test 2 THAR 201
contemporary puppet theater
- -Mabou Mines Peter and Wendy is an award-winning adaptation of J.M. Barrie's classic book about Peter, Wendy and the Lost Boys. The story unfolds through breathtaking bunraku-style puppetry and live Celtic music. -War Horse is a play based on the book of the same name by children's writer Michael Morpurgo, adapted for stage by Nick Stafford. The drama recounts the adventures of a horse as he moves from life on a farm into the battles of World War I. Joey is a life-sized horse puppet, operated by three puppeteers, constructed by the Handspring Puppet Company that brings breathing, galloping, and charging horses to thrilling life on stage. -In Avenue Q, humans and puppets interact, telling a tale of twenty-somethings learning how to live and love in New York City. Think "Sesame Street" with adult themes, humor and song. -In the National Theater production of "Pinocchio," Geppetto, left, is played by an oversized puppet and the title character by the actor Joe Idris-Roberts.
beijing opera characters
- Sheng(men)=7 types -Dan(women)=6 types -Jing(painted face/roles) god/demon/courtier/thief Chou(Clowns)(20 ways)
Noh stage elements
- main part-> Hon-Butai -jars are embedded under the stage to help w/ acoustics
Japanese theater : Noh drama
-"the art of walking" -is the theater of the samurai class uses sophisticated language and a highly rigid performance style -feature historical or literary figures -main character appears as a ghost -originated in Japan in the 14th century -dominant style of performance conventions of the style -some noh performers are masked/those who are not try to keep faces as expressionless as possible
background of beijing opera
-19th century-> originated in popular entertainment -stories rooted in traditional legends/historical literature -early 20th century-> Mei Lanfang( famous actor) known for playing female characters -men play roles of women in plays if women were there were considered prostitutes -women peaked in 1920-1940 - Mei Langfang performed all over the world even on broadways -this cultural exchange was very influential in the development of non-realist and anti-realist theatrical styles of western drama and the 20th century Mei Langfang made changes to the costumes/staging/make-up/texts /creating a number of few plays -1930's women were accepted to perform opera, led to the gradual disappearance of the female impersonator role
performers in Kathakali
-4 types of performers: actor/percussionists.dancers/singers -takes 20 yrs to be a fully trained kathakali performer -characters are based on kings/heroes/Demons/Demonesses/Gods/animals/priests -500 distinct hand gestures(mudras) allows to tell stories with bodies and reflect the bhava of each character
300 types of dress in Beijing opera
-46 headdresses -47 dresses -6 girdles -6 shoes -red costumes: brides & loyal characters -yellow costumes: royalty -white costumes: elderly and mourning characters
types of movements said by Natyasastra
-6 ways to move your nose -9 ways to move your neck -7 ways to move eyebrows communicating through emotion that matters most scenery is not critically important.
Sui Dynasty
-600 CE -is ascendant -emperor yang- Ti-> opens own training school
people in noh drama
-Ashikaga Yushimitsu : patron at two kan'Ami and patron lover of Kan'Ami's son Zeami Motokiyo -father kan'ami manages to combine sarugaku Noh with stories borrowed from classical japanese sources like " The tales of Genji-> ties with buddhist and Zeami writes 100 plays
how are the puppets set on stage for Bunraku theater
-Each puppet is 2/3 the size of an average person and is operated by three puppeteers. The operators are dressed in black, and hooded. Only the lead operator may expose his face, a sign of honor for his years of study and service. -The puppets are joined onstage by a chanter and a musician. The chanter is responsible for performing all of the dialogue, for all of the characters.
3 main indian court dramas
-Heroic Dramas -invented dramas -farce -Primarily performed at court,but also in religious festivals
Natyasastra introduces the idea of rasas(moods)
-Instead of genre,sanskrit plays are defined by the kinds of moods they evoke.
5 types of Noh plays
-Kamimono-feature the sacred story of shintu shrine -Shuramono-feature warriors like atsumori -Katsuramono-"wings play" feature women -Gendaimono- naturalistic stories -Kyojomono- mad woman plays it ft. a woman who loses a child or a lover & then goes insane -Kichikumono-"Demonplays" features supernatural beings
Kiratam
-Kurata Arjuna on the pandava brothers(greatest archer) -Needs powerful weapon to attack cousins(the pashupastra) -shows how the form dances between the secular & sacred/honor values dear to hinduism like bravery/humility
Two-distincts of Dramas
-North ->Zaju= 4 acts long -south ->Chuan-Qi
In hinduism..
