Elements of Kabuki Applied to Macbeth Adapted from a lesson by Jim Carpenter

Use elements of Kabuki theater to introduce students to Japanese arts and culture, and reinterpret theatrical works.

Blending new cultural elements with traditional western theatrical productions is a great way to introduce students to arts and traditions from cultures other than their own, and illuminate new perspectives on traditional theater pieces. Jim Carpenter successfully applied this idea to a production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Below are some Kabuki theater conventions, and examples of how they influence Carpenter's production of Macbeth.

• Danimari. The Danimari is a procession that takes place at the opening of a kabuki play, in which the actors use stylized movements to allow the audience to take in the costumes and makeup. Movement frequently involves a struggle over an object, and ends with the actors freezing in a “tableau.” Carpenter’s Macbeth opened with a choreographed piece in which actors struggled over the crown and staged poses of critical moments from the play.
• Hanamichi. The Hanamichi is a raised ramp through the audience to the stage, which Kabuki actors use for entrances and exits, poses, speeches, and dances. In Macbeth, Carpenter’s students used the hanamichi for the entrance of Banquo’s ghost, Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking entrance and exit, and Macbeth’s last entrance before his battle.
• Music. In Kabuki theater, music is used to achieve affects normally created visually, such as a drum used to invoke the sound of rain. For Macbeth, Carpenter chose a score based on South African instruments, with drums and pipes similar to Japanese music, and used a piece based on a song to ward off evil spirits as a prelude to the witches’ incantation scene.
• Mahuron. Mahuron is a Kabuki acting style which uses narration for the exposition of past events, descriptions of time and space, delineation of character traits. It is also used to set the scene, or foreshadow possible outcomes of characters’ decisions. Carpenter used this approach in the exposition of Macbeth, during the Captain’s description of Macbeth’s battle. An actor recited the Captain’s narration, while music played in the background, and the battle was acted out in slow motion.
• Mie. In Kabuki, a mie is a pose that occurs at a climactic or emotional moment in the play. In Macbeth, Carpenter used a mie in several scenes, including the scene in which Macbeth hears that he has been named Thane of Cawdor.
• Kumadori. Kumadori makeup involves bold lines of color with symbolic significance; for example, red to signify virtue or strength, and blue to signify evil. Carpenter used kumadori makeup for the witches in Macbeth, as well as for the ghost of Banquo, Macbeth, and Lady Macbeth. Actors made creative choices about when the first signs of makeup would appear, when more lines would be added, and when their faces would become paler.

Using elements of Kabuki theater helped John Carpenter and his students discover a new way of approaching and understanding Macbeth. Introducing the elements of Kabuki theater into your classroom can illuminate new approaches to literature, and stimulate learning about a different culture.

This lesson was created as part of Theater East and West. Theater East and West, a comparative drama program, was sponsored by The University of Maryland at College Park with the aid of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.