Kyogen for Kids: An Examination into the Adaptability of the Japanese Comic Interlude to Western Children's Audiences

Abstract

KYOGEN FOR KIDS: AN EXAMINATION INTO THE ADAPTABILITY OF THE JAPANESE COMIC INTERLUDE TO WESTERN CHILDREN'S AUDIENCES Children's literature has long been under the mystical spell of the Orient. Tales of the "Arabian Nights," the travels of Marco Polo, and Hans Christian Andersen's beautiful tale of "The Nightingale," have provided feasts for the imagination for over a century. There is something about these faraway lands that stirs the wonder in a child's fancy. It is not surprising then that writers of children's fiction have, over the years, been quick to perceive this interest and have capitalized on it with numerous tales and novels of a pseudo-oriental nature. No less aware, yet somewhat more discriminating, are the children's playwrights who in the post-World War II era have produced a number of these oriental exploitations for the unwary child audience. A few, like Madge Miller's The Land of The Dragon and Betty Jean Lifton's Kap the Ka»»a, warrant some attention while the vast majority (like t ose in children's fiction) are poorly conceived and degrading to both the oriental culture they try hopelessly to emulate and to the child audience compelled to sit through such abominations. One of the more interesting oriental adaptations, the short Brecht plays (performed together) , He Who Says Yes and He Who Says No, inspired by the Japanese Noh drama, have ""Eeen includecTEy Lowell Swortzell in his anthology of plays for children, All The World' s A Stage . These pieces were not written with children specifically in mind but would go far in charming and enlightening the juvenile theatre-goer. The inclusion of Brecht in this anthology for children, particularly when he is anthologized along with others primarily associated with the adult drama, prompts a question: What makes a dramatic work ostensibly for adults popular with children? It can safely be argued I think that, though some children could find pleasure in its performance, George Bernard Shaw's Androcles and the Lion is best suited to the adult stage, yet Aurand Harris ' s Commedia dell 'Arte rendition of the same tale attracts hearty applause and laughter from young and old alike. This brings up a second question related to the first: What makes certain performing styles traditionally adult (e.g. the Italian Commedia) successful for the child audience ? In the case of Commedia it is the recognizable comic types, the simple yet action-packed plot, and the abundant slap-stick comedy which make it a crowd pleaser for all ages. If committed children's dramatists wish to explore similar styles to expand their theatrical possibilities, it may be to the East that they once again turn, particularly to the islands of Japan and to an ancient, rustic performing art form identified as "Kyogen." An indication that perhaps Japanese Kyogen has a potential audience among America's young comes from Francelia Butler, who in her 1977 anthology, Sharing Literature with Children includes the Kyogen piece "BusuT" Butler In including the piece without special alteration for children justifies the form's theatrical possibilities by stating: In some respects they [Kyogen] resemble the Western theater of the absurd in their restraint and their concern with social comment. . . . The broad humor and brevity of ["Busu"] make it a good choice for acting by or for children, (p. 142) Perhaps then, as the styles of Italian Commedia dell 'Arte and the Moliere-inspired French farce have found proper niches within the realm of dramatic literature for children, so too will the Japanese Kyogen. Before the Western audience may stand in a position to evaluate the Kyogen' s potential, it remains a necessity to know something of the origin and practice of the form in its native land and of the classic Noh Drama to which, by tradition, the Kyogen is inextricably fused. There is no Western counterpart to the dramatic world of the Noh; it is almost wholly wrapped up in the history and culture of Japan. Western concepts of stage setting, acting, and musical accompaniment find no parallel in this stark yet poetic form. The production is given on a simple stage floor of highly polished wood connected to the...