-Shakuntala is the wife of Dushyanta and mother of emperor Bharata -A story told in the Mahabharata & dramatized by many writers, most famous adoption being Kalidasa's play the sign of Shakuntala
contemporary japanese theater
-Shingeki " New Drama" -> western -oriented modern theater form in Japan -Began in early 20th century grew after world war two -1960s shingeki got stagnant -little theater movement formed in reaction in late 1960s which was led by Tadashi Suzuki -Suzuki acting method uses exercises by ancient greek theater/ martial arts /Noh & Kabuki traditional values of strength -techniques-> grammars of the feet -actors becoming more aware of his natural expressiveness
3 essential characters
-Shite=main character=only one to wear a mask -Tsure=the shite's companion -Waki= witness or antagonist
Roles of Kabuki
-Tachiyaku=brave hero types -Katakiyaku= mean villian types -Koyaku= children's roles -okabuki -do not have masks ,could be jailed if costumes were too nice.
Noh costumes and props /other things
-actors have costumes of embroidered silk & carry hand props -the fan ->most important object symbolizes rain/wind/sun/moon -3/4 person orchestra called Hayashi sits at the back of the stage dressed in samurai costumes -flute & 3 drums -6-10 chorus sings/narrates/ take over lines of the shite when he is busy dancing like Sanskrit theater -no director -rigorous training= actors performances must be perfect every time
samar (wayang puppet theater)
-an important figure present in all performances -orchestra conducted by the dulag by using a little bow and a small drum -the choral cardamom and Vinshu come onstage
Prakana Play
-are also 5-10 acts long -closer to in spirit to roman comedies in that they often have urban settings and deal with everyday human characteristics
Bunraku Puppet Theater
-around the same time as kabuki -influenced each other -big stages -1730's -> 1 puppet= 3 puppeteers -takes 10 yrs to master the right then another 10 years to master the left -Japans most representative form of puppet theater -in the early times, they used to make puppets more simpler and only needed 1 puppeteer
Han Dynasty
-begins in 206 BCE,performance becomes more widespread & more secular,performers practice disciplines like tight rope-walking/pole-climbing/sword-swallowing/fire-eating/juggling/ shadow plays
China/Zaju/Beijing opera
-classical chinese drama went through during the cultural revolution -earliest is associated with religious rituals -songs/dances petitioning the gods for fertility for a good harvest
The golden age for sanskrit drama
-comes a little bit later around the 4th and 5th centuries, during the Gupta Dynasty -2 dozen dramas survived -the plays were typically written in a mix of sanskrit, fancy literary dialect, and Prakrit, more common dialect
what is the state of new plays in contemporary china?
-concerns about the future of original contemporary chinese plays have arisen as critics worry that foreign imports & long -running classic chinese plays are pushing innovative new productions out of market -more value on playwrights: non governmental organizations, not entities with vested interests, should sponsor experimental theater/ universities should set up theater study courses.
Jiang Quing and more background on chinese opera
-denounced the traditional opera for not serving the needs of the masses -eight model plays-> featured common workers,plain modern dress & naturalistic sets promoting communism -gang of four finally restored traditional opera in china/Taiwan/Hong Kong -the legend of the monkey king
Sanskrit theater
-do not know how it was started or developed -but followed a process similar to greek drama and the future re-emergence of theater in the medieval period -people create religious rituals to honor their gods -act of devotion/ instead of singing -started around 1500 BCE and like greek literature,if was originally an oral tradition
there are 7 types of characters in kathakali
-each take 2-4 hrs to do their makeup - green:heroes/gods -ripe(red orange): gods Balarama/Brahma Shiva and surya -knife: refers to sinister mustache that evil king characters wear( green but have red mustache) -white beard-> divine types-> monkey king Hanuman -black beard-> evil schemers -red beard-> evil characters(NOT schement) -black stage makeup-> demon -radiant shiny makeup->heroes/spiritually woke heroes -special-> other characters in the repertory about 18 that don't fit the rest of types -dressed & placed a crushed seed called approval under each island -> turn eyes red -evil beards wear fangs -black demon characters strap-on fake breasts -apply long silver nails to their left hand which helps accentuate those hand gestures.
