Liz Skitch in Japan

Nanka Youkai- a Japanese Ghost Story

2009-08-27T07:48:00.000-07:00

Okonomiyaki Lunch with Nanka Youkai Actors, Nobu-san and Naomi-san

The Obaachan (The Grandmother, played by Nobu-san) is wearing traditional dress of Kimono and kneels on a small wooden platform which is dressed as a room in her tiny house. She has been kneeling that way for about twenty minutes now, waiting patiently for the 150 or so small children to settle on the floor in front of the playing space. Whether in Japan or Australia, it never ceases to amaze me how many kindergarten children you can fit into a relatively small room- they are so tiny!!!

Sound fills the space (from everywhere it seems) and the show begins with the forth wall being broken by the Obaachan who addresses the children. “Konnichiwa” she says. “What beautiful faces you have!” and the children beam up at her. The Obaachan then reminisces about the games of her childhood and introduces us to some of the unusual things that happen in her house. Little furry characters appear from nowhere (the show is full of beautifully executed magic and illusion), we are introduced to a magical mirror, and then we hear the voice of her long lost imaginary friend calling her. The sound design is an integral part of this show and helps to create a full sensory experience as little speakers placed around the room produce ghostly sounds. Early into the show I jump with fright when a speaker placed right behind me produces an eerie sound that takes me by surprise.

Eventually, the voice of the long lost imaginary friend cannot be ignored and the Obaachan disappears through the magical mirror into a strange world (where we meet a magical shop keeper). It is here that Obaachan finds her imaginary friend in a tragic state of paralysis, because it has been so long since she has played with anyone. So the Obaachan, together with a strange shop keeper play game after game after game with the doll like imaginary friend until she is moving around, free as a bird. They play Kakurembo (Hide and Seek), Daruma (Statues)…the list goes on and on and this culminates in a slow motion movement routine, which together with magical illusions and sound created the most moving theatrical experience that I have ever had in an in schools show.

The show finishes with the Obaachan packing up her belongings into a cane basket, which she straps to her back and exits the room through the audience, holding her characterisation through to the very end.

The first time I meet Nobu-san out of character I am surprised to see how young she is- her characterisation completely fooled me. Not only is she a beautiful actor but like all the best actors, she is a great devisor and created this work on the floor with director Ken Nakajima (the man with the midas touch). And with the sound designed by the marvellous Tomokatsu Magario (who also designed the sound for Nan-de Man and Furato Burato) I am not surprised that Nanka Youkai is indeed a masterpiece.

A New Model for In-School Touring

2009-08-27T07:30:00.001-07:00

Tobe! Hikkouki

As a performer, I am usually filled with dread when I arrive at a school to do a show and we are lead to the gymnasium. They are vast spaces not dissimilar to empty aeroplane hangers; too big for little shows and often over- filled with children. The poor performers often end up at one end of the gymnasium, over articulating and projecting to accommodate for the terrible acoustics, over acting to reach the children at the back. However, since arriving in Tokyo and seeing how Kazenoko play these spaces, I will approach them completely differently from now on.

While in Tokyo, I get to see a number of Kazenoko’s larger scale works for primary school children- and the first is titled Hans (A Japanese adaptation of a Hans Christian Anderson tale). There are about three hundred children in the audience but all have a perfect view because rather than stage the show at one end of the hall and have the children at the back miss out (as is so often the case in school performances in Australia) this production is to be performed in the round. The large round stage sits about half a meter above the ground and four catwalks shoot out, dividing the stage into quarters, to the edges of the auditorium, creating wings for the actors to make their entrances and exits from. “How long did it take them to set this up?” I whisper to Kumiko, conscious of the fact that a big part of the job of performing in schools is the ‘bump in’ and ‘bump out’ of the set. Kumiko tells me that they have been at the school since six o’clock this morning. The time is now eleven am. This is a hard working troupe.

The children are thoroughly engaged and at one stage, some of the children start cheering “Hans! Daijoubu da yo! Dekiru yo!” (“Hans you can do it! I’ll be alright!”). And the climax of the piece has the audience screaming with delight as a twelve -foot tall ghost (puppet) swings over the heads of the children, close enough for them to reach out and touch it!

My trip to Tokyo is also perfectly timed to see preview performances of Kazenoko’s latest large scale creation for primary schoolers, Osana Boshi no Utatta ne (Song of the Little Star) and a work that has been in repertoire for 20 years now, Tobe! Hikouki! (Fly! Aeroplane!). Both shows were in re-rehearsal in preperation for their up and coming tours to Hokkaido and both are designed to play to audiences of up to 700.

Osana Boshi no Utatta ne (Song of the Little Star) features a cast of eight and is possibly the most ambitious piece of theatre I have ever seen staged for children (sans lighting and multi media). However, director Ken Nakajima, working with his actors, a brilliant composer and oodles of imagination, has skilfully adapted this tale from a children’s book for the stage. Full of images and characters that are indeed, out of this world, it tells the story of a sleepy little boy who loses his mum and dad and travels to a distant planet to rescue them. Full of flight and fantasy, like Hans, this work is designed for large audiences in large spaces and features a revolving stage (which is turned by the actors themselves- no machinery) masks and a giant puppet (created out of poles and swathes of material).

Tobe! Hokouki! (Fly Aeroplane!) utilises the stage of the school gymnasium and features the addition of a long catwalk like stage, not unlike those seen in Kabouki. The actors move about on top on the stage and underneath it, popping out of man- holes unexpectedly to create great excitement amongst the audience.

I believe that theatre companies in Australia can learn from the Japanese in-schools touring model. This is not to say that there is not still a place for smaller, more intimate shows that can tour to Kindergartens and Pre-schools. However, when it comes to primary schools and high schools, we should be more imaginative in our staging and spend a little more time in the bump in and bump out so that the show can be enjoyed by a larger audience. I need to stress at this point that this does not mean larger casts, but it might give the theatre companies a little more freedom to start employing casts of up to four again, instead of the current restriction of one or two.

Inturn we can create a more efficient touring model, in which the tours are shorter, the audiences are larger and inturn more revenue is generated. This model makes a lot of sense particularly in a country like Australia, where we sometimes travel days to get to the next town.

However, audiences don’t magically appear and this is where we can also learn from Japan. Theatre Companies in Japan offer their work to schools on a one off buy in basis. For example, for a three person show the cost is approximately $2200 Australian Dollars. It is then up to the school to gather the students together to make the ticket price as cheap as possible. Inturn, schools work together and with the wider community to attract an audience.

The current in schools touring system in Australia relies heavily on subsidy and charges schools per student (the current cost for a show in Queensland is $6). This has inturn created a culture of complacency amongst school teachers in Australia who might book a show visit their school but it will only be shown to the grade nines because they are the only ones studying that unit at the time. So shows travel long distances to perform to one hundred kids in a school that has a potential audience of 700.

Funding for the Arts is particularly needed in a country like Australia because our population is so small. However, we can learn a lot from Japan, whose Arts Organisations receive less government funding than ours and many are forced to survive soley on ticket sales (Interview with Yukinori Ohno, Vice President, Assitej Japan Centre, 26. 08. 09).

Churchill Fellowship Part Two- Kijimuna Festival

2009-08-25T16:05:00.000-07:00

As part of the Fellowship, I had the chance to spend ten days in Okinawa City at The Kijimuna international Children's Theatre Festival. I saw heaps of shows, met lots of artists and producers from all over the world and got a great taste of traditional Okinawan Culture.

This clip includes a taste of a physical theatre/ clown duo called GABEZ. They are excellent.

Churchill Fellowship Part One- KYUSHU

2009-08-25T05:42:00.000-07:00

This is a little movie I have made of my time on Kyushu (the south island of Japan) with Kazenoko Children's Theatre Company.
Footage includes:
Furato Burato Kagoshima Tour
Clown Workshop with Kazenoko Kyushu
Yamagasa Festival
Translation Routine at Kodomogekijou Conference
Nan Nan Nan-de Man Nagasaki Tour

Koganenomi, The Golden Bean

2009-08-24T20:09:00.000-07:00

Tsutomu-san's One Man Show

Once again, I am met today by Kumiko-san who is acting as my guide while I am in Tokyo, escorting me to a wide variety of Kazenoko shows all over town in a wide variety of spaces (from community halls, to school gyms to tiny kindergartens). I am always relieved to see her familiar smiling face when I make my way through the exit gates of the destination train station, after following the complex directions to get there, which usually involves changing trains at least three times and traveling up to an hour on crowded carriages through busy stations.

