KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theater Akira Shirai appointed as artistic supervisor First work "Lost Memory Theater" Interview with Akira Shirai (composition/direction) & Jun Miyake (original idea/music)
Akira Shirai was appointed artistic supervisor of KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theater in April of this year. "Lost Memory Theater", which will be shown as the first work produced by the company, is a challenging attempt to adapt the album "Lost Memory Theater act-1" released in 2013 by world-renowned musician Jun Miyake. . The motif is the theater itself and music. How did this sensual hybridization of theater, music, and dance come about? We spoke to Akira Shirai and Jun Miyake about the trial and error and collaborative work that went into creating a completely new stage play from the beginning of the project.
Interview&Text: Eiji Kobayashi
Photo (Portrait): Masamasa Nishino
Interview cooperation: KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theater
▼Akira Shirai (composition/direction)
Director, Actor/KAAT Artistic Supervisor
After graduating from Waseda University, from 1983 to 2002, he led Yu◉ Machine/Fully Automatic Theater. His directing ability was recognized during his time with the theater company, and after becoming independent as a director, he has worked on a wide range of projects, from operas, musicals, and musical plays to straight plays. In particular, he has written foreign novels and plays such as Paul Auster's Moon Palace, The Music of Chance, and Ghosts, and Philip Ridley's Pitchfork Disney, The Fastest Clock in the Universe, and Mercedes Ice. He produces with his own unique aesthetic and is well received. Recent productions include ``Joan of Arc'', ``The Castle Tower'', the musical ``GOLD ~Camille and Rodin~'', ``Phantom Butterfly'', ``4four'', ``Othello'', and the musical drama ``Woyzeck''. His operas include ``White Nights of Love,'' ``Otello,'' and ``Die Fledermaus.'' Appearances include "A La Carte" (1989-08 Aoyama Amphitheatre) and "Okepi!" ” (written and directed by Koki Mitani in 2000 and 2003) “Andersen Project” (written and directed by Robert Lepage in 2006) “Sakurahime” (written by Keishi Nagatsuka and directed by Kazumi Kushida in 2009) “The Tragedy of Faust” (10 ``The People's Movie'' (written and directed by Koki Mitani in 2011), ``Tenhibo'' (written by Kankuro Kuto and directed by Kazumi Kushida in 2012), and ``Hobby Room'' (written by Furusawa in 2013). Macbeth (written by Ryota and directed by Isao Yukisada) (directed by Keishi Nagatsuka in 2013), etc. In his directing activities in 2001 and 2002, he won the 9th and 10th Yomiuri Theater Awards' Outstanding Director Award. In 2005, she won the 2005 Yuasa Yoshiko Award (screenplay category) for her production of ``The Music of Chance''. He also received the 10th Sagawa Yoshio Music Award for his production of the Matsumoto Civic Opera ``The Magic Flute'' in 2012. Since April 2014, he has been appointed as KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theater Artistic Supervisor.
▼Jun Miyake (original idea/music)
Composer
Discovered by Terumasa Hino, studied at Berklee College of Music, and began working as a jazz trumpeter.In addition to being an artist who exploited the blind spots of the times, he also rose to prominence as a composer, producing commercials, movies, animation, documentaries, contemporary dance, etc. Involved in many works. Among the well over 3,000 commercial works, many have won awards at Cannes International Advertising Film Festival, Digital Media Grand Prix, etc. He has participated in works by Pina Bausch, Wim Wenders, Robert Wilson, Philippe Decouflé, Oliver Stone, Jean-Paul Goude, Katsuhiro Otomo and others, and his unique sound, which makes extensive use of cross-breeding, has received international praise. ing. Through his activities that transcend genres, he has often collaborated with overseas musicians such as Hal Willner, Art Lindsay, David Byrne, Grace Jones, Arthur H., and Vinicius Cantuaria. Since the fall of 2005, we have established a base in Paris and are actively working there. The albums ``Stolen from strangers / 2007'' and ``Lost Memory Theater act-1/ 2013'' received awards such as ``Best Album of the Year'' and ``Music Critics Award'' in French and German music magazines. He was selected as ``Man of the Year 2009'' by Galeries Lafayette Homme, and in May of the same year, Jun Miyake's posters filled the streets of Paris. Wim Wenders' film ``Pina'', which provided the main music, won the Best Documentary Award at the European Film Awards 2011. It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary in 2012 and the British Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012. He has participated in many of Akira Shirai's works, including ``The Threepenny Opera'', ``The Mysterious Chinese Official'', ``Glass Leaves'', ``Ghosts'', ``Joan of Arc'', ``Woyzek'', and ``9 Days Queen''.
