This weekend the short course "A Short Survey of Traditional Chinese Theatre: History and Performance Techniques" culminates with students participating with professional actors in "An Evening of Chinese Opera." As a result ofthe collective efforts of Alexander "Sandy" Moffett, Professor Emeritus of Theatre, and the Center for International Studies, students have been able to study the traditional and previously endangered Chinese art form of Kunqu.
The short course marks Moffett's personal and directorialbelief in the possibility of expanding the actor and student's idea of theater. "I've always been extremely interested in the notion of bringing different performance traditions together," he said. "I think American performers can learn a great deal from these other traditions and they can feed it into their own work."
Moffett taught the first two weeks, focusingon theacademic instruction of the differences and particularities of three regional styles of Chinese Opera: Quzhou, Jingzhou and Kunqu.
The final two weeks introduced a unique workshop component to the curriculum. Working with three professional artists, actors Chen Bin and Wang Rudan and musician Zhou Zhihua from the Suzhou Museum School of Kunqu Opera, the students learned a type of theatrical bodywork and expression specific to the Kunqu style of opera.
Without a doubt, the infusion of an older tradition into a contemporary context has evoked a reaction. The students occasionally struggled to understand both the stylized steps and the teacher, who spoke through a translator. However, at Wednesday's rehearsal,most proved attentive and up to the tall task of interpreting the age-old operatic tradition into movement.
"It's almost like you're teaching speaking. You're giving [the students] additional words. You're giving them a vocabulary, a physical vocabulary," Moffett said. "This is what I think can be gained from this experience."
