Introduction

You are to create a 5 minute Kabuki style skit about an event in Japanese or Chinese history. Create means write, produce and act out the skit. You will decide on sets, costumes, makeup, music background and dialogue. Your skit will be judged as a history lesson, as entertainment,and as a creative representation of Kabuki theater.
Topics might include any event from Chinese or Japanese history, from the creation of the court of Kubla Khan to Hiroshima, from the beginnings of the Tokugawa Shogunate to the burial of Shih Huang-di, China's first emperor

The Quest

What does Kabuki theater, in general, and your play, in particular, tell us about East Asia, its people and their
values?

The Process and Resources

In this WebQuest you will be working together with a group of four students in class. Each group will:
1. decide on a topic and write the skit;
2. create the scenery, and special effects;
3. decide on musical background;
4. divide up the roles;
5. put on makeup;
6. present the skit.

Phase 1 - Background: Something for Everyone

Use the Internet information linked below to answer the basic questions: who? what? where? when? why? and how? Be creative in exploring the information so that you answer the main question and write your play in a way consistent with the principles of Kabuki and Japanese culture.

• Kabuki Actor Ichimura Manjiro - Kabuki actor shows you his craft including make-up and starring roles.
• Kabuki Academy - Kabuki teacher provides a wide variety of services in the Seattle area. Good sounding board.
• Two Kabuki plays - A summary of a domestic and a historical play.
• Tokyo Theater - An actual Kabuki theater in Tokyo with its playbill and summary of a few plays.
• Kabuki History - Background of Kabuki in puppetry and in earlier forms of theater.
• Play Summary - Summary of a historical Kabuki play about samurai and revenge.
• Japanese Theatre Index - Links to various sources about Noh plays, Puppet Theater and Kabuki.
• Music in Japanese Culture - Tells about music in a variety of settings in Japan including Kabuki.
• Kabuki: a history - Brief history of Kabuki and its antecedents like Noh and puppet theater.
• Japanese Theatre Index - Links to various sources about Noh plays, Puppet Theater and Kabuki.
• Music in Japanese Culture - Tells about music in a variety of settings in Japan including Kabuki.
• Kabuki: a history - Brief history of Kabuki and its antecedents like Noh and puppet theater.

Phase 2 - Looking Deeper from Different Perspectives

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Individuals or pairs from your larger WebQuest team will explore one of the roles below.

2. Read through the files linked to your group.

3. Note: Remember to write down or copy/paste the URL of the file you take the passage from so you can quickly go back to it if you need to to prove your point.

4. Be prepared to focus what you've learned into one main opinion that answers the Big Quest(ion) or Task based on what you have learned from the links for your role.

5. You are individually responsible for the role assigned to you: writing the script; creating the set; applying the make-up; and music.

Playwright

Instructions: It is your responsibility to write the script and answer the questions below. You should ask for help, especially from the make-up artist and musician.

Use the Internet information linked below to answer these questions specifically related to Playwright:

1. What does the historic event you've chosen show about the character of the Chinese or Japanese people?
2. Describe the characters in the play. You should have at least four characters.
3. Read an example of a Kabuki play that represents a historical event. How did the play use the events of history to create a complete story?

Stage Manager

Instructions: It is your responsibility to draw or create the set and answer the questions below. You should ask for help, especially from the make-up artist and musician.

Use the Internet information linked below to answer these questions specifically related to Stage Manager:

1. What background scenery would be appropriate for the historic event you've chosen?
2. What special effects or stage techniques did traditional Kabuki theater use to create drama, comedy and suspense?
3. Read an example of a Kabuki play that uses a traditional stage technique. How did it contribute to the entertainment value or storyline of the play?

Make-up artist and costume designer

Instructions: It is your responsibility to appropriately make up and costume the actors in your play and answer the questions below.
To make the group work even you should be helping the script writer and set designer. All group members are expected to be actors.
Use the Internet information linked below to answer these questions specifically related to Make-up artist:

1. What did the various make-up and costuming styles represent in Kabuki theater?
2. How can you use these to represent events in your play?
3. Read a Kabuki play to find out how make-up and costumes were used. Explain.

Musician and sound production

Instructions: It is your responsibility to provide the background music for the skit and answer the questions below. To make the group work even you should be helping the script writer and set designer. All group members are expected to be actors.
Use the Internet information linked below to answer these questions specifically related to Musician:

1. What role did music play in Kabuki theater?
2. Find a specific piece of Japanese music and explain its instruments, themes, style, etc..
3. What music are you going to use in your play? Why?

Phase 3 - Debating, Discussing, and Reaching Consensus

You have all learned about a different part of Kabuki play. Now individual group members come back to the larger WebQuest team with expertise gained by searching from one perspective. You must all now answer the Task / Quest(ion) as a group. Each of you will bring a certain viewpoint to the answer: some of you will agree and others disagree. Use information, pictures, movies, facts, opinions, etc. from the Webpages you explored to convince your teammates that your viewpoint is important and should be part of your team's answer to the Task / Quest(ion). Your WebQuest team should write out an answer that everyone on the team can live with.

Phase 4 - Real World Feedback

You and your teammates have learned a lot by dividing up into different roles. Now's the time to put your learning into a letter you'll send out for real world feedback. Together you will write a letter that contains opinions, information, and perspectives that you've gained. Here's the process:

1. Begin your letter with a statement of who you are and why you are writing your message to this particular person or organization.

2. Give background information that shows you understand the topic.

STATE THE TASK / QUEST(ION) AND YOUR GROUP'S ANSWER.

3. Each person in your group should write a paragraph that gives two good reasons supporting the group's opinion. Make sure to be specific in both the information (like where you got it from on the Web) and the reasoning (why the information proves your group's point).

4. Have each person on the team proofread the message. Use correct letter format and make sure you have correctly addressed the email message. Use the link below to make contact. Send your message and make sure your teacher gets a copy.

Your Contact is: Mary Ohno - Kabuki Academy

Conclusion

So is an elephant smooth, rough, soft, or hard? Well, when you're blindfolded and only *looking* at one part, it's easy to come up with an answer that may not be completely right. It's the same for understanding a topic as broad or complex as Kabuki Play: when you only know part of the picture, you only know part of the picture. Now you all know a lot more. Nice work. You should be proud of yourselves! How can you use what you've learned to see beyond the black and white of a topic and into the grayer areas? What other parts of Kabuki Play could still be explored? Remember, learning never stops.