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Eastern Drama
History of Drama
Asian/Eastern Theatre
As the world’s largest continent, there
are 1,000’s of identified theatre forms.
 Asian drama is almost never just
spoken

– Chanted
– Danced
– Mimed
– Sung
Asian/Eastern Theatre
Asian drama that is just spoken is
considered influenced by the West
 Imagery, rhyme, and alliteration are as
important as dialogue and logic is in
Western Drama
 More visual
 Reading plays not seeing them is an
odd past time to the culture

Asian/Eastern Theatre
Brilliant costumes
 Thick makeup
 Elegant danced battle scenes
 Live instruments

Becoming an Actor
Train through an intense apprentice
system
 Most are born or adopted into their
trade
 Train from early childhood through
early middle age

Today
Western influence is evident
 However, its near-universal
consonance with folk history, ancient
religions, and cultural myths is
remarkable

Timeline
Hindu (Theatre of India) began 500
B.C.
 Chinese Drama began as early as
2000 B.C.
 Japanese Drama began in 6th century
but was formalized in 14th century A.D.

Hindu Drama
500 B.C. - present
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Golden Age of Hindu Drama 500-300 B.C.
Reflected caste system – people are
classified by heredity
– Placed in caste when born and could not change
occupations.
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No violent or improper actions permitted
(including kissing, yawning, or sleeping)
No mention of calamities like plague or war.
Hindu Theatre
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96 feet x 48 feet
Divided equally into stage and auditorium
4 pillars, each with a different color
– Indicated where different castes could sit.
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Curtain or door divided stage in 2 parts, one
for acting and one for dressing rooms
Formal scenery was not used
Actors
Actors relied on elaborate costumes
 Used

– Dance
– Symbolic gestures
– Music
Also relied on fixed characters:
– Clown
– Narrator
Language
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Plays were written and
performed in Sanskrit
A language of higher
castes
Lower people spoke a
hybrid of Sanskrit and
local dialect
Dramas were mostly
for nobility, since lower
castes couldn’t
understand them.
Indian Epic Literature

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Most plays were
based on early
Indian epics
These epics were
well-known to
royals
Famous Indian
Playwrights
Bhasa
 Kalidasa

Bhasa
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Most productive
playwright
Wrote in 4th century
A.D.
13 plays survive
“Father of Hindu
Drama”
Kalidasa
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A.D. 373-415
Wrote Shakuntala,
masterpiece of
Indian drama
Subtitled as “The
Fatal Ring,” or
“The Recovered
Ring”
Wrote in lyric poetry
Shakuntala
Story elements include: a secret
marriage, forgetfulness caused by a
curse, and a magic ring.
 Also included ideas from Indian
philosophy, religion, and psychology.
 Serious and comic elements
 Performed today in play, opera, and
ballet form.

Misc. Hindu information
May have been the first culture to
permit women to act onstage
 Used mime elements with dance
 Hindu drama always ended happily

Chinese Theater
2000 B.C. - present
video
Early Chinese Theater
Dates back to 2000 B.C., interpretive
dancing became dramatic.
 Put on during ancestor worship and
military celebrations.
 Not as a form of entertainment
 Audience included only the emperor,
priests, and high court.
 Classical Language style

Ideal Chinese Drama
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Every play has a
moral
Some short (30
minutes) others
broken into acts
which may not be
the same story
Singing actor
(similar to Greek
chorus)
Subjects
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Historical and contemporary
Rarely about love (marriages were
arranged) but sometimes about faithfulness
to husband
Comedies
Emperors who “save the day”
Frequent scenes of violence, suicide, and
torture.


Good actor can accurately portray torture
No matter all the violence, always end
happily
Theatre and Costumes
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Little scenery
No curtain
Costly, gorgeous
costumes
Heavy make-up
Actors
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Not considered
high in society
Women forbidden
until 18th century
56 actors in a
troupe
All actors must
know 100-200
plays—no prompter
Famous Plays

Little Orphan in the House of Tchao
– Brought to France in 1735
– Translated by Voltaire
The Sorrows of Han
 The Story of the Magic Lute

– 14th century
Props

Symbolic props:
– White paper from
red umbrella = snow
– Man with whip =
riding on horseback
– Actor with flag =
army
– Flag with wavy lines
= river
Colors

Every actor wore colors that signified a
meaning
– Red = faithfulness
– Blue = cruelty
– White = evil
– Black = worn by prop man to remain
“invisible”
Propaganda Period
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Communists took
over China after
WWII
After 1949, the
government
rewrote many of the
well-known
classical plays to
preach government
policy
Japanese Drama
Early Japanese Drama
Earliest records from Heian period
(794-1185)
 Court entertainments
 Juggling, skits, dancing
 Very few details and proof of theatre
before this time.

Nō or Noh Drama
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Emerged in 14th
century
Formal and classical
Musical Drama
Short, philosophical
studies with poetry,
dance, and music
Series of sedate
postures to express
an attitude.
Noh Theater
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Wooden stage (18
ft. square)
Audience sits on 3
sides
Pointed roof over
stage with 4 pillars
Polished floor with
jars underneath for
good sound.
Actors
Actors enter from green room through
a bridge (a narrow corridor).
 Each character bows as he enters
 Announces

– name
– origin
– purpose

Chorus (6-8 men) sits at left and
provides chanting background music.
Actors cont.
1500 professional Noh actors today
 Begin at age 3 and study throughout
their life
 Mostly men although a few women
whose fathers are professional Noh
actors have begun to perform

Scenery and Props
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Single tree tapestry
hanging on back
wall.
Common props:
fan, boat, altar, well
Noh Costumes
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Silk was worn by all
characters, no
matter what station.
Cut of costume and
make-up
determined social
class.
Major actors wore
wooden masks
expressing
stereotypical
expressions.
Noh Masks
Noh Plays
Characters based on literary or
historical figures already familiar to the
audience
 Traditionally an all day experience.
Now, one Noh play, followed by a
short Kyogen play, ending with another
Noh
 250 plays

Kyogen
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Comic interlude
during Noh plays to
break from
depressing tones.
Farce comedies
without music and
no masks.
Usually included a
summary of Act 1
Video-Short Noh
with Kyogen
Kabuki
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The common man’s drama
Began in 1600
Became a form of theater by 1616.
Women banned from acting
Men promoted the theater.
More melodramatic and sensational than
Noh theater—often rowdy
Many different subjects
Kabuki Theater
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Wide platform
Characters enter from
“flowerway,” a ramp
from the back of the
auditorium
Trap door on floor for
dramatic entrances
and exits
Revolving stages and
the trap door have
been borrowed from
Western influence in
recent years.
Extravagant scenery
Kabuki Costumes
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Elaborate silk
costumes
Thick, detailed
make-up is used
Wigs denote
station, personality,
and age.
Wigs may weigh up
to 25 pounds.
video
Japanese Acting
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Mostly men
Life-long study
Symbolic, artificial,
rhythmical
Every movement
has a meaning