Drama Journal 2020

Noh Theatre Research Project (15/04/2020)

Today we set out to conduct research on various world theaters because our previous project, the group performance, got sidelined and we have to do this instead. I settled upon Noh because I find that it’s similar to a world theater that I did last time we had a project like this in Peking opera and I find that there’s something interesting about this being the world’s oldest surviving theater tradition. I have got some ideas down about the structure of my presentation:

• Have opening statement
• Origin of word
• History of Noh Theatre – Detailed, origin to current day
• Has it been influenced by the times? Discuss this
• What are plays usually about? Based on? Genres?
• In culture
• Importance of audience
• Similar to what other theatres?
• Costumes
• Types of plays
• Characters
• Requirements for actors. Training?
• Songs
• Makeup
• Gestures
• Why did I choose it?
• Reflection
• Explain approach to theatre
• Explain approach to scene
• Challenges
• What could I improve on
• What did I enjoy
• Given you deeper understanding because it’s foreign
• Use context on everything

I think gestures would be good to demonstrate to my audience as they play a much more prominent role than other areas of Noh theater and it’s important to know that these gestures are the primary form of expression versus speech or even facial expressions. I just hope that I can pull this off because there’s a lot of work mounting during the Covid-19 crisis and online school and I fear this may get pushed to the back until it’s too late.