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Jingu returns to UH Manoa
Every four years UH Manoa puts on a production of Chinese theatre called Jingu (jing-ju). This semester, Jingu returned to Kennedy’s Main-stage. (see sidebar) “It’s like ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ on stage. It’s about armies at war, it’s about martial valor, with lots of acrobatics and tumbling and amazing costumes, it’s an incredible feast for the eyes,” says Nicolas Logue, who plays the evil king Wang Wen as well as volunteering his time to serve as the fight coach to the actors and translator for the Chinese teachers who have come to help train the actors. In this Jingu play the emperor of China is trying to fight off invasion from foreign armies. The play opens with news that the last big male general has been killed. The Emperor is just loosing hope when the women of the Yang family step up to try and defeat the oncoming armies. The play details the story of these middle aged women, who were generals in their youth, and the battles they have in trying to defend their country. An Actor Prepares Producing this Jingu is a lengthy process. It started at the beginning of the fall semester when auditions were held on Sept. 1 and 2, but not everyone could tryout. In order to be considered for a part in the Jingu production, actors must be enrolled in at least one of the two Jingu performance classes offered last semester by the theatre department. Once enrolled in either the Jingu movement class or Jingu voice class, actors could be considered for one of the 26 roles the script calls for. Once cast in a role, the real work began. The actors spend time in school learning the stylized movements and speech patterns of the Jingu; go through individual rehearsals to learn the specific style of movement and speech of their characters and on top of that go to group rehearsals five to seven nights a week to learn blocking and fight sequences with the other members of the cast. Actors also must practice moving with the intricate costumes. Some characters wear armor with a harness over the shoulders sporting flags which protrude from the shoulders. Also intricate headdresses are worn by some characters which must be hand-made, very tightly, on top of the actors head each night. Tall shoes are worn on some characters and they must learn to walk gracefully while wearing these platform type shoes. “I have to train to look graceful and competent, moving in all that stuff,” says Logue.
Specialized Teachers Come to Help Out Brought in from a Jingu School in Beijing to help train the actors were three teachers from a Jingu academy in China. Zhang Laoshi (Laoshi meaning teacher) teaches the female roles and Lu Laoshi who teaches the male roles. Also, Zhang Laoshi (sharing his name with the female teacher) was flown in to help prepare the musical ensemble to accompany the show. Chinese ensemble is a course regularly offered by the UHM music department, but students enrolled this semester were preparing to be part of the live music played for the performance. “Some students began preparing over summer for the Jingu, and then we spent the whole fall semester learning how to play the instruments and the songs from the show,” says Celeste Williams, a member of the Chinese Ensemble. “This semester, had to be at rehearsal every night to get the precise timing down with the actors.” Pick Up Your Copy Today! This years Jingu is vastly different than the one performed four years ago in that this one considered a martial play. In the past years UHM has produced a style of Jingu referred to as civil plays which focus more on politics and dialogue. In Women Generals of the Yang Family “instead of seeing people sing for 2 hours you’re going to watch people cartwheel and attack people with spears,” says Logue. To get your own copy of Women Generals stop by the Kennedy Theatre’s main office. Helpful Links Honolulu Advertiser, “Real Chinese opera, deftly executed” More Info on Beijing Opera
© 2005 UHM Journalism program and students.
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