from watching this film it was very confusing so after reading more of the performance and the subtitle did help the story line was very strange i was able to tell from the extravagant makeup, mask , and outfits , i may have missed some of their accessories the story however easy to make out after knowing the story i think you would have needed to know what they were doing, understand the gestures.

Bharatanatyam

Mudras

Another Mudras demonstration

Navarasa

Bollywood

And more Bollywood

After watching Kathakali, it is a performing by an actor who makes up and dress up with many kinds of colors. Mostly, the actors facial expression is interested for me as it said. And an actor is performing by people’s singing and I feel like song is kind of Chorus. Under the song, an actor is performing like dancing but it is close to gesture. I didn’t understand with this, but through the second video, it is not singing. It is like story telling. And under this story telling, an actor follows to describe story telling. It is very interesting that an actor doesn’t mention anything, but performs by only body motion.

After watching both Kathakali 1 and Kathakali 2, It is amazing how music and art can make one feel. Both videos illustrated awesome indian dance drama which had very interesting unique make-up of characters, creative costumes, detailed gestures and well defined body movements( in Kathakali 2). The colors really do capture my attention. Art really is one of a kind. When I watch videos like this, it really relaxes me as I try to just picture on what the characters might be saying. They have a unique talent to show us their emotion or feeling through these dramas. Throughout both videos we can see how music and art can be so powerful together.

This form of theatre seems interesting to say the least. What intrigued me the most was the use of music throughout the entire performance. Also, there was no dialogue over the  music whatsoever; the use of facial expression was of utmost importance. It seems interesting that an entire performance would be based on facial expressions and hand movements, and I think it just goes to should how focused on details Indians are when it comes to performances in general (including dances and other ceremonies), back then and now still.

I found this form of theater rather interesting. It felt like this performance put a little bit of everything we have seen together, with the expressive make up and decorative garments. I felt as if they’re garments were helping to tell the story that the singer is performing. The actual performer from the first video made very expressive gesture, without having to move too much. I wonder if they did this so that the native people were forced to pay closer attention to what the symbols all mean. I also wonder what the purpose of the huge bottom of the outfits came from.

I found the Kathakali performances very beautiful to watch but almost impossible to understand- thank Krishna for the subtitles in the second video! It seems as though the dance-drama is intended for a native audience as the language and hand gestures are obviously very specific to India. I was able though, to get a general sense of the mood of the stories through the facial expressions of the main characters, which were further accentuated with their elaborate makeup and the tone in which the vocalists sang. The costumes were also very beautiful, with a hooped skirt that made movement and dance possible. The makeup and costumes did seem very hot and heavy though, which I don’t find to be ideal for performing on stage.

It is so interesting to me to see how far back the connection between music and theatre goes. I may be wrong, but I can’t  think of any point in time where  theater ever really existed without music. We see this  with the ancient forms of theatre, with examples such as the greek chorus and the music in the Kathakali. In the first video, you can clearly see how the music cues each detailed movement; be it a hand gesture, change in facial expression, or slight movement over all and Im sure for anyone who understand the language, that the lyrics provide even more depth to the story. The concentration and connection that you see between the actors and musicians (compared to today’s seperation of them by “the pit”) makes the music almost like a second character on stage.

Why do you think only one person in used to perform in kathakali? Do you think it is a man or a woman? How can you compare intense face makeup to the painting of the face white in Japanese performance? Also, why do you think they use a costume with a rounded mid-section?

One thing that stuck with me after reading the excerpt in the chapter on Indian theater was the Natyasastra.  From the way it was described in the chapter, it seems as if this text is the “go to” Indian text for all things theater.  A “speak the speech” type instruction way before its time, and then some.  I kept thinking how I’d love to be able to read this thing!  What an amazing prospect it is if many of the “tips,” or “laws” as it pertains to acting and running a successful theater company still ring true today.  It certainly says a lot about the nature of the craft itself.  Also, this chapter discussed both Indian and Japanese theater.  India and Japan are two places I am considering studying abroad in to continue my study of theater – after a productive two weeks in London this past winter.  Reading about the theater traditions and cultures of these two countries is whetting my appetite for my next theater adventure abroad!