PERF 200-Introduction to World Theatre Module 1 and 2

Costume, Makeup, Rhythm and Music

Costume, Makeup, Rhythm and Music are crucial elements in Sanskrit performance. Costume and hairstyles/headgears are bold and colourful

The plot of a tragedy should be of the

"proper magnitude"

Aristotle suggested that

"tragedy" came from a natural tendency of humans to imitate.

A Indian Baharata Muni

(200-200 CE)• Wrote the Natyasastra

A Greek Philosopher Aristotle

(384-322 BCE) (student of Plato)• Wrote the Poetics (335 BCE)

Influences Ratna Sarumpaet

In 1974 she married Achmad Fahmy Alhady She left the theatre for film and television until after her divorce in 1989. She returned to the theatre with a focus on women's Issues, oppression of women and social injustice in Indonesia The reap and death of Marsinah inspired Ratna Sarumpaet. She wrote the play Marsinah: (A Song from the Underworld) in 1994 In 1991, she performed her adaptation of Sophocles' Antigone (441 BCE)

Features of Katiyattam Theatre

Kulasekhara Varman, a playwright supported the new theatre for Katiyattam He made some changes that caused a stir among his peers Kulasekhara Varman introduced: Lengthy drama-lengthy introductions of all the characters, their situations in the poor vangam (prologue) The nirvahanam (solo acting) The kutiyattam (combined acting). The form was performed only in certain temples in Kerala as dedications to the gods Unlike other form where men played all roles, women appeared on Kutiyattam stage and played female roles Use the local contemporary dialect of Malayalam

Makeup in Kathakali

Make up classifies characters- There are 7-character types with unique makeup Each make up take 2-4 hours to complete Colour is significant - it conveys the attributes and emotions of the character Basic character classification and colour

Noh performance form includes :

Mask • Music • Subtle movement

Two major types of plays in Sanskirt:

Nataka plays, whose stories are drawn from mythology or history, deal with exploits of kings and heroes, five to seven acts long, they are a bit like tragedy but end happily Prakamna plays are characterized by invented stories and less exalted characters,. They are five to ten acts long, similar to romantic comedies because of the setting and they deal with everydayhuman characters.

PERFORMING OBJECTS:

Wayang

A Japanese Hoh artist Zeami Motokiyo

Wrote the treatises of Japanese Noh (early 15th C.)

The performances comprised of(Natyasastra)

a dramatic narrative, virtuosic dance, and music.

The Natyashastra recommends the use of...

classical Indian dance forms such as Kathakali and Kuchipudi that emerged from Sanskrit drama.

The Natyasastra

covers origin of drama It describes the dimensions and construction of the theatre building• It outlines the ten types of drama. • It also instruct on the proper way to make an offering to the gods of the stage. • It has instruction on the ideal way of performing the hand gestures, the different movements of the face, limbs, and torso.

Sthayi bhave means

emotion

Brahma then conceived the

fifth Veda as a scared text on dramatic theory and stage practices

Religion is a big aspect

in Indian life, especially among the Hindus

The Wayang Kulit

is a "Shadow Puppet" performance. The word Wayang means "Shadow", The word Kulit means skin Traditionally practiced in Indonesia and other part of Asia

"Natya"

means dramatic narrative, dance and music, and "Sastra" means "authoritative text."

The Natyasastra shapes the aesthetic foundation of performance forms -

natya, (drama) in India and several other South Asian cultures

The origin of drama is traced to the sacred sacrifices

or Vedas(The Hindu scriptures) of India

There were three types of playhouses

square triangular rectangular (which was the preferred because it encourages intimacy between players and audience, resonant actors voice)

Aristotle declared out of the six elements of Tragedy

that plot was the most important • Tragedy must evoke pity and fear in the spectator

Brahma

the Hindu deity associated with the creative drive, conceived the concept of drama to give enlightenment through pleasure to both human and other gods.

These performances are stories from(Natyasastra)

the Mahabharata or the Ramayana

The Natyasastra deals specifically with

the different kinds of postures a performer uses. • The text describes the different character types and corresponding makeup. • It also has several chapters on the music that accompanies the dance drama.

