T468: Asian Performance
Mondays and Wednesdays - 9:30-10:45am
Taught by: Dr. Jennifer Goodlander
COLL Intensive Writing
section
COLL (CASE) Global Civ
& Culture credit
COLL (CASE) A&H
Breadth of Inquiry credit
Beautiful masks and ritual
puppets… Dancing and chanting… Ornate costumes and exotic make up…
The theatres of Asia are vast
and varied in their styles and contexts. Did you know a puppeteer can make
holy water in Bali? Or that butoh dancers in Japan explore emotion
and memory through their slow movements? Or some actors in India put
chili peppers in their eyes to make the whites turn red for performance?
This course will introduce many
of the forms of theatre performed throughout Asia today. In doing so we
will examine the aesthetics, beliefs, politics, and cultural context associated
with these performance forms in order to trouble the dichotomy between
traditional/contemporary and therefore expand our knowledge of Asia and its
performance practices. In this course we will:
- Increase knowledge of major figures and examples of
Asian performance.
- Develop skills and vocabulary for understanding Asian
performance.
- Foster an awareness of theatre as a social institution,
which reflects cultural, economic, political, and spiritual trends of the
day.
- Continue to question and re-define the nature and
purpose of theatre.
No experience in theatre or Asia is required!
