Exams

There are two exams in this class. A Midterm and a Final. Both are intended to determine how much your are retaining of the subjects covered to date. They will both be essay exams.

The Midterm will be given on Friday, October 9. It will cover Kathakali ONLY. To study I suggest your review all the material you have had to date. It's all online or will have been given to you in class. Please review it carefully. There might be some short essays and certainly at least one long essay. You will write the exam without benefit of your faithful wiki.

NOTE: Your Second and last exam will be given the last week of class on the very last day. Please note the syllabus for that information.

The last Tuesday of the class will be the date of the final exam. The syllabus is Kabuki and Beijing Opera.


 * Asian Theatre 2nd Exam Essays**

Prepare answers to the following in anticipation of your exam on Tuesday, December 8.

Identify and discuss staging conventions of kathakali, kabuki, and Beijing opera that particularly appeal to you. Explain why you prefer these conventions above all the others.

Explain why all three genres have been described as “total theatre?” Provide illustrations from what you have seen and read in class to support your opinions.

Discuss the training of performers in each of the genres? What features strike you as particularly unique to each? What features do they have in common?

Comment on the place of dramatic texts in performance. What opportunities do the dramatic texts seem to provide the artists besides a story line around which to perform? Provide examples to support your opinions.