Stephanie McAulay (Steph) is a performer and composer whose works are about as typical as she is…not at all. Often opting to stray from convention, Steph uses various sound sources outside of traditional instrumentation to create her pieces. Her works often centre around her identity as a neurodivergent person, as a way to share that aspect of herself with others.
My project, Stimulation, is a sound-based performance work that celebrates my identity as an autistic person, by exploring the use of self-stimulatory behaviours (stims) as a way of making music. Each of the sounds in this piece come from stims that I use in my daily life. By looking at my auditory (sound-based) stims, as well as finding sounds from my tactile (touch-based) and vestibular (movement-based) stims, I was able to collect enough sounds to compose this piece. Given the work’s performative nature, the composition process was akin to choreographing a dance, each element put in its place, so as to not make it seem as “just a bunch of sounds”. The repetitive nature of the piece, as the act of stimming often is, gives it a magical effect, with the overall aesthetic being likened to the casting of a spell. So come along, enjoy the magic, and let’s get stimmy!