A Comparative Study on the Performance Stage and Performing Style between Peking Opera and Kabuki.

경극과 가부키의 공연공간과 연출양식의 비교 연구

This thesis seeks to compare China's Jing-ju and Japan's Kabuki for their common aspects and differences and examine how they are performed on the stage. Jing-ju is often called as Beijing Opera to refer to a musical play completed during the mid-Ching era and developed around Beijing. Jing-ju is composite arts of music, dance and play which are remarkable in its strict patterns in move along with luxurious costume and heavy make-up. Kabuki which was developed during the Edo-period, is expressional arts also structured with music, dance and play coupled with extravagant costume as well as even more strictly controlled move and emphasis on the beauty of form. The two plays seem very similar to each other in their time setting to gain popularity or features of play. It may look obvious that Jing-ju which had developed earlier than Kabuki, affected the latter's formation. However, general social practices or cultural trends in China and Japan at the time of their development also influenced literature and arts thus affecting play contents and performance expressions. Although the two plays have similar stage structure, they developed in different ways with detailed differences and actors' performance on the stage, way of using a stage and other ways of directing play are largely distinctive from each other. If a play's primary goal is to gain recognition of audience and draw their positive response, the relationship between play and stage becomes essential. With this understanding, this thesis aims to identify where such similarities and differences between the two plays are from by comparing historical background, stage structural development and directing manner development at a basic level.