hahaha by Samuel D Loveless
She walks into the space, speakers standing, sentry-like in a semicircle, drawing her into the centre out of curiosity. There is a muffled, general sound, a multiplicity of different laughs emanating from each speaker. Locating the sonic centre, she pauses, bemused, wondering why, what next, when?
In an instant, the sound of a single, specific laugh rises above the pink noise. It’s hilarious, outrageous, infectious - she laughs: spontaneous, responsive, uncontained. It stops. She stops, self-aware. In the background, beyond the speaker-semicircle, a figure moves away from a console and is replaced by another.
Again, the muffled sound of laugher gives way to a single, dominant version, this time high-pitched, stilted, strained. In surprise, she lets out her own nervous laughter, catching on to an anxious moment, which then recedes once again.
In turn, the audience, as curious as the participant, line up to try out the console. What does it do? How many different laughters are there? How many can there be? The participant walks through the speaker-semicircle and takes a seat, awaiting her turn at trying out the console and is replaced by another. The participant has become the audience and the audience becomes the participant in a revolving interchange of role, each having an effect on the other.
hahaha - but it’s no laughing matter.