Towards the realization of the stage dreamed from music
— Mr. Shirai was appointed as the artistic supervisor of KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theater (hereafter KAAT) in April of this year, but his first production, “Lost Memory Theater,” was announced last year by musician Jun Miyake. This is an innovative project to adapt the album of the same name.
Shirai : When I found myself in this position and thought about what kind of work I should perform to express my beliefs, I could of course have chosen something from an existing play, but I thought that wouldn't be interesting. is not it. Throughout my career in theater, I have always been aware that theater is a comprehensive art form that includes not only literary elements based on plays, but also music, visuals, and physical expression. So for KAAT, my first thought was that it would be great if we could aim for performing arts that incorporate many different elements, rather than just so-called theatrical productions. At that time, the first thing that came to mind was Mr. Miyake's music. I have worked with Mr. Miyake many times in the past, and for the album "Lost Memory Theater act-1" that was released last year, I was actually able to take a peek at his creative process. So, what kind of scenery does this music create? What kind of stage would the music from Miyake-san's album be played on? I was daydreaming about it. Normally, a play begins with a play, but I've always had doubts about that, and in the past I've created plays with improvisation based on the actors, or created plays from novels. Sometimes I even made them. In that case, I thought it might be possible to create a stage based on Miyake-san's music, and came up with this project.
— I understand that there was some time between the time you started the project and the time you actually talked to Mr. Miyake.
Shirai : I knew that this was an impossible project under normal circumstances, so I thought it would be rude to talk to Miyake-san about it unless I had a guarantee that it could actually be realized. I had met Miyake-san for another job, but I kept quiet about the fact that I was having many meetings with KAAT behind the scenes, and only confessed to him once the theater started making moves towards making it happen. .
Miyake : I had no idea what was going on behind the scenes, so when I heard from Mr. Shirai, I was happy and wondered if it was really possible to do something like that. In the middle of a mixed feeling, I blurted out, ``Well, I don't think there's any place that will let me do it.'' However, when I looked into it a little more closely, I realized that perhaps it wasn't just a lie.
Shirai : Lol.
Miyake : It's a great honor to hear this, but it's precisely because I can't put into words the layers of my feelings that I can't put into words that I turn into music, and the way I receive my music is to leave all the space to the receiver. It was. If elements of theater are included, there is a risk that the meaning will be limited by the words used. A sense of crisis about this immediately crossed my mind. In fact, that has not been completely dispelled (lol), and various discussions and battles are currently taking place with Mr. Shirai.
“Lost Memory Theater” flyer visual
A collage of images that appear between songs
— Does the story you dreamed up from music be a big story surrounding “theatre”?
Shirai : No, it's completely different from the story. First of all, it's a fragmentary collage. For example, I can think of specific actors who I want to be in the scene of Miyake's song, or there are four classical ballet girls in this song. , that was just the image I had in mind. I thought it would be interesting to combine these various images into one keyword, ``theater,'' from the title ``Lost Memory Theater.'' So, it really started with a vague image.
