The Theatre of Asia

1. The Theatre of Asia By: Seth Wilmes, Anjuli Mostek, Kasey Laber, Suzanne Shepherd, Michael Bissen, and John France

2. Theatre of Asia3 Main Sections • India • China • Japan

3. The Drama of India Started from the Middle East Roots Based on Greek Texts

4. Sanskrit Dance-Theatre • Sanskrit dance theatre was achieved around 200 B.C and remained popular • The Natyasastra is the most comprehensive study of theatre from the ancient world • Two primary genres of Sanskrit Theatre • Praka- based on theme of love • Nataka- based on well-known heroic stories of kings or sages

5. Sanskrit Dance-Theatre Continued • This theatre was performed indoors within a roofed building that was rectangular • 4 Columns hold the roof or an upper pavilion up • Sanskrit drama died out around the tenth century.

6. Kathakali • The most widely known dance-drama • Kathakali means story play • The audience could leave anytime, eat, or even sleep during the performance • Actors had to train from early childhood because it is so difficult • Based on two Indian epics • Ramayana • Mahabharata

7. Drama of China

8. Chinese Opera: Xiqu • China = oldest home of Asia’s oldest continuous theatre tradition. • Provides common metaphors for daily life • Proverb wentai jiaphua = we learn our real world behaviors from stage performance.

9. Xiqu’s Origins • Zaju (“various plays” – in China during Song Dynasty • Zaju = comedic music-dance-drama; acrobatics and clowning • By 1644 Zaju succeeded by kunqu

10. Kunqu • Still preformed today. • “Clapper Opera”

11. Staging of Xiqu • Xiqu is sceneryless, and presented in a wide variety of surroundings • Usually outdoors : parks, restaraunts etc. • Audience is free to talk & eat (very laid back)

12. Staging cont’d • Plays are almost always anonymous • Based on well known stories from Chinese history or myth. • All plays include both serious and comic elements

13. Staging cont’d • Serious and Comic not tragedy and comedy • Instead… • Civil plays (wenxi)=love, marriage, and domestic justice • Martial plays (wuxi)=battles, banditry, and armed rebellions.

14. Staging cont’d • A second terminology seperates them into… • Great plays (daxi) • Small plays (xiaoxi) • Determines the degree of seriousness in the dramatic treatment

15. Staging cont’d • All actors are proficient in: • Individual skills (gong) • Singing (chong) • Speech (nian) • Acting and Movement (zuo) • Martial Arts and Acrobatics (da)

16. Staging cont’d • Parts are played by a person who is special only at the one part desired • A person may spend their whole life only doing one thing in every play • Types of roles: • Male (sheng) • Female (dan)

17. Staging cont’d • Roles of male and female broke down even more • Male roles (sheng): • Old man (lao sheng) • Young man (xiao sheng) • Warrior (wu sheng) • Painted face ( always a man) (Jing)

18. Staging cont’d • Female Roles: • Quiet and Gentle (quing yi) • Vivacious and dissolute ( hua dan) • Old women (lao dan) • Warrior Princess (wu dan) • Clown characters (male or female) – white painted face (chou)

19. Staging cont’d • Costuming is according to time honored conventions • Actors both sexes wear multilayered robes patterned with multi-bold colors • Some even wear headresses

20. Staging cont’d • What certain colors mean: • Bright yellow = emperors • Apricot = foreign rulers • White = generals • Bronze and bean paste = old officals

21. Theatre in Asia • Indian, Chinese, and Japanese drama are the most noticed in Western Theatre • Never spoken, but danced, chanted, mimed, and sung • More concerned with performing arts than dialogue • Dance, song, mime, gesture, acrobatics, puppetry, music, sound, costume, and makeup

22. Chinese Opera: Xiqu • Sung more than spoken • Xiqu means tuneful-theatre • We translate it as Chinese Opera • Xiqu’s Origins • Zaju- “various plays”

23. Xiqu’s Origins • Zaju- “various plays” • First form appeared in Song dynasty • Comedic music-dance-drama • Kunqu • Appeared in Ming dynasty • Poetic and aristocratic opera

24. Xiqu’s Origins • “Clapper Opera” • Characterized by rhythmic beating of drumsticks on a hardwood block • Jingju • a.k.a. Beijing Opera • Most famous today • Singing, music, and acrobatics and martial arts

25. Staging of Xiqu • First, performed outdoors, on temporary stages • Later moved into tea gardens and restaurants • Today it is in international–style Chinese theatre • Informal • Free to talk, eat, and move during perfomances

26. Staging of Xiqu • Based on well-known stories from Chinese history or myth • Actors must be proficient in • Singing, speech, acting , and movement, and martial arts and acrobatics

27. Theatre in Japan

28. Two Main Theatre Forms • Nō • Kabuki

29. Nō • Japans most revered and cerebral theatre • Oldest continuously performed drama in world • Almost always portrays supernatural events and characters

30. Nō characters: Shite • All plays focus on a single character • Shite (doer) • Shite is usually gods, ghosts, women, animals, or warriors • Shite character always has a mask

31. Nō characters: Waki • Waki character also used • Waki is a secondary character • Interrogates, prompts, and challenges shite • Always represents a living male • Usually ministers, commoners, or priests

32. Nō actors • Always male • Train for only one role type • Normally perform this role for their career

33. Nō stage • Highly polished Japanese cypress flooring • Earthenware jugs supporting floor resonate with foot stompings • Hashigakari – bridgelike runway providing access to stage right, characteristic of style • Ornate, curved roof covers stage

34. Nō overall • Never been a mass entertainment, mostly produced for enthusiasts • In Japan however, number of Nō supporters growing • Remains a national pastime • Sublime mystery and serenity is reflective of Buddhist and Shinto values

35. Kabuki • Created during the Edo Era • Themes consisted of conflicts of humanity and the feudalistic system

36. Kabuki Origins/History • Invented by Izumo Okuni around 1600 • Started as an all women ensemble • In 1629 the Government banned women from the stage because the behavior was against morals • Catamites (boy prostitutes) were hired to play the roles

37. Kabuki Origins/History Cont. • In 1652 the government outlawed the boy performers as well • Adult males became the leads in the plays • Still all male ensemble to this day • Kabuki became more sober and dramatic as a result

38. Kabuki Plays • Most fall into 3 categories • History plays (jidaimono) • Dramatize political events • Domestic plays (sewamono) • Deal with affairs of townspeople, merchants or lovers • Dance dramas (shosagoto) • Among most popular deal with spirits and animals

39. Kabuki Theatres • Kabuki-za theatre in Tokyo • Minami-za theatre in Kyoto • Shinkabuki-za theatre in Osaka

40. Kabuki Scenery • Stage sets 2 or 3 stories high • Revolving stages • Rolling stage wagons provide 3-D background

41. Kabuki Music • Music room called the Geza • Orchestra • Chief instrument is samisen banjo like 3-string instrument • Almost always continuous music and sound effects from the Geza

42. Kabuki Actor Training • Train for much of life • Actors work up from small parts to larger ones • People say actor doesn’t develop Kabuki face until their 50’s