Mag People No. 2 "Kensuke Yokouchi"

Interview with Yokouchi

- I heard that you decided to pursue a career in acting after seeing a play at the Prefectural Youth Center when you were invited by a senior in the drama club during your high school days. What inspired you to do so?

When I was a freshman at Atsugi High School, I was a member of the drama club, which was on the verge of being disbanded, as a loaner. I wasn't interested in theater at the time, but a senior in the club brought me to see Tsuka Kohei Theater's "Atami Murder Case." It really grabbed my heart and I got hooked on theater. It was my first time seeing Tsuka Kohei's dramatic lines, his words that cut through everyday life, his incredible power, and someone yelling like that. It wasn't that underground at the time, and Tsuka's overwhelming laughter was amazing. It was the flow of the times, and I felt a little superior to my high school classmates, as if I had come into contact with a slightly interesting new culture that they probably didn't know about. At that time, I thought I wanted to imitate him and become a writer.

-Mr. Yokouchi, you are the artistic director of Atsugi City Cultural Center and are also active in the Tokyo theater company Tobiraza. How did you become involved with Magcul?

Before Magcal started, I was asked to do some performances for young people at this Prefectural Youth Center about three times as part of a project called "Arts Fusion in KANAGAWA". This Prefectural Youth Center is a very important place to me. This place was originally a mecca for high school theater, with a revolving stage and a siding, which I think was rare across the country. In addition, they invited top professionals to hold workshops called "Theater Seminars" for high school students. I don't think there was anywhere else doing that 30 to 40 years ago. The director at the time, Tadao Tamura, who has passed away, was a great supporter of school theater. When I was in high school, I participated in the prefectural theater competition here, and also participated in the summer theater seminar, and then I started a theater company. I don't think I would be who I am today without this place. I'm not sure if I'm giving back here, but I would like to show more theater to the younger generation.

--I don't think many people know that the Prefectural Youth Center is such a wonderful place, and that it specializes in theater.

There was a time when this place itself was losing its professionalism as a theater hall and was becoming more like a community center. In the past, performances were so popular that they had standing-room-only audiences, but there was a time when it lost its power. There was a time when the director changed every year, and I felt empty, thinking that no one was listening to our opinions every year about how wonderful and important this place is and how good the theater is. We had thoughts, but no one was listening.
Meanwhile, Governor Kuroiwa spoke about Magcal, and when I shared my thoughts with him, he listened to everything. The first time the Magcal Table members gathered, we took a bus tour of all the theater facilities in the prefecture, and explained how this place has produced so many different things. I thought that I would only meet a governor who is so passionate about theater once in my life, and since I had the opportunity to meet a governor who loves theater, I immediately got to work, thinking that I needed to sow the seeds and make them sprout at this timing.
At that time, the Sotetsu Honda Theater, a small theater beloved by local theater companies, had disappeared, and I felt that the things that should have been connected had been connected. This is a place that anyone would think was a waste. I felt that they had given us the reason to use it if it could be used more.

-So in October 2014, the "Magcal Performing Arts Academy" was opened. It's been almost three years. How do you feel about it?

Although we are a group of serious professionals trying to train musical actors, I honestly feel that there are a lot of differences in enthusiasm among the students. However, young people have room to grow, and we can see completely different growth between today and tomorrow. This is a project run by the prefecture, and it is not a business but a pure human resource development. It would be an inspiration for everyone if the students grow up here and become successful somewhere, and I would like to properly train musical actors who can sing, dance, and act.

-What do you think are the challenges for the future?

I think the challenge is how to increase the number of people who watch theater. Right now, all we can do is gather family members to support the performers at the Magcal Performing Arts Academy. Instead, we need to increase the number of experiences of watching theater. I actually teach elementary school children in Atsugi, but I feel that the gap in society is getting bigger. Conscious families show their children first-class musicals every month, but there are also families that can't afford it. I think public facilities need to fill in those gaps. The first play I saw here was only 500 yen for high school drama club members. Because it was 500 yen, a senior from high school treated me to it. I think it would be better for public facilities like this to fill this gap.

