LONG BEACH — The Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden at CSU Long Beach will host a Japanese noh theatre performance featuring live flute at the Daniel Recital Hall on Sunday, Feb. 23, from 2 to 4 p.m.
Japanese actress and academic Ryoko Aoki will collaborate with John Barcellona, CSULB Cole Conservatory’s director of woodwind studies and professor of flute, to perform three scores in the noh style of theatre.
Aoki’s performances are accessible to all audience types, even those unfamiliar to theatre. She received an advanced degree in music from the Tokyo National University of Fine Art and a Ph.D. from the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies. She is known for her contemporary adaptations of noh, the 600-year-old genre of Japanese theatre often identified as a strictly male art form. Through her artistic practice, Aoki has collaborated with an array international composers and theatre troupes throughout Europe and Japan.
Audience members will experience a completely original, live performance created specifically for the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden. Following the performance, the artist will address questions from the audience. A reception will follow.
For those who want to learn more about noh, the University Art Museum at CSULB will be open on Feb. 23 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Members of the public are invited to a self-guided tour of the exhibit “Traditions Transfigured: The Noh Masks of Bidou Yamaguchi,” curated by Professor Ken Brown and the students of the Museum and Curatorial Graduate Certificate Program through the CSULB School of Art.
While visiting campus, Aoki also will share her talents with students by speaking at a workshop for undergraduate students studying under CSULB’s head of performance, Hugh O’Gorman.
The Feb. 23 performance is open to members of the Japanese Garden and University Art Museum, CSULB students, staff and faculty. RSVP to (562) 985-2169 or jgarden@csulb.edu. Parking is available for $5 in Parking Structure 1 and Lot 12 by purchasing a permit at the yellow kiosks located in the parking lots.
For more information about the event, visit the Japanese Garden’s website or like the garden on its Facebook page. For more information on Aoki, visit her personal website. Information about the “Noh Masks” exhibition can be found on the University Art Museum webpage.
The performance is possible due to generous donations from the Friends of the Japanese Garden and the Japan Foundation.