A Study Of Tadashi Suzuki's Theater

Tadashi Suzuki is considered as the most influential contemporary oriental dramatist.He has deep research and great contribution of the ecology of the whole drama art. In this article the author stage the process of Tadashi Suzuki's creative practice of theater, comprehensively clarify the whole process of his theoretical system from bud to form.Tadashi Suzuki entered the theater world because of the talent and family dramatist gene as part of the premise, but the small theater movement began to rise around the world in the sixties of last century also played a role as a promoting element. Tadashi Suzuki joined the student theater during the early university time, left-wing thinkers and dramatist influenced him a lot and with all these Tadashi Suzuki began his practice.His dramaturgy formation in a long term which Western culture, Japanese dramas and Japanese cultural anthropology features on its impact. After the failure of the sixties and seventies, two security struggle Tadashi Suzuki and other postwar theater dramatist aware of the reality that how helplessness the language was and the damage that Western culture bring to Japanese culture during the process of charge, Therefore, Tadashi Suzuki and other small theater dramatist began to think profoundly about the text center system on which Tadashi Suzuki built the entire system of his dramaturgy including text concept, drama theory, physical concepts, theories theater, theater ecology, etc.Suzuki tadashi's thought is influenced by the baptism of western ideology and culture, in the form of logical thinking, the construction of system, and modernity of drama,Suzuki Tadashi's works are quite alike with western dramatist, this is also a main reason why western theatrical circles accept him, and appreciate him. Looking back to the Japanese culture and history, we believe that the traditional building construction/life style and body pattern are together working on Suzuki's inspiration of animal energy theater. Lower the core of human body and the elegant bearing way of the use of strength are the typical feature of ancient Japanese.Moreover, Suzuki has unique knowledge of the modern science technology that changed the human body. He criticize that modern science technology are also responsible for the human body became vestigial. Although we are living a more and more convenient life but still the degeneracy of our body made the culture advolution and barren. That's why Suzuki wants to take the theater as a weapon to resist this kind of trend, most important of all, to return to the perfect human body.Merleau-Ponty and Sartre also produce an effect on the Tadashi Suzuki drama theory. Tadashi Suzuki believes that the actor's body are greatly underestimated in the Japan's new theater and western theater, but from phenomenological point of view, the human body is the vehicle that people happen relations with the world, the priority of the actor's body as a performer requires the actor himself has a "full body" so physical memory can be freely used in all sorts of "type" and disposal freely. Tadashi Suzuk gained his ideas and inspiration of Suzuki actor training methods from Merleau-Ponty's constantly generating and updating body conception. In this context, is not only a method for thought but also a physical exercise transformation of ideas does Suzuki method. Sartre's existentialism and absurd drama influenced Tadashi Suzuki in two aspects; First, Tadashi Suzuki learned the means of artistic that place the characters of the drama in a confinement space which is usually used in Sartre's absurd drama, but Suzuki enriched the technique of expression, he restrict his characters not only in a physical space but also in a situation of disease, physical disability or language trap. Second, Sartre and his existentialism enrich the scientific principle and speculative philosophy of Tadashi Suzuki's drama theoretical system. Suzuki has a unique understanding about the function of human body and consciousness. In his point of view, there is strong dramatic elements exist in the gap between consciousness and body action. Express the moment that beyond consciousness but lagged by body action is the essence and significance of drama, Suzuki method of actor training is built on this basis. This is the results of Tadashi Suzuki influenced by Sartre's concept of existentialism.Tadashi Suzuki's further contribution to the theater ecology include the Toga village where the actors can not only practice their body but also build a platform on which can their exchange their culture and ideas without obstacle like nationality/race and language. On account of all these merits and achievements can we say that Tadashi Suzuki accomplished his ambition:create the universal fortune of mankind with a tool named "theater".