ABSTRACT
This chapter describes how semiotic perspectives evince the common, fundamental nature of communication through performance. Performance in this chapter is described from the perspectives of music and theatre, but semiotics enhance a universal understanding. Using music and theatre as a model, the chapter begins with silence as a presence, not an absence. It explores different aspects of communication, for instance music as non-linguistic thought, and contrasts spoken with written language. It presents some basic theories of performance by, for instance, Peter Brook, Nicholas Cook and Christopher Small, and shows how they might be applied beyond music and theatre to better understand how we communicate. It touches on theories by Peirce and applies Greimas’s semiotic square to illustrate the interconnectivity of knowledge. It replaces division with vision, arguing alongside Midgley against the over-specialisation which fractures knowledge. It aims to introduce semiotics to those with some understanding of music and theatre, while at the same time to help those already interested in semiotics to understand better its application to the arts.
