Kanagawa Musical Summit (Part 2)

−− I was impressed by the website’s emphasis on “community-based” to “community-based”

Mr. Ueda: If all the people who want to perform in a particular area gather together and put on a performance, it becomes like a one-time ``representation'' and there is no hope of improving the level of performance. Instead, by communicating about the local area and showing how creative activities are continuing here, we create an attitude of trying to make things better than before.
There is no upper age limit for Kohoku Civic Musicals, as long as they are in the fourth grade of elementary school or older, and in the past there have been performers in wheelchairs and people with hearing disabilities. Anyone who can move their body, or more precisely, their mind, can participate.
Junichiro directed it in 2005, and it took on its current structure, and there are people who remember that there is a Kohoku Civic Musical in their hometown and look forward to every performance. The customers come because they feel glad they went to see the show, and they contact the office as soon as reservations for the performance begin. I think this is the result of having the same person write and direct for many years, with a consistent idea of ``communicating the local community.''

−− Customers gather for entertainment, not for an intimate gathering.

Mr. Ueda: Top-notch people are involved in the choreography, music, and other staff. On stage, there are also professional actors and aspiring actors participating. My feeling is that acting is similar to tennis, and even if you're just bad at it, it won't last long and you won't get any better at it. However, if you have a rally with someone who is good at it, they will put the ball in an easy-to-return spot, so you can improve quickly. Therefore, the Kohoku Civic Musical is open to professionals as well.

−− What is the appeal of it that makes professionals want to participate?

Mr. Ueda: Actually, I belong to a theater company and am a professional person. To put it in an extreme way, the professional world has a very business-like aspect to it, where you only have to create your own scenes with the people you meet on-site. But here, we prepare for six months, the first three months being basic rehearsals, and the last three months practicing the script. Because it takes a long time, you can really communicate with each person. If you're a professional, even if you're new to the role, you can do it if you're asked to play a married couple, but if you're an amateur, you're too embarrassed to do it. We will build from that base.
Another thing that attracts professionals is seeing everyone working so hard. The director, Junichiro, also works with the attitude of ``I'll keep up with you this far,'' rather than ``I'm fine with this so far,'' and he sets his goals high. The members are crying and gritting their teeth as they say, ``Please do it again.''
It's really wonderful to see the smiles on everyone's faces after the performance after all their hard work. And it's amazing to see members with no experience grow so much. It also allows you to reflect on yourself.

−− How do you balance the two themes of being active in the local community and establishing it as entertainment?

Junichiro: It depends on how you think about citizen musicals. I don't want to call it a civic musical, which is an extension of a school performance, to the extent that it can be done without overdoing it. I believe that theater is not something we do for ourselves, but for the audience. It is wrong to use theater only as a material for regional exchange. When it comes to musicals and plays, I think the characteristic of Kohoku Civic Musicals is that they are created with the audience in mind, no matter who the participants are.
We professionals will also be there. Just like in sports, amateurs can experience professional techniques by interacting with amateurs, and acting together will lead to the future of theater. Normally professional baseball players don't play baseball with amateurs, but we think it's good to have that. This will create the audience, actors, and behind-the-scenes people 10 or 20 years from now, and will become the future.

−− Please give a message to those who are interested in performing in the musical.

Junichiro: It's about making an effort. We may be living in a self-centered era, but the people who participate here work hard to put on a good play in order to please the audience. When you overcome hardship for a reason, it will definitely lead to your personal growth, and it will lead not only to the stage but also to school and work.

Mr. Ueda: The door is wide open, so I would like people to try participating first and realize the importance of continuing. Some people retire after six months of training, but everyone who makes it through gains confidence and grows. I feel like I want them to go out there and see it through until the end of the show, and I want them to be involved.

−− Please tell us what ARTLiVE is.

Tokunaga: It's a performance by a volunteer group that has been around since 2001, and it's not a club activity. At school, it's in the "events" category. Since it is not a club activity, you are free to participate in any performance, and you can join in the middle of the performance. There is a break until the second year, and students retire after the third year.

Mr. Tozawa: It seems that ARTLiVE will be in the field of multimedia art performance. It is a performance that combines CG, music, and theater, and ARTLiVE's unique features include the role of a ``model'' who walks and turns in time with the music.

Mr. Tokunaga: The content is completely different depending on the generation, some years there are no lines and it's just singing and dancing, and other years it's put together as a play, so there are various ways of expressing it. We are an intermediate generation between our predecessors, and our expressions are a mixture of theater, CG, and singing, and we create everything ourselves, from the script, the assignment of actors, the sound, lighting, and music, from BGM to songwriting. Masu.

−− I saw some people with saxophones earlier, but what kind of responsibilities are the two of you in charge of?

Mr. Tozawa: I am the stage manager and the makeup artist.

Tokunaga-san: I have always been a vocalist, a role that focuses on singing. This time I am also working on the script.

−− Why is it that students are able to take on so many different roles on their own?

Mr. Tozawa: After all, the vertical support of the ``generation'' is strong, and I get to meet my seniors who have graduated from high school, and there is also a song called ``ARTLiVE'' that has been passed down from my predecessors, and through that I am connected to my seniors. After that, we have to ask the teachers to cooperate with us in our activities, and that's why ARTLiVE has such strong relationships with people.

Mr. Tokunaga: I think it's more intense than the athletic club.

Mr. Tozawa: When a senior from the 5th generation who is currently in college comes to see me, I'm like, ``Oh! That's the legendary senior whose song was shown in that video!''

−− What is the role of the teacher?

Mr. Fujishima: I introduce students to the people they need and manage their finances so that they can realize what they want to do. Yasaka High School only has specialized departments, and both Tozawa-san and Tokunaga-san belong to the art department's art major, and there are also students in four other departments, including the art department's music major, international studies, and science and mathematics. Coordinating schedules is difficult. Each department has different schedules and is busy, making it difficult to get together, but everyone is working hard. It would be easier if I did it myself, and I want to do it myself, but I want to let the students do it even more, so I encourage them to run it themselves.

Mr. Tozawa: People who perform, people who do PR with posters and DVDs, people who play sound and operate equipment, people who make costumes, people who do makeup, and all kinds of people gather together, and ARTLiVE is a small group of people. I think it's like a company. There are many departments, and there are people who coordinate them, and I strongly feel that all of them come together to form a single stage. When I am in the position of creating something and am having trouble understanding it, my teacher looks at it objectively and supports me.
Even though I am an art major, I sing and dance, and when I input things that are outside of my field of expertise, they are reflected in my art works, which makes me realize how important experience is.

Mr. Tokunaga: I feel like I'm finding something to express myself, something that I don't realize when I just study in my regular major. Having seniors from different majors and departments allows for a broader range of expressions, but it's hard to describe in words.

--- This time's work "Beyond the curtain"

Mr. Tozawa: At ARTLiVE, it is a tradition to use social issues as the underlying subject matter. This play is actually a work that indirectly deals with the right to collective self-defense. While we discuss what's happening right now, we work on the script while thinking about which roles should symbolize what, so as not to express it directly. It may not be an ordinary scriptwriting process. I think it's very important to have themes that students can come up against since they are high school students.

Tokunaga: Of course, most of all I want people to enjoy the performance, but I also want the people watching to think about it a little bit. In our questionnaires, some customers write that they understood the message we wanted to convey, or that they were moved by it, and it makes me very happy to see things like that.