Preface
The Japan Foundationʼs program to promote international creationsin the performing arts has entered its second year. This year, fivehighly unique works were produced.
In addition to its aspect of seeking out new forms of expression
through interaction between Japanese and overseas artists, theproject also focuses on an observer system to record the processes
from the early stages of production to the final performances
through third-party perspectives and to make them more visible.
Reports by the observers who tracked the creative process of eachwork have once again been compiled this year. Although the works
are all productions for the stage, they have completely different
production processes leading up to their performances, a testament
to the diversity of the performing arts. By shining a spotlightbehind the scenes of international co-productions, which are also
opportunities for international exchange, these reports are aimed
at demonstrating the potential of exchange through the performing
arts and, at the same time, contributing to the further developmentof international exchange projects between Japanese and overseas
artists.
The Japan Foundation March 2023

Contents
3-4

Observer Proﬁles

5-12

Ctrl L / A Difference of Beauty
BIRD Theatre Company TOTTORI and
Theater Breaking Through Barriers (TBTB)
13-21

A Conversation with the Sun (VR)Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL (Thailand) andSAKAMOTO Ryuichi
22-29

Merzbow, Balázs Pándi, & Richard Pinhaswith Lieko Shiga: Bipolar
SHIGA Lieko, Merzbow, Balázs PÁNDI (Hungary), andRichard PINHAS (France)
30-38

Goodbye, and good wishes for your success ―a response to Annihilation of Caste ― a speechprepared by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar at the invitationof Jat-Pat Todak Mandal of Lahore in 1936 but
NOT DELIVERED owing to the withdrawal of theinvitation because the organising committee
found the contents of the speech unbearable.
WADA Nagara and Sankar VENKATESWARAN (India)
39-45

HourglassCompany Derashinera, LEE Ren Xin (Malaysia),
LIU Juichu (Taiwan), and Jung Young Doo (Korea)

Observer Proﬁles

BIRD Theatre Company TOTTORI and Theater Breaking Through Barriers (TBTB)

Ctrl L / A Difference of Beauty

MORITA Kazuyo
Dancer and actor. Born with a congenital disability. Her performances in Japan and abroad
include the National Cultural Festival, the Niwa Gekidan Penino theater company, and the AsiaPacific Festival of Artists with Disabilities. She appeared in the opening ceremony of the Tokyo
2020 Paralympic Games. In recent years, she has been involved in teaching workshops open to
public participation, including those with disabilities, as well as choreographing and directing
performances. She completed the masterʼs program in the Department of Human Development
at the Kobe University Graduate School of Human Development and Environment. She also
has a regular column, Kazuyo Moritaʼs Creation Notes, in Co-coco , a creation magazinethat explores questions about welfare, and she was named a Good Workista in the Diversity
category of the PERSOL Work-Style AWARD 2020.

Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL (Thailand) and SAKAMOTO Ryuichi

A Conversation with the Sun (VR)KWON Sanghae
Curator. Born in 1990 in South Korea. He completed a Ph.D. in Arts Studies and Curatorial
Practices at the Graduate School of Global Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts. Focusing on
curation, platform management, and writing that traverses contemporary art and the performing
arts, he explores the collective nature of performance. He serves as joint representative of theperformance art platform Stilllive (stilllive.org) and Japan correspondent for the Korean monthly
publication PUBLIC ART . His major projects include Awakening and Illusion: Dialogues with theInvisible (Goethe-Institut Tokyo, 2022).

SHIGA Lieko, Merzbow, Balázs PÁNDI (Hungary), and Richard PINHAS (France)

Merzbow, Balázs Pándi, & Richard Pinhas with Lieko Shiga: Bipolar

MORIYAMA Naoto
Theater critic. Born in 1968. From October 2001 to March 2022, he served as a professor in
the Department of Performing Arts at Kyoto University of the Arts, a senior researcher at theuniversityʼs Kyoto Performing Arts Center, and a member of the editorial board of the Centerʼsjournal, Performing Arts . From 2012 to 2019, he served as the chair of the executive committeeof the Kyoto International Performing Arts Festival (Kyoto Experiment). He has written books
including Butai Geijutsu no Miryoku (The Appeal of the Performing Arts) (cowriter; Foundation
for the Promotion of the Open University of Japan). His main published papers include Nihongode Utau Koto,
Hanasu Koto : Engekiteki-na Koe o Meguru Kosatsu ( Singing andspeaking in Japanese: A study of the theatrical voice ) (Performing Arts , Vol. 24).

FY2022 International Creations in Performing Arts

3

WADA Nagara and Sankar VENKATESWARAN (India)

Goodbye, and good wishes for your success ― a response to Annihilationof Caste ― a speech prepared by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar at the invitation of
Jat-Pat Todak Mandal of Lahore in 1936 but NOT DELIVERED owing to thewithdrawal of the invitation because the organising committee found thecontents of the speech unbearable.

SHIBATA Takako
Associate Professor at the School of International Communication at Senshu University.

Photo by EMORI Yasuyuki

Completed the doctoral program in the Graduate Course in Cultural Studies on Corporeal
and Visual Representation at the Gakushuin University Graduate School of Humanities andearned her Ph.D. (Cultural Studies on Visual Representation) in 2013. After working as a parttime lecturer at Azabu University, Chuo University, and elsewhere, and as Assistant Professor
at Gakushuin University Graduate School of Humanities, she assumed her current position.
She is a member of the International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC) Japan Center and,since 2021, has served as Editorial Representative of its journal, Theatre Arts . Her review of the
VENKATESWARAN-directed Water Station was published in the online edition of Theatre Arts ,and her own book, Oskar Schlemmer: Bühnenkunst [Oskar Schlemmer― Bauhaus Performing

Arts ] was published by Suiseisha in 2021.

Company Derashinera, LEE Ren Xin (Malaysia), LIU Juichu (Taiwan), andJung Young Doo (Korea)

Hourglass

SUZUKI Rieko
Editor and writer. After working in the Editorial Department of the theater magazine Theater
Guide , she turned freelance in 2009 and now edits performing arts-related pamphlets
and books, as well as working on her own writing. She is a founding member of the nonprofit organization Arts Commons Tokyo, and lectures part-time in the Arts and Cultural
Administration Course in the Faculty of Humanities of Seikei University. Her edited publications
include Gendai Engeki no Ressun (Lessons in Contemporary Theater) (Film Art, Inc.), and her
papers include Takarazuka-fu Myujikaru Gekidan no Orijinariti (The Originality of Takarazuka-like
Musical Theater Troupes) (in Chiiki Shimin Engeki no Genzai―Geijutsu to Shakai no Atarashii
Musubitsuki (Local Community Theater Today ― New Ties Between the Arts and Society))(Shinwasha). She is also the supervising editor of the ACL Archive of Contemporary Theater
Reviews and Nihon no Engeki: Koen to Gekihyo Mokuroku 1980-nen–2018-nen (Catalogue ofJapanese Theater Performances and Drama Reviews, 1980–2018 ) (Nichigai Associates, Inc.)

FY2022 International Creations in Performing Arts

©Naoaki Yamamoto

4

PROJECT

Ctrl L / A Difference of Beauty
BIRD Theatre Company TOTTORI and
Theater Breaking Through Barriers (US)Collaboration between BIRD Theatre Company TOTTORI and Theater Breaking Through Barriers (TBTB)NAKASHIMA Makoto

of New York, US. BIRD Theatre Company TOTTORI (Artistic Director: NAKASHIMA Makoto) actively
works to realize a society of coexistence, producing JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatre where people withand without disabilities share the stage. TBTB (Artistic Director: Nicholas VISELLI) is a professional offBroadway theater organization that features actors and writers with disabilities. They collaborated tocreate opportunities to explore and share with audiences the diverse ways of living, values, and theinner beauty of human beings beyond borders and disabilities.
This production consisted of Ctrl L , A Difference of Beauty , and Epilogue . Ctrl L , a stage adaptationof an online work, featured a chaotic rehearsal of Shakespeareʼs A Midsummer Nightʼs Dream . A

Difference of Beauty was a new monologue play based on the writerʼs interviews with each performer.

