Traditional Chinese opera has always played a significant role in contemporary Chinese Theatre. With the rapidly growing amount of new theatrical works in China for the past few years, this ancient performing art has been widely used in experimental theatres. This thesis is inspired by my creating process of costume design on project Kun Opera "Duanchang Poems”; which I deconstructed the form of Kun Opera, and incorporated with contemporary dance. Building from this case, I will explore from the costume designer’s
perspective, the new possibilities of transforming traditional characters in ancient performing arts, into contemporary experimental theatre works.
The introduction of Chapter One mainly discusses the background differences between western and eastern contemporary theatre, as well as the innovation and inheritance of traditional genres. I will then explicate both how western and eastern classical, historical characters’ costumes are newly represented in contemporary theaters. And by showing these successful examples, I will showcase why traditional costume could serve as a great element to new innovative performance art, and within the framework of experimental theatre, the results would be revolutionary.
The second chapter mainly focuses on the conception changes which are the space of contemporary theaters and the impact of the actor-audience relationships on traditional costume design. To match this, the costume design has also been refined and sublimated from the traditional design. The costume design of the Duanchang Poems has been radically transformed from their traditional counterparts. This elevation has been characterized by experimentation, refinement, innovation, and expressionism.
The third chapter mainly analyzes how to extract aesthetic characteristics from the traditional genre and apply them into new theatrical works. How to deal with traditional genre play to meet the historical and performance requirements of Kun opera, as well as the overall style of the play and the personal style
should be emphasized by the artist.