HOT SEAT!

INDIA
JAPAN
PHILIPPINES
EASTERN THEATRE
Janito, Giselle 
Jadjurie, Kyla
BCAED 3C
 Outline
01
Eastern Theatre
1.1
Indian Sanskrit
1.2 1.3
Japanese Noh
Indian Kathakali
- definition - definition - definition - definition
-characteristics -characteristics -characteristics  -characteristics

1.4
Kabuki
1.5
Xiqu
1.6
Wayang Kulit
1.7
Komedya
- definition - definition - definition Pilipino
-characteristics -characteristics -characteristics - definition
-characteristics
Eastern Theatre
Originated in Asia, it has its origins in the ancient cultures
of China and India, and over the centuries has been
adopted and adapted by many other cultures across Asia.

It is believed that Eastern Theatre predates the Greek

Theater. In the East, a play is a narrative performance.
For an Eastern performer, it is natural for him to play the
role of someone else or demonstrate something other
than the self.

Most players of Eastern theater did not consider

themselves as actors. A number of them continued to
repeat past traditions by playing the roles in exactly the
same structure and pattern, in the belief that they were
performing a religious duty.
 Fun fact:
The Tang dynasty (613-907 CE) saw the opening of the
first actors training program, the Pear Orchard
Conservatory, which was established by Emperor
Minghuang as a conservatory that offered training to
male and female performers who might play characters
of any age, background, or gender.

Indian theatre is often considered the oldest in Asia,

having developed its dance and drama by the 8th century
BCE.
Characteristics
- much more visual and focused on the senses
- often more ceremonial and formal
- music and dance as part of the performance.
Often, they are sung, danced, chanted, and mimed.
- the audience is often more active, participating
in the performance by clapping, singing, or even
speaking lines
- Eastern theatre often deals with mythology and
the supernatural
- Eastern theatre was mostly occupied by Japanese
and Indian people
Indian Sanskrit Drama
Sanskrit Theater was the first form of Theatre in India and it emerged from
Greek and Roman Theatre.

 anskrit Theatre refers to ancient Indian Theatrical traditions based on the

S
Sanskrit language. In India, the theatre began as a narrative art form that
combined music, dance and acting. Theatrical performances included
recitation, dance, and music.

Sanskrit theater is a variety of drama that developed in India during the

first few centuries AD. The plays were initially written predominantly in
Sanskrit, typically considered the language of high art, culture, and poetry.
The form evolved to incorporate more vernacular Indian languages as the
genre progressed.
The Sanskrit dramas cover a wide range of subjects and types of play. They include
full-length poetic love stories, political plays and palace intrigues, as well as shorter
farces and one-act love monologues. The foremost drama genre centred on the
character of a noble hero. Sanskrit drama utilised a stock characters, such as the
hero (nayaka), heroine (nayika), and clown (vidusaka).
Indian Kathakali
Kathakali is an evolved dance form popular in the South Indian state of Kerala. This Indian classical dance
involves story telling activities through fascinating footwork and expressive gestures of face and hands
accompanied by music and vocal performance. Kathakali uses costumes, makeup, choreography, music,
and several other features to elaborate stories without dialogue.

The literal meaning of the term Kathakali is ‘Story-Play" - ''katha'' meaning ''story or a conversation, or a
traditional tale'' and ''kali'' meaning ''performance'' or ''play.'' The stories are told by three groups of
performers: the actors (who do not speak), the percussionists, and the vocalists. Traditionally, the actors
were all males, but that has evolved so that both men and women can perform the Kathakali dance.

Kathakali can be observed in the temple sculptures in Kerala and the frescoes in the Mattancherry temple
of approximately late of 16th century and early of 17th century.
The plays used in Kathakali are derived from Hindu epics like the Mahabharata, Bhagavata Purana,
Ramayana.

Chakiarkoothu, Koodiyattam, Krishnattam and Ramanattam are a few ritual performing arts of Kerala
which exert a direct influence on Kathakali in its form and technique.
Japanese Noh
Noh Theatre is the oldest surviving form of Japanese Drama. It is based on simple stories
能
and uses elements such as costumes, visualeffects, music etc. Noh ( , Nō) is a form of
theater involving music, dance and drama, originating in the 14th century.

能
Noh ( ) comes from a Japanese word meaning talent or skill. Advanced performance and
technical abilities are necessary for each show, which involves a complex combination of
acting, dance, music, and other abilities. It was developed together with kyogen, which
are comical pieces performed during interludes of the main noh performance. The dual art
of noh and kyogen is known as nogaku, and has been designated an Intangible Cultural
Heritage by UNESCO.

Noh as we know it today was popularized and formalized by a man named Zeami during
the Muromachi Period (1333-1573). It was Zeami's work that attracted the government's
patronage of the art form. Zeami later fell out of favor with the government and was
banished to Sado Island. Four main noh troupes were subsequently established, receiving
sponsorship from shrines and temples.
Japanese noh drama was inspired by a form of performance art that was brought to the country from China in the
8th century. Called sangaku in Japanese, it resembled a modern-day circus, featuring acrobatics, comedic skits,
and dancing. Short comedic plays called sarugaku and musical ceremonies called dengaku, both of which
entwined movement and rhythm with dramatic performances, developed from this artform.

