 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(May 2019) |
A revolving stage is a mechanically controlled platform within a theatre that can be rotated in order to speed up the changing of a scene within a show.
Kabuki theatre began in Japan around 1603 when Okuni, a Shinto priestess of the Izumi shrine, traveled with a group of priestesses to Kyoto to become performers. Okuni and her nuns danced sensualized versions of Buddhist and Shinto ritual dances, using the shows as a shop window for their services at night. [1] They originally performed in the dry river bed of the River Kamo on a makeshift wooden stage, but as Okuni’s shows gained popularity they began to tour, performing at the imperial court at least once. Eventually, they were able to build a permanent theatre in 1604, modeled after Japan's aristocratic Nōh theatre which had dominated the previous era. Kabuki, with its origins in popular entertainment, drew crowds of common folk, along with high-class samurai looking to win their favorite performer for the night. This mixing of social classes troubled the Tokugawa Shogunate, who stressed the strict separation of different classes. When rivalries between Okuni’s samurai clients grew too intense, the shogunate took advantage of the conflict and banned women from performing onstage in 1629. The women were replaced by beautiful teenage boys who took part in the same after-dark activities, leading Kabuki to be banned from the stage completely in 1652. An actor-manager in Kyoto, Murayama Matabei, went to the authorities responsible and staged a hunger strike outside their offices. [2] In 1654 Kabuki was allowed to return with restrictions. The shogunate declared that only adult men with “shaved pates” were allowed to perform, the shows must be fully acted plays and not variety shows, and actors had to remain in their own quarter of the city and refrain from mixing with the general public in their private life. [3] With the dampened sensuality of Kabuki theatre, performers turned to exploiting art and spectacle to keep their audiences engaged.
The Genroku period of 1688 saw the solidification of the aesthetics of Kabuki under the new restrictions placed by the shogunate. Nōh theatre of the previous period was the theatre of aristocrats. After the embarrassment Kabuki brought to upper class society, it needed to develop into a more serious art form in order to survive. However, Kabuki theatre did not lose the influence of its origins as popular entertainment. A majority of the Kabuki repertoire was adapted from Bunraku puppet theatre, another popular entertainment of the same period. [4] New innovations had to be made to adapt small scale puppet theatre into full scale plays, as well as elevate the source material to a higher class of art.
The revolving stage, called the mawari-butai, was invented by Edo playwright Nakimi Shozo in 1729 and solved the issue of moving heavy scenic properties quickly as Kabuki adopted Bunraku into full scale designs. [5] The mawari-butai also served to capture the audience’s interest in the rambunctious theatre atmosphere. The mawari-butai was originally a raised mechanical platform that had to be operated manually by stage hands. The audience would have been able to see the stage hands turning the set as the action of the actors carried on continuously into the next scene. By the 1800s the mawari-butai had evolved to become flush with the stage, and to include an inner revolve and an outer revolve that could be spun simultaneously to achieve certain special effects. Stage hands now moved under stage, requiring the strength of at least four people to push the revolving stage to its next position. [6] The mawari-butai in Kabuki theatre was always manually operated by stage hands.
The mawari-butai allowed great spectacle and ease of set changes, but it also provided a great opportunity for story and aesthetic choices. No more than two sets were constructed on the revolve. These sets could be entirely different settings or show a change in mood or time within one setting. [7] By walking on the revolve in the opposite direction of its motion, actors could appear to go on long journeys through woods, down city streets, etc. [5] The addition of the inner revolve allowed for set pieces to move in relation to each other. For example, two boats could sail past each other in an epic sea battle like in Chikamatsu Monzaemon’s The Girl From Hakata. The inner revolve sometimes was fitted with a lift that could be used to make set pieces rise from the floor, or to make buildings appear as if they are crashing down. [8] The mawari-butai takes on a filmic effect and “fades the actor in and out of the realm of the performance”. [7] Kabuki does not strive to be realistic, it strives to be a decorated space. Kabuki is first and foremost an actor’s theatre and asks the audience to suspend reality of setting, instead adapting to the conventions of Kabuki.
