Abroad in Japan: Noh Theatre Immersion
Maryville College students holding traditional Noh Theatre Masks Hello! My name is Kathryn Bornhoeft, and I am a Theatre Education major at Maryville College. This summer, a group of other students and I were granted the opportunity to study a Noh Theatre intensive at Kansai Gaidai University in Hirakata. What is Noh Theatre? Noh is a traditional style of Japanese theatre. It is a sacred art form that involves entirely handmade costumes and masks. Actors study for years to master the proper movement and song-like chanting that the plays require. There are five different types of plays: god plays, warrior plays, woman plays, madness plays, and demon plays; each with its own defining factors. Noh was originally performed outside, hence the roof that remains on traditional Noh stages. A traditional Noh stage While in Japan, we got the amazing opportunity to visit a mask and costume maker. Shown below is a photo of various hand-carved masks. The costume maker requested that his ...