Kabuki Theater
-emerged in Japan in the 17th century -combines elements of Noh, Bunraku, and folk theater -less formal than Noh or Bunraku -features adventures, violence, romance,even ghost stories -women were first to perform Kabuki -female performers were banned from the style in 1629 after feuds arose between members of the shogunate over romantic/sexual attention of female performers -since then kabuki has only only been performed by men -onnagata: are male performers trained to play female roles -utilize elaborate scenery/makeup/costumes -hanamachi(flowerway) allows performers to enter audience space
9 different rasas
-erotic -comic -pathetic -furious -heroic -terrible -odious -marvelous -peace
Kyogen
-farcical scenes between Noh plays which act as a nice reminder that the isn't all ghosts and women -comedy scene
The wayang puppet theater
-form of storytelling -originated on the Indonesian Island of Jarrah -is practiced on Java and on the islands of Lombok, Medora, Sumatra , Borneo -use handcrafted objects in size shape and style teo principle types prevail -in the past puppeteers were regarded as cultivating literary experts who transmitted philosophical moral and aesthetic values -the words and actions of comic character representing the common man <- have to do why ank survival over the centuries -why Aang stories borrow characters from indigenous myths and ancient Indian epics
chinese theater
-has developed through the patronage of the imperial court, and reflect the philosophies of china's ruling class throughout the centuries -714 CE, during the Tang dynasty the imperial court founded the pear Garden, a training institute for actors which established the tradition of training professional performers
The mahabharate
-is an epic tale of a battle between two group of cousins
the centerpiece of the theory is Rasa
-is experienced by the actors and by the audience. -the actor takes different rasas to mix together something unique in their performance -nostrils, harmony with the universe ,and ancient sanskrit theater -older theater traditions -theater of Rome & Greece are one tradition
The Ramayana
-is more intimate family narrative that also involve a monkey king -no solid date for the first sanskrit drama
Yuan Dynasty
-late 13th century mongols invade China forming the "Golden Age of literature" -drama grew from history and legends
Bharata Muni
-may not actually be a real person, but more literary construct-semi divine -wrote The Natya Shastra - an all purpose guide to theater how to write it watch it stage it -Natyasastra theory of the origins of drama -theater-> Brahma-> job is creating stuff -Brahma and some other gods are worried the scriptures are too literary so comes up with drama as a religious teaching tool. -Brahma teaches it to god, Bharata who teaches to his 100 sons -prepare play that the god Indra defeated some demons(god loves them but not the demons)
zeami actors used 3 techniques
-monomane : identifying with and embodying the character -yugen: leading embodiment elegance while emphasizing the impermanence of life. - Hana->"flower" endowing the performance with spontaneity Zeami atsumori-> moral of play: attachment is bad -noh is a living art form passed down
two type of kyogen
-parodies of Noh, are like satyr plays -scenes of everyday life based on around stock characters which resemble roman comedies -one difference -> kyogen are never vulgar,short, usually music less/ language is more casual
Katha(story)Kali(play)
-performed only by men, it originated in the South Indian state of Kerala, over 500 yrs ago, considered one of the words oldest dance forms -devotion featuring the universal struggle between good and evil -a spectacular combination of drama/dance/music/ritual -adaptations from Shakespeare & other western dramas
Tang Dynasty
-performers start to combine music/dance/acrobatics in innovative ways -this type of theater is literature -1000 CE, poetry starts to develop-> novel comes to china
South- chuan-Qi
-plays have 30-50 acts . they don't have a fixed rhyme scheme per act -unlike Zaju songs, which were written for a pentatonic scale.The man accompaniments was the bamboo flute. -most famous play is " The Peony Pavillion" (55 act play) -1790: celebrate birthday of emperor Qianlong Jingxi
The puppet and the power
-puppets as political leaders -began during the nazi phase , for entertainment but then the creator became an enemy to the nazi since in the puppet plays he would insult nazis. -puppets are dangerous but it takes authorities longer to realize that
Noh stage
-resembles a shinto temple -roofed square stage with four pillars -a pine tree is painted on the wall at the back of the stage -right side area of the chorus-> 10 men -back area: orchestra -a bridgeway( hashingakari) connects the stage to the mirror room -dotted with 3 pines represent heaven/earth/man
large rectangle theaters
-reserved for gods -acting in the classical Indian theater is specific and highly stylized. Way a performer stands and blinks,etc -All that is conveying vital info about her character and circumstances of the play
On the other hand Noh is ..
