Karina Wallrafen

Math in TheatreApplications of Conics to the Building of

Amphitheaters; and Theatrical Performances that use Math.

Karina Wallrafen

What exactly is an ellipse?

The textbook definition: the set of all points for which the sum of their distances to two fixed points, known as the foci, is constant

Karina Wallrafen

Reflective Properties of Ellipses

Karina Wallrafen

Whispering Galleries

Sound waves, like water and light rays, travel from one foci of a room with an elliptical cross-section (that is, its roof is a semi-ellipse) to the other

This creates a so-called „whispering gallery“, where a person at one focus can hear the person at the other focus whispering, despite the distance between them and/or any background noise

This effect can be achieveda. in an elliptical chamber (preferably with a vaulted

roof)

b. By placing the end caps of an ellipse (concave parabolas) with the correct distance between them

Karina Wallrafen

Circular Whispering Galleries

Sound from any point of the circumference of a circular whispering gallery travels along the wall to any other point

Examples are St. Paul‘s Cathedral in London, England and the Gol Gumbaz mausoleum in Bijapur, India

Karina Wallrafen

Greek Amphitheatres

The theatre in Epidaurus, Greece was designed by Polykleitos the Younger in the 4th century BC.

Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have discovered that its remarkable acoustics are due to the limestone seats that hush low-frequency noises (background noise from the crowd) while reflecting high-frequency sounds (the performers‘ voices).

Karina Wallrafen

Karina Wallrafen

Complicite

A British theatre company originally known as Théâtre de Complicité uses extreme physical movement, dazzling technology and thought-provoking themes.

Their principle involves „seeing what is most alive, integrating text, music, image and action to create surprising, disruptive theatre“

Their 2007 production „A Disappearing Number“, whose central characters are the mathematicians Ramanujan and G.H. Hardy, is about pure mathematics, string theory, and the idea of infinity.

Karina Wallrafen

A Disappearing Number

Tells the story of the mathematician Ramanujan and his Ramanujan summation, which assigns a sum to infinite series is part of the base of string theory

Its music involved chants of number sequences morphed into a more traditional score

Uses strong visual and physical imagery to portray patterns and sequences in mathematicians

Staging the play involved exercises for the cast to practice translating mathematics into stories and vice versa. These exercises explored the importance and effects of rhythm and the concept of reducing a story to its essential fragments.

Karina Wallrafen

Sourceswww.complicite.org

Dawson, Stephen. "The Reflective Property of an Ellipse." The Reflective Property of an Ellipse. N.p., 2001. Web. 01 Aug. 2013. http://www.math.ubc.ca/~cass/courses/m309-01a/dawson/.

Derksen, Bryan. "Ellipse." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 31 July 2013. Web. 22 Aug. 2002. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellipse>.

Georgia Institute of Technology (2007, April 6). Ancient Greek Amphitheater: Why You Can Hear From Back Row. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 1, 2013, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2007/04/070404162237.htm

Gualteri, Chris. "A Disappearing Number." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Nov. 2010. Web. 01 Aug. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Disappearing_Number>.

Jones, Aubrey. "Complicite." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 17 July 2013. Web. 18 Oct. 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complicite.

Krohn, Petri. "Whispering Gallery." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 25 July 2013. Web. 31 July 2007. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whispering_gallery>.