Fun to watch and listen to! A fun, light-hearted yet deeply moving musical by the theater company "Azuma no Chi"

("Drape the Strange Land" performed at KAAT in 2020)

A commemorative performance by the group "Azuma no Chi," winner of the Kanagawa Short Play Award 2021 Grand Prize, will be held at Kanagawa Prefectural Youth Center Studio HIKARI from February 23rd to 26th, 2023 (scheduled).
"Azumi no Chi" is a Kyoto-based theater company/artist group that collaborates with various cultures to produce "mixed media" works.
This production, "Drape the Strange Land," has been performed in Kanagawa, Kyoto, Shizuoka, and overseas in the UK and Germany, in various forms ranging from a one-person play to a nine-person play.
The play will be written and directed by Masaya Okamoto, and costumes will be designed by Yushokobayashi, who also designed the original, in collaboration with music by Yasuhiro Kasamatsu, recreating the play as a musical.
We welcomed three people who are heavily involved in the production and asked them about the highlights of the work.

-Please tell us how you felt when you performed "Bolero's Journey" at the Kanagawa Short Play Awards 2021 and won the Grand Prize.

Okamoto : I was very happy to win the grand prize.
At the time, the COVID-19 pandemic was at its height, and some groups were unable to participate due to coronavirus infection. The plays being performed also dealt with the issues people are facing while living through the pandemic, and the entire theater world was in a gloomy mood, with the awards ceremony being held without an audience.
Winning the award gave us the opportunity to share with the other members the anxieties we each had at the time, and we had many discussions about how we will continue our activities in the future, which I felt was very valuable.
Also, Kasamatsu-san, who provided the music for this competition, was on the judging panel and said, "Though there are many difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic, let's keep creating works!" This made us realize that while the older generation is full of energy, we young people shouldn't be depressed! It gave us a sense of determination.
It was an inspiring and memorable awards experience to be able to take part in a gathering of artists of all ages who were trying to do something together.

("Drape the Strange Land" performed at KAAT in 2020)

-Please tell us what the highlights are for "Drape the Strange Land," which will be performed in February.

Okamoto : This is a play that has been performed many times by "A Place of Safe Residence."
The story is about a traveler who feels lonely in Europe, and meets an "immigrant" in one country. Through their respective loneliness, they begin to converse despite speaking different languages.
As we go through life, how do we live with people who have different values and cultures than us? Even in our daily lives, we often feel differences between people, and I think the content of this film is relevant to that. Looking at it from a broader perspective, I think it also encompasses social issues and the international situation, so I hope you enjoy it while thinking about those aspects as well.
From the premiere until now, the content has been heavy and serious, but this time the script has been brushed up and the collaboration of new costumes and music has made it a light-hearted and fun piece.
It feels like the work is growing to a level that we couldn't have achieved on our own. That's the best part.
I think it will have a new look that can also be used as entertainment. It has been remade and feels like a new work. Because it is a musical, it has been finished with an atmosphere that even children can enjoy. Because it is a heavy subject, I wanted to make it a work that is "fun to watch and listen to," but that also contains issues behind it.

("Drape the Strange Land" performed at KAAT in 2020)

- Yushokobayashi, an up-and-coming fashion designer, has been creating costumes since the premiere. Could you tell us about the highlights of the costumes for this production?

Yushokobayashi : I met Okamoto-kun when I was living in London for five years, and we decided to create a piece together. I remember collecting cheap materials from second-hand shops in the UK.
When I heard about the content of the work, I felt as if I connected with the position of the immigrant characters, so I created the costumes in a way that would express in the work "what would look like from that position."
At the time, I was creating costumes based on the perspective and position of the immigrants in the work, and so the "weight of that feeling" inevitably came through in the work. However, after three years of returning to Japan, where I was born and raised, my perspective has shifted.
This time, I am remaking all of the costumes that were used from the premiere to the previous performance. I am currently researching and creating new costume styles, thinking about how to recreate the costumes from my perspective now that I am no longer an immigrant, and adding music to the piece as it is reborn as a new work. I am thinking about how to express the weight of the background that is contained within the bright and light atmosphere through fashion.
Above all, I want it to look interesting. I think it will be even more in-depth and unique than the costumes worn in the premiere, so I hope you'll pay attention to the costumes.

(Yushokobayashi at work making the costumes)

《yushokobayashi》
Instagram: here

- Mr. Yasuhiro Kasamatsu, a world-renowned composer, please tell us about the key points of the music for this work.

Kasamatsu : Coincidentally, I also spent about a month in London, where the story is set, and I could relate to parts of the work.
Another experience that made a lasting impression on me was visiting four countries in Central and South America when I traveled to various countries as a cultural envoy for the Agency for Cultural Affairs. The members of the string quartet I met there were all of different nationalities, and some of them had even experienced being refugees. We exchanged many words, and I realized that each of them had a wide range of experiences, thoughts, and values. I had been trying to figure out how to digest what I learned there and incorporate it into my own work for the past few years, and shortly after that, I was impressed when I saw Okamoto's work as a judge.
The piece, about putting on a foreign land, was a perfect fit for the theme I'm living through right now.
I felt a strong desire to be a part of this project and to create a piece together as a musician, so I immediately contacted Okamoto after seeing the piece.
When we decided to collaborate and saw the lines, I thought it should be a song that would make people laugh off the heavy content, an angry song that was also really fun. I carefully considered how to structure the lines, which are a mix of Japanese, English, and German, into music. It was like a challenge from Okamoto. (laughs)
I took on the challenge with the feeling that no one else could do it. Putting different languages to the same melody. I may not have been able to do it when I was younger, but now that I have gained experience, I think I was able to do it because I had the know-how to do it. I'm really glad that I came across it at this time.
For this album, I have invited the wonderful guitarist Taro Sukegawa, whom I trust very much, to perform the music I have created live. I hope you will enjoy the bouncy, dynamic, and light sound that only he can produce.

Yasuhiro Kasamatsu
Profile: here
"Taro Sukegawa"
Profile: here

- Nakamura Ayano, who is a member of the theater company "Azuma no Chi" and will also be appearing in the production. Please tell us your thoughts on this production from an actor's perspective.

Nakamura : I have been involved with this work since its premiere as a one-man play. While diversity is recognized, differences in language, culture, customs, and feelings still weigh heavily on the minds of people in various relationships.
"How should we perceive the differences that exist? Should we embrace them? Should we resist them? Where should we place ourselves?" This work is a story that explores such questions.
By using various elements such as music, costumes, actors, and the experience of performing in various places, I would like to create a work that will give people an opportunity to reexamine who they are.

(Performed outdoors at Shizuoka Strange Seed 2022)

-You guys from Anjumochi are based in Kyoto, but could you tell us about your enthusiasm for performing in Kanagawa?

Okamoto : It is very meaningful for us to perform in a place other than our base. The audience reactions are completely different depending on the region, which is very interesting and educational. This is the first time we've performed independently in Kanagawa, so we're really looking forward to meeting the Kanagawa audience!

The Kanagawa Short Play Awards is a very fond memory for Ansemichi.
On the day we won, we walked along the seashore, and the moment the band members and I exchanged congratulations on winning the Grand Prize, a very strong sea breeze blew. It felt as if Kanagawa was celebrating with us. It's so memorable that we still talk about it, saying "That wind was amazing." I hope we can all go to that sea again to feel that breeze again!
The story is about travel, crossing borders, and the sea, so I think this work is a perfect fit for Kanagawa. I hope many people will come and see it.

Safe Haven
Instagram: here
Official website: here