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Theater/Dance

“The reason why actor Kimio Takeya is loved by everyone” — A look at his charm and endearing power —

「役者・武谷公雄がみんなから愛される理由」 — その魅力と愛すべきポンコツ力に迫る —

Kimio Takeya, an actor, is currently receiving love calls one after another from a number of up-and-coming directors. At MAGCUL.NET, we heard that Mr. Takeya won the Actor Award at the "CoRich Performing Arts Awards 2013" and immediately decided to interview him. We will tell you about Takeya's charm on stage, as well as his (self-proclaimed) clumsy private life, including episodes from the award-winning Kinoshita Kabuki play "Kurozuka" and his background from childhood to becoming an actor. A long interview with a friend from university who I know as the listener.
 
“Why is actor Kimio Takeya loved by everyone?”
 
I hope that through this interview, I can convey that charm to more people. In addition, the "Magcal version Kimio Takeya impersonation show" that was specially performed for this time will be released at the same time! Please enjoy this after the interview.
 
Venue cooperation: Steep Hill Studio
 
Interview:Tomoe Ooshima Photography:Masanobu Nishino Text:Akiko Inoue
 

- About winning the CoRich Performing Arts Award 2013 -

 
- Congratulations on winning the Actor Award at the CoRich Performing Arts Awards.
 
thank you.
 
-Honestly, how are you feeling right now?
 
The CoRich Performing Arts Award is a performing arts festival held on the Internet, and about 100 performances are submitted from all over the country, from which the judges narrow down the entries to 10. Among them, Kinoshita Kabuki's ``Kurozuka'', in which I appeared, won the Grand Prix, and I also won the Actor Award... So within two years I had the opportunity to perform again. I'm really happy that people who weren't able to see it last time can take this opportunity to see Kurozuka. Also, I've been working as an actor for about 14 years (bitter smile), and I haven't really received much recognition, but I'm glad I was able to achieve some good results.
 
-It was really good!
 
But rather than the result, I feel like I'm glad I got the role of this hag. I'm so glad that I was able to find a role that I could devote myself to. After working on a complete copy of Kabuki for two months, I would take about two or three weeks to break it down and turn it into a modern play. I go to a chiropractor every day and have my knee repaired before I go to the actual performance, and my hair is completely white...
 
●TAKETANI_1
 
-You have performed in many different stages, but was it difficult to take on the challenge of performing in Kabuki?
 
I've always wanted to do Kabuki. Mr. Sugihara (Kinoshita Kabuki, Kunio Sugihara) approached me several times, but the timing didn't work out. But this time it went well so we decided to give it a try.
 
- On stage, there was a scene where they were cornered and their facial expressions were amazing, so I think I was thinking that it must be difficult for the audience as well.
 
It was physically difficult, but Kabuki has a set format, so it wasn't mentally difficult at all. When it comes to regular stage performances, there are many different ways to do it.
 
- Because you have to take action from emotion.
 
Yes Yes Yes. But in Kabuki, there is only one correct answer. We compared the traditional arts of the Ichikawa family with those of our predecessors and contemporary artists, and decided on them in consultation with the director, thinking, ``Let's go with this.'' I had a Japanese dance instructor practice with me for about two months, but in the end, about three weeks before the actual performance, everything fell apart. For example, we suddenly had to rehearse the music from Japanese dance songs to Disney songs.
 
-Is there anything you like about this scene or what you think is the highlight?
 
The Kabuki play ``Kurozuka'' is a simple story of good, punishment, and evil, with the monk being good and the old woman being bad, but this time we will delve deeper into why the old woman became a demon and portray the old woman's emotions. I'm doing it. The illumination of the moonlight illuminating the lonely old woman who has lived with the burden of sin all her life was simple, and the light was so beautiful that it seemed as if it was watching over the old woman, and I was moved by many emotions.
 