As we make our way on foot through the street to the venue, I ask Kumiko to tell me a little about Koganenomi. It is a one man show performed by Tanaka Tsutomu-san (who, incidently, is brother of Kumiko’s husband, Tanaka Tooru-san, who is also a Kazenoko performer). I am puzzled as Kumiko explains that the design of the show involves a puzzle…I wonder to myself whether or not I have understood correctly. “What kind of puzzle?” I ask, but I don’t understand Kumiko’s explanation. It doesn’t matter because I know I will see it for myself, soon enough. I move onto the content of the work itself. “Is it a folk tale?”, I ask. Kumiko answers, Koganenomi means ‘The Golden Bean’ and is a tale created by Tsutomu-san about a carpenter who is struck by lightening and looses his memory. He visits a doctor and is told that the only thing that will help him to get his memory back is a golden bean. And so he journeys to find it and meets some interesting characters along the way.

At this point in our journey, we come across a Dango stall (rice balls on sticks), they smell so delicious that Kumiko and I both stop and look. Kumiko buys Go-Hon (five sticks) to take as an Omiyage (Thank you present) for Tsutomu-san. Then, as though we had not stopped at all, Kumiko explains “Tsutomu-san made up this story for his children, and he has four of them so it grew and grew over the years”. I wonder how a performer manages to feed four children, and ask Kumiko what his wife does, “She works in the Kazenoko office”; I am discovering that Kazenoko really is one big family.

KOGANENOMI- SHOW DESCRIPTION

Tsutomu-san steps out from behind the flat playing a trumpet like a clown (he is not very good at it but is trying very hard…and so the audience loves him and wants him to succeed). Then he starts to experiment with the mouth piece of the trumpet and the funny sounds it makes and starts to attach other found objects to his mouth piece. First a long pipe, then a big plastic bottle and a watering can. The children are delighted and thoroughly ‘warmed up’. It is now time for the story to begin and the ‘puzzle’ is revealed!

It is a large (1 x 1.5 meters) hand painted, wooden puzzle, containing all the characters and set items that Tsutomu- san will expertly tell the Koganenomi tale with. They all fit together perfectly, creating a spectacularly colourful puzzle. Tsutomu-san animates the pieces one by one, like puppets to paint the large stage pictures (for example, when the carpenter is struck by a lightening bolt) and then turns into the character himself to act out the more detailed pictures (facial expressions, reactions and delivery of text). This way he can play the entire cast of the story in a light manner where by he jumps from the role of story teller/ puppeteer to actor.

The content of the story is very much like a Rakugo routine in that it is filled with comic characters, routines and word plays and has no moral but is purely for the sake of entertainment. After travelling the land, meeting all sorts of interesting characters from dancing girls to a group of babies to a very hungry Sumo Wrestler, the carpenter finally finds the golden bean, eats it and his memory returns. But it doesn’t end there, with the help of the audience, Tsutomu-san places all the pieces of the puzzle back together. He plays naïve beautifully and sincerely and pretends not to know how it goes back together. This opens up communication with the audience and the children instruct Tsutomu on what goes where. He expertly manages the children so that all have a chance to input and the interaction itself becomes a comedy routine with Tsutomu-san playing off the various unexpected suggestions expertly like when one little girl said, “Put the Sumo-san on top of the babies!”, Tsutomu-san responded, “But if I do surely I will squash them!”.

“And now, for the second story!” announces Tsutomu-san. I am surprised- will he be able to hold the attention of the audience for another tale? We have already been sitting for forty minutes- in my experience in Australia this is normally when we are in the last five minutes of the show, then the performers take some questions from the audience and then pack up the show. Tsutomu gets everyone to have a stretch and then we count down from ten while he prepares for the second tale. A flat is moved downstage and from here, each time Tsutomu-san emerges from behind that flat, he is wearing a different mask in a different characterisation. He now tells the children a traditional folk tale of the Kitsune and the Tanouki (the Fox and the Racoon). Not only do the Fox and Racoon feature in this tale, but also a clever mosquito and an Oni (The red faced, long nosed monster that appears in many traditional Japanese folk tales). The stand out performer, however, in the telling of this tale is not Tsutomu-san, who expertly jumps from playing Monster, to Fox, to damsel in distress, but the little girl that is invited from the audience to play the mosquito. Tsutomu asks her to give a Jiko-shoukai (Self Introduction) to the audience and then carefully introduces her to the mosquito mask (a funny looking thing with bulging eyes and a long beak, which he has made himself). The mask sits on top of her head so we can see her delightful, smiling face the whole time that she helps Tsutomu on stage. She giggles the whole time, while expertly following his instructions, which include sneaking up behind the Oni and biting him on the bottom!

I discover that this level of audience interaction, is deeply rooted in the Kazenoko telling of stories. I recall that Yuko-san also invited a volunteer from the audience to help her with the ‘Paper – play’ part of Asobo. Afterwards, Kumiko-san tells me about Ni Tasu San, one of the early Kazenoko ensembles (that Tsutomu-san worked in) that toured small scale shows around to kindergartens. The stories that the ensemble told were invariably folk tales and always incorporated children from the audience as volunteers to play different roles.

After the show I have a chance to talk with Tsutomu-san again and thank him for the performance. I ask him if this is a particular style of performance in Japan (through the animation of the puzzle) and he tells me proudly that it is his own invention. And goes on to passionately describe that he was taught by his Sensei that there is no use in doing what someone else is already doing, be original! I am a little surprised because I had assumed that in Japan, the art lies in learning exactly how it was done and always has been done, perfecting that and then passing it on. It seems that this is only the case in the world of the Dentougeinou (the traditional arts), and the world of contemporary theatre has a completely different approach. I am relieved because it is in line with my mission in the arts, which has always been towards the creation of new work, for a new audience.

As Kumiko-san and I leave the community centre and make our way back to the station through the streets of Habarigaoka, we both have an unspoken understanding, that on the way back to the station, we will stop at the little stall on the side of the road and buy a Dango each. They are warm and delicious. When we board the train we find that we are not talking about theatre (as we usually do) we are talking about food and realise we are still hungry. We feel like the Sumo-san from Tsutomu’s play who eats rice cake after rice cake but is still hungry. We decide to change trains at Asakusa where we head straight for big hot bowls of Ramen. Full of food and inspiration, we say goodbye. Another great day with Kumiko-san!

http://www.kazenoko.co.jp/infantwork/newfolder-19/
(Visit this link to see images of Koganenomi)

ASOBO!

2009-08-24T19:07:00.000-07:00

I am met by Kumiko-san of Kazenoko Tokyo at Keiyoutama Center Station, the home of Sanrio Hello Kitty Land. But today we are not here like the thousands of others, to say hello to Kitty-chan, we gather with a small audience of mums, dads and children to see a presentation of one of Kazenoko Tokyo’s oldest shows, Asobo. It is a special show today, presented for the ‘Family Support Centre’, an organisation which provides care to families who are experiencing hardship.

I have tried to read up on the show (with is a challenge due to the fact that my knowledge of Kanji is limited to about 200 characters…and there are approximately 30 000 of them!). However, I was able to establish from the flyer that it is a one woman show, utilising found objects (which are readily available in any house hold, for example: newspaper, dustpans and cardboard boxes) for play. Hence the name for the piece Asobo (Let’s Play).

Before the show, I ask Kumikio- san about Yuko-san, who will be performing the work today. “She is a powerful woman”, Kumiko says. I take this on board, I assume Kumiko means a powerful performer, but as I hear more about Yuko- san, I begin to understand the depths of her powers. I learn that Yuko was part of the Kazenoko ensemble which existed in Tokyo about 25 years ago (around the time that the company structure grew to incorporate different ensembles in different cities around the country). At the time, everyone in Yuko’s ensemble started having children and weren’t able to tour around as widely as they had in the past, but still wanted to create work. And so they began Chisai Gekijou (The Little Theatre), which still tours, to this day.

Chisai Gekijou began in a living room, where Kazenoko’s theatre makers gathered their children and newly born babies together and created small performances for them, using anything they could find around the house. As their children started attending kindergarten, the ensemble were able to start presenting the work they had developed for their own children, to other children who attended kindergartens and primary schools in the area. Soon they toured the show more widely but as Yuko’s children got older, she felt the need to challenge herself and her theatre making techniques further. Yuko-san took on a kindergarten -teaching job in the countryside, a long way from Tokyo and it was here that she developed her solo work, Asobo.

Asobo could be described as Yuko’s entire body of work which exists in two parts. Today I will see Part One.

ASOBO SHOW DESCRIPTION

We sit on cushions on the floor, there is also the option of chairs behind the cushions. Many of the ‘big people’ occupy these. I, like most of the audience, sit staring at the simple set in anticipation; it consists of three, large black boxes. Yuko is no where to be seen. I am looking forward to her performance immensely. The children range from the ages of a two to 10 years old. Most are accompanied by parents who sit with them or on the chairs behind. One mum sitting amongst the cushions is nursing a sleeping baby, who later, half way through the performance starts to cry but is expertly calmed by her mother’s breast milk. This is the first time I have ever seen breast feeding in public in Japan.