Nicholas VISELLI

Epilogue portrayed the love that connects humans. The production premiered at BIRD Theatre
Festival Tottori 15 in September 2022.

Outline of Performances

Schedule: September 24 (Sat.) and 25 (Sun.), 2022, 14:00
Duration: 1 hr. 25 min.
Venue: BIRD Theatre

Credits

A Difference of Beauty by Tatiana RIVERA
Ctrl L by Jeff TABNICK
Epilogue by Stuart GREEN
Co-direction: Nicholas VISELLI and NAKASHIMA Makoto
Translation: MASUKAWA Tomoko, Ayako IBARAKI (Epilogue )Performed by:(from JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatre) ITANI Yuuta, ISHII Yuumi, MIYOSHI Mahirou, SHIMADA Hikaru;(from TBTB) Ann Marie MORELLI, Bree KLAUSER, Scott BARTON, Stephen DRABICKI;(from BIRD Theatre Company) SAITO Yoriaki

Stage Manager: MITSU Hisashi, Arthur ATKINSON
Lighting: Eric NIGHTENGALE, SAEGUSA Atsushi
Sound Coordinator: DAIKOKU Hironori (Ohara Kikaku)
Assistant Stage Manager: Gaia VISNAR
Subtitle Operation: YASUDA Maya
Handheld Subtitle Operation: SHIMADA KeikoInterpretation: SAWADA Akiko, KITAOKA Tomoko
Production: arts knot (NISHIO Sachiko, MIYAUCHI Nao, SONODA Shoko), BIRD Theatre Company TOTTORI
Organized by: BIRD Theatre Company TOTTORI
Co-Organizer: The Japan Foundation
Co-Production: BIRD Theatre Company TOTTORI, The Japan Foundation
Grant: OSAKA 21st Century Association, the Japan-United States Friendship Commission
This engagement is supported by Mid Atlantic Arts through USArtists International in partnershipwith the National Endowment for the Arts and the Mellon Foundation.

FY2022 International Creations in Performing Arts

5

PROJECTA

Ctrl L / A Difference of Beauty

FY2022 International Creations in Performing Arts

6

PROJECTA

Ctrl L / A Difference of Beauty

REPORTA

1st

2nd

3rd

Japan involving people with disabilities, so I searched on the web and

BIRD Theatre Company TOTTORI and
Theater Breaking Through Barriers (US)found TBTB. Approaches to disability differ between countries, and
TBTB creates conversation plays that make disability a theme, sometimes

Ctrl L / A Difference of Beauty
First Report: Launch of Projectusing humor. These plays have been well-received by general audiences.
JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatre has also staged performances with actors
in wheelchairs playing Shakespearean characters, which I presume

MORITA Kazuyo

was influenced by TBTB. This goes beyond the framework of disability,
inspiring new possibilities in acting.

This production is an international collaborative project between BIRDTBTB was invited to perform at the BIRD Theatre Festival TOTTORI in

Theatre Company TOTTORI, a theater company based in Tottori that

2014, 2017, and 2018. In 2014, they performed a collection of short plays;

carries out creative activities together with people with disabilities throughin 2017, The Other Plays: Theater + Dance = Inclusion ; and in 2018, The

their project JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatre, and Theater Breaking ThroughFourth Wall . Since 2014, JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatreʼs activities have

Barriers (TBTB), an off-Broadway theater company in the United States.

mainly revolved around annual performances at the BIRD Theatre Festival.

In Japan, with the promulgation and enforcement in June 2018 of the
Act on the Promotion of Cultural and Artistic Activities by Persons with

Inviting TBTB to the festival initiated the exchange between the twogroups.

Disabilities, which I was involved in as a member of the expert panel, andOriginally, a joint production was planned for 2020 in the lead-up to

the hosting of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, the idea that

the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, but it was postponed due toeveryone, regardless of disability, has an equal right to enjoy arts andthe spread of COVID-19. In 2021, amid the pandemic, they produced two

culture has been increasingly shared throughout society, with growing
attention on creative activities involving people with diverse bodies andvideo works using Zoom: CTRL L , based on Shakespeareʼs A MidsummerNightʼs Dream , and THE CASTING PARTY .

backgrounds.
First, letʼs look at the origin of JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatre. In 2014,
BIRD Theatre Company TOTTORI collaborated with people with various
disabilities to create theater productions for the 14th National Arts andCulture Festival for Persons with Disabilities held in Tottori Prefecture.
They staged CHEKHOVʼs Three Sisters , which led to the birth of JIYU
Gekijo-Freedom Theatre as a project produced by BIRD Theatre Company.
It is quite rare and valuable for a project like this to come out of the
National Arts and Culture Festival for Persons with Disabilities, which is anational initiative, and remain ongoing.
At the time of this performance, I interviewed the director, NAKASHIMA
Makoto, who is also the artistic director of BIRD Theatre Company, about
the purpose of JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatre. Nakashima points out that

From the online work CTRL L

people with disabilities are often first noticed for their disabilities orlimitations, and it is less common for others to recognize their humanity
beyond those challenges. This is especially true in culture and the arts,
where the presence of a disability can often be overemphasized in theevaluation of a personʼs creative work. Simply because someone has adisability, their abilities tend to be underestimated.
The goal of JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatre is to create a space for people
with disabilities to perform. While people with disabilities may be provided
with the bare minimum environment for survival within the frameworkof social welfare, it is not necessarily afree(the meaning of JIYU)

environment for them. Nakashima wants both participants and audience
members to feel a sense of freedom, which is one of the most important
aspects of being human, through the medium of theater.
Nakashima also notes that for humans, freedom of choice only becomes

From the online work THE CASTING PARTY

meaningful when there is freedom in both objects and actions, and thisreflects the fundamental difference in the purpose of welfare and artistic
activities.

Relationship with TBTBTBTB and JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatre (BIRD Theatre Company) havebeen nurturing a relationship since 2014. Nakashima says that he chose
TBTB because, At that time, I could hardly find any theater groups in

FY2022 International Creations in Performing Arts

7

Ctrl L / A Difference of Beauty

PROJECTAREPORTA

1st

2nd

3rd

鳥の演劇祭1 5 チラシ／ W840×H 594m m［ 表 面 ］

About the Production

Schedule 〈スケジュール〉

チケット・予約 （※料金は中面のプログラム紹介をご覧ください。）

各種プログラムの予約・申込受付は8月20日（土）10時より開始します。

11:00■＝上演 ■＝ワークショップ ■＝トーク ■＝対談 ■＝関連企画

12:00

13:00

14:00

15:00

16:00

17:00

18:00

19:00

9／
16

右記、予約窓口までご連絡ください。

20:00

19:00

â特設野外劇場『老貴婦人の訪問』［金］

日時指定あり・全て自由席「鳥の演劇祭」予約窓口

For the new production of A Difference of Beauty , written by TBTBʼs
11:00

〈電話〉

右記、窓口にて前日の18:00までにご予約ください。
ご予約

0857-84-3268（鳥の劇場）

順に入場整理番号をお取りします。
ご予約いただいたチケッ

www.birdtheatre.org/engekisai/

料金は公演当日、受付にてお支払いください。
会場内へは入場整理番号の順にご案内します。

ticket@birdtheatre.org

16:30

â劇場

『BRECHT ON BRECHT 音楽劇
ブレヒト、
ブレヒトを語る』

逃げるために読むブレヒト

17

〈ウェブ〉

トの販売は、プログラム実施当日10時半から開始します。

14:00

âホワイエ

［土］

13:00 / 14:00 / 15:00〈電子メール〉

19:00

âホワイエ

â特設野外劇場『老貴婦人の訪問』

ドイツの劇作家ブレヒトとアメリカ

â鳥の劇場周辺・鹿野町内

小鳥の家族

Tatiana RIVERA, the playwright asked American and Japanese actors the
11:00※ご予約の際には、入場料が無料の方の人数もお知らせください。

