Lesson Plan: Modern-day noh drama

Synopsis: Students draw on knowledge of traditional Japanese noh drama to create a story board for an updated noh based on a work of literature previously read in class. Students identify characters to cast in the play, actors to play them, a setting with symbolic value and a title song for the soundtrack. They will also write and perform a monologue from the perspective of the lead character. Students will require previous instruction about noh to satisfactorally complete the project. Introductory information and references have been supplied below.

Background

• Noh is the oldest surviving form of Japanese drama
• It is famously minimalist, with a small cast, few props and simple music
• The main character is a masked ghost who cannot "graduate" to the after life because he or she is still in the grips of a strong emotion or worldly memory. The ghost always wears a mask.
• The secondary character is a wandering priest whose function is to hear the ghost's story so that it can rest. A small chorus is also present on stage.
• The Japanese drama page at Asia for Educators has more information and a video.

The project

After watching a video of the noh, my students and I discussed what changes would be necessary to make it palatable for a modern audience. This included modern music, contemporary actors and no masks. We also decided the story would be more interesting if the ghost encountered a real person from modern society rather than a priest. I then assigned the project using the prompt below.

Imagine you are a Hollywood producer. You want your movie studio to produce a modern-day version of a noh drama, but you must first convince your partners. To this end, you must create a Powerpoint presentation explaining and justifying your idea.The presentation must include the following:

• A spirit or ghost: a character from any literary work we have previously read this semester. You may select any character, regardless of whether he or she died in the story, so long as s/he would have a story of suffering, injustice or a strong emotion to share. Write one paragraph explaining why you have selected this character.
  
• A listener: A person from contemporary society who needs to hear this ghost's story. You may identify a specific public figure (for example, Barack Obama) or a general type of person (for example, a business leader sacrificing his or her morals in favor of profit). The ghost's story must be relevant to this person's life. Write a paragraph explaining why the ghost would want to communicate with this person.
  
• Pictures of actors whom you will cast as the ghost and the listener. Write one paragraph justifying your casting choices.
• A picture of the setting where your ghost and the listener will meet. Your setting selection must be related to some aspect of the listener's life or the ghost's story. Write one paragraph to justify this decision.
• A song for the soundtrack. This song should be embedded in your Powerpoint so that it can play during your presentation. You must also include excerpts of the lyrics with a 1/2 page explanation of why this song is fitting for the story you are creating. The explanation must refer to specific lyrics of the song as well as specific language or plot points from the literary work you have selected.
• A monologue. This is the story of suffering, injustice or emotion that the ghost will deliver to the listener. It must relate the factual details of the character's experience, and most importantly, what the character would like the listener to learn from it. It must include specific plot points and quotations from the literary work you have selected. Furthermore, this monologue will be performed, not simply read to the class. You may choose to perform it from a script during your presentation, pre-record yourself or even pre-record a friend or family member with good acting skills.
  

Teacher's Notes

• You can devote as much or little class time to this project as you choose. On the day the project was introduced, we used a single short story as a model, discussing what characters might make a viable ghost, who might need to hear their story and what actors might play them. I also showed them an example of a completed project.
• Some of the questions from this project proved to be excellent literary analysis tools. "Who would play this character in a movie and why?" was a much more interesting question for students than "describe this character," even though both questions led to the same kind of analysis. Likewise, "who in our society would these need to talk to? what message would they deliver? would they all say the same things?" was a more accessable and engaging question than "what are the main themes of this literary work?"
• I initially gave the students the option of making posters or Powerpoints, but I preferred the Powerpoint presentations by far. They were more engaging for other students to watch, looked neater, and saved me from having to store 50-odd posters in my classroom for grading!
• I was amazed by how much more engaging the presentations were -- for me and for students -- with music playing in the background.