Drama King Tenka Unification Tournament 2015 ~ Bay City Royale! inKAAT ｜Winner interview!

In February, the ``Drama King Tenka Unification Tournament 2015 ~Bay City Royale! inKAAT~'' was held at the KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theater, and a total of 12 groups selected from across the country through qualifying rounds and nominations engaged in a fierce theater battle. . Actor/director Mr. LaSalle Ishii, Governor Kuroiwa, and other gorgeous members participated in the judging every day, and in the final, the Kyushu region representative ``Mysterious Boy'' won an overwhelming number of audience votes against the closely contested judges' votes. took the championship position. The final production, ``Scuba,'' begins with a girl who dreams of becoming a dolphin keeper, and is structured around various timelines, depicting a seascape and the love of the family that surrounds it. MACUL.NET was able to speak with the members of the winning team, "Mysterious Boy," after the finals.

2015.5.22 interview & text: Masamasa Nishino

What is “Gekiou”?

"Jr. Lightweight Champion Title Match Drama King" is a short drama contest that has been nurtured for 10 years since 2003 by the host Nagakute City, Aichi Prefecture, and the Japan Playwrights Association Tokai Branch, which was in charge of producing. Winners and losers are determined by votes from the audience and judges. In February 2013, champions from all over the country from Hokkaido to Kyushu gathered for the ``Gekioh Past drama kings also participated in the battle, and a big decisive battle took place. The 4th Drama King, Mr. Yukio Shiba (Mamagoto) won. He won the title of ``Gekiten'', the world's leading figure in theater. As a result, the event in Nagakute was temporarily suspended, but ``Gekiou'' has spread to various parts of Japan and is being held independently. Then, in February 2015, a new unification tournament was held at the KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theater under the sponsorship of Kanagawa Prefecture, and Kyushu region representative Kyuhiro Osako (Mysterious Boy) won the title of ``Drama Dragon King.'' .

Judging after the finals

<Drama King rules>
○ Performance time: 20 minutes or less / ○ No more than 3 actors / ○ Set props that can be changed in a few minutes / ○ Basic stage is 4 ken deep x 4 ken (placed flat)

<Examination method>
○ Based on the votes of the audience and the judges／○ Audience vote is 1 vote／○ Jury vote is the number of attendees for each performance divided by the number of judges
Example: If there are 200 attendees and 5 judges, the judges' points will be 200÷5=40.

After the final

—Congratulations on your win! I'm sure the director, Mr. Osako, is also very happy to have been awarded the title of ``Gekiryuo'', but could you please tell us your impressions of participating from Kyushu this time?

Osako: We hadn't really been out of Kyushu that much, so although we were confident that we were making something interesting, we were worried about whether our work would be able to reach the rest of the country. . But in a place like this ``Gekiou,'' where the most interesting plays from all over the country come together and compete, I'm really happy that I've pursued what I find interesting and been recognized for it. I guess you could say that ``Gekioh'' helped me get to know Japan...Although there are still many things I don't know, I was really happy not only that I won, but also that I was able to interact with people from all over the world by participating.

-It seems that the work that won this year's prize, ``Scuba,'' has been performed several times in Kyushu. Could you please tell us what led you to create this work and what you cherish about it as a ``mysterious boy''?

Photo: From the Mysterious Boy final performance “Scuba”

Osako: There's a movie called ``Big Fish,'' and it's about a father who doesn't have much time left to live and tells his son about his life, and the stories connect from there, so I wanted to write a story like that. This is the trigger. Music also plays an important role in this work, so I listened to the music and solidified the image of the story from there.

Morioka: It seems like he was inspired by movies and had the idea to write a story about his family, but this structure (Gekiou rules) was previously used in Kyushu's ``Gekitotsu x 20 Minutes''. There was a competition where you were awarded the right to participate in the drama king, and I was disappointed that our rival had won, so I decided to compose a piece with the idea, ``Let's create a piece for the drama king myself!'' I heard directly from Mr. Osako that it had been solidified (lol).

Osako: Ah, that's right. There is that too (lol).

Morioka: We've been working on this work for many years, and we felt like we were at a dead end, so the judges' comments made us realize that we could still do more with this story. It was very encouraging. I was also really happy that there were so many votes from customers. The theme of Mysterious Boy is ``laughter, sadness, and rediscovery,'' and the actors share the same things that Mr. Osako has rediscovered as a writer, and they hope to build on that together with the audience. , I think I'm starting to notice it. We were able to make use of those same aspects that have always been the same this time, and I think that was something that the audience could relate to. That's right? Mr. Utsunomiya!

Utsunomiya: That's right (lol).

Morioka: By the way, Mr. Utsunomiya has participated as a guest from other theater companies, and he always appears in ``Scuba''. Of course, the roles of the father and the sea lion are always played by Mr. Utsunomiya.

Photo: From the Mysterious Boy final performance “Scuba”

—Finally, as the winner, could each of you give some comments about your future aspirations or for future “Gekioh” participants?

Utsunomiya: It's only been about two years since I met Mr. Osako, but he participated in ``Scuba'' for the first time at ``Gekitotsu'' held in Kitakyushu a year ago, and since then he has appeared in other works. I am receiving it. I feel like my acting and way of life match Osako-san's work, and I guess it's because there's a comfortable affinity, and I didn't have much trouble rehearsing for Mysterious Boy. That's why I want to continue working with them, and even when I return to Kyushu, I want to work even harder so that I can be active on a national stage like this one again.

Osako: There was a time when I was active in what was called a ``regional'' area, and I had the impression that ``Tokyo is full of many things and sparkles.'' I've always thought that I would have to go to Tokyo, Osaka, or Fukuoka to work, but I don't think that's the case at all. I'm sure there are expressions born from each region, and I want people who live in that region to be proud of it. And I want to strongly say, "Let's meet again with that expression!"

Morioka: This time, we came from Kyushu with a burning fighting spirit and said, ``There are 11 enemy organizations,'' but when we opened the lid, we found that all of them were really passionate about theater, and they were all people who had made it through the region in the same way. So rather than having more enemies, I was happy because I had more allies. I think the real pleasure of contests like this is that you can experience things like, ``It was frustrating, but please do your best,'' or feeling connected despite being from different places. If there's a theater troupe somewhere that wants to appear, I'd say, ``Come on!'' (lol). I really want them to come together. I'm sure we can meet again someday.

Osako: I think theater is really interesting, so I want to convey that fun to more people. I will do my best to climb even higher as “Gekiryuou”, so please give me your support! !

-Thank you for your time today! We look forward to working with you in the future! !

After the competition, we received comments from the participants and judges about this competition.