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. ARTS
Quarter 4- Module 2:
Theater Arts of China, Japan,
Indonesia and Thailand

CO_Q4_Arts_Module2
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MAPEH ARTS – Grade 8
Quarter 4- SLeM2: Theater Arts of China, Japan, Indonesia and Thailand

HOW TO USE THIS SLeM

Before starting the module, I want you to set aside other tasks that will disturb you while enjoying
the lessons. Read the simple instructions below to successfully enjoy the objectives of this kit.
Have fun!
1. Follow carefully all the contents and instructions indicated on every page of this module.
2. Write on your notebook or any writing pad the concepts about the lessons. Writing
enhances learning, that is important to develop and keep in mind.
3. Write in your notebook the concepts that you learned. Writing enhances learning and helps
you keep in mind what is important
4. Perform all the provided activities in the module.
5. Let your facilitator/ guardian assess your answers using the answer key.
6. Enjoy studying.

Development Team of the SLeM

Writer/s: Marifel Baguan

Language Evaluator: Korina Espanilla
Content Evaluator: Marjorie M. Sales
Format Evaluator: Diodisa C. Bangloy
Reviewer: Bonifacio M. Pedrera

PARTS OF THIS MODULE

● Expectations - These are what you will learn after completing the lessons in the module.
● Pre-test - This will measure what you already know about the concepts to be mastered
throughout the lesson.
● Looking back to your Lesson - This section will measure what learnings and skills you
gained from the previous lesson.
● Brief Introduction - This section will give you an overview of the lesson.
● Activities - This is a set of activities you will perform.
● Remember - This section summarizes the concepts and applications of the lessons.
● Check your Understanding - It will check what you have learned from the lessons.
● Post-test - This will measure how much you have learned from the entire module.

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 Lesson 1: Peking Opera of China and Kabuki of Japan

At the end of the SLeM, students should be able to:

1. design the visual elements and components of the selected festival or theatrical form through
costumes,
props;
2. analyzes the uniqueness of each group’s performance of their selected festival or theatrical
form;
3. choreographs the movements and gestures reflecting the mood of the selected
festival/theatrical form of
Asia; and
4. improvises accompanying sound and rhythm of the selected festival/ theatrical form of Asia.

Directions: Read the questions carefully. Write the letter of the correct answer.

____ 1. The Peking Opera costume is called___________.

a. Balinese costumes
b. Saya and barong tagalog
c. Kimono and obi
d. Xingtou
____ 2. The performance element that includes both acrobatics and fighting with all manners of
weaponry in Peking Opera is ______.
a. Combat
b. Speech
c. Dance-Acting
d.Song
____ 3. ______ is the main male role in Peking opera.
a. Dan
b. Jing
c. Chou
d. Sheng
____ 4. Red color on make-up in Peking Opera means__________.
a. suspicious and craftiness
b. roughness and fierceness
c. courage, bravery and uprightness
d. fierceness, ambition and cool-headedness
____ 5. The female characters in Kabuki wear an elaborate _________.
a.Balinese costumes

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 b. Saya and Barong Tagalog
c. Kimono and obi
d. Xingtou
____ 6. In Kabuki theater art, fans as props symbolize ______.
a. Bird
b. rain
c. insects
d. wind

____ 7. The characters in Nang are the following, except______.

a. gods and goddesses
b. magical figures
c.kings and queens
d. common people
____ 8. It is the teacher and presenter of Nang Talung.
a. Sida
b. Nang Yai
c. Ramayana
d. Nai Nang
____ 9. It is a Japanese terminology which means male roles.
a. Aragoto
b. Suppon
c. Onna-gata
d. Hanamichi
____ 10. Indonesian puppet theaters are performed with shadows that are cast on a __________.
a. cotton screen and an oil lamp
b. Tarpaulin and spotlight
c. Japanese paper and lampshade
d. Transparent plastic and flashlight

Theatre is a collaborative type of performance art in which live performers, usually actors
or actresses, present the experience of a real or imagined event in front of a live audience in a
specific location, usually a stage. The performers may use a variety of gestures, speech, song,
music, and dance to convey their feelings to the audience.

The Peking Opera, or Beijing Opera, is a historic Chinese theater art form that
incorporates music, vocal performance, pantomime, dance, and acrobatics. It began in the late
eighteenth century and by the mid-nineteenth century had fully matured and been acknowledged.

ROLES AND CHARACTERS

1.SHENG- is the main male role in Peking opera

a. Xiaosheng- actors are often involved with beautiful women by virtue of the handsome

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 and young image they project.

b. Wusheng- is a martial character for roles involving combat. They are highly trained in
acrobatics, and have a natural voice when singing.
c. Laosheng- is a dignified older role, these characters have a gentle and cultivated
disposition who wore sensible costumes.

