At the end of this module, you are expected to:

1. identifies selected festivals and theatrical forms celebrated all over the Asian region A8EL-
IVa-1
2. researches on the history of the festival and theatrical forms and its evolution, and describe
how the community participates and contributes to the event A8EL-IVb-2

Directions: Read the statements below, write True if it is correct and False if it
is incorrect. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.

1. China is known for their traditional theater art form, the Peking Opera.
2. Laosheng is a martial character for roles involving combat.
3. Dan refers to any female role in Peking opera.
4. Huadan are vivacious and unmarried women.
5. Chiaohualian (the petty painted face) is a small patch of chalk on and around
the nose.
6. Kabuki is a form of traditional Japanese drama with highly stylized song,
mime, and dance, now performed only by male actors.
7. The expression kabukino referred originally to those who were bizarrely
dressed and paraded on a street.
8. Mie - in which the actor holds a picturesque pose to establish his character.
9. Aragoto - male roles in Kabuki Theater plays.
10. Kabuki is performed in full-day programs.

USE THE LINK OR SCAN THE QR CODE FOR ONLINE ACCESS:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdaaTICg96bxAv_vax9rBemwcc-
09JHmxUSK1DFgsDIm4vJsg/viewform?usp=sf_link
Directions: On a separate sheet of paper, answer the following questions below.

1. What are things that amaze you in the Spring festival of China? Write your
impressions.
2. Describe the music and movements of the drummers of Japan’s Taiko
Drum festival.
3. What were the facial expressions, body movements, and costumes of the
Bali dancers?
4. What is the function of the Loy Krathong (sky lantern) festival?

PEKING OPERA
http://www.ebeijing.gov.cn/BeijingInformation/BeijingsHistory/t1137406.htm

China is known for their

traditional theater art form, the
PekingOpera or BeijingOpera
which combines music, vocal
performance, pantomime,
dance, and acrobatics. It started
in the late 18th century and
became fully developed and
recognized by the mid-19th
century. During the Qing Dynasty court it became extremely popular and came
to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures
of China.

Peking Opera Training:

Pupils were often handpicked at a young age

by a teacher and trained for seven years on
contract from the child's parents. After 1911,
training took place in more formally organized schools. Students at these
schools rose as early as five o'clock in the morning for exercises. Daytime was
spent learning the skills of acting and combat, and senior students performed
in outside theaters in the evening.

Roles and Characters:

Sheng- is the main male role in Peking opera

Xiaosheng actors are often involved with beautiful women by virtue of the
handsome and young image they project.
http://www.newsgd.com/culture/local/content/2009-10/04/
content_5934332.htm

Wusheng is a martial character for roles involving

combat. They are highly trained in acrobatics, and
have a natural voice when singing.
http://www.chinaopera.net/english/Chinese-Opera-Knowledge/Peking-
Opera-Wusheng

Laosheng is a dignified
older role, these
characters have a gentle
and cultivated disposition, and wear sensible
costumes.
http://www.gracechinatours.com/china-guide/beijing/beijing-
opera.html

Dan - refers to any female role in Peking opera

Laodan- old woman

http://yaymicro.com/stock-image/chinese-opera---
old-woman/816353

Wudan- martial woman

http://www.chinaodysseytours.com/pictures-of-china/?
level=picture&id=147

Daomadan are young female warriors

 http://www.appletravel.cn/holidays/travel_info.php?id=17

Qingyi are virtuous and elite women

http://www.mybeijingchina.com/travel-guide/beijing-opera/
opera-roles.htm

Huadan are
vivacious and
unmarried
women

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/ezine/2007-05/31/content_884195_2.htm

Jing is a painted face male role who plays either primary or secondary roles.
This type of role entails a forceful character, which means that a Jing actor
must have a strong voice and be able to exaggerate gestures. The red color
denotes loyalty and goodness, white denotes evil, and black denotes integrity.
http://blogofaaronf.blogspot.com/2011/09/extract-from-my-theater-blog-beijing.html

Chou is a male clown role. The Chou usually

plays secondary roles whose name also
means "ugly". It reflects the traditional belief
that the clown's combination of ugliness and
laughter could drive away evil spirits.
http://blogofaaronf.blogspot.com/2011/09/extract-
from-my-theater-blog-beijing.html

Visual Performance Elements:

Peking-opera performers utilize four main skills.

1. Song
2. Speech
3. Dance-acting - This includes pure dance, pantomime, and all other types
of dance.
4. Combat - includes both acrobatics and fighting with all manner of
weaponry.

You have learned from the previous quarters about the colors the Chinese
Peking Opera are using in their facial paints, masks and costumes. This is just a
review.

The meaning of colors in Peking Opera Masks/Make-ups

Red - devotion, courage, bravery, uprightness and loyalty.

