DRAM 345: Test #2

Historical timeframe and duration of Classical Sanskrit theatre

Flourished from the early Common Era until approximately the 14th century, spanning roughly 1200 years

Linguistic distinction between Sanskrit and Prakrit in performance

Sanskrit was reserved for educated, elite characters; regional Prakrit dialects were spoken by women, servants, and commoners

Natyashastra

An ancient encyclopedic manual on the performing arts, traditionally attributed to the sage Bharata Muni

Four expressive modes of acting codified in the Natyashastra

Acting through the body, speech, accessories, and signs of emotion (such as specific eye movements)

Kalidasa

Gupta Dynasty dramatist widely regarded as the greatest writer of Classical Sanskrit literature

Sanskrit Theatre - Observations

Purification rituals; originally restrictive due to sacred nature; oil lamp on stage to signify divine presence; music; specific, regimented guidelines; traditional costuming; passed through family lines/communities; men and women performers; limited staging; long running time up to 40 days

Method of knowledge transmission in classical Indian acting traditions

Strict apprenticeship systems that passed down codified physical movement and facial techniques through family lineages and communities

Presentational Presentation

A stylized, overtly theatrical mode that directly acknowledges the presence of the audience

Representational Presentation

A naturalistic/realistic mode of performance that preserves the fourth wall and depicts realistic life without acknowledging the audience

Nemesis

Mimicking; acting that can be presentational or representational

Rasa

The cumulative emotional flavour or aesthetic sentiment evoked in the audience through the dramatic performance

Nine traditional dramatic sentiments (rasas) in classical Indian aesthetics

The erotic, comic, furious, pathetic, disgusting, horrible, heroic, marvelous, and tranquil (added later)

Three geometric stage layouts in Sanskrit theatre

Rectangular, square, and triangular; no surviving stages

Xi

The Chinese word for "play," or "game”

Tang and Song Dynasties in theatre history

The historical eras during which pre-modern Chinese theatrical performance developed robustly (618–907 CE) and then fully flourished (960–1279 CE).

4 Performance traditions of Tang

1. Puppet/shadows

2. Court skits

3. Satire

4. Circus/acrobatics

Tang Dynasty: The Pear Orchard Conservatory

An imperial academy established by Emperor Minghuang to train actors and musicians

Wazi ("tile districts")

Designated urban entertainment and commercial quarters that emerged in major cities during the Song Dynasty

Two distinct forms of Chinese theatre

1. Zaji

2. Nanxi

Treated primarily as living performance traditions rather than written texts. Nanxi tends to be longer and more intricate than Zaji, and draws from folk music to create its theatre style

Yuan Dynasty

Period of Mongolian control over China

Yuan Zaju

A classical poetic drama form that flourished during the Mongol-ruled Yuan Dynasty, marking a Golden Age of Chinese dramatic literature with record of 700 play titles and 550 playwrights

What approach did the Mongolians take during their rule?

Were incredibly pragmatic; got people to do things they were good at, encouraging many playwrights to pursue/continue their craft

Musical and structural conventions of Yuan Zaju

A rigid structure of exactly four acts containing 10 to 20 songs, with all vocal numbers performed exclusively by the lead character

Confucian ethical resolution in Yuan Zaju

Plays involved strong moral messages and a confucian emphasis on right and wrong, always ending with justice served

Staging and casting practices of Yuan Zaju

Included both male and female performers wearing colorful costumes and stylized makeup, with musicians playing directly on stage

The Golden Age of Literature (Yuan Zaju) was eclipsed by the re-emergence of…

Nanxi

5 Core virtues that constitute De in Confucian thought

Ren (humaneness, benevolence), Li (ritual norms and etiquette), Zhong (loyalty to one’s true nature), Shu (reciprocity), and Xiao (filial piety); together, these constitute De (virtue)

Confucian concept of ‘cosmic harmony’

The belief that human actions and natural phenomena are interconnected, meaning a ruler's moral failings directly cause natural disasters such as droughts and floods.

Shift in Roman theatrical entertainment during the late Empire

Performances became increasingly decadent and heavily focused on grandiose spectacle rather than literary drama

Relationship between late Roman theatre and early Christianity

Theatrical performances frequently ridiculed and mocked Christian rites and beliefs while the religion was still illegal

Year Christianity was legitimized in the Roman Empire

312 CE, eventually paving the way for it to become the Roman empire's official religion

Fall of Western Roman Empire

Formal playwriting and performance archiving largely ceased, leaving little to no written record of active drama. However, theatre was still present in Eastern (Byzantine) Empire at least until 692, and doesn’t disappear

Geopolitical shift in Western Europe following the collapse of Rome

Power transitioned from a centralized Roman imperial authority to a decentralized society culturally anchored by the Catholic Church

The Medieval Church’s POV on theatre

• Binary think of Church: God = good, anything else = bad/Satanic

• Trappings of performance considered sinful (eg., men dressing as women in plays)