※当日券は座席に空きがあった場合にのみ、プログラム実施当日10時半から販売します。

［日］※新型コロナウイルス感染拡大の状況によっては、特定都道府県からのご来場をお断りする場合、あるいはプログラム

16:30

â劇場

『BRECHT ON BRECHT 音楽劇
ブレヒト、
ブレヒトを語る』

演劇の公共圏について

18※開演20分前ぐらいから、
チケット販売窓口が混み合います。受付の混雑を避けるため、早めにチケットの購入をお済ませいただくようお願いいたします。

14:00

âホワイエ

13:00 / 14:00 / 15:00

そのものが中止になる場合がございます。

19:00

âホワイエ

一週目まとめの対談

â特設野外劇場

バしまス
す。
行
トリ
を運

『老貴婦人の訪問』

â鳥の劇場周辺・鹿野町内

following two questions and built the script around their answers:
小鳥の家族

14:00

17:00

â劇場

山陰海岸ジオパークフォーラム「えっ！演劇とジオ？」

演 劇 祭を楽しんでいただくために

19 11:00

âホワイエ

JR

『地獄極楽 妖怪ショー!!』

â鹿野町内

〈詩〉
を作ってみよう！
［月・祝］ カラダで

鳥のカフェ

13:00 / 14:00 / 15:00

フェスティバルといえば、美味しいごはんやスイーツ！今年も鳥取市のcafé-neeâ鳥の劇場周辺・鹿野町内

小鳥の家族にご協力いただき、
鳥のカフェがオープンします。
人気のランチプレートの他、テイクアウトできる軽食もたくさんご用意していま

13:00 / 14:00 / 15:00

23

す。
カフェだけのご利用も大歓迎です。
気軽にお立ち寄りください。

What do you think is beautiful?
営業日時：プログラム実施日の11:00〜19:00

11:00※16、23日は18:00〜となります。この日はcafé-neeさん特製のお弁当を販売します！
（要予約）

完売の場合は、販売を終了させていただくこともあります。

14:00

âホワイエ

16:30

â劇場

日米合作『パックさんの魔法／美のことなり』［土］

â特設野外劇場『老貴婦人の訪問』

じゆうTBTBコラボの三年の軌跡

24

人気のランチプレートなどはどうぞお早めに！

【販売メニュー】ランチプレート（日替わり）/1,100円（税込）

19:00

â鳥の劇場周辺・鹿野町内

小鳥の家族

［金・祝］

13:00 / 14:00 / 15:00

19:00

âホワイエ

「利他」
と表現

â特設野外劇場『老貴婦人の訪問』

â鳥の劇場周辺・鹿野町内

When I say you are beautiful, what do you think?
小鳥の家族※ランチプレートは予約可能です。引き換え時間は〈11：00〜16：00〉になります。

※その他のメニューは、9月以降「鳥の演劇祭15」ウェブサイトにてお知らせします。

11:00

ランチプレートをご予約のお客様には、
演劇祭期間中ならいつでも使える鳥のカフェの割引クーポンをプレゼント！

14:00

âホワイエ

16:30

日米合作『パックさんの魔法／美のことなり』

じゆうTBTBコラボの三年の軌跡

25

［日］

※ランチプレートのお会計には使用できません。

â劇場

13:00 / 14:00 / 15:00

19:00

âホワイエ

二週目まとめの対談

â特設野外劇場『老貴婦人の訪問』

â鳥の劇場周辺・鹿野町内

L
IVA
EST
F
E
TR
EA
TH
D”
R
I
“B

小鳥の家族

11:00

14:00 â鹿野町内・特設野外劇場

âホワイエ

11:00

16:30

タイムスリップツアー『茂子の皆勤賞』
with 小鳥や鳥大生や町の人たち［演劇］
短編戯曲の書き方を学ぼう！

13:00

â鹿野町内

10 ［音楽］「はじめてのメロディ」
／
1

19:00

âホワイエ

â劇場

『胎内』自然と共生する舞台芸術
ー世界の未来に向けて

アメリカ短編戯曲リーディング
â鹿野町内

［写真］
観る、
考える、
伝える写真術

Additionally, she asked in detail, Why do you think that is beautiful?
鳥の演劇祭セレクトショップ

16:00

［土］

â鹿野町内

［映像］
モジャと小松の「動画で語ろう」

毎年大好評の期間限定スペシャルショップが、今年もオープン。俳優・齊藤頼

陽がオススメする鳥取の民芸品、工芸品や食べ物、鳥グッズを集めてご紹介し

16:00 âART CUBE クチュールシカノ

ます。みんなが知っている銘品から、なかなか出会えない逸品まで、幅広い品［美術］“あいうえお”を脱構築！

and Which aspects do you find beautiful? The second question in
揃えでお出迎え。プログラム実施日は最初から最後までオープンしますので、

11:00

プログラムを楽しむ前はもちろん、楽しんだ後にもゆっくりとご利用いただけま

14:00 â鹿野町内・特設野外劇場

âホワイエ

16:30

タイムスリップツアー『茂子の皆勤賞』
with 小鳥や鳥大生や町の人たち［演劇］
短編戯曲の書き方を学ぼう！

す。ショップだけの利用も大歓迎！鳥のカフェと合わせて是非ご利用ください。

19:00

âホワイエ

15

と

駅
浜村 ぶ
駅・ を結 す。
鳥 取 劇 場 スでバ
鳥の 送 迎無料

022 N
2, 2 T O W
BER IKANO
CTOand SHOi/isa
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â劇場

『胎内』自然と共生する舞台芸術
ー世界の未来に向けて

アメリカ短編戯曲リーディング

particular seemed to puzzle the actors, so she conducted detailed
11:00

営業日時：プログラム実施日、最初のプログラム開始の1時間前から最終プログラ
ム終了の1時間後ぐらいまで

13:00

â鹿野町内

［音楽］
「はじめてのメロディ」

2

â鹿野町内

［写真］
観る、
考える、
伝える写真術

16:00

［日］

â鹿野町内

［映像］
モジャと小松の「動画で語ろう」

interviews about what they think is beautiful and asked again, I still
16:00 âART CUBE クチュールシカノ［美術］“あいうえお”を脱構築！

think youʼre beautiful. What do you think about that?
鳥の演劇祭にご参加いただくにあたってトリバス（無料送迎バス）を運行します

駐車場

検温所

不織布マスクの着用

Nakashima commented, Tatiana is a Mexican-American and a minority
JR鳥取駅・浜村駅と鳥の劇場を結ぶ無料送迎バスを運行します。

どなたでもご利用いただけます。要予約です。

鳥の演劇祭にご参加いただく

予約は鳥の劇場（0857-84-3268）
まで。

薬研堀駐車場と鹿野町総合支所駐車場の二ヶ所になります。
（旧鹿野小学校校庭は駐車場としてご利用いただ
けません。）

駐車場の近くと鳥の劇場、鹿野往来交流館「童里夢」に検温所を設置し、お客様の検温と体調の確認を行います。
受付時間は朝10時から最終プログラムの開始時刻までです。連絡先の記入もお願いいたしております。
（一部の検温所は15時までの受付になります。）
体調に問題のないお客様には、ご来場日のみ有効なリストバンドを配布いたします。検温所で配布されたリストバンドを着用されたお客様に限り、イベン
トにご参加いただけます。

県外からお越しのお客様は、イベントに参加されるお客様は、マスクの着用をお願いいたします。

検査を受検して陰性を確認してからとっとり新型コロナ対策
安心登録システム

living in the United States with a strong sense of fairness. Whatʼsにあたり、右記の点にご注意、※ご乗車はご予約の方が優先となります。

ご協力ください。

※新型コロナウイルス感染拡大予防のため、トリバスの乗車前に検温と体調の確認をさせていただきます。詳細な情報（運行時間等）は「鳥の演劇祭」ウェブサイトにてご確認ください。

来県をお願いします。

検温所での検温の前に、登録をお願いいたします。
※登録のためのQRコードは当日、掲示します。

interesting is that instead of鹿野町
preachingmap about it, she has sublimated it into
会場 〈鳥の劇場へのアクセス〉

2022年
9月16日（金）〜10月2日（日）鳥取県鳥取市鹿野町鹿野1812-1 電話：（0857）84-3268

演劇祭プログラム実施日は、JR鳥取駅・浜村駅から鳥の劇場まで無料送迎バスを運行します。

◀瑞※利用人数把握の都合上、必ず事前のご予約をお願いします。

穂宝

木IC

literature in her text.

