Monday, December 03, 2018
If You Don’t Know Your Noh From Your Kabuki, You Can Still Enjoy Japanese Theater
The New York Times: For Western theatergoers, critics included, watching Japanese stage productions can be a humbling experience. Too few make it abroad to allow a complete view of Japan’s distinguished theater tradition: With context missing and a limited frame of reference, the plays can seem mysterious. A useful rule of thumb is to admit ignorance — and embrace the unknown.
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3 comments:
At my high school, Music History and Theory was a required class we had to take, and for one of our units we had to study classic Japanese theater types, and after a time give presentations on a specific aspect we found interesting. I chose to study Kabuki theater effects because I thought it was interesting that even though society has advanced very much in terms of technology, they still rely on classic effects (like the hanamichi and mawari-butai) to create trap-doors and other interesting effects. I think it's really impressive that a festival of this caliber, with this kind of exposure is going to Paris, where pieces will be translated into French. It's an interesting exchange of artistic cultures, and especially because Eastern Europeans would otherwise not get to see these traditional forms of theater in person. It's interesting to see this clash of stories, and although this is happening no where near me it would still be interesting to see it. I think that the last sentence of this article is the most poignant, "The question is how to understand that otherness in artistic terms without fetishizing it." It's an artistic challenge to have to expand your knowledge of other cultures, and to bring them to more public attention, but extreme care must be taken, so that the art is not exploited or taken for granted.
I know very little to nothing about Japanese theater but I think that it is really interesting and would love to know more. I am also amazed at the sheer size of this festival in Paris. I also love that there even is a celebration of Japanese culture and art in a place not necessarily inhabited by a lot of people of a Japanese background. I love anything that celebrates someones culture because it can show people something that they never would have thought of before. It is interesting to see traditional Japanese culture because that is not something I grew up with even though I am japanese and my grandmother went to finishing school in Japan to learn traditional japanese dress and manners. I would love to be able to see some of the shows and exhibitions that are being put on in Paris but I don't think I will have the funds or time to get there.
The tradition of Japanese theatre is as beautiful as it is complex and deeply steeped in historical practices. For my culminating research paper for the International Baccalaureate Theater Certificate, I researched the practices of Bunraku Theater, a japanese tradition of puppet theater, and its most prolific writer, Chikamatsu Monzaemon, sometimes dubbed the "Shakespeare of Japan" Bunraku theater is so interesting because it is so unlike other puppet traditions. The puppets themselves are as big as half the size of a person, and requires the complete coordination and fluid movement of three people to effectively control. The most senior puppeteer operates the movement of the head and left arm, the second most senior controls only the right arm, and the least senior the feet. The process of aprenticeship is very long as well. They say that it take five years to get to control the feet, another five years for the hands, and yet another five years to be ready to act with the head. I am really grateful that my theater program allowed me to gain insight into such a complex and historical tradition, and I'm sure I was only scratching the surface of that story.
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