Suzuki Tadashi

Theatre in Context
Personal Context
Tadashi Suzuki is a Japanese theatre director, practitioner and writer who created a unique
style of physical theatre and actor training.
Born on June 20th 1939 in the small port mura (village) Shimizu Tadashi was the third child
of a timber merchant
At Waseda University, from 1958 until 1964, he studied Political Science and Economics. To
avoid loneliness he soon joined the drama society called the WFS (Waseda Free Stage) where
he met with revolutionary Socialist radicals who emoted in the form of theatre
But like many before him, his intellect and aesthetics meant that he could easily see the
inadequacies of the performance methods and the training provided by shingeki (complex
mix between Japanese and western tradition)and it was this frustration which drove Suzuki to
give up acting and take up directing.
Arthur Miller whose play Death of a Salesman was directed an produced by Tadashi Suzuki
had a significant impact on Tadashis directing/writing which helped Tadashi Suzuki use the
‘mental flashback’ form of theatre

Theatrical Context
The Suzuki method of acting, developed by Tadashi Suzuki, is one of the most commonly
taught acting methods in the United States.
Suzuki has articulated his theories in a number of books. A collection of his writings in
English, Culture is the Body is published by Theatre Communications Group in New
York. He has taught his system of actor training in schools and theatres throughout the
world, including The Juilliard School in New York and the Moscow Art Theatre. Also, a
book written on Suzuki titled The Theatre of Suzuki Tadashi is published by Cambridge
University Press
Tadashi Suzuki is the founder and director of the Suzuki Company of Toga (SCOT) based
in Toga Village, located in the mountains of Toyama prefecture. He is the organizer of
Japan’s first international theatre festival (Toga Festival), and the creator of the Suzuki
Method of Actor Training. Suzuki also plays an important role with several other
organizations: as General Artistic Director of Shizuoka Performing Arts Centre
(1995~2007), as a member of the International Theatre Olympics Committee, as
founding member of the BeSeTo Festival (jointly organized by leading theatre
professionals from Japan, China and Korea) and as Chairman of the Board of Directors
for the Japan Performing Arts Foundation
C (2000~2010), a nation-wide network of theatre professionals in Japan
Some of his best work includes
On the Dramatic Passions The Trojan Women, Dionysus, Vision of Lear, Cyrano de
Bergerac, Madame de Sade”, Oedipus Rex, Electra,
He has directed/produced over 50 different plays in 31 counties(83 cities) and not only with
SCOT but also with numerous other theatre companies.

Theatre in Process
The Suzuki method works to build an actor’s awareness of his body, especially his
center. The method uses exercises that are inspired by Greek theatre and martial arts
and require great amounts of energy and concentration.
The Suzuki Method of Actor Training is a collection of exercises that cultivates
understanding of these fundamentals by attempting to disorient the centre of gravity,
disrupt the breath and challenge the limits of physical and emotional experience. All of
the exercises are designed to antagonize and challenge the actor's control of the body,
breath, and awareness. They result in the actor becoming more aware of his natural
expressiveness and allow him to commit more fully to the physical and emotional
requirements of acting.
He often speaks of recovering the use of ‘animal’ energy, or reconnecting to nature in a
world where we are losing a connection to nature. He believes in a universal or world
theatre where culture, gender, sexuality and body shape and form are not significant
Practice Process
There are 3 types of exercises he does
Stomping- Suzuki believes it links the actor to the earth and strengthens the body and
breath.
Sliding- This exercise is used to rhythmically, physically and symbolically connect
the participant to the earth
Statues- This exercise is meant to establish the link between the energy of the earth
and the energy of the sky (depths and heights). It also helps to bring stable
movement on stage

Theatre in Presenting
Suzuki believes in a form of universal theatre which overcomes cultural and national
barriers. Themes taken from Western culture (from Euripides to Chekhov) meet up
with the tradition of nō theatre and kabuki(a form of dance drama with elaborate
makeup) in his works; and ancient songs, movement and combat techniques merge
together along with the previous 3 exercises in his innovative methods of physical and
vocal work. he use of simple staging which relies on performer, lighting and sound to
create a sense of mood, place and time rather than complex scenery; the structural use
of collage and juxtaposition which is underpinned by the use of simple unifying framing
devices and a sense of the ‘animal energy’
Tadashi also uses a unique format of mental flashbacks as well as time skips, making the 2
acts in the play usually happening in 2 different time periods/ eras altogether. In his
endeavour he tries to bridge the gap between modern and Japanese theatre. Tadashi Suzuki
also works very closely with the script for example when he worked with the play Trojan
Woman his first job was to eliminate text from all terms that require special knowledge and
leave just only enough for modern audiences to understand the basic situation i.e. defeat of
Euripides in this play. In a sense Suzuki is very flexible and gives actors the freedom of
speech in particular parts of the play. To enrich the experience he also incorporates newly
published Japanese song and poetry for example poetry in Trojan Woman by a contemporary
poet Ōoka. He also incorporates multi languages for example Chinese Japanese and
Indonesian with English. He also has a very unique unprecedented trait. He revives plays
every few years with different interpretations for example Dionysius was revived in different
allegories like communism, grief, hippie resurgence, etc
Overall his performances are admirable, commendable and aesthetically appealing.