詳細な運行時間は、「鳥の演劇祭」ウェブサイトにてご確認ください。

◀

村

喫茶
アイガー
●

温

泉

IC・
JR

浜

村

お食事処
● さくら

（土日のみ）●

鹿野郵便局●

鹿野町総合支所
駐車場■JRを使って● 原田
フードセンター

乾医院 ●□浜村駅まで ・鳥取駅から、山陰本線、米子方面行きで30分

チケット予約受 付 開 始：8月20日（土）10:00

・倉吉駅から、山陰本線、鳥取方面行きで25分

As a dancer and actor with a disability myself, I can say that people with
駅

●

温泉館
ホットピア鹿野●JA鳥取いなば
鹿野支店

鹿野そば道場

●
平吾菓子舗

鍛冶町

● 鹿野町農業者
トレーニングセンター

・米子駅から、山陰本線、鳥取方面行きで1時間40分□浜村駅から ・車で15分

立町

鹿野ゆめ本陣 ●妙光寺●● 夢こみち■車を使ってお 問 合 せ先：0857-84-3612（鳥の劇 場）

演劇祭期間中は会場近くに案内看板を設置します。
※駐車場は、薬研堀駐車場と鹿野町総合支所駐車場の二ヶ所をご利用ください。

●
幸盛寺

disabilities in particular tend to have difficulty finding beauty in their own
下町

本田中家 ●

創作味処
そろそろ

・鳥取空港から約30分

谷口味噌店
●

● 鹿野往来交流館
「童里夢」

●
牛つなぎ石

●
みどり美容室●時々 ●・鳥取市中心部から約30分

●
三光院

上町

・倉吉市中心部から約40分

紺屋町

水

サロン・ド・ ●コクシュール・山陰道 鳥取西道路、浜村鹿野温泉IC・瑞穂宝木ICから約10分

県民の建物百選のまちなみ

箱庭雑貨店 ●

すもうとりづか●大工町

・米子市中心部から約1時間20分

谷

bodies. Documentary theater techniques like this are sometimes used in
川

●
牛つなぎ石

（土日のみ）

山根町

●

下坂本

山陰道 鳥取西道路

●
鹿野学園
王舎城学舎

鳥の劇場

●
鹿野学園
流沙川学舎

光輪寺●

ローソン

国民宿舎
山紫苑

内堀

薬研堀
●
鹿野城址公園川
内河※鳥の劇場から車で10分

bringing out the depths of the actors.

川水谷

キッチンカーが出店します！

河内「果樹の里山」へ

野外劇場

喫茶
アイガー 鹿野
そば道場

温泉館
ホットピア鹿野鹿野町
総合支所

JA鳥取いなば
鹿野支店

弁財天

●

ガソリン
スタンド

至鳥取

川

瑞穂宝木IC（鳥取方面出入口のみのハーフIC）

道の駅
西いなば気楽里（きらり）creating theater with diverse cultures and people, and they are effective in
鳥の劇場
バス停

宝木

9

JR浜村駅
浜村鹿野温泉IC

外堀

鳥の演 劇 祭15の新 型コロナウイルス感 染 症予防 対 策
鳥の演劇 祭では、観客や参加者の皆さまと運営スタッフの健康と安全の確 保を最優先とし、ガイドラインを設け、衛生管 理 対策を講じた上で開催いたします。

鹿野郵便局
鹿野町農業者
トレーニングセンター

観客や参加者同士が十分な距 離を取れる広さの場所、定員でプログラムを実施します。

32

鹿野
幸盛寺
ゆめ本陣
鹿野往来交流館「童里夢」

薬研堀
駐車場

各所に消毒用アルコールを設置します。

しかの心● 城山神社

Nakashima points out that the word beautiful holds many meanings.
至三朝

トイレ

身障者用
トイレ

喫茶

食事

「週末だけの
まちのみせ」
出店場所

トリバス
停車場所

検温所

鹿野学園
流沙川学舎

駐車場

ご来場時に検 温を実施します。
（37.5度以上の発熱がある方は、ご入場をお断りする場合があります。）

鹿野学園
王舎城学舎

鳥の劇場

駐車できません

薬研堀駐車場

不織布マスクの着用をお願いいたします。

is subjective, at times the definitionof beauty has been
While beautiful
劇場のある鹿野には温泉もあります
演劇祭期間中、鹿野ではこんなイベントもあります
鹿野の温泉は「おんな湯」と呼ばれ、肌にやさしいことが特徴。観劇の合間や観劇後にゆったりつかって、汗を流されてはいかがでしょうか。

イベント①：週末だけのまちのみせ「とっとり新型コロナ対策安心登録システム」への登録を推奨します。
県外からお越しのお客様は、検査を受検して陰性を確認してから来県をお願いします。
参加するスタッフ・キャストは、毎日検 温します。

2022年9月17日（土）〜10月2日（日）の土日 11:00〜16:00

used as a mainstream value along with political power. He argues that it
鹿野町内の日帰り温泉施設■国民宿舎山紫苑

0857-84-2211 www.sanshien.jp ●日帰り入浴受入時間／11:00〜20:00
庭園露天風呂、地元の食材を活かした料理が楽しめる温泉旅館。

日帰り入浴の利用も可能です。

■温泉館ホットピア鹿野

0857-84-2698 ●営業時間／10:00〜22:00
露天風呂もある日帰り温泉施設。

隣には採れたて野菜も買える「鹿野おもしろ市場」もあります。

とべ！

しかの心

至鳥取

内

殿町

浜村

八束水トンネル●
パン一心庵● L・T字路

●
いぎの堤

至米子

河

●
L・T字路

主 会 場：鳥 の 劇 場と周 辺

会場（鳥の劇場）の最寄り駅はJR浜村駅です。
※演劇祭プログラム実施日は鳥取駅と浜村駅、ふたつの駅から送迎を行います。
ご利用の際は、利用人数把握の都合上、必ず事前にご予約ください。

取

野

鳥

鹿

▶

浜

県外から参加するスタッフ・キャストは、

城下町の空き家や空き店舗を利用した出店イベント。秋の鹿野に飲食や雑貨などの「いまだけ・ここだけ」のお店が集まります。鳥の演劇祭会場である旧鹿野小学

PCR検査を受診し陰性を確 認後、来県します。

校校庭にはキッチンカーが出店予定！毎週土曜日には、河内の「果樹の里山」
で いちじく狩り や大阪国際大学生考案の SDGsフットパス といった体験イベント、
焼き立ての 里山ピザ の販売も実施予定です。

イベント②：鹿野わったいな祭

2022年9月〜10月

is meaningful to turn the table and create a work that questions what is

毎年秋に鹿野町の地元グループやサークル、各種団体が力を合わせて実施する一大イベントが「鹿野町わったいな祭」です。鳥の演劇祭の開催期間中は鹿野町の文化団体の作品が二つの演劇祭を結ぶバスを運行します

9/15(木)〜9/25(日)で鳥取県のお隣、兵庫県の豊岡市を中心として「豊岡演劇祭2022」が開催されます。9/18(日)・25(日)の2日間、バスで二つの演劇祭を結びます。
「演劇祭をはしごする」なん

鹿野往来交流館「童里夢」
にて展示されています。10月23日（日）には、地元の特産品、加工品を販売する「鹿野ええもん市」、河内の「果樹の里山まつり」も開催予定です。

イベントの開催時間、場所等の詳細は、下記にてご確認ください。

considered beautiful from a universal viewpoint, not only the perspectiveて楽しみ方も！ 運行の詳細は「麒麟のまち観光局」ウェブサイトにてご確認ください。

