| dc.description.abstract | This research explores the performances of Hakka Opera troupes with the concept “cultural performances”. In this thesis, I will discuss how Hakka Opera troupes perform in folk festivals and cultural activities. By analyzing performing fields of troupes and the viewpoints of performers, the goal of this research is finding the cultural characteristics displayed by the performances of Hakka Opera troupes.
In this research, I use the way of anthropological fieldwork and choose three Hakka Opera troupes in Hsinchu as my target groups for the case study. The participant observation method is used, and I get acquainted with the troupes. During the fieldwork, the performances are recorded by camera, video camera, and journals with details of the performing activities. Besides the field study, I made in-depth interviews with performers of these troupes to understand their thoughts about performing on stage. After that, I used the data collected from the fieldwork and interviews to analyze about the cultural performances of Hakka Opera troupes.
Through the observation of performances and the performers’ viewpoints, I found
that these Hakka Opera troupes have gone through the change of performing fields from folk festivals to cultural activities. Originally, the performers perceive their performances as only “Zo-da-xi”(traditional big scale opera for the god) in local folk festivals. As the stage switching to the cultural activities, they started to regard their performances as “Hakka Opera,” which means to present their Hakka culture to the public formally. That also means that they begin to care about how to perform on the stage and how to present the Hakka culture properly.
In the performing context, most performers agree with that both the tune patterns
“Cai Cha” (Tea-picking) and the Hakka language are ways of displaying the speciality of the Hakka culture. It is because that a unique technique of the Hakka opera performance must combine skillfully with the Hakkanese language and music. The performers need to transfer their experience of the everyday life to their performances, which thus could present Taiwanese Hakka people’s life and culture. Apart from using the original Hakka cultural element, some newly emerging Hakka Opera troupes tries to reduce the “Cai Cha” tune patterns in their performance and use the new-composed tune patterns to replace. These troupes lay more stress on the sound and light effects to cause audiences’ attention, which is different from the old Hakka Opera troupes. In fact, this is another performance style of the Hakka opera culture.
| en_US |