THEATRE NOHGAKU 2012 WRITER'S WORKSHOP

hosted in Providence, RI by Brown University

Since 2003, Theatre Nohgaku has hosted workshops for poets, playwrights, musicians and performers to help them better understand Japanese noh and to assist them in using noh in their own artistic pursuits.

The Writer’s Workshop will familiarize participants with the structure and character of noh, a 600-year-old traditional stage art of Japan. By guiding participants toward the writing of their own noh plays, TN is fulfilling its mission as a multi-national theatre company that champions the creation of new English language noh.

The Writers Workshop started in Tokyo in 2003 and has subsequently alternated between Japan and the United States. In 2006, TN completed a southeast U.S. tour of Pine Barrens, a product of a previous workshop written by TN member Greg Giovanni. In 2009 and 2011, the company toured Pagoda in Europe and Asia respectively, a play written by past participant Janette Cheong. TN is expanding the canon of English noh by introducing noh's complex structural layering of spoken text, sung text, musical accompaniment and dance to today's inspired writers. Past participants have included award-winning artists such as playwrights Erik Ehn, Ruth Margraff and Deborah Brevoort, composer/lyricist Eric Schorr, and poet Lee Ann Brown.

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This year's workshop offers three days of seminars led by composer/playwright and former Hosho-ryu professional David Crandall. Discussions focus on the function and form of typical noh plays, including aspects of musical and literary structure as well as historic/poetic referencing. Subsequent discussions focus on the unique challenges of adapting and writing noh for the English language.

The workshop is limited to 12 participants.

WHAT: Theatre Nohgaku Writer’s Workshop
WHERE: Brown University, Providence, RI 02912
WHEN: April 13-15, 2012
CONTACT: Joyce S. Lim, Workshop Coordinator:

Past Participants:

In addition to workshop leaders Richard Emmert, David Crandall and John Oglevee, workshops have been attended by the following

(* indicate Theatre Nohgaku member) :

David Crandall *
Greg Giovanni *
James Ferner *
Richard Nichols *
Colleen Lanki *
Erik Ehn
Ruth Margraff
Chiori Miyagawa
Tony Torn
Mat Deegan
Sigrid Gilmer
Allan Marett
Deb Brevoort
Rachel Hoeffel
Colin Denby Swanson
Kate Ryan
Greg Steinbrunner
Madelyn Kent
Lee Ann Brown
Suki O'Kane
Nicholas Routley
Leslie Tamaribuchi
Libby Zilber