Miyake : Mr. Shirai was particular about the "theatrical structure," and at one point there was a time when our ideas were very different from each other, but the fact that it was created by linking images together like a collage... I was originally in the image as well. However, when I thought about what it would be like when I saw it as an audience, I thought it would be better to wait for some kind of synopsis as a common understanding among the performers, although there is no need for the story to be told there. I wrote it. Then, it gradually started to take on a life of its own, and as the two of us exchanged ideas, the shape of the composition began to take shape. From there, we are currently in the process of trial and error in figuring out how to distance ourselves from each other, how to break things down, what to cut down on, and what not to say.
Shirai : When I heard the song, there was a part of me that was dreaming about it from the title ``Lost Memory Theater.'' However, Mr. Miyake is in the position of the original author for this play, so the big concept, as written in the liner notes, is ``What if there was a theater somewhere where lost memories flowed into?'' I thought that I had to cherish that image. However, as I continued to say more and more words, it became too expansive, and the moment came when I felt like I was trying to tell a story! Mr. Miyake also felt that this was dangerous, and it was only in the past few days that we came to a common recognition that it would be better to use fewer words. But it may have been a good thing to have done this once.
Miyake : I think it was good too.
Shirai : There were too many words, but both the actors and the director still remember that. When I create a scene or scene with that in mind, even if there are no actual words, I think it will flow and be reflected at the bottom.
Miyake : That's right. As time permits, similar ``construction and demolition'' tasks may be repeated.
Shirai : In the end, it would be ideal if there were images between the songs, like a collage, and what you wanted to present in the beginning emerges vaguely.
Life is not lived according to a prepared script.
— Creating that image can be said to be a difficult task as there is a high degree of freedom.
Shirai : That's right. Since there are infinite options, you have to limit them somewhere. The first task I did with Mr. Miyake was to select the songs, and then decide on the order of the songs. Would you say that they set up their own bonds in that way? Since we are trying to create a performance inspired by music, song selection is important. However, I thought that the order of the songs would be decided naturally as we were making them, but Mr. Miyake said that we should decide first, so I was a little confused.
Miyake : On the contrary, I felt that nothing would be decided unless I decided on the order of the songs.
Shirai : So, as if I were being threatened in a certain way (lol), I forced myself to come up with the order of the songs, exchanged opinions with Mr. Miyake, and finally created the program based on the flow we decided on.
Miyake : I'm not trying to tell a particular story, but there is a flow that the song order leads to, and if that doesn't flow, that is, if the songs are chosen to match the play, the pattern will be the opposite. Because it will become.
Shirai : That's right. In the end, it always ends up being the same. In this case, the flow of the song is what you would call a play in a normal play. Now that I've realized that, I think it's actually a good thing.
— Are all the songs you use from the album “Lost Memory Theater act-1”?
Miyake : The album "Lost Memory Theater act-2" will be released on August 20th, and it will use "Act-1", "Act-2", and two songs from the previous album "Stolen from strangers". . For me, ``Stolen from Strangers'' is a prologue to ``Lost Memory Theater,'' so in my mind, these three works are part of one large flow.
— Mr. Miyake chooses the musicians who will perform.
Miyake : That's right. The musicians this time are the top so-called studio musicians who I have trusted for many years, over 30 years. Of course it's a live performance, but on stage it's also accompanied by a recording, so from a musical perspective, I wonder if it's a dream or reality? There may be a part like that.
— On the other hand, the text was written by the young Kenichi Tani. What is the intention behind this?
Shirai : While creating the fragments of the image, there was also a method of weaving the words through discussions between myself and Mr. Miyake, but I thought it would be nice if someone could come up with the words from a completely different place. This is my first time working with Mr. Tani, and I hope that he, who is about twice as young as me, will be able to bring in things that are not in my context and make a good impact on this work. That's what I thought. So, as an offer, I didn't call it a ``script,'' but I asked for a few words, and I said, ``I may use 100 words, or I may use zero. I was given the credit of ``text'' on the condition that I may cut out or rearrange some parts of the work.''
— It's a musical drama, but it's also different from an opera.
