Leonard Pronko
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Leonard Cabell Pronko (1927 – November 27, 2019) was an American theatre scholar best known for introducing the Japanese dance drama kabuki to the West, beginning in the 1960s.[1][2] He was a professor of theatre at Pomona College[3] in Claremont, California, where he taught from 1957 to 2014.[4][5]
Beginning in 1965, he directed some twenty kabuki productions in English at the college and elsewhere. In 1970, he was the first non-Japanese to study at the Kabuki Training Program at the National Theatre of Japan. He studied kabuki dance with a number of eminent dance teachers both in the U.S. and in Japan. In 1972, Pronko received a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his kabuki productions. In 1986, Pronko received the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Third Degree, from the government of Japan in recognition of his achievements in introducing kabuki to the West. In 1997 he received the Association for Theatre in Higher Education Award for Outstanding Teacher of Theatre in Higher Education.
Pronko had written a number of books on western and eastern theatre, including The World of Jean Anouilh, Avant-garde,[6] Theatre East and West and Guide to Japanese Drama. He has translated the plays of Alfonso Sastre, and published monographs on a number of French playwrights. For 27 years, Pronko was Professor of Romance Languages at Pomona College and taught French language and literature and occasionally Spanish and Italian language. He directed plays, including many western classics from Marlowe and Racine to Ibsen and Pirandello.
Biography
Leonard Pronko graduated from Brentwood High School in Brentwood, Missouri in 1945. Leonard Pronko received his B.A. from
Pronko's first article was on the poetic theatre of Lebanese,
Pronko lectured widely, chiefly on kabuki, and presented hundreds of lecture-demonstrations including make-up and dance. His performance experience began as a child and continued in graduate school when he participated in plays and sang for two years in the chorus of the New Orleans Opera Company. He studied at the École Dullin and the Sorbonne in Paris, where he has spent a number of years, and he traveled annually to Europe and Japan and to other more exotic climes.
Awards
Pronko won Distinguished Professor Awards twice at Pomona College, a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award in 1972, Drury College Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1980, Tulane University Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1984, the Order of the Sacred Treasure from the Japanese Government, 1986, and the ATHE Award for Outstanding Teacher of Theatre in Higher Education, 1997. In 2006, he was made a Fellow of the College of Fellows of the American Theatre.
Publications
- The World of Jean Anouilh (1961)
- Avant-Garde, the Experimental Theatre in France (1962)
- Eugène Ionesco (1965)
- Theatre East and West (1967)
- Guide to Japanese Drama (1973)
- Georges Feydeau (1975)
- Kabuki Acting Techniques 1: The Body(?)
References
- ^ "Californian Duo Brings Kabuki-Inspired Play to Edinburgh Fringe". Japan Forward. August 17, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
- ^ Biemiller, Lawrence (May 3, 1996). "Pomona College Professor Acts as Ambassador for Kabuki Theater". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
- ^ Halverson, Megan (September 5, 1996). "Grand Kabuki, Grand Style". Houston Press. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
- ^ "In Memoriam: Professor Emeritus of Theatre and Dance Leonard Pronko". Pomona College. December 2, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
- ^ "Leonard Cabell Pronko". Claremont Courier. December 20, 2019. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
- ^ Wax, Shelby (May 2, 2014). "Pomona Professor Leonard Pronko Retires After 57 Years". The Student Life. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
- S2CID 144319743. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
- Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved November 22, 2010.