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Papers by Massimo Roberto Beato

Carte Semiotiche , 2023

The aim of this essay is to provide a comparative analysis of the analogue and digital photograph... more The aim of this essay is to provide a comparative analysis of the analogue and digital photographic strategies used to capture film stars. First, we shall examine a corpus of photographs from the archive of Elio Luxardo, the so-called photog- rapher of the divas, highlighting the effects of meaning produced by his compo- sitional strategies. Being shot by his camera provided consecration as a film star and thereby turned the subject portrayed by him not only into an unreachable, matchless, and unique image but also into a mythical figure, and as such, dis- tant and everlasting. Then, we shall illustrate the extent to which, via the digital revolution and the dematerialization of the medium, the photographic creation process and its re-editing have been undergoing a radical and significant change. For instance, using Instagram’s filters, anyone can experience the ecstasy of be- coming a film star (in what one could call a ‘process of starication’), as opposed to today’s “true” film stars, which are more interested in appearing as everyday people (in what one could call a ‘process of dailyzation’). Thus, we shift from the analogue mythopoiesis of Luxardian film stars to their digital social anthropopoi- esis, through which film stars are downgraded to a more ordinary dimension, and therefore considered closer to our own. In the social network era, it is the likes one gets, and no longer the author’s shots, which consecrate people to stardom.

Annali di studi religiosi, 2023

The actor-spectator relationship is not articulated according to the same pa- rameters and stable... more The actor-spectator relationship is not articulated according to the same pa- rameters and stable values over time. In this paper, we aim to illustrate the extent to which a few immersive theatre experiences involve a reconfiguration of the categories of space, time and action to which we are usually accustomed as spectators comfortably seated in an audience. By way of example, to describe these unprecedented dynamics of perception of the immersive experience, we shall refer to The Burnt City performed by the British theatre company Punchdrunk as a case study. Finally, we shall argue that the being-in-the-moment effect generated through the strategies actualized in Punchdrunk’s performance may, in turn, trigger in the spectator a further effect of submersivity, which can be interpreted as a form of transcendence.

Topoi

We aim to focus on the mimic gestures intentionally produced to be “monstrate” to others (express... more We aim to focus on the mimic gestures intentionally produced to be “monstrate” to others (expressive gestures), thus attempting to propose a semiotic analysis on the actor’s face. We shall attempt to outline the extent to which, (i) since the rise of cinema, the actor’s face has gained a foreground role as compared to the full-figured body, and (ii) the legacy of the nineteenth-century handbooks of scenic postures was crucial in this context, especially those of Antonio Morrocchesi and Alemanno Morelli. To deal with the actor’s body as an instrument, means to make it a blank page to be used to re-design the character’s body, including the face. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the method of the pedagogue Jacques Lecoq—one of the greatest teachers of contemporary theatre—which consists in the use of a special mask during the training process: the so-called neutral mask.

Mimesis Journal, 2021

The rise of a different gender incorporating the feminine and the masculine is a phenomenon occur... more The rise of a different gender incorporating the feminine and the masculine is a phenomenon occurring in many cultures and in nearly all historical ages, but it assumes unique features in Naples. In fact, the culture of the femminiello is deeply rooted in Neapolitan tradition. It is a tricky figure to categorize as it embeds different forms of sexuality, thus remaining highly distinctive and intimately entwined with the tradition. The essay attempts to illustrate how Neapolitan dramaturgy has treated this remarkable queer figure. It also aims to point out how, in the plays examined, the character of the femminiello has exerted a crucial function in the rising debate on gender minorities, becoming somehow the (Neapolitan) ambassador of the struggle for the emancipation of subjects “outside the sexual norm”.

Carte Semiotiche, 2021

In an essay on the picture frame, Georg Simmel claims the sacredness of this device considered fu... more In an essay on the picture frame, Georg Simmel claims the sacredness of this device considered fun- damental for the dialectical articulation of the delicate relationship between art and reality which con- stitutes, for the german philosopher, the core of his aesthetic meditations, including those on theatre. In the most contemporary forms of immersive theatre it is nevertheless no longer the framing of the proscenium – that imaginary “fourth wall”, according to a purely visual approach, through which the audience observes actions on stage – that threshold-figure (according to Simmel’s viewpoint) to which the function of separating and connecting the factual reality of the spectator and the counterfactual one of the (dramatic) possible world is delegated. In fact, in the immersive theatre this boundary devi- ce is embodied by the actor himself, who becomes the figure responsible for the continuous transfor- mation and transfiguration of the performative frame, decidedly more opaque and less transparent than to more traditional theatrical forms, such as bourgeois drama.
We are, therefore, in presence of a sort of 2.0 fictionality, no longer delegated to that specific fictional frame marked by boundary indicators such as the darkness in theater room, the curtain, the silence, etc. Actually, in this new kind of fictionality bodily matter and aesthesia at stake in the actor-spectator experience are solely account for the establishment of the performative frame.

