No female actor has ever adopted the stage name of a renowned kabuki actor:
- Can women not "perform" women because they are women?!
- Do men make better women on stage?!
Start the discussion by watching---
1.
Learn about onnagata (female-role specialists)
2.
Near the close of the video Kabuki: Onoe Baiko the Seventh as The Salt Gatherer ("Women cannot play women....")
3.
The discussion in The Written Face (see below) regarding the advantage of being a man in performing a woman on stage.
Tamasaburo Bando V is one of the best kabuki actors specializing in female roles (onnagata).
- The Written Face PN2924.5 K3 W75 1995 (Memorial Library Microforms/Media Center Room 443, DVD)
A documentary film featuring Tamasaburo. Watch how well he executes femininity and listen to what he has to say about a man playing the role of a woman.
- Yo-Yo Ma - Inspired by Bach DVD 672 (Mills Music Library Audio Desk)
Tamasaburo Bando dances to Bach's Cello Suite No. 5 played by Yo-Yo Ma. Watch Tamasaburo's interpretation and struggle to enact the emotions of this piece, and witness his approach to femininity.