Notes on Japanese theatre - Mrs Moon

• It is a living theatre. 
• Even though it is a thousand years old it is always alive
• Passed down from parent, child, master, disciple, generation to generation (No, Kabuki, Bunraku, Kyogen)
• How are modern theatre (Butoh, Suzuki) reactions to traditional theatre?
• What are you learning about japanese cultures and beliefs?
• Traditional performances are done in the most traditional form but new innovations are made.
• Non tradition in traditional, traditional in non traditional
• Suzuki uses a traditional training form and applies it to non traditional theatre
• Japanese theatre stays traditional while also staying modern whereas in the Beijing opera, they refuse to modernise it and therefore is becoming obsolete
• Throughout most japanese history, most performing companies were single sex.
• Kabuki was mainly women and become more of a sexualised performance than theatre, as a means of moving away from this, they banned women.
• 14th century was when full fledged theatre in Japan. prior to this, all the other art (art, music, poetry, literature) forms began to flourish.
• Characteristics
• 1) the text speaks itself, it is not ordinary dialogue. There's a potential for a choral type of approach. Often read by a chanter. descriptions and commentary on the set. One character may say another character's lines. Poetry or metered prose. sung, chanted, etc. Stage figures that are voicing the text.
• 2) Fluid narrative stance, break the speakers up. Gives lines to voices that are not the characters. THIS IS ALL SOLEY FOR AESTHETIC PURPOSES. Kabuki "passing along the dialogue" The chorus shares in the creation
• 3) Flexibility of time and space. You have to think about it spiritually rather than the business side of Japan. Time can be expanded or used however in order to tell the story how it is wanted to. This is completely aesthetic. Hanamichi (walkway) vital way of incorporating the whole of the set. Theatre time is as pliant as theatre space. Moments of stillness. Slow motion action. Duels simultaneously (going back and forth). Time is expanded to allow audience to react
• 4) Centrality of form. Music, text, movement, costumes. Take out the most beautiful things of something (e.g. of old age) and create something stylised and aesthetic of old age. Movement (e.g. crying eye, biting of sleeve in bunraku) these are purely for beauty. Yu shire buri (showing off of the kimono). Fixed patterns in their music. Music is abstract but the way of performance isn't abstract. The style of music will change depending on what the scene of the play is (even is the base may be the same). Use same props, costume in all costumes but in each performance they vary in speed, timing, intensity, design or colour
• 5) Mastery of form. Students learn for imitating the master. Once he's mastered EVERYTHING can he even question interpretation. Everyone learns each character from a specific teacher and only get together to rehearse at the end. Form dimities interest in verisimilitude (the element or aspects of reality that you have in your literature without verisimilitude, your writing has no truth.)
• 6) Theatricalisation of the mechanics of theatre. e.g. the puppeteers in bunraku are extremely critical to the performance.
• 7) Intensity of intertextuality. 
• Art of illusions.
• Japanese theatre is presentational theatre rather than representational theatre.