During the Tokugawa Period (1603-1867), the shogunate made noh its official ceremonial art and issued
regulations for its governance. Noh thus became increasingly standardized, with an emphasis on tradition rather
than innovation. A fifth troupe was added during this time, making five main noh troupes which survive and
perform till this day.

Plots are usually drawn from legend, history, literature and contemporary events. Themes often relate to dreams,
supernatural worlds, ghosts and spirits.

All performers in Noh are male.

- Shite - the leading character
- Waki - the supporting character
- Hayashi - the musicians
- Jiutai - the chorus
- Koken - stage attendants 
Instead of playing characters, Noh actors act more as storytellers who narrate the
play. The performers may dress up as specific personalities, but their gestures
convey a tale rather than fully enact one. Slow, minimal movements and elaborate
masks and costumes represent actions and feelings instead of intense action or
detailed dialogue.
 KABUKI
WHAT IS KABUKI THEATER?
歌舞伎
Kabuki ( ) is made up of three kanji (Chinese
歌 舞
characters): ka ( ) meaning sing, bu ( ) representing dance,
伎
and ki ( ) indicating skill. Literally, kabuki means the art of
song and dance, but performances extend well beyond these
two elements.

Kabuki is a traditional Japanese form of theater with roots

tracing back to the Edo Period. It is recognized as one of
Japan's three major classical theaters along with noh and
bunraku, and has been named as a UNESCO Intangible
Cultural Heritage.
HOW AND WHEN DID KABUKI BEGIN?
Izumo no Okuni was a Shinto priestess who began performing in the early 1600s at
various locations around Kyoto, including at shrines and in the dry riverbed of the
Kamo River.

Known as onna-kabuki (onna means woman), the performances were witty and
suggestive.

Kabuki was initially seen as avant-garde, a bizarre niche form of entertainment for
the common people. This guerilla form of entertainment quickly became so
immensely popular that rival troupes formed as far away as Tokyo (then called Edo)
and Okuni herself was asked to perform for the Imperial Court.

Kabuki became common in red-light districts and also generally associated with
prostitution, as performers sometimes offered their services to spectators.

The 18th century was the golden age of kabuki history. The structure of the
performances was formalized, recurring character types established, and all stigma
erased. However, the movements and visuals remained over the top.
WHAT ARE KABUKI PLAYS ABOUT?
THREE MAIN CATEGORIES OF KABUKI PLAY

Ijidaimono (early historical and legendary stories)

Sewamono (contemporary tales post-1600)
Shosagoto (dance dramas).

One of kabuki’s most central dramatic themes is the clash between morality and human emotions. Japanese
moral ideals, both historically and today, rely heavily on the religious philosophies of Shinto, Buddhism, and
Confucianism, which tend to emphasize qualities like devotion to one’s elders and community.

WHAT ARE THE KEY ELEMENTS OF A KABUKI PERFORMANCE?

SONG
Songs may be performed by one or many singers (utakata) at a time, and are usually accompanied by
a shamisen, a type of Japanese lute. Other instruments can be used to create sound effects or act as
cues for the actors.
DANCE
Actors are trained to move and gesticulate
using dance-like motions, meaning dance is
an integral part of all kabuki plays. The
movements differ based on the character:
onnagata (female characters) flow daintily
while doki (comedic characters) bounce
jauntily. Many performances end with a lively
dance finale (ogiri shosagoto) featuring the
whole cast.
COSTUME
One of the most important skills of the actors
is simply manipulating and moving in their
heavy costumes; no easy feat. The costumes
and accompanying wigs are made by hand by
skilled artisans and are sometimes ornately
woven with fine silver and gold threads.
PERFORMANCE TECHNIQUES
Actors employ many choreographed movements resembling
dance, including:
Tachimawari: a stage combat technique. Choreographed
fighting can be hand-to-hand or use swords.
Roppo: movement that simulates walking or running.
Usually paired with upbeat drums.
Ningyoburi: the act of one actor controlling another’s
movements, as if a puppeteer. This technique was
inspired by bunraku, Japanese puppet theater.
Hikinuki: a specialized technique that involves changing
one’s costume onstage, often perfectly timed with music.

