Kabuki Theatre vs. Chinese Opera

       Today in class, I could not help but see the many similarities between Kabuki and Chinese Opera.  Both incorporate different types of make-up designs that indicate different kinds of characters.  For Kabuki, there were different make-up patterns to indicate the hero and villain.  Chinese Opera uses make-up to indicate characters such as a clown character and female character.  Also, both types of theater have males that specialize in portraying female roles.  Neither make use of women in performances.  As opposed to other types of Asian theaters, Kabuki and Chinese Opera incorporate speaking and dialogues.  They also center around song and music produced by instruments.  Another aspect of performance these two types have in common is that they use a lot of acrobatics in performances.  While in some Chinese performances there is a quick change of masks, Kabuki also uses quick change but of costume.
      
       However, there are several aspects that separate Kabuki from Chinese Opera.  Kabuki incorporates very elaborate sets and props into their performances.  There are several entry points to the stage and even trap doors.  The elaborate set pieces and trap doors that were originally manually operated, incorporate mechanisms that change the set quickly.  Also, while Kabuki can be serious and emotional, as a whole it appears to be more comedic than Chinese Opera.  This is probably due to the fact that it is watched more by ordinary people.  Kabuki is very popular and many middle class people go to see performances.  There is also a lot of audience participation in Kabuki.  The audience sends out shouts of enthusiasm and there is even a foot bridge that the actors use that leads into the audience.  Finally, I noticed that several stories in Kabuki center around animals and animals that are disguised as humans.  Characters such as these use stage hands to help them with things like changing costume on stage.