DOI: https://doi.org/10.58874/SAAT.2022.180
Abstract:Theatrical masks were always used by the actors during ancient drama and comedy performances. However the acoustic function of the ancient Greek theatrical masks is a challenging topic for acousticians and theatrologists. From previous study by the authors, it is evident that such masks not only modify the natural sound of the actor’s voice and the directivity of the human head, but also increase dramatically the level of the actor’s self-perceived voice. It was found that the level of the actors voice received to his own ears via the enclosing mask could exceed 100 dB, which over the many hours of the ancient performances, would introduce significant hearing discomfort or even damage the actor’s hearing.To verify such effects, this work provides a comprehensive set of acoustic measurements for the voice generated by a masked actor (transmit path, Tx) as well as the self-induced voice reaching his own ears (receive path, Rx). A set of mask templates was constructed using archeological data and the masks were set over a HATS dummy head system. The measurements were based on platforms and equipment used by the industry for speech and audio quality evaluation of current headsets, headphones and other telecommunication devices.
Keywords:theatre masks, acoustics, Greek theatre plays
Pages:101-104
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