Shirai : It's not an opera. Anyway, I thought it would be interesting if all the elements were included. I create plays based on plays, and I create works by discussing the character development of the characters with the actors, but sometimes it gets boring, or I think it would be better if it was more of a collage of images. Well, this time I'm doing exactly that. Actors always try to carry out a play with one personality, but I want them to think that this is a ``theatre'' that I have created, and that the actors' play lies within themselves. I think it would be great if they made a drama.
— The same goes for the viewer as well.
Miyake : But isn't that what life itself is like? Everyone doesn't live their lives according to a prepared script, and when memories come into play, people who were in the same place may have completely different memories, and even the main character doesn't know what will happen. . I think it would be better for you to imagine that something like that is happening on stage for some reason.
— So, what about the stage art? The set is also an element that can help fix a certain kind of image.
Shirai : That could happen. Therefore, I purposely tried to place Mr. Miyake's music and the images that accompany it within the vague image of creating another ``theater'' within a theater. Therefore, a story may develop where you don't understand why there is a ``theater'' here, and I think that's fine. The theater is a place where this is allowed, and various fictions are performed, and after a few days, it falls apart, and only the theater has the memory of it. I create an art space based on this concept.
Collaboration is possible because of the relationships of trust that have been built.
— This time, we are creating a stage play that starts with music, but how is it different from, for example, the music you create when working with dance?
Miyake : I have worked with dance-related artists such as Pina Bausch and Philippe Decouflé, but when it comes to dance-oriented work, I often have choreography and set music, or vice versa. Yes, but in most cases, the physical expression itself takes center stage. In other words, the main character is a dancer, so the music takes out something like a backbone and opens up space for the main character. However, since the subject matter this time is music that is established as music, I won't do that. It's difficult to say how to coexist with dance in that sense, and I'm currently watching and wondering what I should really do about it.
Shirai : It's often said that for dancers, music is like a script, and when it comes to adding choreography to it, I think they have to create meaning according to it. However, in this case, given Miyake's music, I don't think it's okay just because it's close to the music, but I hope that a different story will be born from within the dancers and actors. The same goes for me as a director, but for example, when I think of someone's movement based on Miyake's sound, I think it's better not to use the movement to explain the music. Rather, it's about what kind of images you create in your mind through the music. I always think that this is a big issue in the relationship between the body and music. Even when I watch regular dance performances, I sometimes wonder which came first: the music and the choreography, or the physical expression and then the music.
Miyake : By the way, in Pina's case, it's overwhelmingly the latter. There was no sound until the very end, and as the opening day approached, the music director made a presentation, which was mostly about song selection. However, in my case, when this continued for a while, I thought it would be possible to be more actively involved, so I sometimes offered some original work. But usually it's a song selection and it's just decided at the last minute. So when I was told, ``I'm using it,'' I went to the theater to see it, and I was like, ``Oh, I'm really using it.'' (laughs)
— In that sense, the way Mr. Miyake was involved in Shirai's previous works is completely different this time.
Miyake : That's not true. Usually, I'm just watching from the sidelines, and by the time rehearsals start, I've got the structure figured out, so I'm basically wondering how it will fit in, or if there are any changes that need to be made, and how Shirai-san feels about it. I feel like I'm waiting to see what happens.
Shirai : Nowadays, it's almost the opposite. I wonder how Miyake-san feels about what I made? So I gave feedback again, and found out that there were some areas where Mr. Miyake was starting to feel the same way, and where Mr. Miyake felt uncomfortable. I thought about it and thought about it again. In that sense, I feel like we're working together, going back and forth.
Miyake : I'm always bringing up problems and causing trouble, but I think it's really great that we've built this kind of relationship of trust.
Shirai : I think it's a good relationship to be able to have discussions, and when you asked me to request some of these songs in a business-like manner, I took it as a thank you and decided whether or not to use them. . It feels like we've gone beyond that kind of relationship.
I want it to be a work that reminds me of stories and memories that are different from what's happening in front of me.