I love watching the audiences at chidren’s theatre shows almost as much as the productions. After all, the pure and sometimes most unexpected reactions of the children are SO entertaining. My favourite at this performance is the reaction of a little boy in the front row who, I assume, must spend a lot of time with his Grandfather; because whenever he is surprised he yells “HORA!” in a deep and husky tone, not only as though he is imitating an Ojiisan (a grandfather) but using an expression that only the Ojiisans employ.

A hand shoots out from behind the black box in centre stage, the audience is captivated, the fingers on the hand count down from 5 to 4, to 3, and by this stage the audience is chanting to “GO!”. We are focused on the hand that entertains us for the next five minutes. The hand, of course, belongs to Yuko-san who is indeed, a captivating performer. Captivating enough to hold her audience for about twenty minutes of ‘hand play’, twenty of ‘paper play’ and the final twenty through ‘cardboard box play’. The cardboard box play, developing into the telling of a beautiful folk tail about a baby elephant (made of a cardboard box, a cardboard trunk and dustpans as ears) that dresses up for his mum by exchanging his various body parts (trunk, big ears, tail) for the unique body parts of other animals (the lion’s main, the monkey's tail, the bird's wings etc). In the end, after showing her new acquisitions off to her mum who reacts with much warmth and laughter, the baby elephant happily returns everything to its rightful owner and so ends the tail….I mean tale! A simple story with a beautiful message, expertly told using puppetry with found objects.

The time flies by, the audience is captivated the whole time, Yuko-san, demonstrating her experience through the ease with which she interacts with the wide variety of children in the audience throughout the show. After the show, I turn to Kumiko and ask, “How long did that go for?” and she informs me “One hour, twenty minutes”. I am astounded. Of all of the children’s theatre shows that I have performed in, in Australia, the longest is fifty minutes, because at about forty minutes, the children start to get restless and lose focus, and it is hard work to hold them until the end. I decide to put it down to the power for Yuko-san. But I have a feeling that I will discover, as I view a wide variety of Kazenoko Tokyo shows over the next couple of weeks, that the power of Yuko-san and dedicated theatre makers like her, involved in the company, the creation of its work and its performance, that Kazenoko shows are tried, true and of a very high standard.

http://www.kazenoko.co.jp/infantwork/newfolder-21/
(Visit this link to see pictures of the show)

To Translate or not to Translate...

2009-08-16T02:38:00.000-07:00

The Kijimuna Festival in Okinawa is the only international children’s festival in Japan and works from all over the world are presented here. This year sees shows from France, Italy Austria, Taipei, Bulgaria, Croatia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Korea, Denmark, Sweden, England, Germany, Australia, Japan and ofcourse, Okinawa. Whilst Okinawa is part of Japan, it has a unique culture, heritage and language and hence, is always referred to independently as Okinawa or “Ryuku” (its traditional name). In total there are 46 shows presented over ten days, which is a mammoth feat for an annual festival with no full time staff.

As a Japanese -speaking actor and theatre maker, I have a strong interest in fostering opportunities for cultural exchange between Japan and Australia in the future. And I believe that many shows that are made for children and young people in Australia, should consider touring to Japan. For this reason I am interested in seeing how companies attending the Kijimuna festival from overseas, adapt their work for a Japanese audience. Whilst non- verbal physical theatre like Echoa (A fusion of Dance and Percussion from France), Surprise (Dance and Movement from Austria) and The Day His Watch Stopped (Masked performance from Korea) do not require any adaptation, there are many that rely on heavily on text and thus, must make at least a small attempt to ensure that the words are understood but without artistically compromising the work.

One of the ways that this can be done is through the use of a translator. In the case of Goodbye Mr Muffin (from Denmark), the artists chose to present the work in Danish and to share the spotlight with a Japanese Translator who, rather than translating the entire work, acted as a narrator who sat side of stage a provided occasional narration as though reading from a story book and because the piece was highly visual (featuring a little puppet guinea pig), this suited the piece to a T and was all that was needed.

In the case of The Overcoat (an award winning piece from Bulgaria), however, even though the actors do not speak or understand Japanese, they learnt the entire script in Japanese and presented this to the audience. Whilst the audience really appreciated this attempt (and showed their appreciation in VERY warm acclamation at the end of the show), the fact of the matter was that the intonation was so strange that at least 50% of their dialogue made little sense and may as well have been presented in Bulgarian.

Some shows, on the other hand, could have attempted a little more to employ Japanese language. La Baracca from Italy presenting two shows at the festival Under a different Light and Looking at the Sky; both were movement based shows for 1-3 year olds that only used a little language (just simple words here and there). Mostly, these words were spoken in Italian, but occasionally, the actor had made the effort to learn the word in Japanese. There is no doubt that when a word was offered to the audience in Japanese, you could feel and hear a response from the children. In many ways, shows such as these are perfect for travelling the world, because they do not rely too heavily on language, however, when a word is included, it is generally because it is very important and with just a little more effort to learn these in the language of the host country, the power of these words would not be lost on the audience.

Based on these examples, it can be concluded that a reception of a piece for an audience of children is heightened if it is presented in their language, but not to stretch the actors beyond their ability or the artistic integrity of the piece will be damaged.

Kazenoko Theatre Company are masters at adapting their work for an international audience and have a policy to always use the childrens’ mother tounge. I believe they have developed a model of best practise, which is very thorough and whilst it changes depending on the work, it involves working with a translator for many months leading up to the tour. Sometimes a whole work is performed in the other language, sometimes words and phrases here and there. Sometimes the piece is translated many times whilst on tour adopting words from the local dialect of each town it visits.

Takagaki-san of Kazenoko Tokyo explains, “Not every word in a play needs translation (Nor would their actors be capable of performing fluently in English). Theatre communicates with its audience in many ways other than language alone; through the design, semiotics, the physicality of the actors, the emotions conveyed, the rhythm and of course through the connection with a live audience and the actions and reactions that feed from that.”

I recall a beautiful conversation that I had over a lunch of Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pizza) with Kazenoko Tokyo actor, Kumiko Itoo last year, about her experience in adapting Chisai Gekidan (Small Theatre) for Canada. “Through the process of translating a piece, on the floor (on your feet in the rehearsal room), you realise that many of the words that exist in the piece are not needed, for example, you realise that you are saying something to the audience that is already explained through action.” This strikes a chord with me “The power of theatre!” I say! I am feeling inspired both by the conversation and by the most delicious Okonomiyaki that I have ever tasted! Kumiko explains that this process boils the language of the play down to its essential meaning. This inturn effects the piece positively when it returns to Japan, many of the superfluous language remains discarded and the piece continues to evolve.

Kumiko goes on to describe the experience of performing Chisai Gekidan for a Canadian audience. “We were so surprised by their reactions! They reacted to different parts of the piece (compared to a Japanese audience) and in turn, those parts of the piece grew and took on new meaning. Then, when we returned to Japan, the reactions to the evolved piece were different again. It was a great experience for the performer because you had to be in the moment, ready for anything.”

We go on to have a conversation about the importance of honesty in Children’s theatre. We both relate to this as performers and share stories of being told, loud and clear, by audience members, if they didn’t believe us. Furthermore, Kumiko points out that they must believe the story and the justifications for the actions of the characters on stage. We both agree that this is why we love being involved in the making of theatre for children, because of its integrity.

It is this integrity that theatre makers need to take into the rehearsal room when creating work for children and also when adapting it for a non-English speaking audience. Put yourself in the shoes of the children of the country in which it will be performed and follow your piece through their eyes and in their language and adapt the piece accordingly. And as Wolfgang Schneider, President of ASSITEJ International pointed out at the forum on Theatre for Children (Kijimuna Festival, 3rd July 2009) “Do not give them the children’s menu like in a restaurant which is half the price and half the portion!” Or as Clause Mandoe of Denmark who performed “Waiting for Mr Muffin” explained at the same forum “You can never fool an audience of children. If you think you can you are only fooling yourself.”

Collaborating and Performing in Multiple Languages

2009-08-08T01:54:00.000-07:00

Looking for Yogurt (The Poster Image)

Kijimuna International Theatre Festival for Children, Okinawa

Looking for Yogurt is a co –production between Birmingham Rep (England), Joyful Theatre (Korea) and The Kijimuna Festival (Japan). It is truly collaborative in that it features a performer from each country (each who performs in his/ her own language) and was written by a writer from each country, including Peter Wilson from the UK who also directed the piece.

The synopsis in the program reads: In a big construction site in a big city just before dusk, a Korean girl Norang encounters a Japanese boy Aka and an English boy Blue. These three children, who have no language nor culture in common somehow come to know, play with and understand each other and finally reach to hope and trust.