E|C, 2020

According to a sociosemiotic theoretical framework, this paper reflects on the enunciative relati... more According to a sociosemiotic theoretical framework, this paper reflects on the enunciative relations between the so-called "dramatic text" and its performance. First we will address the textual nature of playing on stage, to be no longer thought of as a deflection from the dramatic text, but as the result of dynamics of translation converging in the stage practice. The alleged opposition between the closure of the dramatic text and the phenomenal presence of the actor's body on stage must be reconfigured on the ground of enunciation frames, along with all their effects of reality and presence. During the performance, the actor uses his own figure to project an image that displays a series of semantic articulations, adopting enunciation strategies that can be analysed sub specie textis. Though many studies on theatre still support the idea that the effect of naturalism on stage depends on casualness and impermanence, we will rely also on the approach of cognitive studies to remark that this very effect is the result of precise enunciative strategies oriented to produce empathy between the actor and the spectator.

Conference Presentations by Massimo Roberto Beato

AUDIOVISUAL E INDÚSTRIAS CRIATIVAS: PRESENTE E FUTURO - VOLUME 1, 2021

Starting from the presence effect as an aesthetic notion, we propose to address some immersive th... more Starting from the presence effect as an aesthetic notion, we propose to address some immersive theatre performances in which part of the spectator’s experience is entrusted to binaural recordings. These performances involve both live actions of the actors and presumed actions, i.e. listened to by multi-channel wi-fi radio headphones, provided to each participant: the fusion of sounds suggesting acoustic landscapes, voices, music, along with the active exploration of spaces, allows a not indifferent engagement with the environment. In fact, these recordings aim to evoke presence effects in each participant, thus dissolving the boundary between illusion and reality. This is a concept of “global listening”: not only the ear is involved but the whole sensory body.

Carte Semiotiche , 2023

The aim of this essay is to provide a comparative analysis of the analogue and digital photograph... more The aim of this essay is to provide a comparative analysis of the analogue and digital photographic strategies used to capture film stars. First, we shall examine a corpus of photographs from the archive of Elio Luxardo, the so-called photog- rapher of the divas, highlighting the effects of meaning produced by his compo- sitional strategies. Being shot by his camera provided consecration as a film star and thereby turned the subject portrayed by him not only into an unreachable, matchless, and unique image but also into a mythical figure, and as such, dis- tant and everlasting. Then, we shall illustrate the extent to which, via the digital revolution and the dematerialization of the medium, the photographic creation process and its re-editing have been undergoing a radical and significant change. For instance, using Instagram’s filters, anyone can experience the ecstasy of be- coming a film star (in what one could call a ‘process of starication’), as opposed to today’s “true” film stars, which are more interested in appearing as everyday people (in what one could call a ‘process of dailyzation’). Thus, we shift from the analogue mythopoiesis of Luxardian film stars to their digital social anthropopoi- esis, through which film stars are downgraded to a more ordinary dimension, and therefore considered closer to our own. In the social network era, it is the likes one gets, and no longer the author’s shots, which consecrate people to stardom.

Annali di studi religiosi, 2023

The actor-spectator relationship is not articulated according to the same pa- rameters and stable... more The actor-spectator relationship is not articulated according to the same pa- rameters and stable values over time. In this paper, we aim to illustrate the extent to which a few immersive theatre experiences involve a reconfiguration of the categories of space, time and action to which we are usually accustomed as spectators comfortably seated in an audience. By way of example, to describe these unprecedented dynamics of perception of the immersive experience, we shall refer to The Burnt City performed by the British theatre company Punchdrunk as a case study. Finally, we shall argue that the being-in-the-moment effect generated through the strategies actualized in Punchdrunk’s performance may, in turn, trigger in the spectator a further effect of submersivity, which can be interpreted as a form of transcendence.

