Early Asian TheatreIndia

Theatre & Religion

Theatre connects spirituality with music, dance, drama, art

Creating a “whole” art

Blurred lines between Theatre, Dance, Ceremony, Ritual

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5BaR4t_510

Traditions

embodied practices have been passed down

style, technique, and tradition or training is also passed down - caste system, geography, tourism

costuming, masks, make-up, choreography - are representative of specific periods & traditions

IndiaDrama

Sanskrit DramasShadow PuppetsDance Dramas

Kutiyattam dance-drama from Kerala, India [JOM]http://www.xip.fi/atd/introduction/introduction.html

Dramasmythology

epic stories (the Mahabharata and the Ramayana)

Peter Brook’s Mahabharata

hero’s journey/adventure

subplots

multiple characters (100s in Mahabharata)

Sanskrit Dramaswide range of subjects and types of play.

full-length poetic love stories

political plays

palace intrigues

shorter farces

one-act love monologues

Sanskrit Dramasearly centuries of C.E. through 1500s

Kalidasa - most celebrated

Malavika and Agnimitra, Urvasi Won by Valour, The famous Shakuntala (also The Recognition of Shakuntala)

http://www.xip.fi/atd/india/sanskrit-dramas.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIYRM8FT_XQhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF3D6u8zcIAhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETFxTQ8r_GQ

Rasa

Rasa - sentiment - or flavor

conveyed by word

facial expressions

symbolic gestures

stylized body language

http://www.xip.fi/atd/india/sanskrit-dramas.html

Rasa, ( Sanskrit: “essence,” “taste,” or “flavour,” literally “sap” or “juice”) Indian concept of aesthetic flavour, an

essential element of any work of visual, literary, or performing art that can only be suggested, not described. It

is a kind of contemplative abstraction in which the inwardness of human feelings suffuses the surrounding

world of embodied forms.

source: https://www.britannica.com/art/rasa

The theory of rasa is attributed to Bharata, a sage-priest who may have lived sometime between the 1st century bce and the 3rd century ce. It was developed by the rhetorician and philosopher Abhinavagupta (c. 1000), who applied it to

all varieties of theatre and poetry. The principal human feelings, according to Bharata, are delight, laughter, sorrow, anger, energy, fear, disgust, heroism, and astonishment, all of

which may be recast in contemplative form as the various rasas: erotic, comic, pathetic, furious, heroic, terrible,

odious, marvelous, and quietistic. These rasas comprise the components of aesthetic experience. The power to taste

rasa is a reward for merit in some previous existence.

source: https://www.britannica.com/art/rasa

Natya Shastra

ancient text on performance

attributed to sage Bharata Muni (3rd century B.C.E.)

36 chapters, 6000 poetic verses

dramatic composition, structure of a play, construction of the stage, acting, movement, costuming, makeup, the role of the director, music, instruments

–Victoria Looseleaf , LA Times, 2004

Before "The Wizard of Oz," "Star Wars" and "The Sopranos," there was the Ramayana. The mother of all good versus evil tales, this ancient Hindu myth

charts the story of Rama, an incarnation of the god Vishnu, who, after being banished to the forest, does battle with the uber-nasty Ravana, winning back the

girl of his dreams, Sita.

Indian tolpavakoottu shadow theatre in Kerala, Indiahttp://www.xip.fi/atd/introduction/introduction.html

Shadow Puppetstwo types of Puppet dance/theatre in Kerala (a center for theatrical dance traditions-

Ramayana (tolpavakoothu)

glovepuppet theatre inspired by dance-drama (bhavakathakali)- more recent puppet form (18th C.E.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMTU5OxgRP0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvYwuL1XtOo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j8cqPvM9aA

Kalaripayattu3rd century B.C.E.

Kalaripayattu- Martial Arts

Kerala’s famous form of martial arts (kalaripayattu)

incorporated military training/combat/ with yoga, dance, performing arts

https://youtu.be/SXP_RfW-Zno (Bollywood film clip)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KIWAnuQhrs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUUNgyH_47Y

Indian Dance, Music, Drama & Bollywood

understanding natyashastra https://youtu.be/nGWlSNOA1tc

Maya Ravana - In The Spirit Of The Ramayan https://youtu.be/NJdaesRq1fA

Shobana's Krishna https://youtu.be/eWnTerH1iVs

2015 Bollywood Dance Songs | Video Jukebox https://youtu.be/ZiUSUtZssuQ

Krrish (super hero) https://youtu.be/l9TGSAi9pV0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWMTj-rejvc&list=RDQMO4GTmbo_w8w