“…a visionary who realized that numbers, letters, notes, etc. are symbolic languages that are reciprocal”
Ada Lovelace (1815 – 1852) is the only legitimate child of the world-famous romantic poet Lord Byron and his wife (and his emotional opposite) Annabella Byron. Ada’s belonging to the high British society allowed her to receive private education and access the brightest scientific minds of the 19th century. Furthermore, according to her mother, her systematic education in math, science and foreign languages was meant to distance her from the negative influence of her father and his imaginary worlds, which she saw as dangerous and potentially destructive. Yet, Ada’s greatest advantage in life turned out to be the combination of her inherited imagination and the practical education she received, which allowed her to link science with art.
She developed mathematics, which she called “Poetic Science” and is considered the world’s first computer programmer. Even if this contribution could be discussed, no one disputes the fact that Ada was a visionary who realized that numbers, letters, notes, etc. are symbolic languages that are reciprocal, i.e. she predicted the potential of the computer (the calculating machine) to write texts and compose music.
Anna Dankova’s performance explores the sensitivity and mentality of Ada Lovelace through a significant concept of her verbal language – the notion of the visible-invisible. The main stage tool is the eye as a physical, sensory and mechanical organ, as well as camera obscura (the most ancient optical device) and the contemporary projector and video camera. The sound is the heartbeats of the actresses in real time, exploring the heart as an “apparatus” of the feelings and a pump of life.
Anna Dankova is a freelance theatre director, dedicated to exploring multi-genre and fringe performative practices. She holds an MA in Journalism, studied Film and TV Directing, and in 2002 graduated with an MA in Directing for Dramatic Theatre. Anna Dankova studied and practiced different psychoanalytical and psychotherapeutic schools, though her most extensive experience is in the field of Psychodrama. Her projects include: TAXITA (2007); the sight-specific project Ultrasonic (2012); COSMONAUT (2013); the promenade theatre A Walk in the Park by Charles Mee; Golem (2016); Kiev-Berlin 2013-2015 (2017).
The project was funded by The Ministry of Culture of The Republic of Bulgaria and supported by Move.bg, Sofia Literature and Translation House, Stream Dance and Goethe-Institut Bulgarien.