Kathakali+Actor+Training

Mercer Pinkston
 * Kathakali Actor Training**

"In this mimetic art the body is the sole means of expression. To fulfill it's high function it is drilled into a perfect medium." Bharatha Iyer
Kathakali is an art form that originated in India. It is considered a dance drama by most. A Kathakali performance consists of professionally trained actors, drummers, singers, backstage makeup artists, as well as other production helpers(such as curtian holders). All of the people involved in Kathakali undergo training, most of it is extremely rigorous. The training process for Kathakali artists is intense for all aspects of the body, and even for the mind.

Training For a Kathakali actors begins anywhere between 10 and 12 years of age. At that time a student will enter a school for Kathakali training, such as the Kerala Kalamandalam, one of the most poplular in Kerala. The student will live at the school, allowing for a better focus of his training. Exact details of training depend on the exact school, however there are many similarities. Once in school the student will spend hours a day training. At the Kerala Kalamandalam 8 hours a day is dedicated strictly to physical training for Kathakali. Along with those eight hours many more are spent on studies not involving Kathakali training. At the Kerala Kalamandalam in 1990 other studies were introduced, so students can get a high school education, and they even offer some graduate programs. Even before a students graduation from the kalamandalam he can begin working in minor roles. After graduation they will begin to get more roles and around the age of 30 they begin to get major roles. There are many areas of study that a student works in including: Music- singing and drums Hand gestures/movement
 * Mudras are the hand movements Kathakali actors have to learn.
 * Most classes on Mudras take place in the late afternoon for students at the Kerala Kalamandalam.
 * 24 root Mudras exist.
 * Many different combinations can be made to mean different words.
 * It can take a while for the young boys to get used to all the different hand movements.
 * They also have to learn all the different Mudras.
 * Special exercises are done to loosen the wrists, as well as strengthen them for the young boys.

Below is an example of a Mudra

Body movement
 * There are many different exercises to be done involving the body movement.
 * Tatayam and Purrapatu are two beginners dances.
 * The Tatayam is the first type of exercise where they combine many different aspects of Kathakali training in one. So the boys in training would be working with their feet, hands, and faces together.
 * The purrapatu comes after the Totayam in training.
 * Cuzhippu is a type of body movement taught in the begining of Kathakali training. There are 7 Cuzhippu movements that are taught. They all involve the basic stance.
 * As years of training build the students begin to work on performing specific characters.



The video's below show Kathakali body training. media type="youtube" key="znP0OMpZl9M" height="344" width="425"

media type="youtube" key="Kk9K73TkXU8" height="344" width="425"

Eye movement media type="youtube" key="_sKBVVrXZmM" height="344" width="425"
 * A student of Kathakal has to undergo intense eye training.
 * Generally eye exercises start the day, after the massage.
 * The eyes are expected to be able to show emotion.
 * There are many different exercises to help train the eyes.
 * Sometimes the actors are to hold their eyes open with their fingers, this is supposed to help strengthen the eyelid and surrounding muscles.
 * "Where the hand goes, there the eyes go" a Kathakali maxim (Zarrilli)

Facial Movement
 * The boys in actor training spend hours a day working on facial expressions.
 * They practice separating movements of the mouth, cheeks, eyebrows, and other facial features.
 * They must learn 9 different expressions that represent the 9 Bhavas.
 * Along with learning those 9 expressions there are also 3 that represent a woman character.

The students are given full body massages during their years of training. **
 * Massage
 * The massages usually take place early in the morning.
 * They are to help keep the actors body flexible.
 * For the massage the actor would be covered in oil from head to toe.
 * ** The teacher usually performs the massage. **
 * The teacher mainly uses his feet to give the massage, although he may use his hands on the head and shoulders only.
 * The bars (and sometimes ropes) above the teacher are used for balance, but mostly so the teacher can control how much weight he is putting on a student. Some places of the body require more pressure than other more delicate places.
 * There are five different basic positions in which the student will lay during the massage.

media type="youtube" key="x5f0k27iPeM" height="344" width="425"

The teacher plays a big role in the training of a Kathakali actor. ** The relationship between teacher and actor trainee is very intimate. They become somewhat like family. Some sources even considered their relationship to be sacred.(Iyer)
 * Teachers

**Schools of Kathakali These schools are located in Kerala: ** There are many more, these are just the top three listed on Wikipedia. Also, there are schools located outside of Kerala that offer Kathakali training, such as:
 * Kerala Kalamandalam
 * PSV Natya Sangham
 * Sadanam Kathakali and Classical Arts Academy
 * International Centre for Kathakali (New Delhi)
 * Santiniketan at Visva-Bharati University (West Bengal)
 * Kalakshetra (Chennai)

Once they train they can no longer do anything else. He must keep his body in shape and well molded. He cannot have a side job as a cook or an electrician or something.

If an actor were to travel and perform with other people, there would be no rehearsing. They learn all the roles they need to know in school. They don't have common rehearsals, like we might.

Sources/Bibliography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathakali google images Between Theatre and Anthropology RICHARD SCHECHNER Kathakali The Sacred Dance Drama of Malabar --- K. Bharatha Iyer The Kathakali Complex: actor, performance, and structure --- Phillip B. Zarrilli