This was my first adventure into the world of cross -cultural collaborations and I was very excited to be in the audience. Naturally, the audience was mostly Japanese and therefore understood the dialogue of the Japanese performer only but through the characterisations, actions and reactions all three languages were made accessible. If anything, I wanted to see the three characters more challenged to be understood; this would not only have made the scenario more realistic but could also open up the possibility for beautiful comic misunderstandings. Instead the three characters seemed to get to know each other and understand each other too soon, seamlessly understanding what had been said and each translating it into their own language for the audience one by one. Hence the pattern of Korean then Japanese then English became a little predictable. Nevertheless, thanks to the audible response of the small number of children in the audience (recommended for those aged six +), there was no doubt that they were engaged throughout.

A note should be made here that many shows of the shows at the Kijimuna Festival unfortunately fail to attract an audience of children. Particularly anything that looks slightly experimental or contemporary. Instead, most of the audiences are made up of adults who have an interest in theatre (including a small number of international producers from Children's Festivals) and only a handful to half of the local audience escort their kids along.

Island Kitchen (produced by Mr Shimoyama, Artistic Director of the Kijimuna Festival) was a performance written and directed by Kato Tadashi and performed by one Japanese actor (in Japanese), one Korean actor (in Korean), a dancer and a musician. However, it suffered from the opposite of Looking for Yogurt, it did not go far enough to ensuring that the dialogue of the Korean actor was not lost on its Japanese audience. Instead we listened to long energetic monologues and had no idea what he was getting so worked up about. It was a very wordy play and even my thirty year old Japanese friend in the audience commented afterwards, that he found the story hard to follow. Recommended for an audience of children aged nine upwards, I can only assume that the meaning was completely lost on the few children that were in the audience.

Who are you? A production by Theatre Mala Scena from Croatia who are better known for their show, The Parachutists, featured a Japanese actress (who has been living in Croatia) and a Croatian actress. The program reads:Two women seeking for some new friend meet, talk, laugh and go while involving the audience. As speedy stage performed in Japanese.

The best thing about this collaboration was the gentle performance style of the two performers, which allowed for a genuine connection with one another and a sharing of basic language. And whilst the small audience mostly of adults and a few children aged 3-6 years sat quietly watching the performance from beginning to end, it lacked energy, theatricality and often integrity- particularly the extended game of hide and seek which was badly blocked throughout the piece (one actor pretending to look for the other that is clearly just a little further upstage). It occurred to me while watching this piece that it would not survive a showing at a kindergarten, where the children, on mass, yell out the obvious “She’s behind you!!” and any other suggestions they have along the way.

Sayonara, Kazenoko Kyushu! Mata Aimashoo!

2009-08-02T20:01:00.000-07:00

風の子九州の皆さんへ、

沖縄に着きましたそしてとても暑いですよ。毎日いろいろな世界じゅうから来たさくひんを見ています。けど、まだまだ風の子九州見のようなさいこなさくひんを見ていなかったですよ。

４日ににっこりぽっかりを見に行くことを楽しみにしています。

私は本当にかんしゃしたいです。７月に私風の子九州と一緒にすごした時間はおいしいとこどうりでしたよ。風の子九州のさくひんが見えたし、いろいろな行ったことがない島に行けたし、ワークショップも出来たし、やまかさまつりでいっぱいおしりを見えたし、皆と一緒に東京に行けたし、SAADARIのさくひんが見えたし、とてもとてもいい勉強になりました。どうもありがとうございました。

皆さんはいつも私にとてもしんせつので、わからない時でもいいけいけんでした。Thank you for your support and friendship.

また会いましょう！

それじゃ、皆さん、元気で，がんばって、楽しんでね！

Yours in theatre,

Liz Skitch

スキチ　リズ

Actors on an Annual Wage

2009-08-02T19:11:00.000-07:00

Kazenoko Actors, Hiroko and Saske, working Front of House.

One of the remarkable things about Kazenoko in Japan is that their actors receive an annual wage. This intrigues me because in Australia, actors work contract to contract and in between times, take up other employment to pay the bills. Asano-san who was part of the acting ensemble for about ten years before moving into the role of writer/ director, explains “But not all theatre companies in Japan work like Kazenoko, most are like Australia, they contract the actors when they need them”, she tells me. Infact, Kazenoko is one of the five theatre companies in Japan that employ this system. “It was about 20 years ago that we decided to put actors on an annual wage. We found that our actors kept getting sick because they couldn’t afford to eat properly when they weren’t working for us and then when it was time for the next tour, it was hard to get the ensemble together again”, she explains.

The Kazenoko wages vary depending on the city in which you are based. Kazenoko have companies in Hokkaido, Tokyo, Kansai, Tohoku, Chushikou and Kyushu, while all share the same mission, each are incorporated as separate organizations, with varying company structures and their own ensembles and bodies of work. All together there are 128 Kazenoko staff (actors and administrators).

Kazenoko Kyushu has 23 staff, 14 of which are actors. Actor and Administrators working for Kazenoko Kyushu earn only 11 9000 Yen a month (928 AUS dollars) when they start out and each year this amount increases a little and the top wage is about 22 3000 Yen (1 739 AUS dollars). “It is not a lot of money”, says company President Kariya-san. “It is only about half of the annual wage in Japan” he explains.

And to give you an idea of how far this goes, the average monthly rent for a small apartment in Fukuoka is between 35000 and 40000 Yen ($273- $312) per month . So it is not great, but you can afford to pay the bills and eat, furthermore income tax in Japan is very low (about 1.5% for a low income earner). The wage seems to suit young actors okay but doesn’t seem to costs for the actors with families to care for. Hence one of Kazenoko’s main challenges of late is finding a way to hang on to their male actors beyond the age of about thirty.

Working on an annual wage means that the Kazenoko actors are required to carry out administrative tasks, workshops in schools and other jobs relating to the day to day running of the theatre company when not in rehearsals or on tour, hence increasing the efficiency of the company and cutting back on administrative costs.

So how does Kazenoko Kyushu survive? Unlike in Australia, there is no operational funding in Japan for theatre companies and so Kazenoko Kyushu constantly apply for project funding. In a good year their total takings in grants is about 1500 0000 Yen (117 000 AUS dollars). But in years when they are not so successful in their funding applications, theatre companies in Japan resort to taking out bank loans.

Needless to say both the company and the actors are doing it tough but there is a lot to be said for the security that an annual wage provides and the freedom it gives the company to continually tour its body of work locally, nationally and internationally.

The reality in Australia is that performers are very well represented by the Media and Entertainment Arts Alliance and as a result, when we are contracted for work, we are well paid and under good conditions (in comparison to Japanese performers). However, Australian performers and theatre makers always face hard times when in between contracts.

The Australian population is small, we need to find a new audience and this means that following local seasons it is integral to tour this work interstate and overseas. And small ensembles that can develop, produce and perform their work are in the best position to do this but they need more support. I hope that in the future, funding bodies in Australia and larger theatre companies and festivals will make it a priority to invest more in small ensembles of multi-skilled performers who can work onstage and behind the scenes on an annual wage (as recommended by MEAA). This may mean some radical re-structuring and re-allocation on funds but if we want to be realistic about creating a more sustainable future for theatre companies and performers, surely we should be investing in the most efficient models?

Peekaboo

2009-08-02T02:03:00.000-07:00

It is summer holidays in Japan and there are festivals everywhere you go. Japan loves it’s festivals and they take on many shapes and sizes. Each town has its traditional ‘Matsuri’ (Festival) which generally involves the men in the town gathering to cry ‘Washoi! Washoi!’ as they carry large decorated floats through the town wearing nothing but loincloths to the local Shinto shrine. Then there are the fireworks festivals, these take place during the summer and young and old gather by riverbanks to delight in these brilliant displays, wearing ‘ukatas’ (summer kimonos) and waving ‘uchiwas’ (fans). There are all kinds of festivals: rock festivals, beach festivals, full moon festivals and of particular interest to me this visit, children’s festivals.

I have travelled to Tokyo with the Kazenoko Kyushu for a performance of their acclaimed work for zero to three year olds, Peekaboo which is being performed at a Summer Children's Festival at the Town Hall in Shibuya. The show was first created in 1985 when Kazenoko director, Ken Nakajima had just started a family of his own. With a baby and a toddler at home, he was inspired to create a show for this age group; something no one in Japan had ever done before. He told the three young actors to create an intimate show for a small audience, “This is a special show for Kazenoko- it is a true investment in this age group so I don’t mind if it makes a loss”, he said to his cast.

