Analysis of folklore elements in Hassan Shirvani's plays, With Focus on the Association of Khorous Jangi’s Opinions

During Iran’s modernization era, when the government was carrying the country’s modernization project, Khoroos Jangi Artistic Association (KJAA) was founded in 1949 to establish a modernist movement. While trying to evolve Iran’s artwork, comparable with a modernizing society’s demands and in proportion to the government’s modernization process, the KJAA members' attention to folklore in addition to traditional art and the necessity of a bottom-up modernization surpassed the government's modernization. Although KJAA's influence on Iran's modern art is undeniable, its artworks’ comprehensive study and theories, as a coherent art movement, has never been carried out. Therefore, this research focuses on KJAA's definition of folkloric modernization in art and National Theatre, to define KJAA movement’s characteristics.Furthermore, Hassan Shirvani, theater activist member of KJAA proposed the establishment of the School of Iranian National Theater. in his definition, National Theatre's most important elements include the application of folkloric themes, Iranian mysticism philosophic ideas, symbolism and formic characteristics of Iran's traditional literature and play such as storytelling and story within a story, when the spirit of the time and people's living conditions are considered and the world’s latest artistic theoretical achievements are applied.As this is qualitative research, information and data gathered from KJAA publications and other library resources. Starting with presenting different definitions for terms like modernization, folklore, and national theater, the chapter continues with a brief history of KJAA and determines their description of national art while at the end the issue of folklore modernization will be presented through Shirvani's plays.