Exam 2

Question 1

What 3 countries became major influences for eastern theatres?

Answer 1

India, China, Japan

Question 2

Indian Sanskrit is a combination of which two religions?

Answer 2

Hinduism and Buddhism

Question 3

Sanskrit combined which three theatre elements to tell a story?

Answer 3

Acting, singing, and dancing

Question 4

Sanskrit included which two types of works?

Answer 4

Comedic and Dramatic

Question 5

True or False: Sanskrit only included male companies.

Answer 5

False, it has all male, all female, and mixed gender companies

Question 6

How were Sanskrit dramas typically performed, referring to the actors?

Answer 6

They were performed by troupes led by one actor

Question 7

What is a Sudtradhara?

Answer 7

Served as the chief actor and troupe manager.

Question 8

What was necessary for an actor to have skill wise for Sanskrit theatre?

Answer 8

The actor needed skills that combined voice, body, emotions, costumes, and makeup.

Question 9

What is the Natyasastra or The Art (Study) of Theatre?

Answer 9

A treatise written to describe the mythological origins of Indian theatre, including important material about Indian drama. It also served as an encyclopedia of theatre practice.

Question 10

What does the term “rasa” mean in the Natyasastra?

Answer 10

Flavor is explained as permission for spectators to surrender themselves to a dramatic situation that relates to powerful emotions within themselves, similar to the western concept of the “willing suspension of disbelief”, but connected to the metaphysical nature of Indian religions.

Question 11

What are some of the topics covered in the Natyasastra?

Answer 11

gesture and posture, music, dance, voice, types of characters, categories of plays. and Indian theatre space.

Question 12

What are the dimensions of a typical Sanskrit theater?

Answer 12

96 feet long and 48 feet wide. Divided equally into stage and auditorium.

Question 13

What did the four pillars represent in Sanskrit theaters?

Answer 13

Each pillar one being white, yellow, red, and blue would indicate where audience members would sit based on their social class.

Question 14

What was the role of the curtain in Sanskrit theaters?

Answer 14

A curtain would divide the stage into performance area, and a backstage area for actors to change costumes.

Question 15

What two things played an important role in Sanskrit theatre?

Answer 15

Music and elaborate costumes.

Question 16

Who was the most productive Sanskrit playwright?

Answer 16

Bhasa

Question 17

What is the Shakuntala?

Answer 17

The most famous Sanskrit play which is written in 7 acts and tells a story of the romance between a king and a hermit’s daughter, containing both serious and comedic elements.

Question 18

What did the Yuan Dynasty contribute to theatre?

Answer 18

Lots of literature, a bare stage with two doors on each side with a piece of painted cloth hanging between them, theatre built for outdoor use with no roof, elaborate costume and heavily applied makeup.

Question 19

What did the Ming Dynasty contribute to theatre?

Answer 19

There was a shift of drama that focused more pleasing on the literary elite. Literary drama was created which emphasized poetry and was averse to powerful dramatic action. The play structure became much more complex. Multiple singers would sing and act. instrumental accompaniments became more elaborate. The ming dynasty brought about the first theatre critic, Li Yu.

Question 20

How did Li Yu believe playwrights should write?

Answer 20

He thought playwrights should write clearly, with a mass audience in mind, and should be well versed in practical stage knowledge.

Question 21

What did Li Yu’s writings deal with?

Answer 21

plot construction, dialogue, music, and versification.

Question 22

What did Li Yu put little emphasis on?

Answer 22

poetic songs favored by other playwrights.

Question 23

What did Li Yu develop?

Answer 23

Well made situation comedies with intricate plots and sophisticated dialogue.

Question 24

What did Li Yu create?

Answer 24

original plots based on the lives of common people.

Question 25

What two religions were a strong influence for theatre in Japan?

Answer 25

Shintoism and Buddhism

Question 26

What did Noh Theatre synthisize?

Answer 26

it synthesized various theatrical forms into a single, total experience.

Question 27

Explain Noh actors.

Answer 27

they trained from childhood and became adept at singing, acting, dancing, and mime.

Question 28

What are the two types of Noh theatre?

Answer 28

phantasmal and present experience

Question 29

What is phantasmal?

Answer 29

a play in two parts that recounts a legend of a chief character that undergoes some profound experience.

Question 30

What is present experience?

Answer 30

a more realistic play that features action that occurs to living characters in present, stage time.

Question 31

Explain the Noh Theatre structure.

Answer 31

It has a bridge that connects the actor’s dressing room to the stage. The stage is roofed and has a large ceremonial pine tree painted on the rear wall. The rear stage has a place for musicians. There was another portion of the stage for a chorus of 10 men. The stage is an 18-foot square.

Question 32

What is the bridge called in Noh theatre structure?

Answer 32

Hashigakari. It is around 20 feet in length.

Question 33

What is Bunraku?

Answer 33

a form of puppet theatre.

Question 34

How many people does it take to operate the puppets?

Answer 34

3 people. There was also a chanter who told the stories the puppets would act out.

Question 35

Who does the japanese credit for the creation of Kabuki theatre?

Answer 35

A Shinto priestess, who began dancing on a temporary stage set up in the dry bed of the Kamo River in Kyoto.

Question 36

What was the basis of Kabuki theatre?

Answer 36

Dance.

Question 37

What were kabuki musical-dramas about?

Answer 37

They revolved around romantic and erotic stories.

Question 38

Who originally performed in Kabuki shows?

Answer 38

Women. It was later banned for women to perform due to sexual services being provided. Later boy troupes were also banned due to sexual things.

Question 39

What is an onnagata?

Answer 39

A male Kabuki actor who played women’s roles. They are highly respected for their work. They portrayed the feminine personality through stylized gesture and attitude, costume and makeup.

Question 40

Explain the structure of Kabuki theaters.

Answer 40

The stage is wide and has a relatively low proscenium. Musicians are sometimes onstage and at other times offstage and generally accompany the action. Elaborate scene effects, including a revolving stage. A narrow raised platform connected to the rear of the auditorium to the stage. The stage is well equipped with large and small elevator traps to lift actors.

Question 41

What is the hanamichi?

Answer 41

A raised narrow platform that is connected to the rear of the auditorium to the stage. Actors would use the hanamichi for entrances and exits and would pay short scenes there as well. There was even a small trap that allows supernatural characters to emerge or disappear in the midst of the audience.

Question 42

What is a Wayang?

Answer 42

the term used for traditional Indonesian theatre and usually refers to the various types of puppet theatres

Question 43

What are shadow puppets made from?

Answer 43

Buffalo hide mounted on bamboo sticks.

Question 44

How are the shadow puppets operated?

Answer 44

They are held up behind a white cloth and are manipulated by the sticks attached to the head, arms, and other parts of the body.

Question 45

Who narrates the drama in Shadow plays?

Answer 45

The person manipulating the puppet narrates and speaks the dialogue of the characters.

Question 46

What were the Shadow plays accompanied by?

Answer 46

music and sound effects.