The Intersection of Imagination and Narrative

As part of our ongoing commitment to exploring the narrative continuum and the systems of imagination that sustain timeless ideas, Alice150 was honoured to host a singular evening of performance and discussion. Titled ‘Who’s Alice?’, the event brought together four distinguished voices from the worlds of theatre, music, and literature to dissect the enduring allure of Lewis Carroll’s most famous creation. The evening was not merely a celebration of a historical milestone, but an investigation into how a single character can permeate the collective consciousness across different artistic disciplines and generations.

The evening served as a live manifestation of the themes we frequently explore in our newsletters: how curated narratives maintain their vitality and why certain stories never fade. By bringing together practitioners who have engaged with Alice through performance, composition, and scholarship, the event illuminated the architecture of suspension that allows Carroll’s work to remain relevant 150 years after its first publication.

A Multi-Disciplinary Inquiry

The panel was designed to reflect the multi-faceted nature of the Alice narrative. In the world of Alice150, we often discuss the ‘architecture of imagination,’ and few stories possess a structure as resilient yet flexible as *Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland*. The participants each offered a unique vantage point on how this structure is navigated in their respective fields.

• Kate Burton: The acclaimed actress brought a performative depth to the discussion, reflecting on the psychological nuances of bringing Carroll’s characters to life on the stage. Her insights into the vocal and physical demands of the narrative highlighted the inherent drama within the text.
• David Del Tredici: As a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, Del Tredici has spent much of his career translating the whimsical and often dark undertones of Alice into a neo-romantic musical language. His contributions focused on the ‘sonic landscape’ of Wonderland and how music can capture the elusiveness of dream-logic.
• Larry Pine: With his extensive experience in both classic and contemporary theatre, Pine explored the archetypal nature of the characters surrounding Alice, discussing the challenges of portraying figures that are both iconic and surreal.
• Monica Edinger: An educator and author with a deep expertise in children’s literature, Edinger provided the essential historical and scholarly context, bridging the gap between Victorian intent and modern interpretation.

The Performative Lens: Kate Burton and Larry Pine

The discussion opened with an exploration of the performative tradition. Kate Burton and Larry Pine shared their experiences with the text, noting that the brilliance of Carroll’s narrative lies in its refusal to be pinned down to a single interpretation. Burton remarked on the ‘narrative interruption’ that defines Alice’s journey—the way the story moves through a series of creative voids where the rules of logic are suspended. This suspension, she argued, is what allows an actor to find something new in the role every time.

Larry Pine expanded on this by discussing the ‘systems of narrative’ within the play. He noted that the characters Alice encounters are not merely obstacles, but representations of various social and linguistic systems. To perform these roles is to engage with the very architecture of Carroll’s imagination, requiring a balance between the absurd and the profoundly human.

The Sonic Landscape: David Del Tredici

David Del Tredici offered a fascinating look at the translation of narrative into music. For Del Tredici, Alice is not just a story but a source of endless melodic and harmonic inspiration. He discussed his work *Final Alice*, explaining how the structure of the book informs the structure of his compositions. The ‘timelessness’ of the story is mirrored in the way his music oscillates between the traditional and the avant-garde, much like Carroll’s prose moves between the nursery rhyme and the philosophical treatise.

His insights resonated with our recent study on why some stories never fade; Del Tredici suggested that the music inherent in Carroll’s wordplay provides a rhythmic foundation that makes the narrative feel perpetually contemporary. The auditory experience of Alice is just as vital as the visual or literary one, creating a sensory continuum that keeps the audience engaged across decades.

The Scholarly Foundation: Monica Edinger

Monica Edinger provided the evening with its intellectual anchor. By examining the historical conditions under which Alice was written, she helped the audience understand the ‘structure behind enduring narratives.’ She spoke about the shift in children’s literature from the didactic to the imaginative, a shift that Alice spearheaded. Edinger’s perspective reminded us that while the story feels timeless, it was also a radical departure from the norms of its era.

She also addressed the curated nature of the Alice legacy. Much like a well-structured newsletter, the enduring popularity of Alice is sustained by a community of scholars, artists, and readers who continue to curate and re-interpret the text for new audiences. This collective stewardship ensures that the story remains a ‘timeless story’ rather than a relic of the past.

Legacy and the Timeless Story

The ‘Who’s Alice?’ symposium concluded with a reflection on the future of narrative. As we move further into a digital age, the lessons learned from the Alice150 celebrations remain more relevant than ever. The evening demonstrated that the architecture of imagination is not a static thing; it is a living, breathing system that requires engagement from both the creator and the audience. Whether through the medium of a symphonic score, a theatrical performance, or a scholarly essay, the story of Alice continues to provide a framework for understanding the complexities of the human experience. The participants agreed that the narrative continuum of Alice is far from reaching its end; instead, it continues to expand, inviting new voices to explore the creative void of Wonderland.