And it is indeed intimate. The audience sit on the floor in the round and I look across the circular playing space at the mothers and fathers nursing their small children. The atmosphere is calm but not without occasional cries, screams and toddlers who feel suddenly inspired to run across the stage. The show begins with song. Jiro, Hiroko and Saki, who are the Peekaboo ensemble, have beautiful voices and sing in sweet harmonies. All three also happen to be very cute and petite. I tell them later in the post show feedback session that I want to take them home to Australia with me…which would be easy because they would probably all fit in my 60L backpack.

The actors start by singing a sweet peekaboo song and interact gently with children in the front couple of rows leaning in close and singing ‘peekaboo!’. We learn early on when a little baby gets a fright and starts to cry that this is okay too- the actors are not unnerved, they nod in understanding and it is part of the experience. The actors play Japanese versions of “Row- row row the Boat”, holding the hands of the children, they play “Drop the hankie” and then the handkerchiefs become birds and they flutter through the audience and land on the shoulders and heads of the children. It is very interactive.

The whole experience is linked beautifully with song and half way through the show, each of the actors produce an instrument (a guitar, a violin and a cello) and as the room fills with the rich sound of the strings, everyone starts swaying. The children love the music and it soothes any cries.

The show climaxes with a story about ‘Ojisan’s Doubutsu’ (Grandpa’s Animals). Jiro-san plays the Grandpa and sits on a clever swivelling stool in centre stage and is visited by a chicken, a mouse, a lion and an octopus (all expertly physicalised by Saki and Hiroko and each unique and comic). It is a simple little story and holds the attention of the audience right through to its conclusion.

As with the other Kazenoko shows that I have seen for toddlers up, the story telling is only a small part of the show. Instead, the various forms of play and games leading up to the story occupy the bulk of the performance.

After the show I talk with the director, Ken Nakajima and he explains that apart from Jiro-san, the actors have changed many times since the first season. And as the members change, so too does the show, little by little. He explains that ‘Peekaboo’ is a very important playground for Kazenoko Kyushu actors to discover whether or not they can play with and for children. It requires great honesty, an ability to be in the moment and great sensitivity to the audience and the wide variety of reactions one experiences when performing for babies and toddlers.

Cut and paste the following link for a Peekaboo at Peekaboo!

http://www.kazenoko-kyushu.or.jp/sakuhin/peekaboo/top.htm

A Conversation with Mark Radvan

2009-07-30T23:30:00.000-07:00

Mark Radvan is Imaginary Theatre’s Founding Artistic Director. He is lecturer in Performance Studies and a Theatre Director at Queensland University of Technology, lecturing in Acting and Directing, a position he has held since 1984. He is former Artistic Director of QPAC’s ‘Out of the Box Festival for 3-8 year Olds’ where he lead two festivals in 2006 and 2008.

On Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 2:54 PM, Mark Radvan wrote:

Hi Liz,

I’m very interested to know how Kazenoko positions children as ‘readers’ of performance – what assumptions they make about how children understand and interpret what the performers are doing, and how as makers they verify that understanding of children’s reception.

Also keen to know what aesthetic paradigms they mainly operate in?

Cheers
Mark

On 14/07/09 9:55 PM, "Liz Skitch" wrote:

Hi Mark,

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. The Kazenoko Philosophy is beautiful.
This is their mission statement:

Children have free, imaginative and creative spirits. We, members of Kazenoko Theatre Company, aspire to create and produce theatrical programs which give inspiration and encouragement to children so that they will find life interesting and exciting. We want our programs to make them happy and feel positive about dealing with life.
We do not intend to present children a simplified version of adult theatre. Our approach is not based on the theory and style of sophisticated adult theatre. We recognise that children think, feel and express in their own ways. They have their own unique minds and point of views. Therefore we adopt their ways into our works. We follow their growing steps and try to integrate them into our creative process, so that our works will reflect their energy and joy. We believe that creative ability of young people is rooted in their sense of play, so we try to create theatre in which their creative sense of play is nurtured and enhanced.
We want to think together with children how to live a good life. With children we want to find out how to live in harmony with others. We would like to think that wars and violence are not the ways to achieve happiness. It is not easy to find the best solution to achieve a good life and ideal society but children are in the best position to think about it because they have no past to be bound firmly.
The members of Kazenoko Theatre Company wish to devote their energy and creative resources continuously to offer theatrical programs of high artistic and educational qualities to children and young people of the world.

Based on their work for 3-6 year olds I have seen so far they take the children step by step into the story through a series of games and comic routines (no fourth wall). Some of these games are familiar to us, others are traditional Japanese and some are made up by the actors. They games melt into story telling and all is linked by song and music. Their designs (set, music and use of space) are very original and sophisticated. The stories are told through image drama, often making extraordinary things out of found objects.

Their pieces for primary schoolers dive into the story a lot earlier but still take the time to establish a sense of play, a strong relationship between performers and performers and audience and to unpack how the set and visual effects are created (often the set is put together/ pulled apart as part of the show). Not sure if my favorite so far is Kyushu Kazenoko's "Nan-de Man" (a very contemporary story with a comic book feel about a little boy who always asks "Nan-de"- Why?) or Tokyo Kazenoko's "Nanka Youkai" (about an old Japanese Grandma and a little ghost- this has a more traditional Japanese feel). Both are very different to each other and are by the same director Ken Nakajima, who created "Toppinshan" (which was programmed as part of the 2000 “Out of the Box Festival”). Once again the visual effects and sound designs are stunning. Their shows are packed with humor and are very original.

In terms of measuring how children receive their shows, they carry out test showings for children post creative developments and then head back into the rehearsal room to make changes based on the responses. But because their works exist in repertoire for years (some up to 20), they are constantly improving them based on audience response. Also, they are very connected with the schools and have a very unique organisation here "Kodomo Gekijou" (The Children's Theatre Company) which is mad up mostly of mothers who are passionate about children's well being and children's theatre. They organise lots of performance opportunities through gathering the wider community together and contacting the theatre companies (in effect, they have become producers). But they have also started to become an important sounding board for Kazenoko Kyushu in the development of new works and feel a sense of ownership.

Signing off,
Liz Skitch

On Wed, Jul 15, 2009 at 9:11 AM, Mark Radvan wrote:

Hi Liz

Love all that and relate to it very strongly. We (at Imaginary) have been working on the premise of beginning each Tashi story in the world of the familiar for exactly the same reasons – to build the relationship with the audience and to ‘train’ the audience into the performance conventions we are using. Then we take them through the ‘portal’ into the world of the imaginary, the story proper, where they will be taken into places that can be funny one moment and dark and threatening the next. But because we have built that sense of trust and because we have reassured them from the start that this is ‘pretending’ not ‘real’ they are ready for a journey that is full spectrum. And underlying everything is the sense that this is a celebration of storytelling and therefore of the transformative power of the imagination, which answers the question of ‘why’ we are doing it.

This season has been the first with two new cast members – Bernadette Pryde and Kevin Spink – and because they are both ‘actors’ as well as performers we have been able to start exploring character in much greater detail and the emotional integrity and insight that comes with that. But it is a long journey. We are such a slot machine culture that we have little patience with organic processes. This is Year 6 of the Tashi Project and each year we investigate another layer and found ourselves needing another level of training and preparation. But it is starting to pay off – we sold 95% this season in the Visy (over 3500 tickets) - and in October we will be in two festivals – Brisbane Festival and then Sydney Children’s Festival.

The Mothers thing – so interesting – that’s what happens in South Korea too – the Mothers Club is immensely powerful and no children’s theatre company can afford not to pay attention to them as a major buying force and influence.

Cheers
Mark

On 16/07/09 11:35 AM, "Liz Skitch" wrote:

Hi Mark,

Beautiful hearing about the philosophy of Imaginary. It is good for me to see it articulated so clearly:

First a relationship is built between audience and performers.
Then the audience is taken through a portal into the world of the imaginary.
Yes- and because the trust has been built, and it has been set up as a 'play' and the audience know that visual effects are created by the actors, it is okay to for things to get a bit scary.

And the reason for doing it: the transformative power of the imagination. And I think that the imaginations is ignited (for children) through games various forms of play.

Sayonara,
Liz Skitch

On Thu, Jul 16, 2009 at 9:11 AM, Mark Radvan wrote:

Hi Liz

Re scary – I think the point to make here is that theatre for children can be a full spectrum dramatic experience (including high tension bits) if the trust has been built and the audience understands the dramatic conventions. I read an evaluation by Patch Theatre (Adelaide) of one of their works and the comment was made of one scene that the children got scared/worried in the argument/fight scene because some of them thought it was the adults themselves fighting rather than the characters. So the children hadn’t fully understood the dramatic convention of ‘pretending’.