Black - roughness and fierceness

Yellow - fierceness, ambition and cool-headedness

Purple - uprightness, sophistication and cool-headedness

Reddish purple - just and noble character

Blue - loyalty, fierceness and sharpness

White - dangerousness, suspiciousness and craftiness. Commonly seen on the

stage is the white face for the powerful villain

Green - impulsive and violent and stubbornness

Xiaohualian (the petty painted face) is a small patch of chalk on and around
the nose. Clowns of traditional drama who wears this special make-up show a
mean and secretive character.

Aesthetic Aims and Principles of Movement:

The highest aim of performers in Peking Opera is to put beauty into every
motion.

The art form, gestures, settings, music, and character types are determined by
long held conventions
 Conventions of movement

-Walking in a large circle always symbolizes traveling a long distance

- Character straightening his or her costume and headdress symbolizes that an

important character is about to speak

-Pantomimic opening and closing of doors and mounting and descending of

stairs

Staging and Costumes:

http://www.chinaopera.net/english/catalog.asp?page=9

Stages: square platforms, the

action on stage is usually visible
from at least three sides stages
were built above the line of sight
of the viewers, but some modern
stages have been constructed with
higher audience seating divided
into two parts by an embroidered
curtain called a shoujiu.

Costume: Xingtou popularly known as Xifu in Chinese origins of Peking Opera

costumes can be traced back to the mid-14th century enable the audience to
distinguish a character's sex and status at first glance if noble or humble,
civilian or military, officials or private citizens give expression to sharp
distinctions between good and evil or loyal and wicked characters oblong
wings (chizi) attached to a gauze hat indicate a loyal official. In contrast, a
corrupt official is made to wear a gauze hat with rhomboidal wing

Props: utilizes very few props will almost always have a table and at least one
chair, which can be turned through convention into such diverse objects as a
city wall, a mountain, or a bed a whip is used to indicate a horse and an oar
symbolizes a boat

Musicians: are visible to the audience on the front part of the stage
Viewers: always seated south of the stage, therefore, north is themost
important direction

Performers: immediately move to center north upon entering the stage. All
characters enter from the east and exit from the west

KABUKI OF JAPAN

http://www.asiagrace.com/photos/h/kabuki.jpg

Kabuki is a form of traditional

Japanese drama with highly stylized
song, mime, and dance, now
performed only by male actors.

Japanese, originally as a verb

meaning “act dissolutely,’ later
interpreted as: ka – song, bu –
dance and ki – art/skill.

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/kabuki.aspx

Kabuki theater is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate
make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is therefore sometimes
translated as "the art of singing and dancing". Since the word kabuki is
believed to derive from the verb kabuku, meaning "to lean" or "to be out of
the ordinary", kabuki can be "bizarre" theater. The expression kabukimono
referred originally to those who were bizarrely dressed and paraded on a
street.
The Kabuki stage features:

1. Hanamichi – a flower path, a walkway which extends into the audience

and via which dramatic entrances and exits are made; Okuni also
perform on a hanamichi stage with her entourage.
2. Kogakudo -kabuki theaters that have stages both in front of the
audience and along the sides help create a bond between the actors and
viewers
3. Mawaro butal -the interior of the theater contains a revolving stage
4. Suppon -a platform that rises from below the stage
5. Hanamicho – a walkway that cuts through the audience seating area to
connect the stage with the back of the theater

Magicians and supernatural beings often make their entrances from trap
doors in the hanamichi Some stages have 17 trapdoors.

The three main categories of the kabuki play are:

1. jidai-mono- historical, or pre-Sengoku period stories

2. sewa-mono- domestic, or post-Sengoku stories and
3. shosagoto - dance pieces
Jidaimono, or history plays, were set within the context of major events in
Japanese history. Strict censorship laws during the Edo period prohibited the
representation of contemporary events and particularly prohibited criticising
the shogunate or casting it in a bad light, although enforcement varied greatly
over the years.
Sewamono focused primarily upon commoners (townspeople and peasants). It
is generally related to themes of family drama and romance.

Elements of kabuki:
Mie - in which the actor holds a picturesque pose to establish his character and
his house name yagō, is sometimes heard in a loud shout (kakegoe) from
expert audience member, serving both to express and enhance the audience's
appreciation of the actor's achievement. An even greater compliment can be
paid by shouting the name of the actor's father. Keshō

Actors are separated into two main categories:

Onna-gata - female roles and;

Aragoto - male roles.

Most main characters in Kabuki plays are aragoto, because of its super-stylized
masculine, heroic style.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com

Onna-gata Role(left) Aragoto Role (right)

Kabuki "Hero" character

Make-up is also one of the most iconic parts of

Kabuki. Actors apply their own make-up by painting
their faces and necks white, then adding stylized lines
in red, black, or blue. The colors and lines that are
used tell you what kind of character is being
performed.

