Transcript 1. Indian Theatre

By
J.C. Gafford, MA
TA100 – Introduction to Theatre
Fall 2010
Asia is located North of Australia, East of USA and Northeast of South America.
1. Indian Theatre
-Sanskrit Literature
-Natya Shastra
-Classic Indian Playwrights
-Midieval Indian Theatre
2. Chinese Theatre
-Shang Theatre
-Tang Theatre
-Xiang Sheng
-Sung and Yuan Theatre
-Beijing Opera
3. Southeast Asian Theatre
-Thai Theatre
-Cambodian Theatre
4. Japanese Theatre
-Noh & Kyogen
-Bunraku
-Kabuki
-Butoh
-Sanskrit Literature
Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary
liturgical language of Hinduism and Buddhism. Every word of
Sanskrit expresses substantial, spiritual and celestial meanings.
Beautiful
Sanskrit
Chanting
-Sanskrit Literature
Indian drama is a distinct genre of Sanskrit literature emerges in
the final centuries BC, although its origins date back to the
Regvedic dialogue hymns (saṃvāda-sūktas) of the late 2nd millennium BC.
Scholarly treatises are a formal and systematic written discourse on some
subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and
more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject.
Fairy tales and fables were chiefly characterized by ethical reflections and
proverbial philosophy. A peculiar style, marked by the insertion of a number
of different stories within the framework of a single narrative, made its way
to Persian and Arabic literatures, exerting a major influence on works such as
One Thousand and One Nights.
-Sanskrit Literature
Classical poetry refers to the poetry produced from approximately the 3rd to 8th centuries. A striking characteristic
is that sometimes poets show off their technical dexterity with highly
complex word-games, like stanzas that read the same backwards and
forwards, words that can be split in different ways to produce different
meanings, sophisticated metaphors, and so on.
Puranas usually give prominence to a certain deity (Shiva, Vishnu or Krishna,
Durga) and depicts the other gods as subservient. Traditionally they are
said to narrate five subjects, called pañcalakṣaṇa ("five distinguishing
marks"). They are:
1. Sarga, the creation of the universe.
2. Pratisarga, secondary creations, mostly re-creations after dissolution.
3. Vamśa — Genealogy of royals and sages.
4. Manvañtara — Various eras.
5. Vamśānucaritam — Dynastic histories.
Koodiyattam [kutiyattam] meaning "combined
acting,“ signifies Sanskrit drama presented
in the traditional style in temple theatres
of Kerala and is the only surviving
specimen of the ancient Sanskrit theatre.
It seems that kutiyattam is an amalgam of
the classical Sanskrit theatre of ancient
India and the regional theatre of Kerala.
-Natya Shastra
The Natya Shastra (Sanskrit: Nātyaśāstra नाट्य शास्त्र) is an
ancient Indian treatise on the performing arts, encompassing
theatre, dance and music. It was written during the period between 200 BC and
200 AD in classical India and is traditionally attributed to the Bharata Muni who
is often known as the father of Indian theatrical arts.
The Natya Shastra, which has been compared to Aristotle's Poetics, is
incredibly wide in its scope. While it primarily deals with stagecraft, it has come
to influence music, classical Indian dance, and literature as well. It covers stage
design, music, dance, makeup, and virtually every other aspect of stagecraft. It
even addresses the proper occasions for staging a drama, the proper designs
for theatres, the types of people who are allowed to be drama critics and, most
especially, specific instructions and advice for actors, playwrights and (after a
fashion) producers.
-Classical Indian Playwrights
Bhāsa is one of the earliest and most celebrated though, very little
is known about him. Bhāsa is dated between the 2nd century
BCE and 2nd century CE (Common Era).
Kālidāsa (Devanāgarī) was a renowned Classical
Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest
poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language. His
floruit cannot be dated with precision, but most
likely falls within the Gupta period, probably in the
4th or 5th or 6th century. The place bestowed to
the English poet Shakespeare is considered akin to
that held by Kālidāsa in Sanskrit literature. His
plays and poetry are primarily based on Hindu
Puranas and philosophy.
Kavirathna Kalidasa – Bhoja rajana aasthaana
Kathakali performance Onam Greetings Kerala
Kathakali
-Midieval Indian Theatre
Kathakali (katha for story, kali for performance or play) is a highly
stylized classical Indian dance-drama noted for the attractive make-up of
characters, elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and well-defined body
movements presented in tune with the anchor playback music and
complementary percussion. It originated in the country's present day state
of Kerala during the 17th century and has developed over the years with
improved looks, refined gestures and added themes besides more ornate
singing and precise drumming.
Bhavabhuti (Sanskrit: भवभतू ि) was an 8th century scholar of India noted for his
plays and poetry, written in Sanskrit. His plays are considered equivalent to
the works of Kalidasa.
Harsha (606-648), a powerful Indian Emperor, is credited with having written
three plays: the comedy Ratnavali, Priyadarsika, and the Buddhist drama
Nagananda. Many other dramatists followed during the Middle Ages.
-Shang Theatre
There are references to theatrical entertainments
in China as early as 1500 BC during the Shang
Dynasty 1600 BC–1046 BC; they often involved music, clowning and
acrobatic displays.
-Tang Theatre
The Tang Dynasty, 618–907 AD, is sometimes known as 'The Age of 1000
Entertainments'. During this era, the 7th Emperor, Xuanzong or formed an
acting school known as the Children of the Pear Garden to produce a form
of drama that was primarily musical. The Pear Garden or Liyuan
( 梨园) was the first known royal acting and musical academy in China. It
may be the first institutional Academy of Music in the world. That is why
actors are commonly called "Children of the Pear Garden". In later
dynasties the phrase "Pear Garden" was used to allude to the world of
Chinese opera in general.
-Xiang Sheng
Xiang Sheng sometimes translated as crosstalk,
is a traditional Chinese comedic performance
in the form of a dialogue between two performers, or, much less often, a
solo monologue or, even less frequently, a multi-player talk show. The
language, rich in puns and allusions, is delivered in a rapid, bantering
style. Xiang Sheng is one of China's foremost and most popular
performing arts, and is typically performed in the Beijing dialect (or in
Standard Mandarin with a strong Beijing dialect slant).
Xiang Sheng Sample – 3:20