-Certainly, I also like that scene where the moon and the old woman dance. It was a scene that involved rap.
 
oh yeah. A lonely old woman sees herself transformed into the shadow of the moon and dances with it. Therefore, the lighting was designed so that if you were here, you would have this kind of shadow, and if you were here, you would have this kind of shadow, and so on. So, I danced while holding a cane, but when I held it behind me, it turned into a shadow, and the shadow appeared large behind me, like a demon.
 
Kurozuka 1
 
Kurozuka 2
From a photographic record of Kinoshita Kabuki's "Kurozuka" performance ⒸRyuichiro Suzuki
 
-I'm sure it must have been difficult, but I'm looking forward to performing again.
 
It was difficult, but it was also fun. It wasn't that I was disappointed in the award, but that I enjoyed the fact that it was so difficult. However, I was really happy to hear that the work was good from critics and other people...Yeah.
 
There were a lot of comments like ``Takeya-san is amazing'' on Twitter.
 
All I did was move so as not to fall off the boat...Thanks to all of you.
 

― The path to becoming an actor: Elementary school to high school years ―

 
-Next, I'd like to know when you first encountered theater, so I'd like to hear a little about your childhood up until that point.
 
Ever since I received the proposal for this interview, I've been thinking about my upbringing, and I realized that until I was about 19 years old, I didn't have any intention of acting in my life. However, when I thought about it carefully, I realized that I was on the right track. For example, my parents have rarely seen any of my plays, but when I told them about it for the first time when I won an award, they said things like, ``By the way, you used to dance with a folding fan during the Shichi-Go-San Festival.'' It seems that my grandfather on my mother's side wanted to become an actor. My mother was actually a teacher in Yokohama and an advisor to the drama club, so I remember that she often made props for me when I was little. I guess I had a lot of experience in theater. Also, when I was little, I was a latchkey kid, so after I came home from playing outside, I would watch reruns of dramas like ``New York Love Story'' by myself. If you think about it, everyone is imitating Masakazu Tamura now, but back then, when I was in the lower grades of elementary school, I was the first to do it by myself. (lol)
 
-You were born in Oita, but where in Kanagawa did you grow up?
 
My grandmother lived in Totsuka, and we lived in Asahi Ward, then moved to Ebina and then Zama. When I was in Ebina, I was only in middle school and high school, but I loved art, so I wanted to enter an art university. It's like the Kanagawa Prefecture Boys and Girls Painting Contest, and I won the grand prize. By the way, that was the award that came before this CoRich award (lol).That painting won a silver medal at an international exhibition called the 8th Kanagawa Biennale, and it toured all over the country. At that time, I received the Ebina Cultural Promotion Award. I was called to Ebina City Hall, had my photo taken, and was given an Adidas bag (lol).When I think about it now, the picture I drew makes me think I'm sick. I imitated the Lassen style that was popular at the time, and drew the fish in great detail.
 
Junior high school days
 
Photo left: Mr. Takeya at the time / Right: The work that won the grand prize
 
However, since I half-heartedly won the award, I didn't put any effort into it after that. In the end, I decided that I needed to become a proper company employee, so I went to a regular public high school. I thought about going to a university for painting, but ended up enrolling at Kanagawa University. So, I thought that since Kanagawa University is a white school, it would be easy to go to Shibuya and Yokohama, but then I realized that the department I studied at was in Isehara, so I quit (lol) Ichinami. I tried to study at Waseda University, but again, I didn't make any effort and ended up going to Senshu University.
 

- Admiring Morio Kazama: College days edition -

Then, I happened to run into an old friend on the train while commuting to school, and I heard that he was in a club at Waseda, so I decided to go to Waseda. I thought it was a tennis club or something, but it turned out to be a theater club (lol), and the moment I opened the door, a scary senior told me, ``This isn't the place for you!'' and I was shocked. I remember doing that. From there, I was suddenly given a script and had to read it, as well as do some physical training. My body seemed to be moving pretty well through the physical training, so I was suddenly asked to appear in my play because we didn't have enough people. That scary person was Kohei Narumi from the 7th Theater, and I went to Waseda every day because I wanted to be recognized by this bearded person (Narumi), or rather, I wanted to make him say "Gahun".
 