2. DAN- refers to any female role in Peking opera

a. Laodan- old woman b. Wudan- martial woman c. Daomadan are young female
warriors

d. Qingyi are virtuous and elite women e. Huadan are vivacious and unmarried women

3. Jing-is a man character with a painted face who can play either a primary or supporting role.

4. Chou- is a male clown role. The Chou, whose name also means "ugly," is generally cast in
supporting roles. It's based on the concept that the clown's combination of ugliness and laughter
will ward off evil spirits.

Visual Performance Elements:

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 Peking-Opera performers utilize four main skills.
1. Song
2. Speech
3. Dance-acting - This includes pure dance, pantomime, and all other types of dances.
4. Combat - includes both acrobatics and fighting with all manner of weaponry.

STAGING AND COSTUMES

Stages:
The action on stage is normally seen from at least three sides; stages were traditionally
erected above the line of sight of the audience, although some modern stages have
been built with higher audience seats; and the stage is split into two parts by an
embroidered curtain known as a shoujiu.
Costume: Xingtou
● popularly known as Xifu in Chinese
● oblong wings (chizi) attached to a gauze hat indicate a loyal official.
Props:
● will almost always have a table and at least one chair, which can be turned through
convention into such diverse objects as a city wall, a mountain, or a bed
Musicians:
● are visible to the audience on the front part of the stage
Performers:
● immediately move to center north upon entering the stage. All characters enter from
the east and exit from the west

KABUKI OF JAPAN

Kabuki is a form of traditional Japanese drama with highly stylized song, mime, and
dance, now performed only by male actors. Japanese, originally as a verb meaning “act
dissolutely,’ later interpreted as: ka – song, bu – dance and ki– art/skill.
Kabuki theater is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn
by some of its performers. Kabuki is therefore sometimes translated as "the art of singing and
dancing".
Kabukimono-referred originally to those who were bizarrely dressed and paraded on a
street.

The Kabuki stage features:

● Hanamichi – Okuni also performs with her entourage on a hanamichi stage, which is a
walkway that extends into the audience and allows for spectacular entrances and exits.
● Kogakudo -kabuki theaters that have stages both in front of the audience
and along the sides help create a bond between the actors and viewers
● Mawarobutal -the interior of the theater contains a revolving stage
● Suppon -a platform that rises from below the stage
● Hanamicho – a walkway that cuts through the audience seating area to
connect the stage with the back of the theater304

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 ● Magicians and supernatural beings often make their entrances from
trap doors in the hanamichi
● Some stages have 17 trapdoors.

The three main categories of the kabuki play are:

● Jidai-mono- historical, or pre-Sengoku period stories
● Sewa-mono- domestic, or post-Sengoku stories and
● Shosagoto - dance pieces

Jidaimono, or history plays, were set within the context of major events in Japanese
history.
Sewamono- focused primarily upon commoners (townspeople and peasant). It is
generally related to themes of family drama and romance.

Actors are separated into two main categories:

● Onna-gata - female roles
● Aragoto - male roles
Most main characters in Kabuki plays are aragoto, because of its super-stylized
masculine, heroic style.

Kabuki is carried out over the course of a full day. Audiences take a break from their daily
lives by devoting an entire day to entertainment. Although some plays, such as historical
jidaimono, may run an entire day, the majority were shorter and sequenced with other plays to
create a full-day program.
The play occupies five acts. The first corresponds to:
● Jo- an auspicious and slow opening that introduces the audience to the characters and
the plot
● Ha- speeding events up, culminating almost always in a great moment of drama
● Tragedy in the third act and possibly a battle in the second and/or fourth acts.
● kyu, is almost always short, providing a quick and satisfying conclusion.

Kabuki props are often quite interesting.

Flowing water is usually represented by fluttering roles of linen; and creatures like insects and
foxes.
Fans are used to symbolize wind, a sword, a tobacco pipe, waves or food.
Costumes;
The female characters wear elaborate kimono and obi.
Actors playing both sexes often have a supported midriff because a straight and curveless figure
are regarded the essence of beauty
Wigs are important accessories with each costume having its own type.

Lesson 2: Wayang Kulit of Indonesia and Nang Shadow Puppet Show

of Thailand.
WayangKulit of Indonesia

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 Wayang is a term used to refer to the puppet itself. The shadow puppets, or wayang kulit,
is the most well-known of the Indonesian wayang. Kulit means "skin," and refers to the puppets'
leather construction, which is hand-shaped using exquisite tools and supported by hand-shaped
buffalo horn handles and control rods.
The stories are usually drawn from the Hindu epics:Ramayana Mahabharata and Serat Menak
- a story about the heroism of Amir Hamza

Ramayana – Bima Mahabharata - Arjuna

Wayang kulit performance consist of shadows cast on a cotton screen and an oil lamp. In
Java, a halogen electric light is most often used as a light source.

