School of Drama students learned about the traditions of Japanese theater from a rather unorthodox instructor: Sayoko Shirotani.
A principal actress at the Zenshin-za Theatre, where she performed numerous leading roles, Shirotani is one of the few women to ever be trained in such historically all-male Japanese theater forms as Kabuki and Noh. Her one-woman performance of all 19 roles in "Onna Koroshi Abura Jigoku," a renowned play by Chikamatsu (known as "the Shakespeare of Japan"), garnered acclaim in Tokyo and Russia and at the Edinburgh Festival.
As she travels, Shirotani enjoys sharing her expertise in traditional Japanese dance, music, koto (Japanese harp), kyogen (traditional Japanese comedy), Japanese calligraphy and Asian martial arts. She is currently working to establish Japanese Arts Link, an international center for training in Japanese theater and culture.
While visiting the Yale campus Nov. 19-21, Shirotani led sessions on "Japanese Dance," "Combat" and "Voice and Body."
Photos by Michael Marsland.
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