Staging+and+Design+in+Beijing+Opera+by+David+Gotlieb

Xieyi is “to write the meaning” rather then “write realistically” (xeishi). It is a fundamental concept to Chinese art, including Beijing Opera. A painting of a mountain in this style will capture “the feel” and “the spirit” of the mountain, but not a photo realistic version. Frequently pieces of nature like trees and flowers will be represented out of context on a white background. Above all else, everything must be beautiful which is a concept called Mei. Because of this the Beijing Opera is usually performed on a bare stage with a drop as a background and just a few tables and chairs for scenery. Beijing Opera was formed when several traveling performance groups came together. So the minimal scenery has a practical influence as well as an aesthetic one.

Early Stages were called Xiyuanzi or Opera Courtyard. Qing Dynasty Emperors were big supporters and fans of Beijing Opera so several theatres were built in the Forbidden city (Zijin Cheng). The Changyein Ge was built in 1776 and still stands today. It is a three story stage with a two story building in front of it for the Emperor and his wife and the sides were open and all of the ministers were seated on the side. A more common stage was built in a tea house. It was only one raised platform with intricately decorated pillars around the stage holding up a canopy. A small balustrade ran along the edge of the stage. Audience sat on three sides. Tables were set up for the men to sit at and drink their tea. Originally you paid for tea and saw the show for free. When women were allowed to start coming to see shows they were seated in the balcony away from the men. The stage was covered with a rug to protect the acrobats. A curtain called the shoujiu hung over the platform dividing the front and back stage. There were two portals into the curtain for entrances and exits. The curtain was owned by the lead performer so was in a style of his choosing, either a solid color or a minimal natural image.

As western theatre started influencing Beijing opera, more and more theatres were built in a proscenium style. However, in some, the first half of the seating would still be tables and then benches would fill the back half. The rug remained and either has a single central pattern or is all a solid color usually a pale gold or neutral green. Instead of just one curtain in the back there is now a fly system and there are usually three drops used in a show. There is a house curtain the marks the beginning and end of the acts. There is a drop used to fly in and out and mask the very minimal scene changes with actors still acting in front of it. Then there is the Shoujiu again giving the backdrop for the main action. Though there are no longer portals for the actors to enter through, they just come on from the stage left or right wing. There is also a series of legs and borders to mask the back stage. Because the performances are in an archaic Mandarin, audiences can have a hard time under standing it, so there is now usually a screen set up on the side of the stage for subtitles. Also there are frequently English subtitles if you go today because Beijing Opera is such a huge tourist attraction. Unlike with other Asian theatre like Kathakali and some Kabuki, the musicians are not part of the stage picture. They are not costumed and sit just inside of the opened curtain stage left. Like with Shakespeare the locations the shows take place in are described through dialogue. And the wealth of the characters and their station in life is described by the costuming. This leaves very little that the scenery has to express. Because of this a table and a few chairs is all that is normally used. However the way they are arranged can be anything from a kitchen table, to a throne, to a bridge, or even a mountain. If the table is centered on stage with two chairs set normally on either side it represents a private home and characters can feel free to have conversations with out being over heard. But if the chairs are spun around facing away from the table it is now a bridge and actors will step on the seat go up to the table and back down the other side. Or the two chairs will be used to hold up two rods with a curtain hanging for a nuptial bed. The table and chairs are very simplistic wooden pieces, however they are usually covered with embroidered satin cloth. The color of the cloth can indicate the location, yellow is to color of the emperor and so indicates the palace. Red Fabric is for other officials of the state and their locations. Olive green is used in the home of older characters. Occasionally shows have experimented with more western scenery. In the 1980's there was a big push to try to do this to re-popularize the art form. There are occasions in shows where a wood and muslin flat will be brought in to represent a wall or a city gate will be made so an actor can sit on top of it but these are the exception and not the rule. Like the suggestive scenery, instead of big props small objects are used to represent bigger things. A commonly used example of this is instead of a horse, and actor will carry a riding crop with tassels on it. Or instead of having a boat and actor will walk around carrying and oar. Also sometimes simple things are used to represent more complex props. A wooden cube wrapped in yellow cloth is the seal of the emperor. A Round block wrapped in red cloth would be a severed head. Entire armies are represented by actor with flags on their back each flag represents about 1000 foot soldiers and 10,000 on horse. For a feast everyone get 1 empty cup for either wine or tea, the rest of the feast is just assumed to exist and by drinking from the cup is symbolizes eating the entire meal. Other props can be like umbrellas to signify weather or lanterns to signify darkness. It is never dark however. Original productions took place out doors and started early in the day. When electric lights were introduced the shows moved indoors and to the night time. In general the lighting is bright white and always up even during scene changes there will be no change. Adding colored lights would just take away from the elaborate costumes. Again like scenery some have experimented with more western lighting design, but it is not often done. Most western audiences would look at Beijing opera and assume there is nothing about the design worth looking at. However this simplicity is actually by choice to try to seek the ideal artistic vision of the genre. They “write the meaning” and do it beautifully. Further Reading and Sources: [|Beijing opera costumes: the visual communication of character and culture‎] [| by Alexandra B. Bonds] [|Listening to theatre: the aural dimension of Beijing Opera] by Elizabeth Wichmann [|Beijing opera - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia] [|Beijing Official Web Portal] [|Qianmen Jianguo Hotel Official Website] [|China Odyssey Tours] [|International Center for Beijing Opera] Beijing Opera, Peking Opera, Beijing Opera Mask, China Beijing Opera [|Beijing Opera] [|Introduction to Beijing Opera by Xu-ming Wang] [|Chinese Opera Experience] [|Beijing Opera, Peking Opera, Beijing Opera Mask, China Beijing Opera] [|Beijing Opera (Peking Opera)]