- Was that your encounter with Waseda University's theater club Gekidanshin?
 
oh yeah. But when I tried it, I think it turned out to be a great fit. I liked Morio Kazama because of my previous experience and the influence of TV dramas when I was little.
 
Morio Kazama also attended Waseda University. Something like “Stewardess Story”?
 
Well, I don't think anyone knows this, but at that time there was a show called ``Good Morning.'' It's a drama with a comedic touch, and the eldest son is Masao Kusakari, and the useless second son is played by Morio Kazama, which was really funny. Morio Kazama.
 
-But it's amazing how junior high school students think Morio Kazama is so funny... Your first direct encounter with theater was early in your first year at university after becoming a ronin student.
 
Yes, at that time, we didn't have enough people, so we had about three jobs. We didn't have a rehearsal space, so we practiced at Toyama Park, and it wasn't fun, so we got naked and ate dirt... (lol)
 
●●TAKETANI_17
 
- I think Narumi-san was more of an avant-garde type of actor, but when I met Takeya-san in college, I remember him doing quite comical acting. Have you been involved in various works since then?
 
That's right, Morio Kazama.
 
-Ah, it seems like you can do both serious and comical things (lol), but I think that after that you will join a theater company called ``Banglassie''.Was it the work that appealed to you?
 
Actually, I wanted to join Seinendan, and I also wanted to join Bungakuza. So I actually joined a long-established Shingeki theater company, but I quit that company soon after. Also, around that time, I was doing skits with the writer who provided part of the script for City Boys. So, I went to see Kitaro-san, Otake-san, and Saiki-san practice, and I even got to do a little skit with Otake-san.
 
-We often talked about, ``Wouldn't it be great if I became a comedian?'' But I never went into the career of a comedian, nor did I go into orthodox theater in the Shingeki style.From around that time, Takeya... Did you already have a feeling that you wanted to create the kind of "Kazama Morio-style theater" that you mentioned?
 
It might have been. It's the same with Morio Kazama, but since I was in elementary school, I've been watching all the old movies like Juzo Itami, so I've always wanted to be Hisaya Morishige (lol) and I want to pass that on.
 
-So you wanted to become an actor. Lately, I think you've been appearing at Okazaki Art Theater a lot, but what kind of movements were you involved in leading up to that?
 
Before I knew it, Banglassi had disbanded and I started working in insurance. At that time, I was invited by an acquaintance at HoriPro to become a chaperone for a famous musical actor. Then, HoriPro asked me to do a one-man show, so I put all my money into that play, quit the company, and did a play called ``Money Laundering.''
 
-In a sense, it was a one-man show by Kimio Takeya.
 

 
"Money Laundering" Digest Video
*Please note that the audio quality of this video may be slightly poor as the original data is a tape.
 
 

- A new step: Meeting young up-and-coming directors -

 
Kamisato (Yudai Kamisato, Okazaki Art Theater) came to see ``Money Laundering,'' and he invited me to see ``Five Days in March'' (written by Toshiki Okada).
I had spent all my money, quit my job, and even got scammed out of 500,000 yen by a company employee, and I was thinking of starting over with a one-man show, but God... The village picked me up (lol) After that, Shiba-san (Mamagoto, Yukio Shiba), who had seen the play, invited me to a play on the train called ``I Lived in a Town with a River.'' During this time, I began to meet many young up-and-coming directors with whom I am currently involved.
I met Shirakami-san (Momonga Complex), Nakayashiki-kun (Persimmon Eater), Sugihara-san (KUNIO, Kinoshita Kabuki), and Shinoda-san (Kaikai at the time) in ``Kurena Na Nai 16-Sai Returns.'' They are a little younger than me, but their generation is very energetic.
 