Elements of Performance
The fundamental components of a performance include:
● The puppeteer, dhalang (Java) / dalang (Bali)
● metal plates that the dhalang hits with his foot, kepyak
● a traditional Indonesian orchestra, gamelan
● a light source, blencong
● female singers and a male chorus, pesindhen and penggerong
● a screen frame and screen, gawang and kelir, the main focus of the performance

Nang Shadow Puppets Show of Thailand

Shadow puppet (Thai: Nang- was a popular kind of public entertainment in Thailand's
south.) It is still very popular at village festivals, temple fairs, and celebrations such as
marriages. It’s characters are composed of leather that are delicately colored, however this is not
seen during a performance because the puppets are only visible in shadow against a white sheet
with light shining through from behind. Rods that regulate arm and leg movements are used to
manipulate them.

Performances

The puppet presentations either have a religious theme or feature a scene from the epic
Ramayana. They may also be custom-written to incorporate up-to-date comments, songs, and
poems about current events and topics of interest in the district or country.
Mr. SuchartSapsin- is a man of many talents. He is not only an expert in the craft of
making puppets but he is also an award-winning writer and poet. He is a narrator, speaking or
singing all the parts using different voices.
Nang recites tales of the gods and contemporary people through stories of love, current
events, and tradition. Family turmoil, extraordinary adventures of a traveling hero, star-crossed

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lovers and romantic tales, and abandoned children seeking lost loved ones are all typical themes
in Nang performances.
In a changing world, the Nang tries to convey to the public the relevance of Thai values
and ideals. The spiritual and historical events, on the other hand, remain central to all
performances. The Nang is normally performed during the dry season in the country (February to
August).

Two Types of the Nang

Sida Rama’s wife - Nang Talung The Comedians – Nang Yai

Nang Talung is played with leather puppets, each representing a separate character,
about 50 centimeters high. They usually possess a movable, jointed arm controlled by a string.

Nang Yai is normally made of cowhide and rattan, a large, decorated scene and
characters measuring around two meters high and a meter wide. They do not have jointed arms,
but the themes and styles remain the same.

The Nai Nang are the teachers and presenters of the Nang Talung. Narration,
songs, writing, and the performer's impromptu speech are all included in the performances, which
stretch from twilight to dawn. Characters are the gods and goddesses, kings and queens,
magical figures,and comedians.

ACTIVITY 1:Basic Elements of Theater Art Forms: Directions:

Use the different important aspects of a theater show in the following table as your guide in
comparing the different theater art forms Asia.

Theater Arts Performers /Puppets Stage/ Costumes Visual Effects

props

Peking Opera
- China

Kabuki -
Japan

WayangKulit
-Indonesia

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 Nang –
Thailand

RUBRIC FOR SCORING:

10 Points 8 Points 6 points Rating

Presentation Report was Report was Report was

presented in an presented in an presented in a
orderly manner. almost orderly somewhat
manner. orderly manner.

Explanation Explained the Explained the Missed some

topics thoroughly. topics well. topics to explain.

TOTAL

● Dalang/Dhalang - a puppeteer of WayangKulit of Indonesia. people.

● Epic - poem in elevated language celebrating the adventures and achievements of a
legendary or traditional hero.
● Gamelan – a traditional Indonesian orchestra
● Opera – an art form in which singers and musicians perform dramatic work combining text
and musical score.

● Ramayana and Mahabharata – Hindu epics

Complete the sentences below.

After you finished all the activities in this lesson, it is now time to sum up what you have learned
by writing a letter.

Date:
____________
My Friend,

I learned from Asian theater arts that..

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 _________________________________________________.
I also learned that.. __________________________________.
Your friend,
____________________

Directions: Read the questions carefully. Write the letter of the correct answer.

1. The Peking Opera costume is called___________.

a. Balinese costumes
b. Saya and barong tagalog
c. Kimono and obi
d. Xingtou

2. The performance element that includes both acrobatics and fighting with all manners of
weaponry
in Peking Opera is ______.
a. Combat
b. Speech
c. Dance-Acting
d. Song

3. ______ is the main male role in Peking opera.

a. Dan
b. Jing
c. Chou
d. Sheng

4. Red color on make-ups in Peking Opera means__________.

a. suspicious and craftiness
b. roughness and fierceness
c. courage, bravery and uprightness
d. fierceness, ambition and
cool-headedness

5. It is a Japanese terminology which means male roles.

a. Aragoto
b. Suppon
c. Onna-gata
d. Hanamichi

6. It is aJapanese traditional drama.

a. Kabuki
b. Nang
c. Peking opera
d. WayangKulit

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7. In Kabuki theater art, fans as props symbolizes ______.
a. Bird
b. rain
c. insects
d. wind

8. The female characters in Kabuki wear an elaborate

a. Balinese costumes
b. Saya and Barong Tagalog
c. Kimono and obi
d. Xingtou

9. The puppeteer of Java, Indonesia is called ____________.

a. Blencong
b. Gawang
c. Dalang
d. Kothak

10. It is the teacher and presenter of Nang Talung

a. Sida
b. Nang Yai
c . Ramayana
d. Nai Nang

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