World Theater Tradition: Sample Presentations

After watching multiple student presentations for the IB world theater traditions project, I feel like I have a good grasp on what the IB is looking for in terms of a high-quality presentation.  In the first section, you have to explain what your chosen tradition is and give general information about it using a variety of sources. However, it’s important not to spend too long on general facts about the tradition; just say as much as is necessary and then hone in on the specific convention of that tradition you will be showing off. It’s also important to explain the context of the tradition in history and the cultural significance to show that the tradition you chose is worth learning about. 

In the second section, you have to explain the work you have done in preparing to preforming your tradition and convention for the class, and how you applied it to create a single moment of theater. This ties directly into section three, which is preforming the convention while explaining the nuances to the audience. As before, specifics are key here. When doing the performance, I think it would be helpful to take a cue from the girl who did her project on Talchum dance, who explained her moment of theater step by step before putting it all together. This way, the viewers can fully understand and appreciate the full performance, rather than having it explained to them after the fact.

The last section is the one where people seem to lose points the most often. In this section, you have to explain how researching and preparing for this presentation has made you a better performer. Where most people lose points here is not drawing connections to any particular theater experience they have had or are currently working on, so I will have to remember not to make that mistake. You also have briefly to compare the convention to another theater tradition in this section, so as I do my research, I will take note of what aspects of Rakugo remind me of other theater traditions I have looked into.

My Choice of World Theater Tradition

After doing further research, I have decided that the world theater tradition I want to study for my IB Task 3 Project is Rakugo. I want to study this Japanese form of theater because it is very different from the theater I am used to performing. Playing multiple characters on my own and making them clearly distinct from each other, using just my voice, expressions, and mannerisms, sounds like a trying but exciting challenge that would push my acting range. I am generally a pretty expressive person when it comes to my body language, so I hopefully will be able to work around the limit of having to remain seated for the whole performance without much difficulty. The minimalist nature of Rakugo performances also means that I would not have to worry too much about preparing stuff for my performance; only two props are allowed, and you can’t change costume mid-show.

There is also an unexpected appeal to be found in just how long Rakugo has lasted. It has been around since Japan’s Edo period that started in 1603 and is still somewhat popular there to this day. The core tradition having changed very little in the centuries it’s been around, serving as further proof of its value to both Japanese culture and the world of theater. In addition, unlike some of the other world theater traditions we could choose from, Rakugo plays aren’t all from just one genre. While Rakugo performances tend to be on the more lighthearted side, they can be comedies or family dramas. There are also different variations of Rakugo, such as ongyokubanashi (musicals), kaidanbanashi (stories with ghosts), and ninjōbanashi (more sentimental stories), though these usually lack the punchline (ochi) that serves as the climax of traditional Rakugo plays. This will give me slightly more leeway when it comes to putting on an example performance myself for this project. With all of this in mind, I am very excited to begin my world theatre traditions project and look more into Rakugo theater.

Here are two sources I found about Rakugo:

First website

Second website

Sample IB Task 3 Rakugo Presentation (the grade the student received, as well as some of the teacher’s comments, can be found in the comments section)