※新型コロナウイルス感染拡大の状況によって、運休する場合もあります。必ず事前にウェブサイトでご確認の上、ご利用ください。

イベント① 「週末だけのまちのみせ」 ウェブサイト：smachimise.com 問合せ：NPO法人いんしゅう鹿野まちづくり協議会 0857-84-1188
イベント② 問合せ：鹿野町わったいな祭実行委員会事務局（鹿野町総合支所地域振興課内） 0857-30-8682

of disability.
The performance of CTRL L in this production is an actual staging of a

【主催】鳥の劇場運営委員会 【共催】鳥取県 鳥取市 【助成】令和4年度 文化庁 文化芸術創造拠点形成事業／令和4年度 鳥取県 鳥の劇場運営委員会補助金活用事業（一部事業を除く）【後援】鳥取県教育委員会 鳥取市教育委員会 米子市教育委員会 倉吉市教育委員会 境港市教育委員会

岩美町教育委員会 若桜町教育委員会 智頭町教育委員会 八頭町教育委員会 三朝町教育委員会 湯梨浜町教育委員会 琴浦町教育委員会 北栄町教育委員会 日吉津村教育委員会 大山町教育委員会 南部町教育委員会 伯耆町教育委員会 日南町教育委員会 日野町教育委員会 江府町教育委員会
新日本海新聞社 朝日新聞鳥取総局 山陰中央新報社 毎日新聞鳥取支局 読売新聞鳥取支局 産経新聞社 日本経済新聞社鳥取支局 中国新聞鳥取支局 NHK鳥取放送局 日本海テレビ BSS山陰放送 TSK山陰中央テレビ 共同通信社鳥取支局 時事通信社鳥取支局 日本海ケーブルネットワーク
いなばぴょんぴょんネット エフエム山陰 FM鳥取・RADIO BIRD 鳥取県PTA協議会 公益財団法人鳥取県文化振興財団 在大阪・神戸米国総領事館『BRECHT ON BRECHT 音楽劇 ブレヒト、
ブレヒトを語る』主催：特定非営利活動法人鳥の劇場 助成：（公財）関西･大阪21世紀協会
日米合作『パックさんの魔法／美のことなり』 主催：特定非営利活動法人鳥の劇場 共催：独立行政法人国際交流基金 助成：（公財）関西･大阪21世紀協会

www.birdtheatre.org/engekisai/【芸術監督】中島諒人（演出家、鳥の劇場芸術監督）「鳥の演劇祭15」問合せ窓口（鳥の劇場内） 〒689-0405 鳥取県鳥取市鹿野町鹿野1812-1 〈電話・FAX〉0857-84-3612 〈電子メール〉engekisai@birdtheatre.org

BIRD Theatre Festival TOTTORI 15 poster

piece that was created remotely in 2021.

(Interview conducted on August 9, 2022)＊Reference materials
CTRL L , a Japan–U.S. co-produced video by JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatre and TBTB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6qP__lCE2w

THE CASTING PARTY
A Japan–U.S. co-produced video by JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatre and TBTB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dADg6JgBfk

FY2022 International Creations in Performing Arts

8

PROJECTA

Ctrl L / A Difference of Beauty

REPORTA

1st

2nd

3rd

BIRD Theatre Company TOTTORI and
Theater Breaking Through Barriers (US)Ctrl L / A Difference of Beauty
Second Report: Rehearsals
MORITA Kazuyo
This report looks at the creative process of Theater Breaking ThroughBarriers (TBTB) during their visit to Japan. The creation for the performance
took place in two parts: the first part from September 7th to 12th, andthe second part from the 20th to the 23rd, with TBTBʼs performanceof BRECHT ON BRECHT , a musical theater piece about the German
playwright Bertolt BRECHT, at the 15th BIRD Theatre Festival TOTTORI inbetween.
Rehearsals focused especially on the new work, A Difference of Beauty .
The cast was divided into two groups. In the first part, two female actors
from TBTB and two male actors from JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatre(Ann Marie MORELLI, Bree KLAUSER, ITANI Yuuta, and MIYOSHI Mahirou)

performed, while in the second part, two male actors from TBTB and two
female actors from JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatre (Scott BARTON, Stephen
DRABICKI, SHIMADA Hikaru, and ISHII Yuumi) took the stage.

The script is a mixture of Japanese and English, and it was anticipatedthat memorizing the lines would be challenging, so remote read-throughs
were conducted before the actual face-to-face rehearsals. In addition to
textual information, actors from TBTB and the BIRD Theatre Company also
recorded lines, and the audio was shared with the JIYU Gekijo-Freedom
Theatre actors for practice. Two separate self-practice sessions were also
held for the JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatre actors.

COVID-19 Measures
Upon arrival, antigen tests were administered to everyone. JIYU GekijoFreedom Theatre has a member with underlying health conditions,so COVID-19 prevention measures were taken very seriously, such as

Rehearsals

separating toilets. TBTB has a hard-of-hearing actor, for whom lip-reading
is crucial, so transparent masks were used.
introduced themselves, and the first-half team for A Difference of Beauty

Rehearsal Content

did a read-through. Most actors had their scripts in hand. Since English
and Japanese lines alternate, there was some confusion among all theFirst day of rehearsals (September 7, 2022)
TBTB members, who were scheduled to arrive in Tottori on the 6th, were
held up at Haneda Airport due to confusion with immigration procedures

actors, as they had trouble recognizing the end of their partnerʼs lines andunderstanding where they were in the script. The same issue was faced by
the second-half group and continued to be a challenge until the end.

and traveled to Tottori the morning of the 7th. All actors and staff

A Difference of Beauty was rehearsed separately under the directionof NAKASHIMA Makoto, director of JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatre, andNicholas VISELLI, director of TBTB.
In A Difference of Beauty , the four actorsʼ lines are intertwined, but eachactorʼs lines are essentially monologues. Viselli praised each actor for
their unique physical energy and asked each one to maintain that energy
from beginning to end. While the four characters exist independently, healso asked them to interact occasionally and exhibit unhindered freedom,
as if in unison.
Based on this, Nakashimaʼs method was to have each actor deliver their
entire monologue in the middle of the rehearsal. With his guidance, eachactor was able to experience the emotional changes of their character andmore clearly define their personality.
First day of rehearsals

FY2022 International Creations in Performing Arts

9

PROJECTA

Ctrl L / A Difference of Beauty

REPORTA

1st

2nd

3rd

In the latter half of the rehearsals, Nakashima used harsh words attimes to instruct actors who struggled to express emotions. As he had
spoken about JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatre, I strongly felt that he did notjudge them solely based on their age or disabilities, but instead focusedon their abilities as actors equally. I believe Nakashimaʼs approach ofquestioning the quality as an actor suggests the direction that actors
with disabilities should aim for in the future.

Helping Each Other Within the GroupOne notable aspect of this collaboration is that both TBTB and JIYU
Gekijo-Freedom Theatre have been active in theater for many years. JIYU
Gekijo-Freedom Theatre consists of actors with and without disabilities,
including actors who also perform with BIRD Theatre Company. With yearsof accumulated experience, members naturally helped each other.
I would like to share an episode that occurred during the creation
process. Itani Yuuta, an actor with JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatre, has
cerebral palsy and a mild speech impairment. He uses an electric
wheelchair in daily life and on stage. During a rehearsal, YASUDA Maya,an actor from the BIRD Theatre Company who is also involved with JIYU
Gekijo-Freedom Theatre, suggested that he try lowering his feet from thewheelchair. He usually rests his feet on the wheelchairʼs footrest, but

Yasuda thought that Itaniʼs articulation would improve if he lowered his
feet to the ground and pushed against it. I was impressed with this advice,as it could only come from someone who has worked with the otherperson for many years, knows his or her physical condition, and is able
to step into the other personʼs territory. When moving on stage, Itani has
to place his feet on the footrest. Moreover, the timing and coordination ofsuch movements are essential. I often saw Yasuda giving advice on thesethings as well.
In this production, several actors with intellectual and mental disabilities
are part of the JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatre cast. As rehearsals
progressed, the actors were asked to move while engaging in conversation,away from the script. There were detailed directions, such as place ahand on the shoulder and make eye contact, but some JIYU GekijoFreedom Theatre actors seemed unfamiliar with receiving such detailed
instructions, taking time to understand and occasionally appearing
confused. This is likely inevitable. Some actors even said they felt
confused. In such cases, it left a lasting impression to see their fellow
actors who had worked together with them offer a helping hand.

