Onna Shosei Shigeru

Onna: Woman
Shosei: Student
Shigeru: Protagonist of the play

Okay, I hate doing this but here it goes: ANALYZE A KABUKI PLAY!!! :(

The part of the play I picked is during Act I, Scene 3. It is in an inn called Komatsuya. Here, the protagonist, Shigeru (a woman that has been raised as a boy and now acts as a man) is staying in the most private room where she will feel comfortable as no one will notice she is dressing as a man. As well, she paid the night for the rickshaw puller who brought her, Nao. The story goes on as she confesses to him that she is actually a woman who was raised since childhood as a boy, and now she follows the disguise to go to school and learn what she hadn't her entire life.

The stage direction mentions it is in a second floor of an inn, but of course for Kabuki this will be just portrayed in the same stage as if it were really on a second floor, but without actually being on a high level.

For every entrance or exit of a character there is a music accompaniment, according to the stage direction. Probably this music is not as we know, but most possibly it is some percussion marking the rhythm of the play.

There is a lot of dialogue between Shigeru and Nao. This dialogue unfolds the story, so I can imagine not much action is done like in other Kabuki plays. As well, some actions are spoken rather than done, such as when they go to the bath and Nao sees her "breasts" or as well when he rapes Shigeru. It is said but not seen nor done.

As for the research I chose make-up of Kabuki, focusing specially on the wrinkles over the white face paint. For this, I can speculate that for the play Shigeru must have some common female factions, the wrinkles must look effeminate but at the same time she must look like a man, one that no one could believe is a woman. It may be very complicated but as such it must be done like this.

The wrinkles in Kabuki make-up rather than meaning much to the audience is an psychological preparation for the actors, so they must help the actor portraying Shigeru get in character. The actor will have to feel as a woman acting out as a man with the use of the make-up.

For Nao, instead, the wrinkles will have to portray something different, such as old age and filthiness. He is a former samurai, so some "honorable" wrinkles must be included in his make-up. At the same time filthy because he is now working as a rickshaw puller, this is, he pulls the 'cartwheels' to drive high-class people from town to town.