豪州国立大学
Australian National University
ザー歌舞伎倶楽部
Za Kabuki Club
About
The Australian National University Za Kabuki Club is a student-run club which performs and studies the traditional Japanese theatre style of kabuki.
We are mostly made up of students who are studying or have an interest in the Japanese language and Japan.
We invite people of all skill levels - in both Japanese language and acting - to try out and experience this unique take on a traditional Japanese theatre art form.
History
Our club was formed in 1976 by teachers in the ANU Japan Centre, including Mr Shun Ikeda, who still plays a vital role in the club today. Starting out as a modern Japanese theatre group, the club’s aim was always to both introduce some unfamiliar aspects of Japanese culture to students, and to give students a medium through which they could practice and improve their Japanese outside of the classroom.
In 1999, the club had its first performances outside of Australia, visiting Japan and performing in Kobe and Nara. In 2016, the club once again ventured overseas to do three performances in the Tohoku region of Japan, including in areas heavily affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Style
Our style of kabuki is very different from traditional kabuki found in Japanese theatres. Our long history has allowed us to develop our own unique style which includes cross-dressing, modern jokes, dancing, pop music and many other uniquely Australian features.
Although our performances contain many non-traditional aspects, we use traditional scripts, enabling students to explore the old Japanese language and traverse into unfamiliar areas of their language studies. We also make use of projection technology to provide English ‘subtitles’ so that the audience can better understand the dialogue.
A typical year for a kabuki member is divided into two parts: reading the script during our reading practice, 読み稽古 (yomi-geiko), and standing practice, 立稽古 (tachi-geiko). For our actors, the first semester is all about learning to read the script, choosing which role they will play and starting to memorise lines. For our backstage members, this is an important time to start building the props and creating the backdrops that will be used during the performance.The second half of the year is when we move to working through our actors’ movements and adding in visual comedic elements. Our props are usually in the process of being finalised, just in time for our performance, which is usually held in October.About one week out from the performance, everything starts coming together as we move into the venue and set up our backdrops, test out our subtitles, sound, and lighting, and start doing full dress and makeup rehearsals.But it’s not just all about performing! Our members also participate in many university, social and cultural events throughout the year.
A Year in the Life
Sponsorship
As a non-profit organisation, we rely on sponsorship to continue to provide exciting and innovative performances for the Canberra community and beyond. Donations from sponsors may go towards making and buying props, costumes, and backdrops; helping with venue hire costs; or assisting in funding a tour outside of Canberra. We would like to thank all of our generous sponsors who have helped us out in previous years.
Sponsorship can take many forms:
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a monetary donation towards props, costumes, travel and venue expenses
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provision of a service (such as transport or accommodation) at a subsidised rate
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donation of a gift (such as a voucher or item) to go towards our raffle, the proceeds of which go to the Tohoku Youth Foundation
If you would like more information about sponsoring our group, please email us at anukabuki@gmail.com
Contact
Please feel free to contact our executives through email or Facebook. We will endeavour to reply as soon as possible!
Email: anukabuki@gmail.com