SUZUKI_Philosophy of Theatre

Culture is the body_Tadashi Suzuki

In my opinion, a cultured society is one in which the perceptive and expressive abilities of its people are cultivated through the use of their innate animal energy. Such animal energy fosters the sense of security and trust needed for healthy communication in human relationships and the communities they form. If we consider the origins of civilization, we can see that its rise was intrinsically tied to the bodily functions. Its development may even be interpreted as the gradual sensory expansion of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. Inventions like the telescope and microscope, for example, arose from the human aspiration and endeavor to see more, radicalizing the sense of sight. Over time, the accumulation of such achievements has come to be called civilization.

Japanese Noh, on the other hand, survives as a form of pre-modern theatre that employs almost no non-animal energy. In the case of music, for example, most modern theatre utilizes digital equipment to electronically reproduce pre-recorded or live sound through amplifiers and loudspeakers, whereas in the Noh, the voices of the principle actors and the chorus, as well as the sound of the instruments played on stage are projected directly to the audience. Noh costumes and masks are made by hand, and the stage itself is built according to pre-modern carpentry techniques.

A fundamental technique and theory of Architecture

I. To act, one must have a point of view.

“Acting” is the formal act or experiment that tries to convey a particular point of view, derived from an investigation of human behavior and relationships. It can also be seen as a kind of game that intrinsically motivates us—visually through the human physique and aurally through the spoken word.

II. For acting to begin, one must have an audience.

A heightened awareness of displaying one’s body and communicating written language can only be achieved when another person observes it. Even though actors may not be able to see themselves or the others sitting in front of them, they can still be aware of a presence—be it human, animal or god—that is watching their movements and hearing their language.

III. To sustain acting, an awareness of the invisible body is required.

The human body has certain essential needs that must be met to support life. Through disciplined, integrated development of these three parameters, the body gains strength and agility, the voice acquires range and capacity and an awareness of the “other” grows. Such work develops the expressive potency needed to transmit the actor’s point of view. It follows, then, that the core requirements for the art of acting lie in disciplines created to deepen an awareness of these three crucial, interrelated, “invisible” phenomena.


Isozaki + Suzuki_Theatre Architecture

Isozaki’s designs made concrete Suzuki’s belief in the need to rediscover the spiritual dimension of the theatre inherent in these two modes of performance. Suzuki reasons that obsession with naturalisma nd human psychology has outed metaphysical qualities that he wants to reinstate. As well as the lighting and colour tones, the sense of a sacred place is encouraged by the intimacy of the whole design. Most of the audience of approximatel 150 sit directly facing the twenty-foot-square stage on two rows of tatami (rice straw) mats, but the thrust means that a minority view tha action side-on. Everyone huddles closely together on the mats, evoking the informal ‘lived-in’ atmosphere to which Suzuki aspired.

Suzuki’s definition of ‘local’ refers as much to the indigenous people as it does to the environment. For him, artistic practice has to be integrated into its community. This is partily pragmatic, to provide the infrastructure to support visiting audiences with accomodation, food and transport. But more vitally it emphasises the social dimensino of Suzuki’s and SCOT’s work:

There should be a close relationship between the artists and their social environment, so they can affect positively.

Cooperation with an audience is fundamental to all theatre practice, particularly if its size is as isolaed as Toga.