Topoi

We aim to focus on the mimic gestures intentionally produced to be “monstrate” to others (express... more We aim to focus on the mimic gestures intentionally produced to be “monstrate” to others (expressive gestures), thus attempting to propose a semiotic analysis on the actor’s face. We shall attempt to outline the extent to which, (i) since the rise of cinema, the actor’s face has gained a foreground role as compared to the full-figured body, and (ii) the legacy of the nineteenth-century handbooks of scenic postures was crucial in this context, especially those of Antonio Morrocchesi and Alemanno Morelli. To deal with the actor’s body as an instrument, means to make it a blank page to be used to re-design the character’s body, including the face. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the method of the pedagogue Jacques Lecoq—one of the greatest teachers of contemporary theatre—which consists in the use of a special mask during the training process: the so-called neutral mask.

Mimesis Journal, 2021

The rise of a different gender incorporating the feminine and the masculine is a phenomenon occur... more The rise of a different gender incorporating the feminine and the masculine is a phenomenon occurring in many cultures and in nearly all historical ages, but it assumes unique features in Naples. In fact, the culture of the femminiello is deeply rooted in Neapolitan tradition. It is a tricky figure to categorize as it embeds different forms of sexuality, thus remaining highly distinctive and intimately entwined with the tradition. The essay attempts to illustrate how Neapolitan dramaturgy has treated this remarkable queer figure. It also aims to point out how, in the plays examined, the character of the femminiello has exerted a crucial function in the rising debate on gender minorities, becoming somehow the (Neapolitan) ambassador of the struggle for the emancipation of subjects “outside the sexual norm”.

Carte Semiotiche, 2021

In an essay on the picture frame, Georg Simmel claims the sacredness of this device considered fu... more In an essay on the picture frame, Georg Simmel claims the sacredness of this device considered fun- damental for the dialectical articulation of the delicate relationship between art and reality which con- stitutes, for the german philosopher, the core of his aesthetic meditations, including those on theatre. In the most contemporary forms of immersive theatre it is nevertheless no longer the framing of the proscenium – that imaginary “fourth wall”, according to a purely visual approach, through which the audience observes actions on stage – that threshold-figure (according to Simmel’s viewpoint) to which the function of separating and connecting the factual reality of the spectator and the counterfactual one of the (dramatic) possible world is delegated. In fact, in the immersive theatre this boundary devi- ce is embodied by the actor himself, who becomes the figure responsible for the continuous transfor- mation and transfiguration of the performative frame, decidedly more opaque and less transparent than to more traditional theatrical forms, such as bourgeois drama.
We are, therefore, in presence of a sort of 2.0 fictionality, no longer delegated to that specific fictional frame marked by boundary indicators such as the darkness in theater room, the curtain, the silence, etc. Actually, in this new kind of fictionality bodily matter and aesthesia at stake in the actor-spectator experience are solely account for the establishment of the performative frame.

E|C, 2020

According to a sociosemiotic theoretical framework, this paper reflects on the enunciative relati... more According to a sociosemiotic theoretical framework, this paper reflects on the enunciative relations between the so-called "dramatic text" and its performance. First we will address the textual nature of playing on stage, to be no longer thought of as a deflection from the dramatic text, but as the result of dynamics of translation converging in the stage practice. The alleged opposition between the closure of the dramatic text and the phenomenal presence of the actor's body on stage must be reconfigured on the ground of enunciation frames, along with all their effects of reality and presence. During the performance, the actor uses his own figure to project an image that displays a series of semantic articulations, adopting enunciation strategies that can be analysed sub specie textis. Though many studies on theatre still support the idea that the effect of naturalism on stage depends on casualness and impermanence, we will rely also on the approach of cognitive studies to remark that this very effect is the result of precise enunciative strategies oriented to produce empathy between the actor and the spectator.

AUDIOVISUAL E INDÚSTRIAS CRIATIVAS: PRESENTE E FUTURO - VOLUME 1, 2021

Starting from the presence effect as an aesthetic notion, we propose to address some immersive th... more Starting from the presence effect as an aesthetic notion, we propose to address some immersive theatre performances in which part of the spectator’s experience is entrusted to binaural recordings. These performances involve both live actions of the actors and presumed actions, i.e. listened to by multi-channel wi-fi radio headphones, provided to each participant: the fusion of sounds suggesting acoustic landscapes, voices, music, along with the active exploration of spaces, allows a not indifferent engagement with the environment. In fact, these recordings aim to evoke presence effects in each participant, thus dissolving the boundary between illusion and reality. This is a concept of “global listening”: not only the ear is involved but the whole sensory body.