Don't let COVID-19 get you down! "Baito Show -Final-" was held with thorough infection prevention measures in place.

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File.31 Magcal Performing Arts Academy "Bite Show -Final-"
Miyuki Inoue (Magcal Editorial Department)

Founded in 2014 with the aim of training professionals in performing arts, the Magcal Performing Arts Academy holds its annual summer performances. Starting with "Baito Show YOKOHAMA -Youth Edition-" in 2016 , the academy has steadily improved with each revision, including the International Edition, BEST Edition, and Platinum Edition.

However, we are now facing the COVID-19 pandemic.
What will happen this year?

Overcoming those anxieties, and with all possible infection control measures in place, "Baito Show -Final-" was performed.

The day before the opening night on December 19th (Saturday), we spoke with Kensuke Yokouchi, the general director. We will introduce his comments along with scenes from the dress rehearsal that followed.

This year, things have come to a standstill right from the start in spring.

Up until now, we've welcomed new members in April and held our main performance in August, but this year we couldn't hold spring auditions. We gathered information and took infection control measures, and somehow managed to hold auditions in September, and we received more applications than we expected. It was proof that the academy's activities have become well-known, and we were really happy about that. We had thought that "it can't be helped if some of them are amateurs" considering that we were planning to hold our main performance in December, but there were some people who had the ability to immediately contribute as valuable members of the team, so we hired about 18 people this year.
Actually, I did consider "taking a break." But then I realized that for those young people, stopping for six months is "unthinkable."

When will the academy's lessons resume?

In-person lessons resumed in August, but in May, when going out was restricted, we conducted lectures remotely. We streamed a 10-part "Theater Lecture" series covering topics such as Stanislavski's theatrical theory, Nakamura Nakazō (who was called the god of theater), and Shakespeare's plays.

For example, what does "reality" mean in theater? I thought I had conveyed this from time to time, but I think this was a good opportunity to learn about it theoretically. This was a challenge for us as well. We were worried about how much we could accomplish with remote classes, but I think we were able to discuss even difficult topics without holding back.
At a time when everyone was feeling anxious because the future was uncertain, the lesson also served as a powerful message of "Don't stagnate!", so I think it was a very impactful class.

I heard that everyone wore masks during rehearsals for this performance.

That's right. Today (the day of the dress rehearsal) was the first time the members took off their masks. Singing and dancing with masks on is hard, but more importantly, facial expressions are crucial in acting, so this is a situation that wouldn't normally happen. I'm sure some of the members were surprised to see what kind of expressions they were making while acting. It's truly a challenge, and you could even call it a grand experiment.
We also took care to ensure that the stage wasn't crowded. The performance time was shorter than before, at 1 hour and 45 minutes. We divided the members into two teams, A and B, and reduced the number of dancers in the dance numbers, which previously relied on the power of numbers, so there was no room for error. No one knows what "doing everything we can" really mean. Nevertheless, we pursued the meaning of "doing" it at this time.

This is the fifth year of "Baito Show," and it's finally coming to an end.

Magcal Performing Arts Academy was established with the aim of creating an environment where people in Kanagawa Prefecture can study theater. Considering that a "Performing Arts Department" will be newly established at Kanagawa Prefectural Kanagawa Sogo High School in 2021, we believe this marks a turning point.
When we started in 2014, it was all amateurs, and I thought, "This is impossible!" (laughs). But we've managed to keep going this far. Now some of us have graduated from music colleges or are performing on stage as professionals, so we've titled this "Final" to signify the culmination of everything we've done so far.

"Baito Show" has adopted a "theater-in-theater" format, creating seating on the stage to limit audience numbers. If there is a next step, I would like to stage a new work using Momijizaka Hall in its regular capacity. Momijizaka Hall is a magnificent theater with over 800 seats, so filling it would be a huge challenge. However, this is our "long-cherished dream," and I would like to see what they learn and carry on after we accomplish this.

It's truly regrettable that we lost time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, precisely because it was an unprecedented situation, we may have discovered something different. I hope that when we look back later, we'll be able to think, "2020 wasn't a waste of time after all."

Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Kanagawa Prefecture and all those involved who supported us by sending us messages saying, "We hope you will hold the performance as much as possible, provided that thorough precautions are taken." Thank you very much.