FY2022 International Creations in Performing Arts

10

PROJECTA

Ctrl L / A Difference of Beauty

BIRD Theatre Company TOTTORI and
Theater Breaking Through Barriers (US)Ctrl L / A Difference of Beauty
Third Report: Performances and Summary
MORITA Kazuyo

REPORTA

1st

2nd

3rd

include elements such as the acceptance of disability, including physicalappearance, and the desire to be seen as a mature individual. Many
universal issues were present, despite their different environments andcommunities.
The differences in language and living environments, as well as
the fact that the TBTB actors had physical disabilities and the JIYU
Gekijo-Freedom Theatre actors had mental or intellectual disabilities,
understandably made the performance of intersecting monologues

This time, I would like to report on the presentation of results andsummarize the entire project.

extremely challenging for both countriesʼ actors. Particularly in the final
days of rehearsals, efforts focused on increasing the level of completion

The performances took place on September 24 and 25, 2022. The

and substance of the performance. However, some actors struggled withorder was A Difference of Beauty 1 , Ctrl L , A Difference of Beauty 2 , andthe sudden changes and speed, and physical considerations forced the

Epilogue . As A Difference of Beauty 1 and 2 are conversation plays withcancelation of the planned talk event The Three-Year Trajectory of theconnected monologues, the insertion between them of Ctrl L , which

Collaboration between TBTB and JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatre on thehas comedic elements, kept the tempo progressing at a good pace andopening day, to be replaced with a final rehearsal (the event took place on

captured the audienceʼs attention.

the second day).

Epilogue featured all eight performers from A Difference of Beauty
expressing their own emotional changes. The focus shifted away from

I attended the first dayʼs performance. There was one striking scene

individual episodes that had dominated until then, creating a circle ofduring the show. In A Difference of Beauty 2 , actor ISHII Yuumi would

unity like a warm breeze. The eight actors looked at each other andstop talking, as if she had trouble remembering her lines. Silence filled theseemed to connect heart to heart beyond words, illustrating the strong

air, and tension spread through the audience. She repeatedly went backmessage embodied in the entire production.

to her previous lines, searching for the words within herself, and finallyCtrl L was a piece originally created online and now performed oncontinued speaking as if tying the found lines together. This happened

stage. It depicted discrepancies in love that occurred during rehearsals

two or three times during the performance I saw, and it was clear that she

as American and Japanese actors attempted to perform SHAKESPEAREʼsappeared confused. According to director NAKASHIMA Makoto, she has

A Midsummer Nightʼs Dream . Lighting was used to divide the stagea cognitive disability due to a memory loss she suffered in middle school.

into left (America) and right (Japan), with the producer character (played

I had seen this happen several times during rehearsals as well. While itʼsby SAITO Yoriaki) at the center, traversing both worlds freely. As it waspurely speculative on my part, perhaps she encounters situations like thisoriginally produced using Zoom, the producerʼs face was projected ontoin her daily life. I felt as though I had caught a glimpse of her everyday

the background through a camera, emphasizing the online nature of thepiece. The content humorously portrayed interactions between the twocountries, with the intermediary Saitoʼs facial expressions and movements

life by sharing this moment. There were also times when the other actorsʼ

bodies, too, not just Ishiiʼs, clearly appeared to have gone beyond theirroles.

being particularly comical and eliciting laughter from the audience. At one

Watching this scene made me question, What abilities are required ofpoint, actors not appearing in Ctrl L played musical instruments as soundactors? As actors, it is ideal to speak lines smoothly and we tend to strive

effects, creating a sense of unity as a single group that transcended thefor strength and certainty. However, is that all there is? Of course, this isprogram.

not to say that delivering lines haltingly is the correct approach, and I do
not want to focus solely on disability. It is dangerous to become trapped

Now, I would like to provide a more detailed description of theperformance of the new work, A Difference of Beauty .

A Difference of Beauty begins with eight actors on stage being asked

by disability traits. The individuals on stage exist as actors, regardlessof whether they have a disability or not. However, I was greatly moved
by Ishiiʼs performance, as if it had given me a new standard of value forthe questions What do you think is beautiful? and When I say you areacting from the way she sincerely confronted her physical and mental

beautiful, what do you think? Four actors then remain on stage, and A

situation on stage. There might be a kind of richness that we miss if

Difference of Beauty 1 begins. In the background, Japanese translations

judgments are based solely on normative values.

of lines spoken by Theater Breaking Through Barriers (TBTB) actors andEnglish translations of lines spoken by JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatre
actors are displayed as subtitles.
In A Difference of Beauty , the actors express their thoughts on being
calledbeautiful

This collaborative performance also gave me food for thought about
the possibilities of theater. In a chat during rehearsals, I was a bit struck
when Nicholas VISELLI, the director of TBTB, said, Whatʼs the problem

and the confusion it causes. They explore whatwith an actor in a wheelchair playing Macbeth? Although both TBTB andassociations the word beautiful brings to mind, and through overlapping

JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatre have staged Shakespeare several times in

episodes, they share stories about their appearances, families, and past

the past, theater companies that embark on such adventures are few andevents. The four monologues stand alone, yet occasionally intersect in a

far between, especially in Japan. What Viselli might have been referring

mysterious way, creating a space where the emotional changes arising

to, I believe, is the potential of theater. Theater is not about reproducing

from the connection of their words are depicted. The script, createdreality as it is. Through direction, actorsʼ imaginations, and modes ofthrough interviews with the actors by the playwright, is sometimes spoken

expression, realistic characters can be created regardless of physicalin poetic language. The words of the Japanese actors were translatedcharacteristics. For example, the presence of a wheelchair can make aand then expanded into lines by the American playwright. The episodes

situation more realistically depicted and allow the audienceʼs imagination

discussed here do not solely focus on aspects of disability; they also

FY2022 International Creations in Performing Arts

to be expanded. Itʼs not just about whether in a wheelchair or not or

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Ctrl L / A Difference of Beauty

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limiting and pitiable phrases like despite having a disability, but daring

not express through words, by playing musical instruments, singing, andto engage with the wheelchair as a positive element, creating an entirely

spending time rehearsing together.

new kind of expression.
Unfortunately, there are not many performances in Japan that take

ITANI Yuuta, an actor at JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatre, said after thethis perspective and put it into practice. As an audience member, theperformance, I felt connected in a way beyond language. Through thisexperience of seeing actors in wheelchairs performing on stage is still rare.

project, I learned experientially the importance of the power to sense what

One reason for this is the lack of attention to the development of diverse

the other person is trying to say, including non-verbal aspects, and theactors, including those with disabilities.

communication born from actual interaction. There are lines in Epilogue

In Japan, the distinction of the profession of an actor is ambiguous,that embody the whole project:regardless of whether or not one has a disability. According to Viselli,
there is also ambiguity in the United States, but one guideline is whether
or not an actor can join an actorsʼ union. Although the hurdle is high, once
registered, actors can obtain work with a guaranteed fee. Furthermore,
at TBTB, training opportunities are provided to nurture and evaluate
aspiring actors with little experience. In addition to actors, there is also amovement to create opportunities, specifically for people with disabilities,
for nurturing playwrights and directors. As an actor with a disability myself,
I cannot help but hope that the theatrical activities of diverse people,
including those with disabilities, will become more vibrant in Japan.
During their stay, TBTB released several videos on social media as
vlogs (video blogs). In these videos, actors from both JIYU Gekijo-Freedom
Theatre and TBTB were seen interacting through music. Although thelanguage barrier was present during this collaborative performance, theactors were able to bridge the gap, both in what they could and could

No matter how different we appear, underneath it all, whether wethink it…
Feel it.
Sense it.
Know it.
Weʼre all the same.
Human beings with the same wants and needs.
Needs that play out differently through the architecture of our bodies.
Transcending Language, Thought and Culture.
We all desire to love…
(Omitted)

We all recognize in others that which we have in ourselves.
Whether itʼs understood by words.