-What kind of things do you want to do in the future?

The musical "Baito Show - International Edition" scheduled to be held next month is an adaptation of one that was started by our theater company Tobira-za. The original concept is our theater company's, so I would like to create a completely new piece that can be performed as a musical. If we really want to do a stage play here, we need 1,000 people per performance. If we're going to do it, we want to do it at least 3 or 4 times, not just once. In that case, we need an audience of about 3,000 people to make it work. It would be a complete mess if we borrowed a famous person from somewhere to attract customers, so I want to make it happen with the help of these students. I'm thinking of making it happen in 2 or 3 years.
Furthermore, what needs to be achieved is the improvement of the students' skills, although they are certainly working hard and improving. In other words, whether the leading actors have reached a level where they are not amateurs but leading actors, whether they can create a stage where they can compete normally, and whether they can attract audiences they do not know.
With Keiko Fukazawa as singing instructor, Lucky Ikeda and Eri Saiki as dance instructors, we have been creating professional performances here and there. I would like to create a completely new piece just for this academy and present it. To do that, I would like to create a character who can play the leading role and become famous.

-Do you already have a plan for a new musical?

It's more like a concept. It's a foreign story told by young people. This area was the magistrate's office, and it's a place where a lot of things happened, including the first beer and soap brewing, and when foreigners came, there were disputes, etc. I'd like to do a musical with the theme of Yokohama, a port town. When I do that, I'd like to get sponsors so that I can show it to young people for free.

What is "Baito Show - International Edition!"?

Last summer, this musical became a hot topic as it featured a "Theater in Theater" format, in which temporary seats were set up on a revolving stage and the audience rotated 360 degrees along with it.
This year, in collaboration with the Vietnam Festa in Kanagawa, Vietnamese students currently residing in Japan and working part-time will also be appearing, so the performance will not be a simple revival but a revised version.

We will talk to the performers about the "Part-Time Job Show - International Edition!" to be held next month.

Duong Thi Mai (2nd year student at the School of International Relations, Tokyo International University)

I came to Japan when I was 18 years old, and I'm now 21. I'm studying Japanese at university. I'm from Bac Giang, Vietnam, which is famous for producing lychees, and I want to be a bridge between Vietnam and Japan. At Vietnamese festivals held in Japan, I wear traditional Vietnamese costumes and perform Vietnamese dances. My dream is to become a travel guide. I work part-time as a waitress at a restaurant to earn money for tuition, while studying and taking lessons. I joined the academy because the Vietnamese embassy introduced me to it. Sometimes I find dancing a little difficult, but I love singing and acting, and everyone at the academy is kind, so it was good. Mr. Yokouchi is a good teacher, and I will do my best in the musical.

From left: Shibata, Tsuda, and Yokota

Ruka Shibata (1st year student, Vocal Music Department, Toho Gakuen School of Music)
This is my fourth year at the academy, and I really enjoy singing because I love it. My character is a realistic type who thinks that there's no point in chasing dreams, and that you can't make a living on dreams alone. That's why I clash with the character played by Tsuda. Dreams are important, but you need money to live every day. I think people can sympathize with the image of a young person struggling with the idea of living independently and chasing their dreams.

Ayaka Tsuda (2nd year student at Fujisawa Seiryu High School)
I entered the academy last year. My role is the leader of the dance team, a self-centered type who only thinks about dance and pursues his dreams. But as he meets various people in the world and learns that everyone is trying their best to live, he changes as a person. I want the audience to feel the process of growing as a person by absorbing various things from people.

Shiori Yokota (2nd year student, Vocal Music Department, Tokyo College of Music)
I entered the academy in my second year of high school, so I'm now in my fourth year. We play three-person groups, and I play the role of mediator between the characters played by Shibata and Tsuda when they fight. I'm a pacifist, and you could say I'm a bit of a spineless type. I love singing, of course, but I also love dancing. We'll all come together and create the best musical ever, so please come and see it!