Red and blue are usually aragoto roles, onna-gata

playing young women have very little paint
http://
themiddlespaces.blogspot.com/
2011/02/kabuki-japanese-
theater-ii.html
http://
www.magiccarpetjournals.com/
kabuki.htm
These are examples of famous Kabuki characters. A http://blogs.smarter.com/fashio
character's make-up, like everything else, is decided n-beauty
by tradition.
Kabuki make-up, provides an element of style easily recognizable even by
those unfamiliar with the art form. Rice powder is used to create the white
oshiroi base for the characteristic stage make-up, and kumadori enhances or
exaggerates facial lines to produce dramatic animal or supernatural character.

The color of the kumadori is an expression of the character's nature:

1. RED LINES are used to indicate passion, heroism, righteousness, and

other positive traits;
2. PINK for youthful joy;
3. LIGHT BLUE, for an even temper;
4. PALE GREEN, for peacefulness
5. BLUE OR BLACK, for villainy, jealousy, and other negative traits;
6. GREEN, for the supernatural; and
7. PURPLE, for nobility

Kabuki is performed in full-day programs. Audiences escape from the

day-to-day world, devoting a full day to entertainment. Though some
individual plays, particularly the historical jidaimono, might last an entire day,
most were shorter and sequenced with other plays in order to produce a full-
day program.

The play occupies five acts.

The first corresponds to:

jo, an auspicious and slow opening which introduces the audience to

the characters and the plot
ha, speeding events up, culminating almost always in a great moment of
drama or
tragedy in the third act and possibly a battle in the second and/or
fourth acts.
kyu, is almost always short, providing a quick and satisfying conclusion.

Kabuki props are often quite interesting. Flowing water is usually represented
by fluttering roles of linen; and creatures like insects and foxes. Props often
have symbolic meanings. Fans are used to symbolize wind, a sword, a tobacco
pipe, waves or food.
Costumes are swung from sticks or manipulated by helpers who come on stage
dressed in black hooded robes so they are invisible to the audience. The
female characters generally wear an elaborate kimono and obi. Pleated
hakuma trousers are worn by characters of sexes. Actors playing both sexes
often have a supported midriff because a straight and curve less figure are
regarded the essence of beauty.

Costume changing is considered as an art. There are special teams that take
care of complete and partial costume changes and are done as part of the
performances.

Wigs are important accessories, with each costume having its own type.
Specialized craftsmen shape the wigs to the head. Wigs are made of human
hair or horse hair or, bear fur or yak-tail hair imported from Tibet.

http://www.ebeijing.gov.cn/BeijingInformation/BeijingsHistory/t1137406.htm

http://www.newsgd.com/culture/local/content/2009-10/04/content_5934332.htm

http://www.chinaopera.net/english/Chinese-Opera-Knowledge/Peking-Opera-Wusheng

http://www.gracechinatours.com/china-guide/beijing/beijing-opera.html

http://yaymicro.com/stock-image/chinese-opera---old-woman/816353
http://www.chinaodysseytours.com/pictures-of-china/?level=picture&id=147

http://www.appletravel.cn/holidays/travel_info.php?id=17

http://www.mybeijingchina.com/travel-guide/beijing-opera/opera-roles.htm

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/ezine/2007-05/31/content_884195_2.htm

http://blogofaaronf.blogspot.com/2011/09/extract-from-my-theater-blog-beijing.html

http://blogofaaronf.blogspot.com/2011/09/extract-from-my-theater-blog-beijing.html

http://www.chinaopera.net/english/catalog.asp?page=9

http://www.asiagrace.com/photos/h/kabuki.jpg

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/kabuki.aspx

http://2.bp.blogspot.com
http://1.bp.blogspot.com
http://themiddlespaces.blogspot.com/2011/02/kabuki-japanese-theater-ii.html

http://www.magiccarpetjournals.com/kabuki.htm

http://blogs.smarter.com/fashion-beauty

Development Team of the Module

Writer: John Edward P. Degamon
Editors:
Content Evaluator: Yolanda J. Iglesias
Language Evaluator: Cherry Planco
Reviewers:
Illustrator: AMAPOLA ESPOS
Layout Artist: MELANIE D. GATANELA
Management Team: DR. MARGARITO B. MATERUM, SDS
DR. GEORGE P. TIZON, SGOD Chief
DR. ELLERY G. QUINTIA, CID Chief
SHOJI GERONA, EPS – MAPEH
DR. DAISY L. MATAAC, EPS – LRMS/ALS

For inquiries, please write or call:

Schools Division of Taguig city and Pateros Upper Bicutan Taguig City

Telefax: 8384251

Email Address: sdo.tapat@deped.gov.ph