-I thought for sure that ``Money Laundering'' would lead to comedy or story-based theater, but I was actually surprised to find out that you ended up moving in a more avant-garde or absurdist theater direction. It was. I also had a personal feeling that I would like him to appear in more comedy plays.
 
I think it was a time when the times, or rather the flow of theater, were just changing. In our era, there were many dramas with text, but now they don't have much dialogue or emotion, or rather, they are often post-dramas.
 
-You have appeared in various works so far, but is there any work that left an impression on you or that was a turning point?
 
It was definitely a turning point. ``Five Days in March'' and ``Kerena na 16 Years Old Returns.'' It gave me an opportunity to start again in a place other than theater in the Waseda area. That's how I came to ``Kurozuka'', so in ``Kurozuka'' I poured everything I had learned up until now, including how to use my body. That's why, in my mind, I want to start over again with Kurozuka.
 

Okazaki Art Theater “My Neighbor Jimmy’s Absence” Ⓒ Kazuki Watanabe
 
- Mr. Takeya, what is the driving force behind your continued work in theater and acting?
 
I think there are probably people with different ways of thinking, and some people get married and quit when they reach my age. But, for example, you can just make a picture-story show in the park and read it, but the process of making something is really interesting... When it comes to my personal life, it's really boring, so when I'm on stage, I can live my life more fully, and I can experience a very intense time.
 
●●●TAKETANI_14
 
-During rehearsals, you may be told things like, “It’s not like this!” and I think it’s often difficult, but is that still the case?
 
I have the most fun when I'm making something. It's more fun than the actual show. Then, around the age of 30, my body finally started to take shape. My body is weakening, but I'm starting to understand what to do in times like this. I think that's because I've been able to work with a lot of different directors, and I've come to understand what's currently needed.
 

- Imitation is "courage to do it"! Another trick of Mr. Takeya -

 
-On the other hand, Mr. Takeya has also been invited to participate in impersonation shows.
 
Well, I'm having fun doing that. I think it's a balance of expression. Makita Sports was doing a ``detailed imitation that you can't understand'' and Tsubaki Oniyako and others were there, and I was told on the opening act, ``You can do something.'' When I showed off the material in front of them, they were all dressed up and said, ``You can't do that!'' (lol) The only person who was recognized was Masao Kusakari...
 
- By the way, what was your impersonation of Masao Kusakari like? !
 
―Here, ``Masao Kusakari, when he appeared as a criminal in a suspense drama, made me think that he had foreign blood after all'' ``My daughter made me a hamburger and I ate it.'' Masao Kusakari will make you think that this person has some foreign blood mixed in with him when he is in the room (please enjoy the video later).
 
(After finishing) But the quality has deteriorated a bit (lol) Imitation is about having the courage to do it. It's about having the courage to keep going, even if it's difficult.
 
- (laughs) That's right. You also did things like 100 impersonations in a row. By the way, what was the motive behind Mr. Takeya's impersonation, completely copying Yoshiko Mita's line from the movie ``The Tragedy of W''?
 
That line was really interesting. Since I'm doing theater myself, it's interesting that I'm making fun of theater a little bit, and even if Yoshiko Mita messes with her lines, I get the feeling that it's okay because they're filming in long takes. That line is one that really hits home for theater people.
 
-Recently, your name has become well known and you have appeared as guest performers in a slightly different type of theater, but I also really like Takeya's comical side, so I'm looking forward to the impersonation show that will be recorded in the future.
 
Now we move to the studio and begin recording the "Magcal version of Kimio Takeya's impersonation show"! Mr. Takeya's gem of an impersonation repertoire is packed! Please enjoy the video.
 

“Magcal version Kimio Takeya, impersonation show”
 

- Kimio Takeya's future -

 
-Finally, please tell us about your future plans.
 
