This year, 14 people from 5 countries will participate. Witness the progress of the pier workshop!

Go, see, and experience the world of art
File.16 Workshop at the Pier 2019
Miyuki Inoue (Magcal Editorial Department)

This year's pier workshops have started again.
The venue is Wakaba-cho Wharf, an art center that opened in 2017.
The 14 performers gathered came from Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Singapore, Nanjing, Chongqing, Beijing, Hefei, Xi'an, Lijiang, Shanghai, and Tokyo.
The training program is incredibly diverse, with instructors including Shin Sato, the artistic director of Wakaba-cho Wharf, as well as workshops by dancers and Noh performers, lectures by theater critics, and even opportunities to see theatrical productions and tour the facilities.
They spend 20 days here working on their artwork, sharing meals and accommodations.

But before that...
The first challenge participants face is "communication." While English and Chinese interpreters are provided for the workshop, everyone needs to make full use of their time there to understand each other in order to create a single collaborative work. Staying isolated in their rooms won't get the message across. They must use gestures, body language, and even smartphone translation apps to communicate somehow…
On the day I visited the practice studio, a workshop was being held by Mr. Hikaru Uzawa (Kanze-ryu Noh actor/Tessenkai). The theme was "Noh movements." Participants learned the basic forms one by one, such as the unique standing posture and movement (sliding steps).
Noh is sometimes described as the "art of walking," so perhaps learning this basic posture is a way to get closer to the spirit of Noh.
In the training room, the instructor's words are followed by English and Chinese. What's surprising is the sheer volume of words the interpreter uses. Simply replacing the words isn't enough to convey what the instructor is trying to say, so they add supplementary information and alternative expressions, which inevitably leads to a lot of vocabulary. Of course, they also make full use of gestures and body language.
Indeed, interpreting is an art in itself.

Questions from the participants were also being asked in three languages.
Not only are the languages different, but each person's upbringing, environment, and cultural background are also unique, so their insights and feelings are different for each individual. Nevertheless, the participants' questions were precise, and you could feel their eagerness to absorb everything.
Finally, everyone sings a line from "Yang Guifei" together.
Although they were told to "try imitating it aloud even if you don't understand the meaning," the unique intonation seemed to pique the participants' curiosity. When Mr. Uzawa took out his own Noh libretto, everyone peered at it with great interest, and the discussion became heated. The session was so lively that it went over the allotted time.

"Today, my goal was simply to convey the 'forms,' but by the end, there were questions that delved into the theatricality of Noh. I learned a lot of new things, and I enjoyed it. There's only so much you can convey in two hours, so I'd like to have a meal with them and talk things over in more detail," (Mr. Uzawa said).

In stark contrast to the intense rehearsal space, this is a scene from lunchtime in the shared lounge. We spoke to Takayuki Terakoshi (an actor participating in the event), who was preparing lunch.

"I've participated in workshops with foreign directors before, but this is the first time I've felt such a strong sense of being in a foreign country. It was so difficult to communicate that it was a bit overwhelming for the first two days or so (laughs). But there's no doubt that everyone involved has a lot of experience. We'll be combining everyone's individuality to create a single work, so it's going to be interesting."
In a corner of the lounge, there was a pile of "souvenirs" brought from various regions. Perhaps passionate discussions about theater take place here night after night. I tried to imagine the diverse languages spoken there as I looked at the candy packaging.

In the afternoon, there will be a dance workshop led by Keiko Takeya (dancer).
Training that moves every joint and muscle in the body is essential for performers. The sense to sense each other's presence and construct space is also indispensable for creating artwork.

The workshop will continue. What kind of works will emerge from collaborative creation that transcends the boundaries of language, customs, generations, genres, tradition, and modernity?

I want to find the answer on the stage, where the curtain will soon rise.

This event has ended.
Wharf Workshop 2019 [People Who Came]
■Date and time: August 2, 2019 (Fri) 19:00 / 3rd (Sat) and 4th (Sun) 14:00
■Venue: Wakaba-cho Wharf
■Ticket prices: Advance tickets 3,500 yen / Same-day tickets 4,000 yen
■Inquiries: 045-315-6025 (Wakaba-cho Wharf)