Abbott & Costello
Who’s On First?

Martin & Lewis
-Sung and Yuan Theatre
In the Sung Dynasty (960 and 1279), there were
many popular plays involving acrobatics and
music. These developed in the Yuan Dynasty into a more sophisticated
form with a four or five act structure. Yuan drama spread across China
and diversified into numerous regional forms, the best known of which
is Beijing (or Peking) Opera, which is still popular today.
Peking Opera – White Snake Girl
-Thai Theatre
In Thailand, it has been a tradition from the Middle Ages to stage plays
based on plots drawn from Indian epics. In particular, the theatrical version
of Thailand's national epic Ramakien, a version of the Indian Ramayana,
remains popular in Thailand even today.
La dame flottante (Ramakien)
-Cambodian Theatre (Khmer)
Khmer theatre provided a movement and style that date back to the Khmer empire era (9th to the 13th
century.) These ancient forms were divided but collectively are widely known as Dance
Drama. The Forms are:
Lakhon Kback Boran or Lakhon Luang is a famous theatre performed by the women of the court,
this graceful and beautiful type of the Khmer classical dance has been associated with the country's
royalty for over a thousand years.
Lakhon Khol also known Mask Drama is a theatre of the male troupe that can perform mask
pantomime.
Lakhon Poul Srei is the female version of lakhaon khaol (classical male masked theater), which
literally translates as 'female narration'. Both forms combine classical theater and dance and are
accompanied by the traditional pin peat orchestra.
Khmer Pinpeat Orchestra
Lakhon berk Bat is a lost theatre form in Cambodian Court. It is believed to have originated in the
middle post Angkor period, (18th century). The form disappeared again in the late 1970s during the
time of the Khmer Rouge regime. It is assumed that lakhaon berk bat was only performed in the
presence of Royal or noble families due to the dancers elaborate and expensive costumes and
jewelry.
Lakhon Pleng Kar is a drama performed accompanied by classical traditional wedding music. The
drama, like the music, is believed to have appeared as early as the 1st century during the wedding
ceremony of Preah Neang Neak-Princess Naga-and Preah ThongBrahman Thong.
-Noh & Kyogen
Noh, or Nogaku is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has
been performed since the 14th century. Many characters are masked,
with men playing male and female roles. Traditionally, a Noh
'performance day' lasts all day and consists of five Noh plays
interspersed with shorter, humorous kyōgen pieces. However,
contemporary Noh performances consist of two Noh plays with one
Kyōgen play in between.
-Noh Theater:
-Bunraku
Japan, after a long period of civil
wars and political disarray, was
unified and at peace primarily due to
shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu (1600–
1668). When peace did come, a
flourish of cultural influence and
growing merchant class demanded
its own entertainment. The first form
of theatre to flourish was Ningyō
jōruri (commonly referred to as
Bunraku). The founder of and main
contributor to Ningyō jōruri,
Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653–
1725), turned his form of theatre
into a true art form.
-Bunraku
Bunraku
-Kabuki
Kabuki began shortly after Bunraku, legend has it by an actress named Okuni,
who lived around the end of the 16th century. Most of Kabuki's material came
from Nõ and Bunraku, and its erratic dance-type movements are also an effect
of Bunraku. However, Kabuki is less formal and more distant than Nõ, yet very
popular among the Japanese public.
Kabuki - Genuine
Kabuki - Spoof
-Butoh
Butoh appeared first in Japan following World War II and
specifically after student riots. The roles of authority
were now subject to challenge and subversion. It also
appeared as a reaction against the contemporary dance
scene in Japan, which Hijikata felt was based on the one
hand on imitating the West and on the other on
imitating the Noh.
Butoh