I'm currently doing a two-person play called ``Paper Balloon'' (written by Kunio Kishida), which is a project where the actors keep changing but the director keeps changing. Recently, we finished the production directed by Kaori Nishio and Suguru Yamamoto, and there will be about 6 people in the future. There were times when Mr. Shirakami directed that. Also, I'm planning to appear in a performance with an older director for the first time in a while. Also, I'm planning to perform the Kinoshita Kabuki play ``Kurozuka'' that I talked about at the beginning within the next two years.
 
-What would you like to try in the future?
 
I would like to do anything if I have a chance. Also, I want to do a little more imitation (lol)
 
-I have watched Tora-san and all the old Japanese movies, and if you had to choose your favorite actor, who would it be?
 
Naoki Sugiura, and Haruko Sugimura. and Morio Kazama.
 
-Everyone is so unique.
 
Most of my favorite actors have passed away... With Mr. Kinoshita of Kinoshita Kabuki, we have a great time talking about old movies and old actors.
 
-But even if people don't know the original story, they find it interesting. I think Mr. Takeya's charm is his ability to communicate to people who don't understand.
 
It seems like people in their 20s today have no idea who they are.
 
-But I think Mr. Takeya's charm as an actor can be conveyed to many people.
 
That's right, my teacher (Kinoshita-san, director of Kinoshita Kabuki) and I are saying that we should pass down the Showa era arts.
 
- I hope you will continue to be active in various fields in the future. Lastly, Mr. Takeya, what are your recommended spots in Kanagawa Prefecture?
 
This is Noge no Kame-chan. Kame-chan's potato salad, which has been passed down through generations since the proprietress passed away, is delicious. Also, all the island rakkyo and fish dishes are delicious.
 
●●●●TAKETANI_22
On the day of the interview, the weather was so hot it was summer-like, and I was drenched in sweat as I climbed the steep slope to the studio. When I entered, Takeya-san, who had already arrived, gently handed me a box of ice cream. Mr. Takeya's signature traits include his casual attentiveness and the mysterious atmosphere in which he can make people feel happy with just the slightest thing. There are also many private and silly episodes that I couldn't write about here and had to be cut out, all of which make you wonder why someone would get involved in such a mysterious incident. However, they definitely play a role in creating the exquisite flavor of actor Kimio Takeya.
 
Although I don't have any answers, I would like to end this article with a quote from the famous Showa era actor Hisaya Morishige.
 
“The difference between the second and third film is that the lives of the supporting characters are full of flavor and humanity.”
 
It looks like it's only the second time, but I'm looking forward to seeing it continue to have its unique "taste" in many different ways.
 
 
■ Future activity schedule ■
Series Kunio Kishida "Paper Balloon Pattern" <This event has ended. 〉
Venue: Atelier Sentio (4-29-10 Ikebukuro Honmachi, Toshima-ku, Tokyo)
Details will be uploaded in September at the URL below.
http://www.katorihidetoshi.com/kk/
 
 
(Editor's postscript)
 
I went to Noge's Kame-chan, which was recommended by Mr. Takeya.
When I opened the sliding door, I found myself in a space filled with the scent of the Showa era, filled with office workers on their way home from work. There were regular customers who were friendly enough to talk to me, even though I was alone, and a beautiful young proprietress. As you look around the store, you'll see many autographs of famous people. They are slightly yellowed over the years, giving you the feeling that this store has been loved by many people for a long time. Mr. Takeya's recommended potato salad, island rakkyo, and sashimi were all really delicious, and the potato salad in particular was so heaped I couldn't help but cry out.
That day, one of our regular customers happened to be a relative of a certain movie director. We chatted for a while and promised to come back. It has a wonderful downtown atmosphere that makes you think, ``If I come here, I'll see you again!'' I'm sure I'll come back to Kame-chan again. . .
 
kamechan
 
■“Kame-chan”
Esther Hotel 1F, 2-71-12 Nogecho, Naka-ku, Yokohama
TEL 045(243)2510
http://tabelog.com/kanagawa/A1401/A140102/14022088/

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