Following the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japan ended a long period of isolation and reopened trade with European countries. After so long in isolation, Japanese art flooded the European market, sparking a great “Japonism” fever. The conventions of Japanese Kabuki theatre developed in isolation from the rest of the world, so the innovations quickly spread to European theatre. Karl Lautenschlager built the first revolving stage in western theatre in 1896 for Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Residenz Theatre. This revolving stage was raised slightly above the stage level and was electrically powered by motors that turned wheels along a track. With the proscenium arch, only a quarter of the revolve was visible to the audience. Four sets were constructed on Lautenschlager’s revolving stage as opposed to Kabuki’s limit of two. [9] In 1889 Lautenschlager was hired by the Munich court theatre to design an efficient revolving stage for productions of Shakespeare. Here marks the greatest role of the revolving stage in its western history as the new Shakespeare stage. [7] The revolving stage trickled into the designs of Germany and Russia’s Reinhardt and Meyerhold as its popularity grew. [10] Revolving stages are still a fixture of both Kabuki theatre and western theatre today. The automation of the revolving stage and lifts has allowed many more aesthetic possibilities in shows such as Cats and Les Miserable, as well as the automated double revolve, or concentric revolve, in Hamilton, further solidifying these Kabuki innovations into the western mainstream.
Ten years after Lautenschlager’s stage, Max Reinhardt employed it in the premiere of Frühlings Erwachen by Frank Wedekind. Soon this revolving stage was a trend in Berlin. Another adaptation of the Kabuki stage popular among German directors was the Blumensteg, a jutting extension of the stage into the audience. The European acquaintance with Kabuki came either from travels in Japan or from texts, but also from Japanese troupes touring Europe. In 1893, Kawakami Otojiro and his troupe of actors arrived in Paris, returning again in 1900 and playing in Berlin in 1902. Kawakami's troop performed two pieces, Kesa and Shogun, both of which were westernized and were performed without music and with the majority of the dialogue eliminated. This being the case, these performances tended toward pantomime and dance. Dramatists and critics quickly latched on to what they saw as a "re-theatricalization of the theater." Among the actors in these plays was Sada Yacco, first Japanese star in Europe, who influenced pioneers of modern dance such as Loie Fuller and Isadora Duncan, she performed for Queen Victoria in 1900, and enjoyed the status of a European star. [11] [12]
Revolving stages are still in use in theater, but benefit from the rise of automation in scenic design. The use of a revolving stage in the original staging of Cats was considered revolutionary at the time, [13] with a section of the stalls mounted onto the revolve as well. [14] The original London staging of Les Misérables is one of the most notable modern uses of a revolving stage, considered "iconic"; [15] it made sixty-three rotations in each performance. [16] Director Trevor Nunn's decision to use the feature was informed by the need for rapid changes of location, especially in light of scenes added to the musical in its adaptation from the original French version. [17] : 75 The turntable also provided "cinematic" changes of perspective on a scene, and, crucially, permitted the cast to walk against the revolve for dramatic motion. [17] : 98 Double-rotating stages, known as a concentric revolve, have also been used in theater productions such as Hamilton . Having one revolving stage inside of the other allows for more flexibility by allowing each to rotate in different directions or at different speeds. Some combine this technology with stage lifts to allow the concentric rings to not only rotate at different speeds, but at different heights, such as those used in Hadestown.
Today revolving stages are primarily used in marketing and trade shows and constructed in a modular design that can be set up and taken down quickly in different types of venues. Driven from the central core or indirectly from an external hub, these stages take advantage of rotating ring couplers to provide rotating power to the stage deck so there is no twisting of power cords or need to reverse the stage. In many cases the stage is left rotating for days at a time, carrying a load up to an SUV.
The revolving stage is also sometimes used at concerts and music festivals, especially larger ones, to allow one band to set up and check their equipment while another opening band is performing. This allows for a much faster transition between an opening band and the next one on the lineup. One such example was the Goose Lake International Music Festival, held in Michigan in August, 1970. [18]
A notable revolving stage show that is used for the concept for Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida just outside of Orlando Florida, where the stage remains stationary while the auditorium revolves around it.
Kabuki is a classical form of Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes, and for the elaborate kumadori make-up worn by some of its performers. The term kabuki originates from a verb that was used to describe young samurai patrons, meaning "being weird" or "offbeat."
The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Performing arts include a range of disciplines which are performed in front of a live audience, including theatre, music, and dance.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to theatre:
The culture of Japan has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world.
A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment, and often employed for rituals and rites. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes, as well as in the performing arts and for entertainment. They are usually worn on the face, although they may also be positioned for effect elsewhere on the wearer's body.
Karakuri puppets are traditional Japanese mechanized puppets or automata, made from the 17th century to the 19th century. The dolls' gestures provided a form of entertainment. The word karakuri has also come to mean "mechanisms" or "trick" in Japanese. It is used to describe any device that evokes a sense of awe through concealment of its inner workings.
Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. It is the oldest major theater art that is still regularly performed today. Noh is often based on tales from traditional literature featuring a supernatural being transformed into a human hero who narrates the story. Noh integrates masks, costumes and various props in a dance-based performance, requiring highly trained actors and musicians. Emotions are primarily conveyed by stylized conventional gestures while the iconic masks represent specific roles such as ghosts, women, deities, and demons. Having a strong emphasis on tradition rather than innovation, Noh is highly codified and regulated by the iemoto system.
Bunraku is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed in the modern day. Three kinds of performers take part in a bunraku performance: the Ningyōtsukai or Ningyōzukai (puppeteers), the tayū (chanters), and shamisen musicians. Occasionally other instruments such as taiko drums will be used. The combination of chanting and shamisen playing is called jōruri and the Japanese word for puppet is ningyō. It is used in many plays.
A theater, or playhouse, is a structure where theatrical works, performing arts, and musical concerts are presented. The theater building serves to define the performance and audience spaces. The facility usually is organized to provide support areas for performers, the technical crew and the audience members, as well as the stage where the performance takes place.
The Chester Mystery Plays is a cycle of mystery plays originating in the city of Chester, England and dating back to at least the early part of the 15th century.
Traditional Japanese theatre is among the oldest theatre traditions in the world. Traditional theatre includes Noh, a spiritual drama, and its comic accompaniment kyōgen; kabuki, a dance and music theatrical tradition; bunraku, puppetry; and yose, a spoken drama.
Tetsuji Takechi was a Japanese theatrical and film director, critic, and author. First coming to prominence for his theatrical criticism, in the 1940s and 1950s he produced influential and popular experimental kabuki plays. Beginning in the mid-1950s, he continued his innovative theatrical work in noh, kyōgen and modern theater. In late 1956 and early 1957 he hosted a popular TV program, The Tetsuji Takechi Hour, which featured his reinterpretations of Japanese stage classics.
The Konpira Grand Theatre, also known as the Kanamaru-za (金丸座), is a restored Kabuki theatre in Kotohira, Kagawa, on the island of Shikoku, Japan. It was originally constructed in 1835, and is the oldest kabuki theatre in Japan. Kabuki plays are performed for one month each year, usually in April.
Kunio Kishida was a Japanese playwright, dramatist, novelist, lecturer, acting coach, theatre critic, translator, and proponent of Shingeki. Kishida spearheaded the modernization of Japanese dramaturgy and transformed Japanese theatre acting. He was a staunch advocate for the theatre to operate as a dual artistic and literary space.
Minami-za is the primary kabuki theatre in Kyoto, Japan. It was founded in 1610 as Shijō Minami-za. The current building, with a 1,086 seat capacity, was built in 1929.
Sherlock Holmes or Puppet Entertainment Sherlock Holmes is a Japanese puppetry television series written by Kōki Mitani and produced and broadcast by NHK. The puppets for the series were designed by Bunta Inoue. The first series of 18 episodes was broadcast on Sundays from 12 October 2014 to 15 February 2015 by NHK Educational TV (ETV); the first six episodes were broadcast by NHK General TV (GTV) in March and August 2014. A special programme was broadcast on 5 October 2014 while a "Sherlock Holmes Award" was broadcast on 28 December 2014. Each episode was rebroadcast on successive Fridays. The programme won the Japan Sherlock Holmes Award on 22 March 2015.
Akimoto Matsuyo was a leading playwright of postwar Japan, most respected as a realist Japanese playwright. Akimoto was known for her shingeki plays, but also wrote some classical bunraku (puppet) and kabuki dramas, and she later became a scriptwriter for both radio and television shows. Along with Akimoto's childhood, World War II played a significant role in her career. As a realist playwright, she used her work to make political statements in order to warn the greater Japanese community that the government was trying to continue their pre-war imperial system of capitalism, militarism, and patriarchy.
Kunio Shimizu was a Japanese playwright. Niigata is his hometown, which is located on the Japan Sea. At Tama University of Fine Arts Shimizu was a professor working in the Moving Images and Performing Arts Department.
James Rodger Brandon was an American academic who was a professor of Asian theater specializing in Kabuki and Sanskrit drama theater at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He was a member of the generation of scholars who first brought Asian theater to English-speaking audiences in the postwar period, translating dozens of plays and directing many performances, some of which toured widely throughout the United States.
Carol Fischer Sorgenfrei is a scholar, translator, editor, and playwright who assumes the title of "founding mother" of Asian theater studies for her contributions to the study of cross-cultural performance and her expertise in Asian theatre. She has published extensively on Asian cultural practices and has written plays incorporating elements of traditional Japanese drama. Currently Professor Emeritus at UCLA, Sorgenfrei continues her creative work as a playwright.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| Authority control databases: National |
|---|
