‘Subject to Gesture’ a collaborative performance with accompanying text was commissioned by Mark Greenwood of Dock Road Press, for his performance series Gramophone Ray Gun at Liverpool’s Everyman Bistro. The live work was premiered at Gramophone Ray Gun 6, on Thursday 27th April 2017. An excerpt from the performance recording can be heard here.
It exists as a collaborative work for voice and treated guitars and drum developed between writer Mark Leahy and composer/performer Benjamin D. Duvall. The pair were introduced by Mark Greenwood, who suggested that they might work well together and offered them a slot in the Gramophone Ray Gun series at The Bistro, Liverpool Everyman.
The text element was written in part using found material from a number of sources and being open to the political and cultural mood of Spring 2017. Influences and sources included training guides for US toastmasters and comments on TedX presentation styles, as well as the often violent language around the body on social media posts and comments.
A pamphlet, also titled ‘Subject to Gesture’, was published by Dock Road Press to accompany the live event. Benjamin D Duvall produced a diagram of the relation between the elements of the performance for the pamphlet. There is more on the pamphlet here.
