Have you ever wondered what goes into putting on a kabuki production? Watch Portland State University prepare for its mainstage kabuki production of The Sardine Seller’s Net of Love, which runs from May 25-28 at Lincoln Performance Hall.
Come behind the scenes to watch a student actor transform into a courtesan. Professor Laurence Kominz, director of the production, will explain as an actor applies stage makeup and gets dressed in costume. Toshimi Tanaka, a professional kimono dresser, will dress the actor in an 18th century style hikizuri (trailing) kimono and wig.
Next, choreographer Takako Hara will teach the performers a courtesan dance, which will be part of the production of the romantic comedy. She began her study of Buyo, Japanese traditional dance, at the age of 2 in Osaka.
The event will end with a Q&A session led by Dr. Kominz, whose writing and research specialty is Japanese drama and most recent book is Mishima on Stage: The Black Lizard and Other Plays. The Sardine Seller’s Net of Love, set in Kyoto in 1700, is the most popular kabuki play written by the brilliant and multi-talented Yukio Mishima. It tells the story of the improbable love between a humble sardine seller and the most glamorous courtesan in Kyoto.