Whether itʼs experienceable through music.
Whether itʼs noticeable in the body.
Whether itʼs felt through the soul.

No matter how different we are… We are all connected by Love.

The performance concludes with these words.
This collaborative performance was made possible through the steadyexchange between JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatre and TBTB since 2014.
Amid pandemic travel restrictions, last yearʼs online creative work led tothe creation of Ctrl L . Furthermore, a play like A Difference of Beauty ,where actors reveal their inner selves, could not have been created
without mutual trust. The decision to create and perform this work iscommendable. It is the fruit that came from the two theater companies
overcoming challenges by connecting with love while accepting differencesin nationality, language, and bodies. There are still very few examples ofsuch international initiatives, especially by theater companies that include
people with disabilities. I look forward to further efforts in this direction.

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PROJECTA Conversation with the Sun (VR)Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL (Thailand) andSAKAMOTO Ryuichi
In this international coproduction, Thai film director Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL, who continues
to update the history of cinema with numerous masterpieces, collaborated with leading Japanesecomposer SAKAMOTO Ryuichi and a team of creators led by TANIGUCHI Katsuya, one of Japanʼs

Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL
Courtesy of Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Photo by Supatra Srithongkum and Sutiwat
Kumpaimost skilled VR production engineers, to create his first interactive performance using VR technology.
Featuring communion with unseen spiritual beings, sick and sleeping bodies, and a sense of timesuspended in a circle, Apichatpongʼs cinematic world almost seems to have anticipated the postpandemic era. With that world boldly expanded by VR technology, he sought to achieve ritualistic
performances in which previously inaccessible physical sensations are created and collectively
experienced. The world premiere performance took place at the international art festival Aichi
Triennale 2022 in October 2022.
SAKAMOTO Ryuichi
Photo by zakkubalan ©2020 Kab Inc.

Outline of Performances

日時： Schedule: October 4 (Tues.), to October 9 (Sun.), 2022

1:00 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6:00 p.m.,
6:30 p.m., and 7:00 p.m.
October 10 (Mon. public holiday)
1:00 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m., 5:30 p.m., and 6:00 p.m.
Duration: 60 min.
Venue: Large Rehearsal Room, Aichi Prefectural Art Theater

Credits
Concept & Direction: Apichatpong WEERASETHAKULThai Translation: FUKUTOMI ShoCreative Assistant: Sompot CHIDGASORNPONGSE
Technical Manager: OZAKI So
Cast: Jenjira Pongpas WIDNER, Sakda Kaewbuadee VAYSSE,

Stage Manager: OIKAWA Sato

Chai BHATANA, Sam MITCHELL, and Sita KIATNERAMIT

Lighting Designer: YOSHIDA Kazuya
Sound Engineer: DOI Shinjiro

Music: SAKAMOTO Ryuichi
Sound Designers: Akritchalerm KALAYANAMITR and SHIMIZU Koichi

Video Documentation & Photography: SATO Shun

Director of Photography: Chatchai SUBAN

Producer/Curator: SOMA Chiaki (Aichi Triennale 2022)

Camera Assistant and Production: Thanayos ROOPKHAJORN

Production Manager: SHIMIZU Tsubasa (Aichi Triennale 2022)

Set Director: Natchanon PRIBWAI

Production Coordinator: SHIBATA Haruka (Aichi Triennale 2022)

Film Production Crew: Jirayu RATTANAKHANAHUTANON,

Operation Staff: HASHIBA Miran and HANZAWA Nanami

Pongsakorn NANTA, and Suttipong NANTA
Film Production Manager: Phatsamon KAMNERTSIRI

Organized by: Arts Commons Tokyo and Aichi Triennale Organizing

Film Production Assistant: Somporn RUENSAI

Committee
Co-Organizer: The Japan Foundation and Aichi Prefectural Art Theater

Film Production by Kick the Machine Films

Co-Production: Arts Commons Tokyo, Aichi Triennale Organizing
Committee, The Japan Foundation, and Theater der Welt 2023

VR Creator: TANIGUCHI KatsuyaSpecial Support: Shane AKEROYDVR Production: YAMAGUCHI Taisei, KIDO Hideyuki,

Support: RHINO STUDIOS INC., Goethe-Institut Tokyo, SCAI THE

THIANTANUKIJ Nuttanit, KONDO Kana, YOSHIZAWA Satomi,

BATHHOUSE, and Museo Larco

SATO Hisashi, IKEDA Yoshinori, and TAKATORI Hikaru

Equipment Support: Psychic VR Lab Co., Ltd.

VR Adviser: NOMURA Tsuyoshi

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PROJECTA

A Conversation with the Sun (VR)A Conversation with the Sun (VR) (Aichi Triennale 2022, performance photo)
Photo: Shun Sato

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A Conversation with the Sun (VR)REPORTA

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Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL (Thailand) andSAKAMOTO Ryuichi

A Conversation with the Sun (VR)First Report: Background to the Coproduction
and Observation of Rehearsals
KWON Sanghae
Background to the Coproduction
A Conversation with the Sun (VR) by film director Apichatpong
WEERASETHAKUL (1970–) is a coproduction with Arts Commons Tokyo.1
According to Weerasethakul, the title means coming into contact with thesource of all life and art while observing and walking through the world
illuminated by the light of the Sun. The work will show viewers footage andFigure 1: The tracking test screen (Credit: Arts Commons Tokyo)

landscapes realized using virtual reality (VR) technology from all angles
while they listen to ambient sounds recorded by Weerasethakul in Chiang
Mai, Thailand, and the Peruvian Amazon, as well as music composed by
SAKAMOTO Ryuichi in response. Weerasethakul will use the (virtual)
conversation with the Sun that emerges through contact with thesedreamlike scenes as a starting point to expand the future of landscapes,
humanity, and technology that he has continually explored.
The coproduction began with Arts Commons Tokyo representative
director and art producer SOMA Chiaki commissioning a new VR
performance from Weerasethakul. According to Soma, around June 2021,
she asked him to create a VR work and submit it to the international art
festival Aichi Triennale 2022. This was because she felt that a VR work
not only would be highly feasible despite the COVID-19 pandemic but also
had the potential to redefine human perception. When Weerasethakul
first received the commission, he was worried about his lack of knowledge
and creative experience with VR.2 However, he decided to join the project

Figure 2: Staff conducting the tracking test (Photo: Kwon Sanghae)after seeing some of the past VR works that Soma had curated. Next, in
October of that year, a meeting was held with the VR technical team, andthe decision was made to collaborate with Sakamoto. Weerasethakul, whoenvironments created on a computer, as if transcending time and space.

took a deep interest in Sakamotoʼs music, was the one who proposed

In ordinary VR works, the viewer can no longer see the real-world space

the collaboration to the production team. In March 2022, Weerasethakul

after putting on the VR head-mounted display (HMD). A key concept in A

visited Aichi Prefectural Art Theater with TANIGUCHI Katsuya from

Conversation with the Sun (VR) is the creation of a sense that the actual

Rhino Studios, which specializes in creating VR works and games, andand virtual spaces are connected by reproducing the same images that3

VR adviser NOMURA Tsuyoshi. There, they fleshed out the image of theexist in the actual space (the Large Rehearsal Room), such as the movie on

work, and in June of that year, Weerasethakul recorded ambient sounds

the screen and the patterns on the floor, in the 360-degree virtual space.5of the Amazon while staying in Peru. At the rehearsals in August that I

To actually realize this kind of mechanism, a great deal of ingenuity isattended as an Observer, I was able to watch elements created in separate

required on both the technical and operational sides, including not only

locations be assembled and set up as a performance space.

installing the screen and projectors for the set and checking the lighting
and sound, but also operating and controlling the HMDs, programming theRehearsals

VR, and fixing any glitches in the VR footage.

