Kabuki Presentation

Kabuki

• Started out really simply
• Mihae - casting facial expressions
• Kabuki stage and set - Dry riverbeds, First pioneer: Izuno No Okuni
• Pre Kanbun Era - bigger, more known theatre form. Makeplace cultures, Crude backdrops or Noh Stages, "Scibble-Scrabble" art form

Kanbun Era - More complex performances, legitimacy of Kabuki develops, Introduction of hanamichi (wooden plank that extended into the centre of the audience, translates into flow path, dramatic exits or entrances or where mihae is performed)  and the pull curtain, crude backdrop.

The first theatres - Bofuku government's allowance, stone and wood materials, rapid development, different types of design, development of Keren

Seri - trap door, developed in the Kansei era (1700-1800), allowed actors to make dramatic introductions onto the stage, it was originally man powered, was electrified in the 10th century

Keren - revolving stage: first of its kind, invented in Japan, was man powered by workers called "Anaban", wasn't electronically powered until 1911, when the Imperial theatre was unveiled, It's first use was in 1758 during the finale of the play, it was used as a trick to change scenes by the "divine power" of one of the characters

Chunori (wire flying) - reserved for characters with magical abilities (spirits, ghosts, foxes, etc.), Adds on to the stage magic that a character can possess. Traditionally

Makeup

• Simple white makeup, black makeup for exaggeration, wig, oil, and oshiroi (white paint), used to highlight characters (earliest form of spotlight), Commonly used in wagoto or soft style kabuki, destroys features
• Rough style - telling action hero stories and for action comedies, folk tales, clothes and makeup were very ostentatious and loud, mie
• Kumodori - the makeup technique and symbolic meaning to the makeup in the aragoto style of kabuki theatre, belief in yin and yang
• Belief in yin and yang - red is yang and the colour of youthful protective anger = hero, blue is yin and the colour of bottles and resentful anger = villain, green = ethereal and godlike, purple = rich and noble, each streak represents something specific to the character