I can identify with that – the very first time I saw television (I had never even seen a film – we were living in South America at the time) I was already 5 years old – it was The Lone Ranger (cowboy drama series) and I had no idea it was ‘acting’ - I fully assumed it was real and reacted as if people really were fighting and really being shot. It was quite traumatic. An adult tried to explain to me that it was acting, but I still didn’t understand that the violence was fictional. I though they must use criminals for the people who got hit or shot and that was part of their punishment! (I also couldn’t understand where people went to when they walked out of screen, or how you could be indoors one moment and riding on a horse the next. Of course these days by the time a child comes to the theatre they are very used to this jumpcut way of telling a story.)

I am working at the moment on a theory that children come to the theatre with certain dramaturgical conventions already in their heads. If for example they have had a lot of picture books and stories read to them they understand how words can then be expanded on in a picture. We can use this convention. Similarly they hear the dramaturgical ‘turning points’ of literary narrative – eg Just then..., or, and that’s the end of the story. So we can incorporate those. And so on. The exciting thing is that these often turn out to be the hidden rules of adult theatre, so the research we do leads us to findings that apply to all theatre.

Keep well and keep writing!
Mark

Powerful and Playful

2009-07-27T06:42:00.001-07:00

Nan Nan Nan- de Man

I have just returned from touring with ‘Nan- de- Man’ to Nagasaki and to an island known as Gota (about 2 hours on the ferry from Nagasaki) and the tour was and experience parallel with the play, which is best described as powerful and playful.

Once again (just as on my the tour last week to Kagoshima with ‘Furato Burato’) I was very impressed by the ‘Kodomo Gekijou’ (Children’s Theatre Company) which is an NPO largely run by mothers who are responsible for producing the Nagasaki season, in collaboration with Kazenoko Kyushu. As well as producing the season (getting funding, advertising, hiring the venue and selling the tickets) the mothers of ‘Kodomo Gekijou’ and their children are thoroughly present at the event, both receiving a special pre-show brief with the artists and conducting a formal post show brief over ‘Udonsha’ (cold tea) and ‘Okashi’ (sweets). It is a very strong relationship, fuelled by a mutual passion for the well being of children and a great love of children’s theatre. Sitting in a local 'Izakaya' (bar) after the show that night with the Mothers and the cast I thought to myself, "Would actors in Australia do this? Would they go above and beyond their role as actors and give their time and energy post show and late into the night to a group of middle aged women?"

Also on the tour is Asano-san, who co-created and directed ‘Furato Burato’. She was so humble that I did not find out that she was the writer of ‘Nan-de Man’ till half way into the tour when inquired into how it was devised. “I wrote it”, she kind of confessed. And I then confess “Well, I just became your number one fan". She has just taken a gulp of beer and sprays it across the table with laughter. From there I asked about her influences and it was no surprise that she was brought up on a healthy diet of comedy shows on Japanese TV. Her influences include shows such as ‘The Drifters’ who are probably best described as the Japanese equivalent to ‘The Goodies’.

And now for a description on ‘Nan Nan Nan- de Man’:

The three performers burst onto the stage singing “Nan-de, Nan-de, Nan- de, Nan-de man!” and in the song, they introduce the roles they will be playing today through fun plays on words and actions. We meet ‘Otoosan’ (Father), ‘Oniichan’ (Brother) and ‘Nan-de Man’, a five year old boy who considers himself a superhero and has the comic book style moves and poses to prove it! The name Nan-de Man has been awarded to the little boy by Otoosan because the he is ALWAYS asking ‘Nan-de?’ (Why). The 5-year old boy is performed very energetically by Inoue Mari-san, a thirty something year old female performer who is incredibly convincing and likeable. Nan-de Man’s likeability lies in his fallibility, declaring that he will kill all the monsters and save the world in one breath and “Kedo, mazu Oshiko o shitai” (but first I need to do a wee) in the next. The cast of three are each very funny; displaying perfect comic timing, brilliant slapstick skills and the ability to play a myriad of original and hilarious characters.

Nan-de man falls asleep and goes on an adventure to a strange land full of strange characters. But this is a strange land with a difference, in this land it is forbidden to ask “Nande?” (Why?). If you do, a big scary monster comes and eats you up! After witnessing a couple of his new friends being gobbled by the monster, Nan-de Man loses faith in himself and even stops asking “Nande?”. But the play comes with an important message; Never be too scared to ask why.

In the end Nan-de Man conquers the monster and his work in this strange land is done. He will return home victoriously, but first, he must do a wee; this was the climax of the play for me. Nan-de Man yells ‘Kimochi ii!!!!’ (It feels so good!) as he relieves himself at the same time as the set transforming around him and the hall filling with heavenly music. He is transported back into his bed, on a wet mattress.

After the show, we sit in a circle with the ‘Kodomo Gekijou’ members and one by one we listen to each other’s feedback: “It was powerful”, “It was so simple but I felt so inspired”, “I am not sure who loved it the most- the children or the grown ups!”

It is my turn and I say the same thing I said last year when I saw the show in Tokyo for the first time. “I laughed so much that I wet my pants too!”

Asano-san laughs mid way through a gulp of Udon-cha and sprays it across the room, the mothers are all giggle and race to mop up the mess and Nan-de Man gives me a high five.

Japanese Comedians- Crazy or Genious?

2009-07-26T02:33:00.000-07:00

The Method Behind the Madness

It is 9am and already sweltering hot. I frantically grab random objects from my small apartment: a frypan, a hat, a scarf, a soup spoon and a boomerang (just happened to have one in my backpack) in preparation for today’s clowning workshop with the Kazenoko Company Actors. I am usually very comfortable these days in the role of clown master and have conducted hundreds of workshops with a wide variety of people since studying clown with Philippe Gaulier (French Clown Master) at his school in 2000/ 01, however, today I am a little nervous because I will be running the workshop in Japanese.

Prior to the workshop I have studied up on essential new vocab such as ‘Dokeshi’ (clown), ‘Mujaki’ (Innocent), ‘Kurikaishi’ (Routine), ‘Kusuguru’ (Tease out the laugh), ‘Kiwadori’ (Hit and miss) and ‘Ochi o toru’ (Punchline) but more than not being understood, I am worried that I might be teaching the actors things they already know. The Japanese have a natural comic ability, largely because they are a country that has a long comic tradition and still greatly respect and celebrate their comedians.

`Manzai’ (Comedy Duos) are the most popular form of comedy in Japan these days, unlike Australia/ America where the Stand Up Comedian is king. These comic duos do everything from ‘mono- mane’ (Imitations), to `kanto` (improvisations) to sketch comedy. Successful comedians in Japan can become big stars and go on to build careers not only as TV personalities but also as serious actors in TV series and films. But ‘Manazai’ has not always been popular in Japan. In fact when it was first introduced in the 1920s, audiences hated it. Up until that time, audiences had only seen ‘Rakugo’, which is the traditional form of comic story telling. ‘Rakugo’ is performed solo, in old style dialect, wearing traditional dress and sitting down and is still very popular in Japan today. Hanabishi Achako- san was the first ‘Rakugo’ artists to try standing and delivering his routine at the Yoshimoto Theatre in Osaka but apparently, the audiences didn’t like it at first. Then the more radical ‘Rakygo’ artists decided to try it in pairs but the stories were long winded and it still didn’t work. And finally, they tried adjusting the content to make the subject matter more accessible (marriage, food, drinking, children etc) and delivered each subject in bite -sized chunks before hitting the punch line and moving on to the next topic. Very much like stand up comedy, only delivered in pairs and evolved completely separately.

Switch on the television in Japan and to the untrained eye it looks like a bunch of people doing crazy things, laughing at each other and throwing themselves around. In actual fact there are a wide variety of comic formulas at play that are key to clowning. For example, if your friend attempts a gag, it is your job to laugh (either with or at your friend…what ever you honestly feel at the time). If the gag falls flat, acknowledge the fact that it bombed. Or as Philippe Gaulier would say “Ahhhhh! Someone is here- someone is with you! It is your old friend, Mr Flop. Play with him.” And other clowning essentials such as if you do something that gets a laugh, do it again, and again until it doesn’t work; then remember it for later and bring it back to save the show!

The Kazenoko rehearsal space is a little out of town so we all meet at the office in down town Fukuoka and pile into the touring vans. We arrive and enter the space, my curious eyes scan the organised chaos of every spare inch of wall from floor to ceiling. I spy set, prop and costume items from the various shows ‘Furato Burato’, ‘Nande Man’ and ‘Toppinshan’. The actors have already changed into rehearsal clothes and are stretching. I join in and discover that this bunch like a thorough warm up.

The highlight of the warm up was getting them to do tongue twisters in English. Next time you meet a Japanese friend, get them to teach you one of their ‘Hayaguchis’ and you can teach them yours. I recommend “Red Leather, Yellow Leather”- You’ll have each other in stitches in no time.