-ritual/gentle -actors =social outcast needed to marry with other actors -male actors who played female roles= onnagata (lived as a woman offstage)
Navarasas or 9 emotions
-romantic/erotic -humorous -pathetic -anger -heroic/valor -fear -disgust/repulsion -amanzment/wonder -peacefully/ tranquility
Wu priests
-shaman/ wizard -rituals with jokes and special effects
Noh plays structure
-short only 10 pgs or so long but take from 30 mins-2 hrs -can last up to 8 hrs -each play consists of two scenes, and must involve a ghost, a demon ,or a tormentated human who can't rest -language is a mix of verse & prose, most of it sung or chanted ,every noh play ends with a dance
description of the puppets appearance
-shoulders are padded with fibe made from a dried gourd -hips are made with bamboo giving the puppet its human contour -legs/arms are nearly attached with strings and dangle -
props from beijing opera
-silver banner: water -black banner: a storm -A whip: riding horseback -black gauze: a dream -yellow silk flags: a chariot
mystical version of how Kyogen started
-sun goddess Amaterasu was teased badly by her brothers she hid in a heavenly rock cave/world went dark -Armano-> Uzumeno-< goddess of dawn mirth & revert came up with a brilliant plan -> sang and danced while taking off her clothes ,gods go crazy-> goddess see what happens the lights return to world -sacred dance was part of shintoism the traditional religion of Japan
3 Puppeteers
-the least experienced controls the feet -the other manipulates the left hand -the master puppeteer is responsible for the head and right hand
Making war horse
-the puppeteer got the idea from his mom when she told him about the horse in the 1st world war
Veda
-the sacred text covers dramatic theory and stage practice producing theater -deal of what we know of ancient Indian Performance practice comes from this text. - the Natya Shastra offers a theory of how theatrical art affects a person
Kathakali characters
-vividly painted faces and elaborate costumes -re-enact stories from Hindu epics -Mahabharatha and Ramayana -Costumes represent Hindu elites through visuals -costumes have evolved over the last 5 days by colors/ designs /materials/skills have been carefully handed down through generations
the staging of sanskrit theater
-was often staged in conjunction with religious rituals -troupes were male/female (mixed gender) -play commissioned as court performances for all people(members of 4 castes) -priests -warriors -merchants -peasants -theater could be rectangular,square/triangular/ small/ medium(most popular)/ large
Onna kabuki
-womens kabuki; outlawed women in 1629 b/c they were considered prostitutes
two main categories of play
10 categories of play -Nataka plays -Prakana plays
history of kabuki
1642-playing women's role was outlawed 1648-homosexual was outlawed 1652-all young male actors were outlawed -actors need to shave their forehead so they can look unattractive -Kabuki plays last about 12 hrs,until 1868 govt. passed an 8hr maximum -Mie=signaled a heighted moment in the narrative 1700's choreographers were added to the kabuki companies -Kabuki: plot / spectacle/sword fights/mystical creatures -special effects -> trained since 6-7 age mature artists till 40
most kabuki play writer
=Chikamatsu
Sanskrit drama
Kalidasa's "The recognition of Sakuntala -early in common era -1st act king Dushyanta, hunting deer then decides perving on hermit maidens -especially sakutala - the king and sakuntala fall in love when he is protecting her. Sakuntala accidentally offends the Durrasa then curses her saying the king will forget about her until she gets him a ring -find king ring in fishes belly -at the end king recognizes sakuntala and son
Dima plays
-16 heroes
Kathakali Performance
-2-3 hours of preliminaries-> prayers/warm-ups acts/ drum solos -before it used to be an 8hr performance but now it only lasts 3 hrs
when doing Bhava(emotion expression)
-3 drum percussion orchestra is keeping time while 2 onstage vocalists clank brass,cymbals,sing -text: both the 3rd person narration and the 1st person dialogue -scripts run 30/40pgs <- only 1 component
5 types of masks
-agent -male -female -god -monster
3-D wooden puppet
-dick dolly -also the flat leather shadow puppet weiyang the master puppeteer manipulates the arms with slender sticks
Anka Plays
-one-act plays in women lament -kidnapping/ battles/ berserk elephants(happen offstage) -onstage get messengers reports and dialogue about how people are dealing with invading monkey forces
peking opera
-performance art incorporating singing, reciting , acting, martial arts -uses beijing dialect -librettos are composed according rules that prize form & rhyme -tell stories of history/politics/society/daily life/inform
Redlight district-> Ukiyo
-then changed to younger boys but considered as prostituting to samurai
Brass lamps
-welcomes divine the presence at dusk
more about kabuki theater
Narrow stage bridges are often outfitted with trap doors/ stage elevators used for special effects & dramatic entrances/exits -makeup-> kumadori & Mia Redlines-> strength & sense of justice Blue lines->evil/ villain Brown lines-> Supernaturals beings Tapao values-> given injure -many similarities with shakespeare
what does kabuki mean?
