Ventriloquism Takes Center Stage in Contemporary Performance

The article explores the use of ventriloquism in contemporary theater and dance, focusing on works by Gisèle Vienne, Kinkaleri, and Yasmine Hugonnet. Vienne's 'The Ventriloquists Convention,' presented at Centre Pompidou and Centre Nanterre-Amandiers during the Festival d'Automne, reconstructs the world's largest ventriloquist convention in Wind Haven, Kentucky, using nine ventriloquists and puppets. Created with writer Dennis Cooper and Puppentheater Halle, the piece features 27 voices blending reality and fiction. Kinkaleri's 'I am that am I' (2010) centers on Anna De Mario performing Jean Genet's 'The Maids' with a closed mouth, questioning the source of speech. Hugonnet's 'La Traversée des Langues,' shown at Festival Contemporanea di Prato, explores phonetic skin and the materiality of voice through ventriloquist techniques. The article discusses how these works challenge traditional notions of voice, body, and theatrical presence.