Chapter Eleven discusses classical Asian theater practices as well as western medieval theater forms that were developing at the same time.
After reading this chapter you should:
1. Understand that theater was reborn in the Roman Catholic Church during the later Middle Ages. Be familiar with the following forms of medieval drama:
liturgical dramas
vernacular dramas
mystery plays
morality plays
miracle plays
2. Understand that traditional theaters of Asia-India, China, and Japan-reached a high point when religion and philosophy were central in the culture. Most are stylized using acting, mime, dance, music and text.
3. Be familiar with Indian theater, including Sanskrit drama and later Indian drama.
4. Be familiar with Chinese theater forms in the:
Yuan Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
Peking (Beijing) Opera (continues today)
5. Be familiar with the forms of Japanese theater including:
No Theater (the "o" here is a special character with a straight horizontal line over it)
Bunraku Puppet Theater
Kabuki
6. Be familiar with the description of a Japanese performance at the Kitano Temple in 1413.
7. Be familiar with the synopsis of Sotoba Komachi.
8. Be familiar with the description of a medieval production of Noah's Ark in 1501 in Mons (later to become Belgium).
9. Be aware of the large-scale productions of mystery plays that took place in medieval Europe and all of the factors that went into putting these productions together.