Making your own kimono!

KABUKI THEATRE

Kabuki• One of three types of Japanese theatre• Noh, Bunraku, and Kabuki

•Often resembles an American musical•Came into existence around 1600 when a female dance, Okuni, created new dances based on Buddhist dances and contemporary ones • In the mid-1600s women were banned from performing

Kabuki Theatre Space• It is a raised wooden platform• Always includes a “flower path”—a raised passageway that extends from downstage right through the audience • The chorus sits on an angled platform at the right of the stage • The orchestra sits at the back of the stage

KABUKI ACTING STYLES • KABUKI audiences are always aware that they are watching a play• It is highly stylized • Actors will usually address the audience during the performance• Even now, most roles are played by men•Movement is a huge part of the performance• Entrances and exits are based on movement •No props are onstage at the beginning, they are brought to the actor as they are needed• Stage managers dressed in all black, even a veil, bring props to the actors as needed

Kabuki Costumes• Kimono—floor length robe with long sleeves• Brilliant colors and expensive fabrics• Characters often carry folding fans for symbols and gestures• Makeup is unrealistic

LETS DESIGN OUR OWN KIMONO!!

Samuel Beckett

• Born in 1906 in Dublin, Ireland• Taught for while before traveling around Europe•Waiting for Godot is his most famous play• It opened up a new type of drama—Absurdism• Almost always wrote in French than translated to English• Award Nobel Prize for literature in 1969• Died in 1989

Theatre of the Absurd•Theatrical effects like those used by jugglers, acrobats, bullfights, and mimes •Clowning and fooling•Scenes of madness or crazy behavior •Bizarre language, puns, repetitions, nonsense•Elements of dreams and fantasy•Waiting for Godot is absurd•Two characters wait for Godot who never comes

Anton Chekov• Father of modern Russian drama• Born in 1860 to a poor family• These struggles later helped him in his playwriting • In 1879 he enrolled in medical school and became a doctor• He supported himself and his family with journalism • In the late 1880s he began experimenting as a playwright • His most famous plays are: The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, The Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard• Always insisted his plays were comedies when they were often produced as tragedies • His plays are challenging to read• Died in 1904

The Moscow Art Theatre• Founded in 1898 on the basis of realism• Konstantin Stanislavski was a co-founder and developed new realistic acting styles that we still use today• Chekov wasn’t a huge fan of Stanislavski—again insisting that his plays were comedies

Chekov productions—The Seagull

Chekov productions—The Three Sisters

Chekov

•Lets make a set design!