He noted that the job of the historian(Poetics)

was to relay events as they happened and in detail.

He noted that the job of the playwright(Poetics)

was to relay what was probable according to universal truths

Natyasastra explains the meaning of rasa,

which is taste...

Zeami's first treatise was

• Fnjshikaden (Transmission of Style and the Flower) (1402) • It was the first treatise on drama in Japan• It highlights different trainings prescribed for each developmental stages in the life of a Noh artist

It is a reenactment of the battle between

Rama and Ravana.

The Performances occur during festivals such as

Ramlila throughout India

Acting is extremely specific...

...and highly stylized. The way a performer stands and blinks and crooks a finger and flares her nostrils convey vital information about her character and the circumstances of the play. The Natyasastra prescribes ways an actor can mover the facial features Six ways an actor can move the nose Nine ways to move the neck Seven ways to move the Eyebrow.

Zeami Motokiyo was born in

1336

The first proper literary (drama) genre text in the Indian tradition compresses of

36 chapters

Other Elements of theatre

A red seed (Konbuubu) is places under the eye to turn the eye red This help to present a more expressive effect of the eye Head gears and face masks help to emphasize the face makeup False long sliver nails to accentuate the actors hand gestures Actors also use fangs and fake breast

He was born in 384 B.C. in Stagira, Greece. • At 17, he enrolled in Plato's Academy. • In 338 B.C., he tutored Alexander the Great • He founded his own school, the Lyceum, in Athens in 335 B.C. • He wrote about science, art, and politics • He was one of Plato's prized students

Aristotle

...that comedy was the imitation of low status characters, and Tragedy was the imitation of high-status character (gods, heroes, or royalty)

Aristotle Advocated

Natyasastra was a sacred revelation by

Bharata Muni

Background

Brahma He passed this down to humans in the form of The Natyasatra India's first actor-poet Bharata Muni through divine means compose The Natyasatra (The Treatise on Drama) Indian theatre may also have evolved from a shamanistic monologue - the Kuttiyattabm The narrator of the Kuttiyattabm aree know as a Sutradhara, or "the holder of the stings". The term Sutradhara may indicate puppets and their strings/ the storyteller or playwright

Katiyattam annd Kathakali

By the 10 Century, Sanskrit drama had fully developed into a popular artform in India Katiyattam - new form of dance drama based of Sanskrit drama .It was founded by king of Kerala. Kathakali - another form of Sanskrit theatre followed. These two forms of performance were performed in the Kerala , India

Other kinds of play in the Indian culture includes

DIMA plays- this has 16 heroes ANKA plays- one act plays in which women lament Sanskirt plays framing devices includes the use of prologue- provide the ideas and issues that the play focus on the end of play, the lesson(s) learned is highlighted

Props, and scenery

Decorations are used to serve symbolic function, Limited use of props No scenery on the classical Indian stage. Location and specific actions were indicated through a fixed repertoire of highly stylized movements.

Features of Wayang Kulitart Forms

Draws on ancient stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata. The puppets are made from buffalo hides. The handles are made of bamboo sticks or buffalo horns. They have joint limbs that can move Wayang kulit also uses indigenous characters and even Persianheroes • Types character: The Clown character, The Noble characters, It utilizes a large leaf-shaped puppet scene transition, The puppets move behind a screen called the 'layer' or 'Kelir'

Color in the makeup of Kathakali

Green (Pacca) painted face, with red lip signifies gods, sages, noble characters full of moraland calm- heroes Orange (Payupu) reddish shade is for the gods like Parama, Rama, Shihba, and Sure Kathi (Knife), a sinister mustache evil king character - green painted face like the heroes but with a red mustache that is a clue of his evil personality. Thadi (Beard) these character is simply evil Red beard -evil not schemer, just lash out and destroy things Black bread- capable of scheming and evil White bread- are divine or virtuous character Black (Kari) paint with white dots or markings - code for demonic female character Radiant or shiny (Munuku) - Heroines, and Spiritual heroes Special makeup (Teppu)- for other character in the repertory who do not have fixed character type Note: The makeup materials are prepared from colours extracted from vegetables and rice paste