— How do you want the audience to view this performance?
Shirai : No, I don't have a particular idea of how I want people to watch it. I'd really like to know how people feel when they see this.
Miyake : I also think about it when making music, but I think that the very act of expressing emotion creates emotion. In other words, it makes you think, ``Is it OK to express myself like this in public?'' I hope that this stage performance will be an extension of that. So I leave it up to the viewer to decide how they feel about it.
Shirai : This time, while I was making it, I also believed only in my own physiology and sensations, and when I watched it, I wanted to accumulate things that I thought to myself, ``This is great, I wish it were like this.'' I am. So, if you think, ``Ah, the word I just said doesn't catch my attention,'' without thinking logically, you're probably wrong. Things like ``I'm explaining too much,'' or moments when I think ``something's different about the choreography now.'' I'll hone in on all those ``Huh?!'' moments and see what I want to see. There's a part of me that's just trying to see.
— I feel like there's something like a blank space left behind.
Shirai : For me, there is no blank space, but when the audience sees it, I think it is necessary. I believe that if you try to limit the way you want customers to see things, you'll end up making mistakes. I want more moments that make me think, ``I wonder what happened just now.''
— As I listened to your story, I started to think that it would be great to have many different versions of “Lost Memory Theater.”
Miyake : Yes, I had that image from the beginning. If the venue changes, the cast will change, the song selection will change, and so on. For example, if it was held in New York, I think it would be nice to have a format where so-and-so would be included. I think you can create as many completely different versions as you want.
Shirai : Actually, at the beginning of this project, just as Mr. Miyake released albums "act-1" and "act-2," we also released albums "opus-1" and "opus-2." I had a feeling that it would be great to continue creating plays in the form of ``Works 1, 2...'', and there was also talk of adding that to the title. But, well, this project itself was a project that even this theater couldn't see (lol), so I kind of withdrew it. There were parts of me that didn't know what was going to happen, but if possible, I hope that in the future this will become "opus-1".
— I think the stage has the effect of making you forget your everyday life by immersing yourself in the space that unfolds, but on the other hand, as Mr. Miyake said earlier, I also think it can be said to be a place where life is condensed. Masu. I'm really looking forward to seeing what kind of image ``Lost Memory Theater'' will create.
Shirai : I think it's great to see a piece of work as a well-written story, but in fact, as I'm looking at it, I find myself discovering some other story of my own. I like it when I come across works that remind me of memories. I hope that ``Lost Memory Theater'' gives the audience that feeling. I think it's good for each person to imagine and remember something different from what they're seeing in front of their eyes, and to hear different sounds and words.
Miyake : To achieve this, time has become increasingly important.
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<Magcal Postscript>
— Are there any foods or places in Kanagawa that you have special memories of?
Shirai : I am from Kanagawa Kenmin Hall. I came here to see Pina Bausch's ``Carnation'' many times, and I came here when Decouflé performed ``IRIS.'' I mostly came to Yokohama to see the Kenmin Hall. As for my work, the first time I directed an opera was at the Kenmin Hall, and I was deeply moved to be able to perform the original opera ``White Nights of Love'' (2006) by Takashi Tsujii and Kei Ichiyanagi, who passed away last year. is. In that sense, when you think of Kanagawa, you think of Kanagawa Kenmin Hall.
Miyake : I grew up in Kamakura and went to high school in Yokohama, but I only attended school in the morning and spent most of my time at a jazz cafe called Down Beat in Kannai. I go there almost every day, and the staff at the store always tell me, ``A guide is here!'' (laughs) Also, I could see Enoshima in the distance from my house in Kamakura, and I still have dreams of the waves crashing against the breakwater and lighthouse during typhoons.
*Downbeat, the jazz cafe that Miyake-san frequented, is also featured on Magcal. Please see the URL below for store information!
▼JAZZ starts with a glutton - Yokohama jazz bar tour -
http://magcul.net/focus/jazzbar-2/
