mother, the actors’ voices fading signified the fading of the argument; coming closer (and becoming louder) meant someone was making a point. The actors sounding far away also gave the effect of their physical distance from the other actors and the microphone. These techniques aided in creating a physical space for the listener’s imagination, engaging and rewarding their intent focus.