The Confused Greenies do Kyōgen!
The Confused Greenies have offered and been thus invited to perform a few short Japanese kyōgen plays at the CWRU Anime Society's Anime Marathon on Saturday, November 15. As those of you who read my journal probably know, kyōgen is very similar to commedia dell'arte - both are farcical comedies with lots of slapstick, both can satire society, both use stock characters (including stupid servants, braggart warriors, know-it-alls, etc), and masks (though kyōgen to a lesser extent). Kyōgen is not seen as much as an improvisational form because there are numerous scripts of dialogue (both in the original Japanese and translated). However, most of these were written centuries after the plays were first performed. The actors learned the play by recitation from their elders and (at least with kyōgen) were open to improv to tailor it to the audience and topical issues.
We are performing right after the cosplay contest in Nord 410, which has a layout similar to a nō / kyōgen stage. We trying to decide which plays to do amongst five - the five being plays that either B.J. and/or I have performed in at Pennsic last year or this year. We're still wondering which to do.
1. Busu ("Poison") - 1 lord, 2 stupid servants
A master tries to trick his stupid servants into not eating a pot of honey by claiming it is incredibly dangerous poison.
2. Tsurigitsune ("Fox Fishing") - 1 hunter, 1 fox (disguised as a priest)
A braggart hunter meets a Buddhist priest (that is actually his fox prey in disguise)
3. Utsubo'zaru ("The Monkey and the Hunter") - 1 lord, 1 servant, 1 poor monkey trainer, 1 monkey
A pompous daimyō goes hunting and sets his eyes on a performing monkey
4. Kubihiki ("Tug of War") - 1 boasting hero, 1 demon king, 1 demon daughter, any number of demons
A braggart hero encounters a family of oni whose daughter has come of age to eat human flesh - but she might have an eye for something else.
5. Kintō Zaemon ("Kintō Zaemon the Bandit King") - 1 traveling maiden, 1 bandit king, any number of bandits (or none)
The infamous bandit takes a fancy to the latest fashion.
So any thoughts which would be good for an anime crowd?
We will want costumes of course. Even if we did all (which we're not) I think we can get away four to five costumes - one rich man's attire (for nobles and boasting heroes), one nice woman's attire (for the oni princess and traveling woman), and two sets poor / plain clothes (for the servants, poor, bandits, extra oni etc). The monkey and the oni could be stylized and not Japanese if need be.
So, does anyone have any Japanese garb we could borrow? We're investigating all possible avenues.
Also, we might be able to buy some with current semester funds... But where can we buy them locally - given the limited time before Marathon?
The good news is that we've been invited to do this again next spring! :D
We are performing right after the cosplay contest in Nord 410, which has a layout similar to a nō / kyōgen stage. We trying to decide which plays to do amongst five - the five being plays that either B.J. and/or I have performed in at Pennsic last year or this year. We're still wondering which to do.
1. Busu ("Poison") - 1 lord, 2 stupid servants
A master tries to trick his stupid servants into not eating a pot of honey by claiming it is incredibly dangerous poison.
2. Tsurigitsune ("Fox Fishing") - 1 hunter, 1 fox (disguised as a priest)
A braggart hunter meets a Buddhist priest (that is actually his fox prey in disguise)
3. Utsubo'zaru ("The Monkey and the Hunter") - 1 lord, 1 servant, 1 poor monkey trainer, 1 monkey
A pompous daimyō goes hunting and sets his eyes on a performing monkey
4. Kubihiki ("Tug of War") - 1 boasting hero, 1 demon king, 1 demon daughter, any number of demons
A braggart hero encounters a family of oni whose daughter has come of age to eat human flesh - but she might have an eye for something else.
5. Kintō Zaemon ("Kintō Zaemon the Bandit King") - 1 traveling maiden, 1 bandit king, any number of bandits (or none)
The infamous bandit takes a fancy to the latest fashion.
So any thoughts which would be good for an anime crowd?
We will want costumes of course. Even if we did all (which we're not) I think we can get away four to five costumes - one rich man's attire (for nobles and boasting heroes), one nice woman's attire (for the oni princess and traveling woman), and two sets poor / plain clothes (for the servants, poor, bandits, extra oni etc). The monkey and the oni could be stylized and not Japanese if need be.
So, does anyone have any Japanese garb we could borrow? We're investigating all possible avenues.
Also, we might be able to buy some with current semester funds... But where can we buy them locally - given the limited time before Marathon?
The good news is that we've been invited to do this again next spring! :D