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The Artist in the Kingdom Since The Nightingale not only analogizes a romantic relationship but also explores the role of musician or more generally Artist in "the kingdom," in relation to the State (reading the monarch metonymically), a production of this work would do well to unpack Andersen's prescriptive messages about the proper role of The Artist. Much can be learned on this topic by considering what Andersen outlines to be the relationship between an artwork and its mechanical reproduction (Art in the Age, Benjamin), as seen by the Emperor-State. In truth, while both the Nightingale and the mechanical bird make music, the latter lacks agency and therefore can't be construed to be an artist. But the Emperor appears to take no notice. The relationship between bird and machine-bird is a complicated one, marked by the Emperor's repeated juxtaposition of the two, and the Nightingale's refusal of the same. The Nightingale and the machine are unable to sing together, occupying different worldviews that Andersen signifies are mutually exclusive. While they seem to the Emperor be in competition, it is the mechanical bird's arrival that affords the Nightingale her freedom. Conversely, when the Emperor proposes to "break the artificial bird into a thousand pieces," the Nightingale becomes its protector and defender. Nightingale explores the relationship between she-bird and machine, as well as their reception by the Emperor. The mechanical nightingale knows only jingles (e.g. commercials, television theme songs), staying true to its limited repertoire that is known by all. The movement associated with this character is inspired by the arcade game Dance Dance Revolution, in which players trigger pads with their feet in specified patterns with little attention to the gestural quality of movement (consequently, it is often mechanical and graceless). In contrast, the Nightingale has a full range of music and choreography at her disposal. Thus, the combinatoric logic of a fixed database of music and dance stands in contrast to open-ended compositions that draw from the full range of traditions in music/sound art and dance. In contrast to the original story that privileges the Emperor's point-of-view over all, Nightingale affords more agency to the living bird. Through movement and song (in addition to her words), The Nightingale has her say about her home in Nature, her imprisonment in the porcelain palace, her feelings about the artificial replica, her return to freedom, etc. In contrast to the Andersen reader, the theater audience member comes to have a greater sense of the Nightingale's desires and interior processes and thus attributes agency to her in engineering the ultimate reconciliation with the Emperor. Next theory page (on contemporary story: George and Marta) |
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