Q1. How has Kabuki influenced western theatre? Discuss one specific director or fomat.
Kabuki has influenced many aspects of Western theatre and has itself been influenced by the west in turn.
Harou tells us the the use of the Hanamichi in Kabuki inspired the use the of proscenium arch in western theatre as well as use of the alcove in Elizebethan theater.
Japanese touring companies took Kabuki on the road internationally as early as the 1800's and staged plays for expat Japanese. A company remained in Hawaii and their productions toured the US.
Western audiences and playwrights liked the grand gestures, the elaborate costumes and make up, and the musicality of the performances and many artists, including Charlie Chaplin, Max Reinhard and Bertoldt Brecht were influenced by Kabuki.
The West took Kabuki and altered and adapted it to suit Western preferences. Meyerhold, following this lead, was inspired by the theatrical, arrested poses of Kabuki in his staging of Hedda Gabler a year later. In 1913 Meyerhold took on his own studio, in which he combined his enthusiasm for Indian, Chinese and Japanese theatre (known to him mainly through illustrations), a taste for the ‘fairground’ arts of the circus and commedia, a love of the grotesque and a fascination with the ‘science’ of the body, in order to evolve a new psycho-physical approach to training actors, as well as to production.
Many techniques common to Kabuki were utilized in the West including the high energy performances, pauses, rythmic cadences, and the division of voice and movement. 20th century Europeans also took inspiration from Kabuki's aesthic principals, dramatic themes and staging and direction. Many also saw value in the social and anthropological value of Kabuki influences. This type of adaptaton was common in the West because the audiences were so open to change and innovation in the theatre. "Japanese drama"- theatre written by foreigners about Japan- flouished. Chaplin called Kabuki "the greatest theatre art in the world" and he was not the only one enthralled. Western audiences liked the Japanese import and it influenced Western theatre in many positive ways.
However, the West also influenced Kabuki. Kabuki was born at the turn of the 17th centure when the East and West mingled extensively for the first time. Kabuki plays include animals not native to Japan- tigers, elephants and peacocks were all dramatic imports. Certain plays used special effects thought to be copied directly from Jesuit plays- rolling waves painted on rotating cylinders, for example. Even the way that the plays were run- the day long performances and hour long intermissions were cut short to make the plays more accessible and more profitable.
Kabuki influenced the West and was influenced in turn by the West. This sharing of ideas, concepts, and dramatic ideals has benefitted both cultures.
Angela Thurman
Kabuki theater has influenced the Western theater and the Western theater has influenced the Kabuki theater. As dialectical as they are in style and text, they are similar in aesthetics. As we discussed in class many components make the theater appealing: mask, style, costumes, music and sound effects, and the stage setting. These are driven by the cultural preferences. Interestingly enough, although the cultures are different, the effects are the same.
ReplyDeleteSubmitted by Jenna Quinn
I think Brandon made an interesting distinction in his article detailing the symposium. It was explained that audiences experiences kabuki first went primarily to "see" a play and the spectacle it involved. It was until later in the evolutionary process that the playwright was touted. At this juncture, the script began to shift to pithy discourse which required a thinking audience. Members then began being described as "hearing" a play. In Elizabethan theatre, Shakespearean audiences were first described as going to "hear" a play. This may not be of interest to anyone else... but I enjoyed it. - Hailey Drescher
ReplyDeleteGood point, Hailey. I think the kabuki audience was very comparable to Elizabethan groundlings in many ways. Today, modern audiences are very tame, but in both the above cases, the audience was more like the audience of a sporting event. They came with a finely tuned ear for nuance and were ready to shout back if they didn't like what they heard. They weren't just passive somnambulists vegging out on a pretty dreamscape.
DeleteVery true. Can you think of any examples you've witnessed? In the clips that we saw, did you recognize anything that seemed familiar?
ReplyDeleteJapanese art often features/featured tigers- import- and Western art often featured simple flower arrangements- imported from the East? Clothing featuring silk and silk screened designs are popular in the West- jeans are hot in Japan. Tea (technically imported from China) took off like crazy in England, as did horticulture with plants "stolen" from the East. In the dramatic arts- music, costumes-including make up & hair- also tend to move from East to West and vice versa.
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