Date of Award

1-1-2013

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Department

Theatre and Dance

Sub-Department

Theatre and Dance

First Advisor

Amy Lehman

Abstract

This paper compares the historical, religious and political situations surrounding the origins of three important dramaturgical texts: Regularis Concordia in tenth-century England, The Natyasastra in seventh-century India, and Zeami's Fushikaden of fifteenth-century Muromaki Japan. It attempts to explore and identify the ways that their corresponding theatres have their roots in liturgical practice, and how those liturgical practices are intricately tied up in the historical and political situations in which they came to be. The fundamental qualities of theatre which I explore are five key areas in which the three traditions, surprisingly, converge as often as they diverge: in their emphasis on religious subject matter; in their didactic intention; in their use of artistic 'conventions'; in their emergence from popular, rural traditions; and in their spheres of influence on later theatrical forms. Special attention is paid both to the dramaturgical texts themselves and how these texts were used to inform and create plays within their corresponding traditions.

Rights

© 2013, Patrick Kenneth Boos

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