• Thinking that to present something was equivalent to actually doing the thing

Hrotsvitha von Gandersheim

10th-century German canoness recognized as the first playwright of the Middle Ages; was inspired by Plautus and Terance, and then began to write her own plays that reflected Christian themes and morality

Comaedia Sacrae

The 'Sacred Comedies' authored by Hrotsvitha von Gandersheim with Christian themes, primarily of chastity (virgins or unchaste women who embrace chastity); most likely closet dramas read by other nuns, and gave us our first example of a Miracle Play

Thais the Whore

An example of Comaedia Sacrea focused on the idea of penance; one of the earliest examples of what we can distinctly call theatre coming into existence, even if it was a closet drama

Hildegard Von Bingen

German abbess, writer, composer; introduces us to morality play

Liturgy

The prescribed forms and rituals used in Christian worship, including prayers, hymns, and readings, which structure religious ceremonies and enhance spiritual reflection

Miracle Plays

Dramatize the lives, martyrdoms, and miraculous deeds of Christian saints (eg., Conversion of Thais the Whore)

Morality Plays

An allegorical drama in which moral lessons are taught; centres around a hero/central character who is not a specific person; allegory — can be humankind, the soul (eg., Everyman)

Mystery Plays

Focus on biblical stories and sacred history performed through dramatizations; often include themes of salvation and redemption (Eg., Noah’s Ark)

Vernacular in medieval theatre

The regional common tongue spoken by the local population, adopted in place of Latin to make religious drama understandable and engaging to lay audiences; often used in mystery plays like bible stories

Mansions (medieval staging)

Structures constructed inside churches to provide scenery during mystery plays and other religious performances, representing different locations or events from biblical narratives

Mystery cycle

An extensive sequence of linked biblical plays presented consecutively; eventually began begin staged outside the theatre (priests still presenting)

Papal edict of 1210

A church decree issued by the Pope prohibiting the clergy from acting on outdoor stages, leading to the transfer of theatrical production into the secular public realm

Guild sponsorship of mystery plays

Organization of plays fell to towns, religious guilds, and trade guilds; trade guilds/organizations financed and executed episodes corresponding to their crafts (such as shipwrights producing Noah's Ark), functioning as trade advertising and town tourism

Pageant wagon

A two-tiered, wheeled staging platform featuring a lower concealed dressing and preparation room topped by an open performance stage that allowed plays to be staged outside; on wheels, but no evidence of them travelling around (except maybe in Spain)

Overall dramatic structure of mystery cycles

Cyclical rather than climactic, even if individual plays contained climactic structures

Medieval farce

A secular comic genre that re-emerged around the 13th century alongside more educated classes; purely secular with jokes about things like bodily functions and academia

Secular theatre elements

• Festivals often had performers (mummers, acrobats, musicians, folk dances)

• some plays from folklore seen by late 13th century

• Increased literacy sees development of farces, often from students and lawyers 

Kagura

Shamanistic Shinto ritual dances performed for purification

Buddhist Influence on Japanese Theatre as seen after mid 500s CE

Gigaku (masked dance-drama); Bugaku (dignified court dance with codified foot movements); Sangaku (popular variety entertainment featuring acrobatics and circus acts)

Historical status of Noh theatre in global drama

The oldest continuously performed theatrical genre still surviving in the world, designated by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity

Literal translation and core meaning of Noh

Translates to 'skill', 'craft', or 'discipline', referring to the specialized physical mastery and technique needed to execute the performance

5 roles in Noh

• Shite: protagonist

• Tsure: supporting actor of Shite

• Waki: opposite role to Shite

• Waki tsure: supporting actor of waki

• Ai Kyogen: the role to connect scenes, introduce characters and explain the situations

Non-character performers

• Kouken: help characters dress; carry/hand stage properties; if accidents happened to shite, play the part for shite directly

• Jiuta: chant the situation of a scene + the character’s inner life

• Hayashi: play instruments and shout encouragement

Five traditional thematic play categories in Noh drama (each led by a different Shite)

1. God plays (Waki-Noh mono)

2. Warrior plays (Shura-mono)

3. Woman or wig plays (Kazura-mono)

4. Miscellaneous plays (Zou-no)

5. Demon or supernatural creature plays (Kirino)

Four musical instruments comprising the Noh orchestra

A transverse flute, a small shoulder-held hand drum, a large hip-held hand drum, and a stick-beaten floor drum

Rehearsal and directorial structure of classical Noh troupes

Performances function entirely without a director or group rehearsals, relying instead on rigorous lifelong apprenticeship and strictly codified movement conventions

Zeami Motokiyo

A celebrated 14th–15th-century actor, playwright, and aesthetic theorist who refined Noh into an elite high art and authored the foundational treatise Kadensho

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu

The 14th-century Muromachi Shogun whose imperial court patronage elevated Noh from popular street entertainment to prestigious aristocratic theatre

Influence of Zen Buddhism on Noh acting philosophy

Instilled an ethic of intense personal discipline and the spiritual duty to execute one's craft with total presence and precision every time