SET DESIGN AND PROPS
Moving lifts, traps, and curtains allow the performers
and backgrounds to undergo astonishing
transformations. For instance, an actor may suddenly
disappear from the stage and reappear in the audience, or
a background may revolve to simulate a ship moving
across water. Apparitions and demonic characters are
often suspended in midair with steel wires, a process
called chunori. When actors themselves need to
transform, a very useful player is the koken. Koken are
stage assistants who help actors with costume changes
and props. They often wear all black to maintain the
illusion that the characters are transforming on their
own.
MAKEUP
Known as kesho, kabuki makeup is based on
a character’s traits. Actors’ faces are coated
with oshiroi (white paint) to make them both
more visible and dramatic. Then, colored
lines are added to enhance their features as
well as describe their character. Red
represents qualities like passion and anger;
blue symbolizes evil or sadness. The patterns
differ depending on the character’s gender.
Supernatural beings like ghosts and demons
wear the most dramatic makeup.
AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
Performers sometimes even address the
spectators directly. It was only in later years that
a stage separated the performers from the
audience at all.
 XIQU
Xiqu (often called ‘traditional Chinese theatre’,
‘Chinese music-drama’ or ‘Chinese opera’ in English) is
the primary genre of indigenous Chinese theatre, and
the only major genre in existence prior to the
twentieth century (other contemporary genres include
Geju, Huaju and Wuju).

Chinese traditional theatre came to maturity around

the twelfth century. Between the North Song Dynasty
and the South Song Dynasty, a new theatre genre
emerged, in which actors sang in verse and spoke in
prose.

Performers specialize in portraying characters of a

specific role type through the display of four stylized
performance skills: song (chang), speech (nian), dance-
acting (zuo) and combat (da).
Xiqu plays were taxonomized in three categories:
Traditional plays’ (chuantongxi), created before 1949
Newly written historical plays’ (xinbian lishiju), created after 1949—both set either in pre-twentieth-century or
mythological eras
Modern plays’ (xiandaixi), set after the nineteenth century.

During the Cultural Revolution, only modern plays with revolutionary themes were allowed. In the late 1970s first
newly written historical and then traditional plays returned to the stage, and since then most new creative work has
taken the form of newly written historical plays (though the term itself is often not used).

A prime example is Wei Minglun’s Chuanju Pan Jinlian (1985), the eponymous, controversial wife from the traditional
novel Tales of the Water Margin (Shuihu zhuan)—a play that includes historical and fictional characters from the
ancient past through the late twentieth century who explore together the ways in which women are, and have been,
judged.
 WAYANG KULIT
The earliest record confirming the existence of shadow theatre in Central
Java dates from AD 907. In the East Javanese period, shadow theatre is
believed to have been adopted by the Hindu courts of Bali during the long
process of its Indianisation. The Balinese puppets still bear strong
resemblances to the so-called wayang-style reliefs in East Javanese temples,
discussed above, which are believed to have shared a common style with the
contemporary East Javanese shadow puppets.

DEFINITION
The term wayang kulit literally means “shadows from hide”, and has a few
meanings in the Southeast Asian context. In Indonesia, the term wayang
kulit refers not only to the performance of a shadow play, but has also
become synonymous with the hide puppets used to create the shadows. In
Peninsular Malaysia, wayang kulit can be translated as a “show of skins”.
THE PUPPETS
The puppets in wayang kulit come in many sizes, depending on the characters they portray. Malay shadow play
puppets typically measure at least 71 cm long and are at most 30.5 cm wide. A complete shadow theatre has between
160 and 200 puppets categorized into deities, warriors, ogres, hermits, monkeys, soldiers, princesses, weapons,
animals and mountains.

THE SHOW
In wayang kulit, the puppets are moved behind a white cotton or unbleached muslin screen by a dalang, or
“puppet master”. The dalang presides over the shadow play as its sole controlling performer who tells the story,
and interprets characters and dialogue using a variety of voices.

Wayang kulit is accompanied by the music of the gamelan. While the dalang is speaking, the gamelan is silent
except when it provides rattles and clanks to emphasise a statement or word. Gamelan players respond and
play music intuitively to the timing and narration by the dalang.
 KOMEDYA
Komedya is colorful theatrical tradition in the Philippines that describes the conflicts between the Muslims and the
Christians. It was used by the Spanish as a method to spread Christianity in the country.

-is said to have began in 1766 and was in a state of development

until 1820 from which year to 1896 it experienced what is called a
flowering of this tradition. After the Philippine revolution, it was
again flourishing, and except in Manila, it was flourishing in the
rural areas of the Philippines until about 1982. But largely due to
changes in the structures of Philippine society and new media
and aesthetics, this performing art is gravely endangered

This theater tradition has its origins in the theater traditions of

Spain and Mexico in the 16th-18thcentury. It came to the
Philippines through the Hispanic Christianization of the
Philippines, which is why many of the plots have Hispanic
characteristics.
 2 types of Komedya
SECULAR KOMEDYA
-is performed at the local fiestas. Moro-Moro is a type of Secular Komedya which portrays the
clash between the Muslims and the Christians where the forbidden romance between the prince
and the princess is settled by having the non-Christian be converted to christianity or by his or
her death followed by a resurrection through divine intervention.

THE RELIGIOUS KOMEDYA

-is also called Komedya de Santo centers on the life of Christ or of any saint. It usually seen during church celebrations.
The actors move in a stylized way, have extravagant costumes and elaborately choreographed war scenes.

Examples of Religious Komedya

- Sinakulo
- Siete Palabras
- Comedia de San Miguel
THANK YOU!
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