This is a take-home exam, due to me during the class period on Tuesday 4/19/05.
You may refer to your class notes, handouts, class website and class reading material in completing this examination. Your exam should reflect your own thinking, insights and aesthetic responses.
Undergraduates (TH 404) - You are expected to answer 1 question.
Graduate Students (TH 504) - You are expected to answer 2 questions.
1. How does the system of Confucian civil ethics in Chinese society effect the values portrayed within Beijing Opera? Discuss this as it effects character types & character interaction. How is this value system different from Hindu-based cultures we have studied previously?
2. How is cross gender casting approached in Beijing Opera? What are the criteria used in determining a performer's suitability for a particular role? Give examples from the various character types we have studied. As a cultural outsider, with particular ideas about cross gender casting, what are your observations about this characteristic of Beijing Opera?
3. Discuss the characteristics & qualities of actor movement in Chinese opera. Give examples from the videos to illustrate your points. How can the physical training of Chinese opera inform western performing artists?
4. What is your personal response to Chinese opera as a genre? Select an aspect - costume & makeup, stage movement, use of props & furniture, music - and discuss its effectiveness as a communication tool within the performance context. How might this aspect of Chinese Opera inform your own work?
