is a Japanese avant-garde

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

, writer, and

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. 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 the general artistic director of Shizuoka Performing Arts Center (SPAC) (1995~2007), an international committee member of the Theatre Olympics; 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. It was with the Waseda Little Theatre that Suzuki began to develop his Suzuki Method of actor training. The Suzuki Method of actor training emphasizes developing the ability control one's breathing to allow actors to speak powerfully with clear articulation and at the same time allow the whole body to ”speak”, even in silence. It centers on a physically grueling training regimen of approximately two hours, featuring much stomping on the ground said to be derived from ancient Japanese rituals. Trainees are required to assume a squatting posture for lengthy periods in order to "enhance their affinity with the ground." Suzuki's works include ''On the Dramatic Passions'', ''The Trojan Women'', ''Dionysus'', '' Vision of Lear'', ''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; ''

Oedipus Rex ''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' (, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles. While some scholars have argued that the play was first performed , this is highly uncertain. Originally, to ...

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

Electra Electra, also spelt Elektra (; ; ), is one of the most popular Greek mythology, mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, ''Electra (Sophocles play), Electra'' by Sophocles and ''Ele ...

'', produced by Ansan Arts Center / Arco Arts Theatre in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

and the Taganka Theatre in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. 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, ''Culture is the Body'', is published by Theatre Communications Group (US). He has taught his system of actor training in schools and theatres, including

The Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

in New York and the Moscow Art Theatre. The

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

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 Vsevolod Emilyevich Meyerhold (; born ; 2 February 1940) was a Russian and Soviet theatre director, actor and theatrical producer. His provocative experiments dealing with physical being and symbolism in an unconventional theatre setting m ...

, Brecht, Strehler, Peter Brook and Robert Wilson among others.

Bibliography

* ''Culture is the Body'' by Tadashi Suzuki, Theatre Communications Group, (2015), * ''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
*
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 of Japan Japanese dramatists and playwrights Japanese theatre directors 1939 births People from Shizuoka (city)

Career

Teaching and writing

Bibliography

References

Further reading

External links