Drama: Japanese theatre

• 'the doer' is challenged in some way by a second character

'the waki', who is always a man. Actors are always male and train for just one role throughout their acting careers.Women were not allowed to perform/act

Musicians

- 3-6 musicians sit at the back of the stage and play the flute, small hand drum, large hand drum: when play requires it large floor drum - Off to side of the stage. The chorus (6-10) : main role to sing words and thoughts of leading character - Chorus sits at right of stage - Continuous musical accompaniment to every performance

Costumes

- Boldly patterned extravagant costumes: create sharp contrast with the bare stage and restrained movements - Shite costume with five layers and an outer garment of rich brocade creates an imposing figure on stage, an effect that heightens in some plays by wearing of a brilliant red or white wig

Noh Characters

- Central character, known as 'the doer', who may be a man but could be a women, god, ghost or animal - Actor portraying the role wears a mask

4 types of Japanese Theatre

- Kabuki, Noh, Kyogen, Bunraku, Noh theatre

Kabuki Theatre

- Kabuki: is the most flexible and most popular Japanese drama - Three types of kabuki drama: historical plays, domestic plays and dance dramas - Worlds great traditional theatre forms - Kabuki meaning 'titled' or 'off-kilter'

Conventions

- Performers use system of highly complex symbolic systematic gestures which audiences recognise and immediately understand - Emphasises body control and discipline: focusing on movement, gesture, mine, mood and intricate masks, costumes and makeup - Character and language are subordinate to the theatrical elements, but speaking, chanting and singing are still important - Vocal work combines with musical accompaniment: requiring clear, precise diction - Characters are usually symbolic and far less complex and psychological than Western Drama - Presentational acting dominates - Action is enhanced by voice - Emotion showed by symbolic gestures coupled with either discordant or lyrical sounds - Voice is clipped, staccato or monotone - Depth of emotion is shown by ascending or descending sounds and movements - Performance is a combination of highly stylised dancing and chanting that requires a high level of expertise - Totally static and the pace of the action is incredibly slow - Appeals to a minority audience

Fan Language

- Used in Noh - Makes interesting use of fans on stage - A distinct language of the fan has developed. - E.g. With handle to lips: kiss me, drawing through hand: I hate you, open wide: wait for me - Fan is used as a tool to make hands bigger: without it the hands would be difficult to see. Useful in making the crowd understand the forms and actions. Movement of fan is a signal between scenes. Fan can be used to represent an object e.g. dagger or an action e.g. beckoning

Noh Theatre

- brief dance drama about gods, warriors, women, spirits and demons - the actors are all male - Noh is symbolic theatre with primary importance attached to ritual and suggestion in a rarefied aesthetic atmosphere - Form of Noh plays is always the same - Noh means 'talent' or 'skill' - Highly specialised theatrical form

Movement

-Hand gestures: fluid, full, descriptive - Mime used: action and attitude and are also symbolic - E.g. to repulse- one arm in thrust forcefully sideways

Kabuki History

Art form created by Okuni (female shrine attendant in 17th century), Originally performed in the dry bed of the Kamo river, Okuni, dressed in men's clothing and a Christian rosary. Performed scenes of assignations with prostitutes, Written with the three Japanese characters music, dance and craft or skill, During this time, Kabuki was frowned upon for its immoral content in the Confucian orientated culture of the time: in 1629, Tokugawa banned women from performing in the style, Invented 400 years ago by a Japanese priestess- Izumo Okuni, Form of dance drama with an all-female cast, Tour of Japan in 1603: Okuni built a theatre in Kyoto which opened following year, 1629 Japanese government decided that the performances had become too erotic and banned women from performing in Kabuki: now remains all male theatrical form

Kabuki Characters

Female characters: portrayed by male actors. Play with feminine acting style. Superheroes and villains. Three types of characters: Onnagata, Aragato, Wagoto

Kabuki Program

Highly lyrical plays regarded with notable expectations, Creates distinctions between the historical play and the domestic play, Program generally presents them in that order separated by one or two dance plays, It ends with a lively dance finale with large cast

Noh Masks

Kabuki theatre characters usually don't wear masks: to characterise a role: they paint their faces, Noh Five types: men, women, the elderly, Gods and demons, Among masks used for same role: different levels of dignity which affect how the role and play as a whole are to be performed, Joy and sadness: expressed in same mask through slight change in the way shadows fall across its features. Ability of the actor to connect to the audience through actions, facial expressions and voice. Actors faces are covered up by a mask. Fixed emotion the actors had to rely on their skills to accurately portray the emotions for their character. Traditional masks: constructed from Cypress wood, very few holes: two for eyes, one for nose, one for mouth for breathing. Because holes so small: actor had to rely on the four posts in the stage for direction

History

Masks been part of Japanese culture since 14th century

Noh History

Perfected over 600 years ago by a father and son team who wrote and performed most of the 240 surviving Noh plays, Developed from ancient forms of dance drama and from various types of festival drama at shrines and temples that had emerged by the 12th or 13th century, Became distinctive form in the 14th century: oldest professional theatre in the world, Became ceremonial drama performed on auspicious occasions by professional actors for the warrior class

Stage

Stage composed of a single square stage that is in the form of traditional Shinto shrines, Long narrow bridge at the back of the stage where the actors enter, Only backdrop that the Noh theatre has is a picture of an old pine tree painted on the rear wall made of wood: Pine trees were used to represent that the play would be set in the world of spirits, or a sacred place, 5 metres wide, Polished wood supported on huge earthenware jars so that when the actors stamp their feet the sound resonates like a drum, Kabuki Scene appeared to be a restaurant patio: low dining table with female performers knelt down pretending to eat supper

Noh Program

Traditional noh program: five noh plays interspersed with 3-4 kyogen, Both program and each individual play are based on the dramatic pattern, jo-ha-kyu, (introduction-exposition-rapid finale) with one jo section, 3 ha sections and one kyu section, Noh is made up of Okina, performed on special occasions as well as about 240 extant plays in five different groups, God plays, warrior plays, wig plays, miscellaneous (variety of themes) and demon plays, Noh performers are storytellers who use their visual appearances and their movements to suggest the essence of their tale rather than to enact it