Then I introduced the group to ‘Simon Says’. Anyone who has played this with Gaulier, or a student of his school will know that it is no ordinary game of Simon Says and at the end of the game everyone must add up their mistakes and decide if they want hits, kisses or ‘nothings’ for their mistakes. The hits are issued unforgivingly on the head (by the clown master) and the kisses are negotiated with fellow group members, but if someone says ‘no’ to giving you a kiss, you will be issued hits instead. It is a very funny game and goes a long way to breaking the ice and establishing relationships between fellow performers. Interestingly enough, most of the Japanese actors opted for kisses, which is surprising in a society where a kiss or a hug is rarely exchanged between friends…as opposed to in Europe.

Warmed up and ready to go, I issue the group with red noses and we move into a series of clown training exercises drawing from Philippe Gaulier and another director that I trained with in England, John Wright.

Highlights included Tamaki and Jiro-san’s very funny routine with a boomerang (the clowns have no idea what a boomerang is and end up using it as a back scratcher) and Jun, Yuji and Daichi trying to convince the audience they are identical triplets (when they look nothing alike).

It was a great chance to share skills with the Kazenoko performers and confirmed my belief that the Japanese are gifted comedians.

Mothering Children's Theatre

2009-07-15T19:15:00.000-07:00

On the weekend I found myself at a very unique gathering in Kagoshima, Japan. It was a gathering of Mothers, belonging to an association known as the Kodomo Gekijou (The Children’s Theatre), who had assembled for their annual meeting to discuss their progress in helping children to lead happy lives through providing access to workshops, theatre shows and other interactive artistic experiences.

The thing that all these mothers have in common is a passion for children’s theatre and particularly for companies like Kazenoko that have been around since they were children themselves. Every year they invite theatre companies that have a long history of creating theatre for children to their conference, keen to connect and get their input. This year Douke Gekidan (specialising in political theatre for high schoolers) from North Kyushu, Ningyo Gekidan from Osaka and Musubi Gekidan from Nagoya (both specialising in puppetry) were among the companies present. It was a great opportunity for me to meet artists from other companies in Japan making theatre for children but also to get to understand the unique power of the Kodomo Gekijou in Kyushu.

Kodomo Gekijou, once operating as a very small, grass roots organisation, accessing an audience in the community that the theatre companies would not normally have had access have recently grown into an organisation that acts as a producer, taking a fee to organise performance opportunities. Whilst in some parts of Kyushu, some performances could not take place without them, in other parts of the island, they are acting as a middleman, and costing the theatre companies 5% of profits. The theatre companies are hoping that Kodomo Gekijou will start looking to attract corporate sponsorship to subsidise these performances, particularly those that are for smaller audiences. Needless to say, the dialogue between the theatre companies and the Kodomo Gekijou is open and therefore, they have a healthy relationship that will sustain into the future. It was a very fruitful conference for this reason.

It made me reflect on the touring mechanisms in place in Australia and there is no doubt, we do not have anything as grass roots as Kodomo Gekijou.

On the Sunday evening, I was witness to an extraordinary performance of Furato Burato (The Kazenoko Kyushu Two- Hander, that has been in repertoire for 4 years). It was the show’s final performance, produced by Kazenoko Kyushu in association with Kokomo Gekijou at a community hall. Final because the actors that created it with director, Asano-san, both have to leave the show for different reasons: Kibo-san (father of 3 under the age of 5) is changing profession and Kariya-san is taking on the management role of Kazenoko Kyushu President.

The mothers of Kodomo Gekijou in Kagoshima were instrumental in the development of the piece; providing feedback for the new work following each tour to Kagoshima and developed a very strong relationship with the piece. By the end of the performance, many of the mothers were in tears. That night, feeling like a bit of an intruder (but made to feel VERY welcome), I attended a party held at a local Izakaya (bar) hosted by the Kodomo Gekihou for the Furato Burato creative team. It was a beautiful night, and one by one, everyone spoke passionately about the show; expressing their initial doubts, their gradual satisfaction with the development of the piece and finally, their great sorrow that it is all over, and that they will not see the actors that they have become so familiar with on stage anymore.

To say the very least, anyone thinking that Japanese women are short on opinions, would change their minds after listening to the speeches made that night. Most left at the reasonable hour of midnight, some carrying sleeping children home on their shoulders. But it was a special night for the creative team, which went on into the small hours, aided by Karakoe and fuelled by a cheap Nomihodai (all you can drink).

A Japanese Comedy with European Flavour

2009-07-15T04:40:00.000-07:00

Today I am travelling to Oshima with Kazenoko Kyushu for a very special performance of a show called Furato Burato. It is a two -hander which has been in repertoire for four years, devised and performed by Kariya-san and Kibo-san and devised and directed by Asano-san. The show today is a very special one because Oshima, inspite of its name which means, Big Island, is actually a very small island with tiny primary school that only has four students. The set is loaded onto a small boat and we are thankful for the good weather and calm seas as we travel across to the island. While the actors set up in the school gym, I walk around the island and see the small village which is made up of about forty houses. Apparently there is a population of 220 on the island...`So where are all the people?` I wonder.. `And why are only four of them school children?`.

At about ten minutes before one o`clock, when the show is set to begin, my questions are answered. Very elderly people start to trickle into the hall. In spite of the fact that one old lady is almost bent over double, she giggles and dances with her fan like a school girl. She even flirts with the actors- there must be something good in the water on this island. The oldies take their seats and next the young mothers start to arrive, all seem to have two or three children in tow, all under the age of four. Everyone knows everyone. I watch the `show` as I sit on the tatami mat, waiting for the theatre `show` to commence. And last but not least, we are joined by the four school children and their teachers.

It begins! Made for Children aged 2, 3 and 4, the show appeals to the young and old. Kariya- san plays Furato who arrives and sets up to do his ‘show’ (which consists of a series of bad magic tricks) and is soon interrupted by Burato, played by Kibo-san, who wants to do his show in the same space. And so the competition for audience attention begins. It is a classic straight man funny man clown show, but very original at the same time. It is a series of games/ routines ranging from making shapes out of plastic ‘kasa’ (umbrella) bags to creating tunes using a variety of saucepans and ping pong balls. The status of the two clowns tosses and turns and finds a natural harmony culminating in the telling of a story about a young snail that is too scared to go outside his shell and one day is forced to and gets lost and has to face his biggest fear, in the shape of a huge snail eating grasshopper! The story is told using mask and puppetry all made from origami- very Japanese and very colourful. Kazenoko are masters of image theatre.

The entire show is beautifully linked by music composed by the prolific Magario- san, who has composed for a number of Kazenoko Kyushu and Tokyo shows. The music gives the show a European 30s/ 40s street theatre feel. Pre-recorded, it emerges magically from Furato’s Cart, often with the actors singing along.

The set is packed up, just as it was set up- as part of the show, the show has run for an hour and the children have not lost focus once.

Cultural Exchange between Japan and Korea

2009-07-15T04:01:00.000-07:00

Image from Saadari Theatre's "The Day His Watch Stopped"

I find myself hanging out in the Kitchen again today and as I read over the Kijimuna Program, different company members come and go. All stop and have a chat which is nice. It seems that Kazenoko Kyushu have a little more time than Kazenoko in Tokyo (where I spent some time last year and will be returning to soon). Maybe they take things a little slower because it is so hot and sticky down here. Kazenoko Kyushu also conducts a workshop program and this afternoon, a group of four actors meet to head out for the finale of a 12 week workshop program which has been conducted with a small high school made up of 30 students. Once all have arrived, they pile into the Kazenoko van and disappear down the narrow street.

Meanwhile, I am joined by Tamaki-san who works as an actor for Kazenoko Kyushu but today is working in the office. The Kazenoko actors are on a salary so when they are not in shows, they carry out other roles within the company. I ask Tamaki about her experience performing in Mannan (The First Meeting) with Bo- Gyung`s company, Saadari in Korea. (Bo- Gyung from Saadari, is currently working with Kazenoko Kyushu on the up and coming co-production of her company’s The Day the Watch Stopped) She takes her time to explain her experience. This was the first collaboration with Saadari Theatre Company which took place in 2002. Since then Kazenoko Kyushu shows have been produced by Saadari and visa versa. It seems that this initial collaboration was instrumental in forming a strong working relationship between the two companies.

Incidentally, Fukuoka is closer to Soel, where Saadari are based, than Tokyo, which also gives reason for this healthy cultural exchange.

The development of the piece took place in Soul at Saadari, where the six actors (half from Kazenoko Kyushu and half from Saadari) worked with Japanese director, Ken Nakajima and Korean director Yuu Bonyon to create the show based on the theme of the first time people from different places meet. A very honest place to start which, from all accounts, created a very powerful and playful new piece of theatre. Tamaki said that the process of making a show on the floor in a supportive environment where you could try anything, was a very satisfying expereince for her as an actor.

