THTR 1020 Chapter : Chinese Peking Opera
Document Summary
Performance conventions: face painting in chinese opera reveals character traits through patterns and colors, positive characters; (red, black, white) Silver & gold; gods, demons, spirits, monsters. Audience conventions: the audience yells hao, hao ( good good , the audience is in a constant chatter. In some cases they constantly move around because of the stage setup: many of the audience members fear the fate of peking opera because it often references the pre-cultural revolution. Common features: actors enter from east and exit from west, sheng- the main male role, dan- any female role, chou- clown, or personality that is meant to rid away evil. Jing- male role with painted face that denotes personality spirits. Famous actors/writers: the four most well-known actor-writers of beijing opera are known as the four. Famous dans: these are mei lanfang, cheng yanqiu, shang xiaoyun, and xun huisheng.