curtain -developed during the tokugawa shogunate, a military govt. that ruled from 1603-1868 -female dancer from Izumo Grand shrine-> Okuni =performed quietly in make shift stage in Kyoto
both played today
kabuki & Bunraku
Dengaku
"field music" -possibly originated in Korea /it was associated with spring rice sowing and fall rice harvest festivals,included comedy judging and dance
Kathakali students
- take nearly 12 yrs of training to learn choreography and gestures
Beijing opera
- two kinds of opera: military and civil -all kinds of symbolic and codified set and prop elements in Beijing opera -depends on extravagant makeup and costuming
satin curtain
-at front that represents worlolly illusions
Indian Court drama
-dates back 3000 years -written both in prose & verse/ style of languages the social status of characters with lower class speaking in prose & royalty/ and speaking in verse
sometimes by Adhir Bhat,2014
-follows life of young professional paramit duggal,depicts the struggle of modern day living which as a result can lead to destructive behavior
Kayuda
-god music a dance performed by priestesses -6 century CE, Buddhism arrived -Japan adopted additional forms of Dance and ritual -text: "records of ancient things" -712 CE
Noh plays are..
-philosophical/heavily influenced by shinto ideas about our connection to nature & Buddhist ideas
the set of music for kabuki theater
-shamisen -3-stringed flute-like instrument
Sarugaku Noh
"Monkey music " -possibly originated in china -featuring animal acts & nudity (dance theater) -Kiyotsugu Kan'nami an acclaimed sarugaku Noh performer -Shogun- highest ranking general -> late 14th century
Drum
invites the god to take their seats
North distinct of drama -Zaju
most famous -twenty act "Romance of the western chamber" contain 10-20 songs ->selected from Zhao and the circle of chalk"
8 bhavas
playwright dues it's drawing by 8 major human emotions -pleasure -mirth -sorrow -wrath -vigor -fear -disgust -wonder -put rights combination of bhavas and evoke appropriate
origins of indian theater
theatre in India originated as part of religious festivals -the Hindu deity Brahma created "drama" for the pleasure and enlightenment of the Gods and humans -god shiva -> lord of dance -brought dance to theater and Vishnu created various theoretical styles -Natya Shastra was written by Bharata around the year 4 C.E
Puppetry Worlds of Imagination
This documentary surveys the revolutionary new developments in American puppet theater, profiling many of puppetry's most imaginative contemporary artists, including Basil Twist, who uses bits of fabric, feathers, plastic, and other materials in a 1,000-gallon tank of water to create a visually stunning underwater ballet musically accompanied by Berlioz's 'Symphonie Fantastique' Ralph Lee, founder of the famous Greenwich Village Halloween Parade, discusses his current work designing figures for ballets and symphony orchestras and we see excerpts from his own theater company's production, which employs puppets as vehicles for the exploration of supernatural myths and legends; Michael Curry discusses the masks and puppets he created for the Broadway production of The Lion King, as well as the Super Bowl, the Olympics and the Millennium Celebration in New York City; Cheryl Henson, daughter of Jim (The Muppets) Henson, discusses the biannual Jim Henson International Festival of Puppet Theatre as we see excerpts of some of these innovative presentations; we also visit the puppetry program at the California Institute of the Arts, including one of puppeteer Janie Geiser's classes; and the video concludes by discussing the new directions and new ideas in puppetry and the ways it is transforming opera, music, theater, and dance. -all white fabric used is called Harriet
History of Bunraku
a style of puppet theatre developed in Japan. Bunraku plays are known for their beautiful poetry. The stories are influenced by the neo-Confucianist tenets of sacrifice, loyalty, and revenge, and the conflict between personal feelings and social responsibility. There are two distinct genres of bunraku, historical dramas, and domestic dramas.
Nataka plays
are 5-10 acts long. Usually borrow stories from the classic sanskrit epics and deal with gods and heroes and demons -little like tragedies end happily (like harmony with universe)
