The year 2020 was a year in which the whole world came to a standstill due to an unprecedented disaster. With almost all performances canceled, how did people involved in the performing arts industry overcome this crisis?
We spoke with Nakamori Kanta of Kamakura Noh Stage, who is a resident of the world of traditional performing arts but is also pioneering new horizons by actively engaging in things like crowdfunding and Zoom rehearsals.
I understand that the current COVID-19 pandemic has been a difficult time for those involved in traditional performing arts.
As for us, our last performance on March 12th was a complete halt. Having verified the effectiveness of infection prevention measures and formulated prevention guidelines, we were able to use various subsidies and finally resume performances on September 22nd, but this meant that we were completely unable to carry out any activities for about six months. Until the state of emergency was lifted in May, we also suspended rehearsals for our students, so our income was almost zero. It was a really difficult time.
It seems that rather than just enduring that time in silence, you tried a variety of new things.
Since I had plenty of time, I decided to start a YouTube channel. The content mainly focuses on explanations of the stage, Noh masks, and costumes. I hope that this will be an opportunity to spark interest in Noh and motivate people to attend performances or start taking lessons once the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
I've actually had a few people contact me about it, so I've started giving lessons over Zoom. Some people have even contacted me from London. There's a time lag when you're online, so it can be difficult, but I'm still giving lessons to people in London twice a month.
There seem to be some organizations that provide videos of their performances for free, but I feel that this could put me in a difficult position in the future, so I am not doing this for now.
Traditional performing arts and online events seem like a somewhat unexpected combination.
That's not true (laughs). I also participate in online drinking parties, and that's where I get new information and meet new customers. I originally started using Facebook at the recommendation of a friend, and it's been about 10 years now. To be honest, it was a pain at first, and I started reluctantly (laughs), but now I have nearly 5,000 "friends."
This time, we also worked on crowdfunding (CF ).
The opportunity to do a CF came about when we were approached by the Yomiuri Shimbun.
* Click here for the Kamakura Noh Stage commercial !
A journalist I know well saw my plight on Facebook and offered me a lot of support. I received support from many people, including my high school classmates and friends on Facebook. I was so happy I could cry.
Not just in traditional performing arts, but in many other fields as well, there is a belief that "it's uncool to complain," so it's not that I didn't have any doubts about taking on the crowdfunding campaign. But if you're really in trouble, you should be honest and say "please help me." If you don't appeal, your true situation won't be conveyed.
We also ran a crowdfunding campaign for Kamacon , a volunteer group based in Kamakura.
They came up with the idea that "we can support the Kamakura Noh Stage by using its stage and paying a usage fee," and planned the "Machi noh Noh Performing Arts Festival" in August. In addition to traditional performers, a total of 12 groups of performers, including jazz guitarists, piano players, violinists, jugglers, and kamishibai (paper theater), performed, and the performances were streamed on YouTube. This led to an increase in the number of subscribers to the YouTube channel, and we were also able to promote the wide range of uses for the Kamakura Noh Stage, which was a great success.
In the past, Noh and Kyogen were seen as something that only people who understood could watch, but that would mean they would be left behind by the times. If you don't sow the seeds, you won't reap the rewards. In order to sow the seeds, outreach activities such as student appreciation meetings are important, so I am truly grateful that Kanagawa Prefecture and Kamakura City provide support for these activities.
I have the impression that the Kamakura Noh Stage is proactive in trying new things.
At the Kamakura Noh Stage, subtitles in both Japanese and English have been projected onto the side of the stage for some time now. At first, there were many negative opinions, but when we actually tried it, it was well received by the audience. Rather than a full translation of the chants, we focused on simple explanations that could be read easily while watching the performance, which may have been a good idea. We are also already considering changing the lighting to LED (although there are issues to consider, such as the costumes appearing to have different colors), and in the future we would also like to incorporate projection mapping.
*From a performance in November 2018. Image courtesy of Kamakura Noh StageAlthough the COVID-19 pandemic was a major disaster, we have been featured in the media much more often, and our response capabilities have improved. We would like to take this as an opportunity and actively consider acquiring sponsors in the future. Since the sponsor's name is on the stage curtain of the theater, it would be ok to put the sponsor's name next to the pine on the mirror panel (laughs).
I believe that in order for Noh and Kyogen to continue in the future, it is necessary to treasure tradition while also taking on new challenges. I would like to exchange ideas with a wide range of people and create performances that will please our audience.
