SemanticQuant · multisystematicity
Fictional case study.
A volunteer ensemble was preparing a performance for a thirty-minute slot. Its programme contained twenty-two minutes of music, twelve minutes of scenes, and four minutes of transitions: thirty-eight minutes altogether. The director proposed removing every scene, bringing the programme to twenty-six minutes.
One performer objected, “Then the ending loses its reason.” The stage manager replied, “I promised that we would finish on time.” The ensemble had not agreed whether the performance’s central purpose lay in the story, the music, or giving each member a part.
What the ensemble takes the performance to be for decides which parts look worth keeping, refining, or releasing. Reconsidering that purpose and recognizing possible changes happen in the same rehearsal.
Developing and reconsidering questions, explanations, concepts, and possibilities in ways that can fundamentally change how a situation is understood and approached.
Recognizing actual and potential transformations in a situation.
The director proposed letting go of every scene. The performer gave a reason to keep at least the link between a scene and the ending. A revised form might keep that link in a different way. What counted as refinement would depend on the ensemble’s understanding of the work; no revision had been agreed.
Commentary
Removing the scenes would meet the time limit, but the performer’s objection asked what the shortened version would still mean. The relation between the scenes and the ending could become part of how the ensemble understood its task. That reconsideration would also shape which features it tried to keep or refine.