Tadashi Suzuki
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Tadashi Suzuki is a theatrical director, writer and philosopher working out of Toga, Toyama, Japan. Suzuki is the founder and director of the Suzuki Company of Toga (SCOT), Chairman of the Japan Performing Arts Foundation (JPAF), Artistic Director of the Shizuoka Performing Arts Center (SPAC), the co-founder of the SITI Company in Saratoga Springs, New York, and the creator of the Suzuki Method of Actor Training. He organized Japan's first international theatre festival, the Toga Festival, from 1982 through 1999 and is a member of the International Committee of the Theatre Olympics since 1993. He has published over 12 books in Japanese, and "The Way of Acting" stands as his most influential work published in English.
Suzuki’s methodology for approaching theatre and performance comes from understanding ancient Greek theatre and experiencing the Japanese performance styles of Noh and Kabuki, both of which emphasize strength in traditional values, discipline, and physical control. Where Tadashi Suzuki differs is in his eclecticism and search for performance means beyond what has already been exercised. He is a progressive director who has sought to redefine any traditional notions instilled in the realm of Japanese theatre and thus revitalize an art form.
His philosophies concerning the humanistic relationship between man and earth, one that defies spirituality in the traditional sense of the term, manifest in rigorous training practices that demand an extreme level of body control and physical exertion.
