Reference no: EM132063345

Question: Write response on following statements:

1. One of the earliest forms of Japanese drama, Kyogen is thought to have existed in Japan from the 15th century. Kyogen originated from ¡°sangaku¡±, which was an informal style of music that contained songs, dances, tumbling, and other similar performances. By the 14h century though, Kyogen came to be used as the name for plays in general, and the name remains even to this day. Kyogen theater tends to be comical in nature, and so informal language is used to make the content appear more relatable and comedic. Something that was really interesting to learn about was the origins of Noh and Kyogen, as they were both strongly tied to each other and were thought to ¡°balance each other¡± through their serious and comedic nature, respectively. Another interesting topic to learn about was the role of women in kyogen. Typically, men used to perform the roles of women, who were characterized as "noisy". Furthermore, women are portrayed as strong and powerful in kyogen plays, opposite to the "spineless husband", for comedic purposes.

2. Kabuki Drama is not just acting, or singing, or dancing. It is different from western theatre. Kabuki is more focused on an artistic aspect and the wow factor. Kabuki used to be a type of primitive dance, infused with the Noh later. Kabuki used to have only female dancers, later it transformed into only having male performers.Males to play female characters are called Onnagata, and their performances were a great improvement for Kabuki. They began to train as a child to learn how to mimic women, and their masculine fits with the key of Kabuki. The ohimesama character in Kabuki also brought a new genre of Japanese theatre performed with dolls, called Maruhommono or Ningy¨­-j¨­ruri.Onnagata also focuses on another character called oiran, also called courtesan, they usually create a theme of love and romantic in the play. Oiran is repsected by people, and people pays ¡°her¡± for her beauty. The treatment and respect Orian receives also reflect how Japanese people¡¯s thoughts on beautiful things.

3. This reading explains how traditional theater exists in China today, and explores how the past and the present have interacted with each other in shaping traditional Chinese theater. An interesting topic brought up was that of "Stylization", which explains why ordinary, every-day tasks are shown in exaggerated ways in theater. For me this was the most interesting thing to learn about as it explained why things in theatrical performances, even the most simple tasks, feel so over the top. It was interesting to learn that actions such as walking were stylized in different fashions from one character to another, and that it carries over from one genre of theater to the other. Other aspects too were stylized, most noticeably the music. In theatrical performances, music played one of the most important roles, and learning about the ways in music varied is important to learn about how these forms of theater differed.