Early Asian Theater From India, China, and Japan

Indian Theater Sanskrit Drama Written in Sanskrit, the language of the noble classes and performed in court circles The Natyasastra as example of Indian theatre Set and scenery Costumes Dance and movement

Characteristics of Sanskrit Drama They use stories drawn from the great Indian epics The Mahabharata The Ramayana The stages were elaborately decorated no representational scenery was used Movements of every part of the body, vocal delivery, and song were all strictly codified

Chinese Theater Religion, philosophy had large influence on Chinese theater Confucianism Stresses responsibility of individual to others Taoism Stresses simplicity, patience and nature’s harmony Shamanism Rituals combined costumes, song, dance and gesture

Tang Period ( C.E. ) Court Entertainments Included skits, pantomimes, juggling, singing and dancing Pear Garden Actor’s training institute Variety plays Traveling troupes, shadow puppets

Yuan Dynasty ( ) Literary intellectuals wrote essays and poetry; snubbed plays and theater Mongols took power and literari were unemployed Began writing plays called zaju Composed texts to suit rhythms of popular music Protagonist sang all the music Had only a few characters Topics ranged from love and romance to religion and history, and even bandit heroes

Yuan Dynasty Mixture of high art and popular theatrical traditions Compared to Elizabethan England and 5 th century Greece The Orphan of Chao Deals with vengeance, sacrifice and loyalty First Chinese plays known in the West The Circle of Chalk Lawsuit-and-trial genre Bertolt Brecht saw a version and wrote The Caucasian Chalk Circle

Japanese Theater Japanese followed Shinto and Buddhism Three Types of Theater Noh Kyōgen is a comedic form of Noh Bunraku Puppets Kabuki Popular theater

Noh Theater Developed in 14 th century by Kan’ami Son Zeami Motokiyo took over and improved the form Noh traditions are passed on from teacher to disciple which continues to this day Characters based on literary or historical figures familiar to audience

Characteristics of Noh Major roles are masked Actors move in a highly stylized fashion Based on dance and pantomime Actors alternate between chanting and heightened speech Poetic, artistic and written to the music

Bunraku Puppet theater named after a famous puppeteer Started as a way to illustrate a chanter’s music Chanted texts called jōruri Chanters perform all voices in a play, narration and set mood

Puppets Manipulated by 3 people Legs Left arm Head and right arm Puppets are 3 feet tall

Kabuki Theater Combined Noh and Bunraku elements Movement like puppets Faces painted like masks Became more popular than Bunraku Kabuki and Bunraku less formal than Noh Noh remained theater of Samurai class

Characteristics of Kabuki Actors trained from childhood Vocal dexterity Dancing Acting Physical versatility Male actors only Costumes and makeup elegant and gorgeous Movements larger than life and theatrical Elaborate scenic effects