is a Japanese avant-garde theatre director, writer, and

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

. He is the founder and director of the Suzuki Company of Toga (SCOT), and organizer of Japan’s first international theatre festival (Toga Festival). With American director Anne Bogart, he co-founded the Saratoga International Theatre Institute in Saratoga Springs, New York. He is the creator of the "Suzuki method" of actor training, which emphasizes stylized body work and physicality drawing from dance and elements of traditional Japanese theater. Suzuki was general artistic director of Shizuoka Performing Arts Center (SPAC) (1995~2007), an international committee member of the

Theatre Olympics The Theatre Olympics is a non-profit organisation that promotes theatrical exchange where dialogue between different theatremakers, irrespective of ideological, culture and language differences is encouraged. The primary output of the organisatio ...

; a founding member of the BeSeTo Festival (演劇祭), jointly organized by leading theatre artists from Japan, China and Korea; and, chairman of the Board of Directors for the Japan Performing Arts Foundation, a nationwide network of theatre professionals in Japan.

Career

Suzuki became involved in the '' Angura'' (" underground") theater movement in Japan in the early 1960s, and founded a theater troupe called the Waseda Little Theatre, which focused on the physical talents of star actress

Kayoko Shiraishi is a Japanese stage actress. Her first film role was as Oba in '' Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41''. She is the narrator in the 1992 film of Stravinsky's opera-oratorio ''Oedipus Rex'' directed by Julie Taymor. Filmography Films Televi ...

. It was with the Waseda Little Theatre that Suzuki began to develop his Suzuki Method of actor training. Suzuki's works include ''On the Dramatic Passions''”, ''The Trojan Women'', ''Dionysus'', ''

Vision of Lear ''Vision of Lear'' is the first opera by Toshio Hosokawa which premiered at the Munich Biennale in 1998. The opera in two acts is an adaptation of Shakespeare's ''King Lear'', including elements from the traditional Japanese Noh theatre. The libr ...

'', ''Cyrano de Bergerac'', and ''Madame de Sade'', among others. Besides productions with his own company, he has directed several international collaborations, such as ''The Tale of Lear'' (1988), co-produced and presented by four leading regional theatres in the US, many of whose actors had studied with him; ''King Lear'', presented with the

Moscow Art Theatre The Moscow Art Theatre (or MAT; russian: Московский Художественный академический театр (МХАТ), ''Moskovskiy Hudojestvenny Akademicheskiy Teatr'' (МHАТ)) was a theatre company in Moscow. It was f ...

; ''

Oedipus Rex ''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' ( grc, Οἰδίπους Τύραννος, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC. Originally, to the ancient Gr ...

'', co-produced by Cultural Olympiad and the Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus; and ''

Electra Electra (; grc, Ήλέκτρα) is one of the most popular mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, '' Electra'' by Sophocles and '' Electra'' by Euripides. She is also the centra ...

'', produced by Ansan Arts Center / Arco Arts Theatre in Korea and the Taganka Theatre in Russia. He relocated his company from Tokyo to the remote mountain village of Toga in 1976. The Toga Art Park now comprises six theaters, rehearsal facilities, offices, lodgings, and restaurants. It continues to host a summer and winter season of performances, symposiums, workshops and competitions.

Teaching and writing

Suzuki has articulated his theories in a number of books. A collection of his writings in English, ''The Way of Acting'', is published by Theatre Communications Group (US). He has taught his system of actor training in schools and theatres throughout the world, including The Juilliard School in New York and the Moscow Art Theatre. The Cambridge University Press published ''The Theatre of Suzuki Tadashi'' as part of their ''Directors in Perspective'' series, featuring leading theatre directors of the 20th century. This series includes works on Meyerhold, Brecht, Strehler, Peter Brook and Robert Wilson among others.

Bibliography

* ''Culture is the Body'' by Tadashi Suzuki * ''Fragments of Glass: A Conversation between Hijikata Tatsumi and Suzuki Tadashi'' * ''Interview: The Word Is an Act of the Body'' by William O. Beeman, Tadashi Suzuki and Kosho Kadogami * ''The Way of Acting: The Theatre Writings of Tadashi Suzuki'' by Tadashi Suzuki, Theatre Communications Group, (1993),

References

External links

The Suzuki Company of Toga (SCOT) homepage (English)

5th Theatre Olympics in Seoul

BeSeTo Theatre Festival

Saratoga International Theatre Institute (SITI)

The International Theatre Laboratorium-USA (ITL-USA)

Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre

OzFrank Theatre and Suzuki Method of Actor Training (SMAT)/ Frank Suzuki Actors Knowhow (FSAK)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suzuki, Tadashi Living people Theatre in Japan Japanese dramatists and playwrights Japanese theatre directors 1939 births People from Shizuoka (city)

Career

Teaching and writing

Bibliography

References

Further reading

External links