THE PROPERTY MAN – AN EXPLORATION OF REPRESENTATION OF AND WITHIN TRADITIONAL CHINESE OPERA

Abstract

The lack of scholarship and recognition has rendered the Property Man of Chinese theatre and the vital work that he does largely invisible to western theatre historians. The English language written theatrical archive provides us with various narratives as to the Property Man’s purpose and existence. His tasks help us know the narrative behind a play like The Yellow Jacket, and at the most basic level they address the question whether the Western representation that is the character of the Property Man coincided with the actual historical Property Man in Chinese theatre. This thesis explores the visibility and invisibility of the Property Man in Western drama by his presence in five theatre history texts and three plays scripts and by considering how these portrayals created the Property Man as a caricature and therefore stereotype. The relationship between the East and West creates an overall foundation for this exploration as well. Western narratives of Eastern practices create and problematize the understandings of the roles, responsibilities, and representations of, in this case, the Property Man both on and off the stage. The final section of the thesis provides a comparison of Eastern and Western staging and production support practices, and how the practices of a Western stage manager align with the Property Man. The idea of invisibility is carried forward here as both stage manager and Property Man uphold the concept of invisible labor both onstage and backstage. Though this exploration proves that his purpose is worth knowing and that his role, however enigmatic, was critical to Chinese theatre. The labor the Property Man provided alongside actors on the Chinese stage revealed within the historical archive proves the necessity of his being. Ultimately this inquiry adds to the archive a narrative that allows others to engage with and understand who he was and what he did.