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Photo by George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Actress Cassandra Wormser prepares for her role
as Isonojo. Eyebrows and lipstick are key for
actors expressing kabuki roles.
Brilliant fight scenes, love
Plot revolves around street knight By Tim Ryan
and lust are all part of this
classic japanese form of theatre
Star-BulletinIN Japan, kabuki is not so much a formal production as it is a way of life. A play can continue for hours with visitors popping in and out of the theater at will throughout the day, becoming part of the drama by cheering, booing or otherwise goading their favorite heroes or villains. The oldest form of melodrama, perhaps.
Honolulu gets a rare treat starting tomorrow when the University of Hawai'i Kennedy Theatre presents "The Summer Festival: A Mirror of Osaka." It will be presented in English.
"Kabuki is a great theater form that happens to be in a non-English language," said director Jim Brandon, who is also director of Asian Theater at the UH. "It's just like hearing 'Madama Butterfly' or a Wagner opera in English. It provides people with a better understanding of what's going on."
And what goes on is a lot.
"There are brilliant fighting scenes, a macho standoff between two strutting young men, a delicate love affair between two quarreling lovers, a sacrifice scene where a woman deliberately injures herself to fulfill a vow," Brandon said.
It's all fairly typical for a kabuki piece written in 1750, Brandon said.
"The Summer Festival: A Mirror of Osaka" is a Kamigata kabuki, originating in the Kyoto/Osaka region of Japan and reflecting the language, customs and atmosphere of that area.In contrast to the bombastic nature of many Edo (now Tokyo) plays and characters, Kamigata kabuki features ad libbed dialogue and an overall feeling of playfulness that brings characters close to the realm of everyday life.
Kabuki was founded early in the 17th century by Okuni, a dancer in Kyoto. Since then, kabuki has developed into a sophisticated, highly stylized form of theater. And although kabuki was created by a woman, roles have traditionally been performed by men.
But not in "The Summer Festival," where several women have been cast. The UH program will feature 25 actors and 15 musicians.
"The Summer Festival" has four scenes in two acts with four different sets, said Brandon, who is directing his 12th kabuki drama.
"Kabuki is like opera, ballet and drama all fused together," Brandon said. "It's like going to a super opera where you're overwhelmed by sounds and sights."
The UH students have been studying the theater form since August; full rehearsals began in January.
Actor Andrew Utech says the biggest difference between kabuki and western theater is that the actor is constrained vocally and physically.
"The way it works is you learn what to do exactly the way your teacher tells you to do it."
It's only after you perfect a movement, he said, that "you figure out what's your motivation."
In the western tradition of acting, he said, a teacher "sets up the motivation first so you understand your character."
Getting into the costume and makeup takes Utech nearly two hours.
"The eyebrows are one of the most important aspects of expressing the role," Utech said. Next in importance is lipstick.
The makeup helps the actor to get into character, he said. "It provides a chance for the actor to actually become his role and applying it can be a form of meditation."
"The Summer Festival: A Mirror of Osaka" is a tale of chivalry, treachery, filial piety and patricide. At the center of the action is a "street knight" named Danshichi Kurobei, played by Andrew Utech. See if you can follow the action: Plot revolves around
street knightIn Act I, Isonojo (Cassandra Wormser), a young samurai, carouses in a teahouse with the courtesan Kotoura (Cindy Sakumoto) until a clever tale of woe convinces him to return to his duties.
Isonojo's villainous rival in love, Sagaemon, succeeds in having Isonojo disowned and left helpless. Danshichi teams up with his blood brother, Tokubei, to protect Isonojo and Kotoura.
In Act II the commoners continue to display valor as Tokubei's wife Otatsu disfigures her beautiful face, and Sabu, an old boatman, breaks a religious vow in order to fight Isonojo's enemies.
When Danshichi's father-in-law, Geheiji, kidnaps and tries to sell Kotoura to Sagaemon, Danshichi hurries to her rescue only to be provoked into committing murder.
On stage
What: "The Summer Festival: A Mirror of Osaka"
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