MUSIC

• Kabuki is a form of traditional Japanese drama with highly stylized song, mime, and dance, now performed only by male actors.
• kabuku, meaning "to lean" or "to be out of the ordinary"
• Kabuki is therefore sometimes translated as "the art of singing and dancing
• kabuki can be  "bizarre" theater
• Onna-gata - female roles
• · Aragoto - male roles. Most main characters in Kabuki plays are aragoto, because of its super-stylized masculine, heroic style.
• jo, an auspicious and slow opening which introduces the audience to the characters and the plot
• · ha, speeding events up, culminating almost always in a great moment of drama or

  tragedy in the third act and possibly a battle in the second and/or fourth acts.
• · kyu, is almost always short, providing a quick and satisfying conclusion.
• Kabuki props are often quite interesting. Flowing water is usually represented by fluttering roles of linen; and creatures like insects and foxes. Props often have symbolic meanings. Fans are used to symbolize wind, a sword, a tobacco pipe, waves or food. 
• Costumes are swung from sticks or manipulated by helpers who come on stage dressed in black hooded robes so they are invisible to the audience
• The female characters generally wear an elaborate kimono and obi. Pleated hakuma trousers are worn by characters of sexes. Actors playing both sexes often have a supported midriff because a straight and curveless figure are regarded the essence of beauty.
• Costume changing is considered as an art.
• Wigs are important accessories, with each costume having its own type. Specialized craftsmen shape the wigs to the head. Wigs are made of human hair or horse hair or, bear fur or yak-tail hair imported from Tibet.  
• Hanamichi – a flower path, a walkway which extends into the audience and via which dramatic entrances and exits are made; Okuni also perform on a hanamichi stage with her entourage.
• Kogakudo -kabuki theaters that have stages both in front of the audience and along the sides help create a bond between the actors and viewers            
• Mawaro butal -the interior of the theater contains a revolving stage                
• Suppon -a platform that rises from below the stage
• Hanamicho – a walkway that cuts through the audience seating area to connect the stage with the back of the theater  
• Magicians and supernatural beings often make their entrances from trap doors in the hanamichi
• Some stages have 17 trapdoors
• • jidai-mono-historical, or pre-Sengoku period stories
• • jidai-monohistorical, or pre-Sengoku period stories
• • shosagoto dance pieces
• Jidaimono, or history plays, were set within the context of major events in Japanese history. Strict censorship laws during the Edo period prohibited the representation of contemporary events and particularly prohibited criticising the shogunate or casting it in a bad light, although enforcement varied greatly over the years. Sewamono focused primarily upon commoners (townspeople and peasants). It is generally related to themes of family drama and romance.
•    Wayang refer to kinds of puppet theaters, sometimes the puppet itself is referred to as wayang. Performances of shadow puppet theaters are accompanied by a Gamelan orchestra in Java, and by Gender Wayang in Bali. Wayang Kulit, or shadow puppets, are without a doubt the best known of the Indonesian Wayang. Kulit means skin, and refers to the leather construction of the puppets that are carefully shaped with very fine tools and supported with carefully shaped buffalo horn handles and control rods.
• the puppeteer, dhalang(Java) / dalang(Bali)
• a hammer used by the dhalang to knock on the puppet box, cempala  metal plates that the dhalang hits with his foot, kepyak
• a traditional Indonesian orchestra, gamelan
• l shadow puppets, wayang kulit
•  a light source, blencong
•  female singers and a male chorus, pesindhen and penggerong
• a screen frame and screen, gawang and kelir; the main focus of the performance

  l banana logs, gedebog; the pointed sticks of the wayang base handle pierce the peeled trunk of a banana tree and the spongy substance holds the puppets in place.
• a puppet box, kothak
• China is known for their traditional theater art form, the Peking Opera or Beijing Opera which combines music, vocal performance, pantomime, dance, and acrobatics. It started in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. During the Qing Dynasty court it became extremely popular and came to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China.
•  Sheng- is the main male role in Peking opera
• a.Xiaosheng actors are often involved with beautiful women by virtue of the handsome and young image they project.  

  b. Wusheng is a martial character for roles involving combat. They are highly trained in acrobatics, and have a natural voice when singing.   

  c. Laosheng is a dignified older role, these characters have a gentle  and cultivated disposition, and wear sensible costumes.  
• . Dan -  refers to any female role in Peking opera  

  1. Laodan- old woman

  b. Wudan- martial woman  

  c. Daomadan are young female warriors  

  d.  Qingyi are virtuous and elite women   

  e. Huadan are vivacious and unmarried women   
• Jing is a painted face male role who plays either primary or secondary roles. This type of role entails a forceful character, which means that a Jing actor must have a strong voice and be able to exaggerate gestures. The red color denotes loyalty and goodness, white denotes evil, and black denotes integrity.
• Chou is a male clown role. The Chou usually plays secondary roles whose name also means "ugly". It reflects the traditional belief that the clown's combination of ugliness and laughter could drive away evil spirits.