Alison S. M. Kobayashi // SAY SOMETHING BUNNY

       Meeting with Alison S. M. Kobayashi was a very interesting experience. Getting insight into the work she has created has shined a different light into what immersive art can be, and what theater can be presented as. At first glance, I didn’t categorize Kobayashi’s work as a theatrical production, but through further engagement it became clear to me how intertwined the aspect of performance is in presenting information. 

     Before the class I have never seen any of Alison S. M. Kobayashi’s work, and was very intrigued to see what she would present to the class. After explaining the overall structure of

Alison S. M. Kobayashi

what her project “ Say Something Bunny” encompassed, Kobayashi explained that much of her research was in the dark, meaning no prior data was known. This was mind blowing because to see how intricate Alison’s work was able to become with access to recording from sixty years ago, show’s determination, imagination, and talent. The whole ideal of audio architecture was present in the project. Alison explained to the class, that a good portion of the audio was not decipherable, or easy to understand. The skill needed was to understand depth of audio and listening. Much like our audio portraits and sound walks, Alison had to use the architecture of the sound to find familiar sounds, identify them, and reconstruct them to solidify the narratives present in the audio. This also reminded me of all the little details I faced when trying to record the audio portraits. Our zoom mics could pick up surrounding acoustics, and that became an issue in trying to concentrate on my subjects voice. Overall, I was blown away with Alison S. M. Kobayashi’s work.