String Theory: Participatory Sonification Performance of Naturalistic Conversation

String Theory is an interactive, participatory sonification installation exploring the paradoxical dynamics of conversation, especially among strangers. Inspired by and based upon the CANDOR corpus (Conversation: A Naturalistic Dataset of Online Recordings), an extensive dataset of over 1,500 unscripted conversation between strangers, String Theory utilizes a loudspeaker orchestra setup that allows audiences to interact with the system through network connections on their phones. The computer arranges, designs, and synthesizes the audiences’ interactions according to parameter mapping sonification to be played through the loudspeakers in real time, leading to a unique and spontaneous performance where all participants can share in the vulnerable experience of connecting with someone unfamiliar. The code, as well as more instructions for setup, for String Theory can be found at its GitHub repository here: https://www.github.com/Kizjkre/string-theory. This paper outlines the motivation, theoretical foundations, and technical details of String Theory.