Zeami Motokiyo

He wrote the treatises of Japanese Noh • Noh Theater was developed by his father Kan'ami (1333-1384)• Kusemai (a style of song and dance)• Sarugaku (humorous mime)• Dengaku (harvest dance)

Why Zeami wrote the Treatises

Instruct on Philosophy of Noh • teach the purpose of the performing art which is to bring peace and harmony to the audience • show that this can be achieved through uncommon beauty of the performer's skill • motivate people and bring prosperity and stability to the world

Fnjshikaden

It discusses two important concept1. Monomane (imitation)2. Hana (the idea of the "flower")

-Kathakali

Kathakali developed in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries Influenced by kutiyattam, and by other temple dance-drama forms, such as the krishnattam The stories are derived from the epics ( the Ramayanaand Mahabharata) and Puranas (stories older than the epics).

Features of Kathakali

Kathakali performance begin in the evening and last all night It's an all-male company of dancer-actors The training begins from childhood Training includes -. physical movement such as jumping and kicking, exercise for the eyes and other parts of the face and for the hands . Music, percurtionist, and singing accompany the actors' actions Performed on bare Stage Uses limited props Characters are architypes such as gods and heroes. they take center stage Costumes and Make up classifies characters-

-Katiyattam

Katiyattam is believed to be 2,000 years old. Performed in Sanskrit language in Hindu temples as a dedication to gods Katyattam means "combined acting'

Eight kinds of rasa that the performer evokes in the audience and the corresponding sthayi bhava (emotion) includes:

Rasa (taste) sringaram (love, attractiveness), hasya (comedy, laughter and mirth) Sthayi bhava (emotion)rati (love or delight), hasa (mirth or laughter), soka (sorrow)

The Natyashastra includes the mythic origins of

Sanskrit performance and the ways in which its performance of bhavas, (emotions) evokes different kinds of rasa, (tastes).

Play Structures Ratna Sarumpaet

Sarumpaet's plays are political Her protagonists are women Muslim faith is central theme

Three sizes that these buildings could assume

Small, Medium sized, large

The ritual to theatre model rest on the notion of

Social Darwinism

Kakyo (A Mirror Held to the Flower)

The idea of the Hana (Flower) : the flower gives the actors performance Yugen (grace) • That external skills such as gestures and dance movement may not move the audience • That the fundamentals of Noh art lies in the spirit • Noh actor must develop concentration, be original in his performance and his spirit.

Sanskrit acting space.

The interior was divided into two equal areas• one half (called the Prekshagriha)• The other half was itself divided in two:- its back half (the Nepathya) served as a backstage and dressing room.- its front half (the Rnngu)represented the performance area.

Raja edepus

The live production fuses musical and dramatic techniques used in contemporary Balinese theater with techniques thought to have been used in ancient Greek theater. As Maranda describes on the Making of "Raja Edepus" DVD, the two types of theater—though separated by 2500 years and much of the earth—have significant features in common. Maranda explains that he was inspired to initiate this project after attending performances of the Balinese gamelan in residence at the University of British Columbia; he was struck by the fact that Balinese theater uses masks—a device familiar to Maranda from his previous work on ancient Greek theater. Masks, in both Balinese and ancient Greek theater, are used to impart information to an audience about the masked character's persona and ethos (his or her social status, level of affluence, personality, etc.).

Introduction to Sanskrit Theatre

Theatre in Indian started around 1st Century CE with the Sanskirt drama. Sanskirt plays are derived from epic stories and religious ceremonies Based on Sanskirt Language Sanskirt literature was originally an oral tradition Sanskirt drama are inspired number of writing the Mahabharata and the Ramayana Kalidasa is credited for writing one of the famous piece The Recognition of Shakuntala

THEATRE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE ININDONESIA

• Ratna Sarumpaet (1949- ) • Studied architecture (late 1960s) • Influenced by Karsidah Barzanji, a dramatic adaptation of Islamic verse by W. S. Rendra (apolitical theatre artist and poet. ) • Formed her own company Satu Merah Panggung(One Red Stage) in 1973

Social Darwinism Definition

• observing present day, "primitive" cultures, provides information about humans behaved many years ago. • Europe is the birthplace of civilization • Creates boundaries between disciplines