Noh

Japanese Noh Drama

Orpha, dancing the shimai from ‘Yashima’

at Indiana University, USA, 2007

‘Thanks so much for your work with our students. This kind of enrichment activity truly provides our students with the international view of theatre that we aim for.’

Aimee De Abreu, Teacher, International School of Geneva, October 2007

‘The noh workshop was quite fascinating in the sense that it introduces some of the fundamental psycho-physical approaches to our students. Looking forward to seeing you again.’

Dr. Sreenath Nair, University of Lincoln, January 2008

‘You´ve been of great help in becoming familiar with noh theater ... it has always been difficult to visualize some elements due to the fact that so much of the technique is taught orally from generation to generation and is not written down on paper.’

Fia Di Liscia, student, Marymount International School, Rome, October 2007

View a list of places where Orpha has held workshops

Japanese noh drama is one of the oldest continually performed theatre forms in the world. Combining dance, chant, music and mask in a powerful and stately performance experience, noh requires intense inner concentration and physical discipline. Opera director and noh workshop leader, Orpha Phelan offers performance-based training in the movement, music, and performance history of noh in her workshop entitled An Introduction to Noh.

In the past, Orpha has worked with a range of ages and abilities, from children to postgraduates and with teachers as well as professional actors. The workshops are of particular interest to students of drama, world theatre, literature or Japanese, though exposure to Japanese culture through this ancient art form is rewarding for all, wherever their interests lie. No prior experience is necessary.

In the year 2000, Orpha was invited to direct the noh play Sumidagawa, the play on which Benjamin Britten based his opera Curlew River, as part of the prominent Britten Festival. She has been fascinated by Japanese theatre ever since.

Orpha’s Training in Noh National Noh Theatre, Tokyo

For the past seven summers, Orpha has trained at the Noh Training Project in the USA, under the guidance of Japan's National Living Treasure, Akira Matsui, and the world-renowned noh expert, Richard Emmert. She was invited to Japan for seven months in September 2003 by the Japanese government, on a Bunka Cho fellowship, to further her study of traditional Japanese theatre. In Tokyo, she had intensive lessons with Kita school noh masters in the dance and chant of noh theatre and the music of the ko-tsuzumi. While Orpha was in Japan, she also took lessons in Tea Ceremony, kimono dressing, Butoh, mask making, washi paper making and the Japanese language.