WHAT IS KABUKI Kabuki is a traditional Japanese theater that originated in the beginning of the 17th century, 1603. Three words that make up Kabuki are actually song, dance, and skill. It is usually about moral conflicts in love or historical events. The actors speak in historical language that is even hard for the Japanese to understand. Only the actors speak in this language not the actresses because they were banned from Kabuki in `````````. The performances are filled with action, dramatic effects, and a lot of conflict. they show a lot of this through the melodramatic dancing and singing in the performance. The dances are filled with energetic moves. Townspeople or lower class usually watch this, in fact it grew from demands of people wanting to watch theater. Kabuki Characters Kabuki has many different types of characters. Unlike other theater performances the women were banned so all the roles are cast by men. Roles by men that were originally women parts were called onnagata. Wagato was a male playing a feminine acting style such as a romantic lead. it is similar to onnagata because you played female parts but with onnagata you are a women role and wagato you play a feminine acting style. Wagato also translated to the soft side. Aragoto has nothing to do with women, it translates to "rough stuff or business" and refers to super heroes or villains. Wagato means soft and Aragoto means rough. Geisha is a girl dancing with fans in a Kabuki play. The roles in Kabuki are passed down from family generation to generation. |
WHAT IS KYOGEN Kyogen is a classic comedy theater. it is about making people laugh and is very humorous. It began in the early 15th century, 14 hundreds along with Noh. its name means "crazy" or "totally involved in." It is a dialogue based drama but it contains an appreciable amount of dance and song. Every move that hey make is very strictly set has been passed down from teacher to student for 600 years! There are two styles of Kyogen which is different from most dramas, you have Okura and Izumi. Each of these plays last 20-30 minutes and were aristocratic, higher class. the themes revolve around mid evil life and folktale. If you were a Kyogen actor you had to maintain a strong body to pull funny stunts. KYOGEN CHARACTERS Kyogen casts usually range from 2-5 characters in a cast at a time. They are much smaller then normal plays. The omo is the main character appearing in a Kyogen performance, although it is also commonly called the shite. The main supporting role is known as the ado. |
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