I suggested that her role was more of actor/ devisor and she agreed...although there doesn`t seem to be a word for `devisor` yet in Japanese. Which is surprising, because many of the works that Kazenoko Kyushu and Kazenoko Tokyo create, do not involve a playwright, but are created by the actors on the floor with a director. This is devising and in Austraila, actors and directors are given devising credits when carrying out this important role. However, we have not yet boosted the pay of actors or directors who carry out devising roles, which might be something to discuss with our union, Media Entertainment Arts Alliance, in the future.

Mannan had its premier production in Korea in 2002 and then went on to be performed in Japan and then again in Korea in 2006. Since then, Saadari has produced Kazenoko Kyushu`s work in Korea (including Nikori Bokariza and Furato Burato) and this year, Kazenoko Kyushu is co-producing Saadari`s The Day the Watch Stopped.

Another Day at the Office

2009-07-13T16:46:00.000-07:00

It is another day at the Kazenoko office. The producers are at their desks in one room, busily working away (an operation which is expertly conducted by the Mother Theresa like Suehiro-san). A bunch of the younger Kazenoko actors are in the rehersal/ meeting room (where we had the party the other night) carrying out a mega mail out ... there is something comforting about the fact that no matter how much technology progresses, the best way to conduct a mail out no matter where you are in the world is with a chain of people folding, stuffing and stamping.

I have come to meet Asano-san to discuss my schedule and find her at the kitchen sink, having a cigarette. It turns out the schedule that she has prepared for me involves a lot of travel. I will be following various Kazenoko Kyushu plays around the island, first of all travelling with Furato Burato to Oshima and Kagoshima. Then I will return to Fukuoka (where Kazenoko Kyushu are based) to conduct a clowning workshop for the company members (feeling a bit daunted about running whe workshop in Japanese but I am sure we will get by... it is clown afterall!). And following this I will travel to Nagasaki with Nan Nan Nande Man and then head up to Tokyo with the company where I will get to see Peekaboo as well as The Day His Watch Stopped (to be presented by visiting Korean Theatre Company, Sadari).

While Asano and I have our very casual meeting, various company members come and go (we are in the kitchen, after all). Suehiro comes in at about lunch time and asks it I have eaten `mada desu` (not yet) I say and she offers me an `Obentoo` (lunch box) she has prepared for me; I cannot refuse. We are joined by young producers Igarashi-san and Mei-san as well as accountant Emi-san. Everyone opens their Obentos and as we eat we chat about non theatre things. It feels like lunch time at the deBASE office back in Brisbane.

After lunch I am joined by Hayashi-san who has brought the Kijimuna Festival Program with him. This is the International Children`s Theatre Festival that I will be attending in Okinawa from 1- 10th August. Hayashi-san will also be attending the Festival and is keen to help me select the shows that I plan to see before they book out. The only problem is the program is in Japanese and it is hard to understand (whilst I can speak the language, reading is a whole other world of difficulty because of Kanji). Hayashi-san, who speaks Englsih and seems to work unofficially as the international relations manager for the company, attending festivals all over the world, tells me he will phone the festival and ask for a program in English.

The next　day when I arrive at the Kazenoko office, there is a progam for the festival, translated into English waiting for me on the kitchen table. I ask, `Is it from the festival?` and Sue-hiro san says `Chigau, Kore ha, Hayashi - san ga Tsukutta Program` (No this is one that Hayashi- san made for you). It seems that after I left the office yesterday, Hayashi-san spent the afternoon, translating the program for me.

Somehow, I don`t think a stuffed kangaroo made in China will be the right present for Hayashi-san, I might need to look deeper into my backpack of treasures to find a way to thank him.

One Big Family

2009-07-07T07:42:00.000-07:00

I have only just arrived in Fukuoka and already the hospitality shown to me by Kazenoko Theatre Company is overwhelming. This is approximately (I have lost count) my seventh trip to Japan so you would think that I would be getting used to the way that the Japanese go out of their way for Western guests, however, it never ceases to amaze me. Maybe this is because they always underplay the special things that they do for you, so when they happen they are a great surprise.

Asano-san, meets me at the airport on Sunday night and informs me on the drive back into town that the following few weeks would be a ‘hardo scheduru’. By the way, many English words such as these have made their way into the Japanese language…which makes life a little easier when you are lost for vocab…simply say the English word in a Japanese accent and you have about 50% more chance of being understood. My 'Hardo Scheduru' will include travelling with Kazenoko's shows to Kagoshima, Nagasaki, and a small island, ironically called 'Oshima' (Big Island).

As Asano-san helps me with my luggage into the apartment block , she says ‘Ashita yukuri yasunde kudasai’- please rest slowly tomorrow. She then adds, in Japanese, “And then come to the Kazenoko office at 5pm for a small meeting with the members.” I thank her for greeting me and we say 'Oyasuminasai' (goodnight).

After a day of soaking up Japanese TV convincing myself that it as effective as studying my textbook, I make my way to the Kazenoko office, carefully following the directions that Asano-san gave me. It is an easy twenty- minute walk from my apartment through a really fun part of town- many funky shops, fresh fruit stalls, 'Izakayas' (bars) and resturaunts. Just as I think I am almost there, I realise I am totally lost, but thankfully and kind of magically, Asano-san appears from nowhere on her bicycle to rescue me.

She shows me to the office which, as it turns out, is a big old house (same as Kazenoko in Tokyo). The offices are down stairs, with a small rehearsal room and I learn later in the night that company actor Jiro's 75 year old mum lives upstairs and another member's 27 yr old son lives in another part of the house. At this stage I started to suspect that maybe Kazenoko is one big family.

I follow Asano-san into the house, taking off my boots and climbing into the slippers she provides. I am relieved to enter the air conditioned office, it is very, very hot and sticky outside, it seems I have arrived just in time for 'Tsuyu' (the wet season). Everyone is still working at their desks and stop to look up at me. Feeling bad that I have interrupted, I bow to the room and say 'Minasan, Hajimemashite!' (Nice to meet you all!). I receive an instant round of applause, and one by one, I am greeted with personal introductions, bows and business cards. How will I remember all these names?!

Then after ten minutes, thinking that I have met everyone, I am shown into the rehearsal room where there is a sign 'Yokoso Rizu Sukichi to Kimu Bokyun -san' (Welcome Liz Skitch and Kimu Bokyun) and big spread of food and drinks. I am greeted by President Kariya-san, who then introduces me to Bokyun -san, who is currently visiting from Korea promoting her show “Tokei Tomatta Hi” (The Day the Watch Stopped) and will soon be joined by the rest of her ensemble, 'Sadari Theatre Company'. I discover that I will get to see “Tokei Tomatta Hi” both in Tokyo and at the Kijimuna Festival in Okinawa. It is a co-production between Sadari Theatre Company and Kazenoko. I look forward to finding out more from Bokyun-san over the coming weeks about her company and the show’s journey from its birth (four years ago) to its current tour of Japan.

The room then fills with the company members (there are 23 at the office today). And once drinks are organised for everyone, we 'Kampai!' (Cheers!). Then one by one, the members introduce themselves. I recognise Hayashi-san, the very friendly older manager who speaks English from the ASSITEJ festival, which we attended in Adelaide in May last year. It turns out that he is married to Suehiro-san, the lovely lady who has been organising my trip (we have exchanged many e-mails over the last few months). Suehiro-san already feels like my 'Okasan' (Mother), inquiring throughout the night about my health and telling me many times to take care not to catch a cold.

I also recognise the cast of “Nande-man”, who I met in Tokyo last year, Mari-san and Koike-san. Mari-san shares the story with the group about how last year after seeing their show that I told the cast that I had laughed so much that I nearly wet myself- it is a bit of an embarrassing story but is greeted with another round of applause. Thank goodness this company has a sense of humour!

Then it is my turn. I harness by best Japanese (now aided by the beer I have been consuming) to tell the group about my company's approach to performing and directing which is inspired by my teacher, Philippe Gaulier. I believe if the actors are having fun on stage then the audience has fun watching the show and that is the most important thing in theatre. I then say that this is why I love the work of Kazenoko- because of the joy in their work (or as Gaulier calls it in French, “Le Jeu”). And finally “I am here to learn as much as possible about how Kazenoko creates plays, how you have sustained as a company for 59 years and how you adapt your work for an international audience."

We 'Kampai' again, this time I suggest a “Cheers Mate” and the night rolls by. Eating, drinking, conversation and LOADS of laughter. We talk theatre, we talk comedy, we talk politics and we even end up improvising and miming eating our favourite foods for each other!

At about 11pm Suehiro-san emerges (she has been working in the office) and in her warm and motherly fashion and suggests it might be time for us all to go home. Like good children, we do as we are told, pack up and say our 'Oyasuminasais (goodnights). This confirms my suspicion, Kazenoko Kyushu really is ONE BIG FAMILY.