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- Convenors:
-
Sarah Stark
(University of Ghent)
Till Weingärtner (University College Cork)
Bernhard Seidl (Vienna University)
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- Stream:
- Performing Arts
- Location:
- Torre B, Piso 2, Sala T6
- Sessions:
- Friday 1 September, -
Time zone: Europe/Lisbon
Short Abstract:
Japanese comic storytelling (rakugo) came close to extinction at the end of World War II, but it enjoys a remarkably large following today, mainly in Tokyo and Osaka. Storytellers and audiences interact at live shows, but also through popular media. Actor-audience relationships will be scrutinized.
Long Abstract:
Japanese comic storytelling (rakugo) came close to extinction at the end of World War II, but it enjoys a remarkably large following today, mainly in Tokyo and Osaka. Storytellers and audiences interact at live shows, but also through popular media. This panel of rakugo specialists (some who are also performers) will explore these actor-audience relationships.
Four papers will be presented, then a round-table discussion of the contents, and rakugo scholarship in general, will follow. This has become an area of increased focus in recent years and all of the people on the panel are at the vanguard of rakugo studies.
The panel will look at four different aspects of actor-audience interaction. The first treats storytellers breaking character - or breaking the 'fourth wall' - in order to allow for direct interaction with the audience. Many think that the art of rakugo consists of little more than a self-contained narrative, but this is far from the case. For this, rakugo performed from 2000 on will be analyzed.
Next, we take a close look at a rakugo 'star' currently active in Tokyo, who performs regularly in rakugo halls (yose), but has also become something of a TV sensation. The methods by which this famous storyteller communicates with his audience extends far beyond the short period of interaction during an actual performance. His regular television appearances have shaped a specific on-screen persona of the performer - a persona that is omnipresent when he emerges onto the stage as a rakugo artist and in all of his interactions with his audiences.
Third, we examine the way in which storytellers choose stories prior to going onstage. This process for any given show is rather complex; it involves carefully probing the audience and other performers. Sometimes storytellers even decide what to perform on the spot. This process will be probed and elucidated.
Finally, a rakugo magazine will be examined to show ways that storytellers and audiences interact away from the stage, in print. The magazine is entertaining, educational, and sometimes sentimental, but appears to have an hidden agenda: repackaging (or reinventing) rakugo for a new era.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Friday 1 September, 2017, -Sarah Stark (University of Ghent)
Paper short abstract:
While other Japanese stage arts announce the plays staged far in advance and follow scenarios, rakugo performances are mainly improvised - even the stories given are often decided in the first minutes on stage, through audience interaction. This paper explores the performer's decision process.
Paper long abstract:
This paper will try to explore the decision process of rakugo performers in the first minutes on the yose stage. Choosing a "hanashi" for any given show is a very complex process which - among other factors - includes careful probing of the audience.
For special solo shows, the performer might have decided which story to give well in advance, but in most cases, when performing with colleagues - choosing a story is a process that often happens on the spot.
Unless specifically announced to the audience in advance or requested by the organizer, the performer always decides his "hanashi" in the first moments on stage. Before he starts out with the actual story, in an improvised part called "makura" the performer tests the waters.
Season or weather might limit his initial choice, but size and atmosphere of venue, audience composition, general atmosphere and previous rakugo knowledge are important factors. Short stories or episodes/ anecdotes from his life help him to see how the audience reacts - depending on the reaction, he will chose a different story.
This particular process is different from performer to performer - his/her selection process also depends on position in the program, relationship to other performers, age, experience and even popularity.
Till Weingärtner (University College Cork)
Paper short abstract:
This paper attempts to apply the concept of stardom to analyse rakugo performer Shunpūtei Shōta's relationship with his audience. It will examine mdes of communication between the performer, the media and his audience to analyse how his persona and the image of him as a "rakugo star" is constructed.
Paper long abstract:
The methods by which a famous rakugo performer, such as Shunpūtei Shōta, can communicate with his audience extend far beyond the short period of interaction during an actual performance. As a long-time regular and the recently selected host of the weekly entertainment show Shōten, Shōta has become well known to Japanese audiences beyond fans of rakugo comedy alone. His regular television appearances have shaped a very specific on-screen persona of the performer—a persona that is omnipresent when Shōta emerges onto the stage as a rakugo artist and in all of his interactions with his audiences.
This research was inspired by the work of Richard Dyer, who analysed the star phenomenon as a construction of a range of materials. Using his theory as a framework, this paper attempts to apply the concept of stardom to analyse Shunpūtei Shōta's relationship with his audience. The research will assess modes of communication and interaction between Shōta, the media and his audience as a means of developing meaningful insights into how his on-screen persona and, thereby, the image of him as a "rakugo star" is constructed. The relationship between this on-screen persona and his actual performances, including the ways in which he interacts with the audience during live performances, will also be explored. As a result, the paper aims to generate a better understanding of the role of a popular rakugo performer within the modern media and entertainment world.
Bernhard Seidl (Vienna University)
Paper short abstract:
Rakugo has some direct actor-audience interaction within clear boundaries, but interaction ceases once the actual story starts. However, some perfomers nevertheless seem to play with breaking the Fourth Wall. This paper aims to analyze the how and why of this.
Paper long abstract:
The "breaking of the Fourth Wall" is a useful concept for describing actor-audience interaction within the boundaries of reglemented performing arts that, for the sake maintaining the illusion of a self-contained narrative, do not normally allow for such interaction. While rakugo does allow for a very direct form of actor-audience interaction within the makura (the introductory part of the rakugo performance, where the storyteller addresses his audience directly), interaction typically ceases completely once the rakugo-ka begins with the actual story: From here on, he or she is supposed to ideally spirit the audience away into a narrative without breaking immersion. However, some rakugo-ka can be observed to not adhere to this seemingly unwritten rule, sacrificing the wholeness of the narrative for a comical or dramatic effect, or even to invite the audience to join in the narration process. This paper aims to propose a typology of "immersion-breaking", and to this end, a corpus of some 50 rakugo performances by about half as many recent (from the late 2000s onwards) rakugo-ka will be analyzed. A preliminary study suggests that although not institutionalized, the breaking of the Fourth Wall is indeed employed by quite a few rakugo-ka, and in some cases may be used deliberately as an element of personal style.