Schedule: August 23–26, 2022 (I joined only on August 23 and 24.)and projectors, a tracking test, and a VR footage test were conducted

Location: Large Rehearsal Room, Aichi Prefectural Art Theaterin that order. On August 23, a freestanding screen was assembled in

During the rehearsals on August 23 and 24, installation of the screen

the center of the Large Rehearsal Room, and two movie projectors were

A Conversation with the Sun (VR) is divided into two parts, each 30

installed on either side of it. That afternoon, a tracking test was conducted

minutes long. Viewers watch a movie on a screen in the first part andto confirm that the cameras on the HMDs were correctly obtaining spatial

then view VR footage in the same space in the second part.4 Both parts

position data. If tracking was not performed correctly, the VR plane would

can be viewed while moving through that space. This composite structure

be tilted, making it difficult to view the footage. Therefore, it had to be

mutually expands the real and virtual worlds by way of sleep,

checked for tilting while wearing a test HMD with a gridded screen (Fig.

dreams,and the Sun, themes that Weerasethakul has long taken interest in.
VR is technology that simulates the experience of being in artificial

FY2022 International Creations in Performing Arts

1). If tilting was discovered, patterns called feature points would need tobe added to the space or the movie projected on the screen changed to15

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A Conversation with the Sun (VR)REPORTA

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one with less movement to make it easier for the HMD to obtain position
data. As the movie was difficult to track, the production team proposed
switching it to a different one (Fig. 2) but eventually remedied the problem
by laying carpets in three colors on the floor in a random pattern (Fig. 3).
In the VR footage test, everyone viewed an about 30-minute demo
video that Rhino Studios had created based on a storyboard drawn by
Weerasethakul. Afterwards, Weerasethakul himself pointed out areas for
improvement related to specific images in the footage, computer-generated
effects, and the frame rate (Fig. 4). He asked the production team to revise
elements such as the texture of a huge cloth that comes flying from afar,
afterimages around the outlines of light and shadow, and the speed ofwalking figures. The VR production team led by Rhino Studios and Arts
Commons Tokyo sought to enhance the quality of the finished work byproposing and implementing specific methods of improvement in response
to Weerasethakulʼs feedback.
Figure 3: Carpets used to create feature points (Photo: Kwon Sanghae)

1 A Conversation with the Sun (VR) is an extension of an installation by Weerasethakul
with the same title (A Conversation with the Sun , exhibited from May 28 to July 10,2022, at Bangkok CityCity Gallery), in which he reconfigured fragments of footagethat he had previously shot using AI technology.
2 While this was Weerasethakulʼs first time working on a VR project, he had alreadyexpressed interest in doing so around 2017. SASAKI Atsushi, APICHATPONGWEERASETHAKUL― Fever Room, The Japan Foundation website, July 5, 2017 (lastviewed September 13, 2022)
https://asiawa.jpf.go.jp/en/culture/features/f-ah-tpam-apichatpong-weerasethakul/
3 Rhino Studios led by VR creator Taniguchi Katsuya is a company involved in a wide
range of cultural and artistic VR productions, spanning the performing arts, visualart, music, and games.
4 In this report, movie refers to the film projected on both sides of the screen andfootage to the images viewed in VR.
5 In the early stages, the plan was for the project to combine augmented reality(AR) and VR technology in a work that would show see-through camera footage
together with effects and animation, eventually turning into VR. However, due to thecharacteristics of the HMDs used, a see-through camera could not be implemented
if there was too much contrast between the depictions of the Sun and shadows.
Because of this technical issue, the project ended up only using VR.

Figure 4: Weerasethakul in a meeting (second from right) (Photo: Kwon Sanghae)

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PROJECTA

A Conversation with the Sun (VR)Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL (Thailand) andSAKAMOTO Ryuichi

A Conversation with the Sun (VR)Second Report: Observation of Rehearsals andInterviews
KWON Sanghae
Observation of Rehearsals

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Interview with Apichatpong Weerasethakul
̶ There were a lot of changes in the footage from last monthʼs version.

Is this version basically the finished product?
Weerasethakul:

Yes, itʼs almost finished. But we havenʼt tried it on thesame screen as the actual performance yet, so I think that what you saw
today will only be half of the full experience.
̶ I heard that this is your first time working on a VR project. Is there

anything about this production thatʼs been different from previous ones?

Schedule: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., September 21, 2022
Location: 5th Gymnasium, Athletic Building B1,
National Olympics Memorial Youth Center

Weerasethakul: Yes, itʼs been completely different. The collaboration withvarious people and especially the production using computer technology
was very different from filmmaking and full of new things for me.

This report describes the rehearsal held at the National Olympics
Memorial Youth Center on September 21, as well as interviews conducted

Normally, I make very simple drawings to convey what I want to do during
production, but this time, I had to draw lots of storyboards (Fig. 2).

thereafter.
The rehearsal mainly consisted of multiple VR footage tests, eachwith slightly different content (Fig. 1). Although the test venue differedsignificantly from the actual performance environment in terms of spatialarea, the material and pattern of the flooring, and video and soundequipment, wearing an HMD made it possible to experience VR footage
reproducing the actual performance space. The content of the footage hadchanged a great deal since August. For example, a scene in which the Sun
rises from the ground and gives birth to multiple smaller suns, a scene inwhich fabric falls down from just above the screen, and scenes of a giant
clay statue and a cave had been newly added. The feeling of encountering
the lifelike presence of the clay statue that appears at the midpoint andthat of slowly rotating inside the cave were physical experiences only
feasible with VR, which would have been difficult to achieve in real life.
Thus, both the format and content of the coproduction continued
to transform. What was the process through which this collaboration
was being carried out? After the VR test, I interviewed Apichatpong
WEERASETHAKUL and VR creator TANIGUCHI Katsuya (Rhino Studios)ahead of the completion of the project.

Figure 2: Weerasethakulʼs storyboard (Credit: Arts Commons Tokyo)

̶ This international coproduction was carried out amid travel

restrictions, and nearly the entire production process was completed
remotely. That being said, Iʼm sure that on-site rehearsals are importantto the overall process. What sorts of things can you only discover in an
actual location?
Weerasethakul: Most of all, itʼs being able to experience that space. This

work has a mechanism whereby viewers can perceive each other within
the VR as balls of light. By testing the VR in an actual space, you canactually experience this feature. You can also experience the moment
when the installation with a movie projected on both sides of a screen
switches to VR. Devising how these aspects are perceived by the audienceis our current task.

Figure 1: Weerasethakul testing the VR (Photo: Kwon Sanghae)

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A Conversation with the Sun (VR)REPORTA

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̶ This project was created through collaboration among people working

in various fields, such as Arts Commons Tokyo and Rhino Studios. Is there
anything that has left a particular impression on you?
Weerasethakul: Whatʼs left the biggest impression on me is the processof creative collaboration among three groups specializing in film, VR, andthe performing arts. With film, the director can guide the audience to lookat something specific, but with VR, you canʼt control the audienceʼs gaze.
In that sense, I feel like VR has a more open aspect.

Interview with Taniguchi Katsuya
̶ How was it collaborating with Apichatpong?
Taniguchi: It was very interesting. There are ways in which our thinking

is similar and also ways in which itʼs different, so we started by probing
those. He works in film, and I work in VR. I found it fascinating how theseare so similar and yet completely different. Even though we both work withimages, which are something visible to the eye, it was interesting creatingthem together with totally different ways of thinking.
̶ I heard that Apichatpong visited Rhino Studios in Tokyo several times

in September. What did you work on at those times?
Taniguchi:

The process was always that Apichatpong would send me akind of timeline, Iʼd create footage based on that for him to experience,
and weʼd discuss the footage (Fig. 3). Then, Iʼd remake it. Each time, thefootage kept changing, as if the previous versions hadnʼt even existed.

Figure 3: Weerasethakul doing tests at Rhino Studios (Credit: Arts Commons Tokyo)̶ What have you found the most rewarding in this collaboration with

Apichatpong?
Taniguchi:

Even though Iʼve created various things in VR, Apichatpong

will present ideas that had never occurred to me. When we create those
together, there have been times when it revealed a world Iʼd never seen

before, which was really amazing. Itʼs been one thing like that after
another. Iʼm glad to have been given the opportunity to contemplatethings I normally wouldnʼt think about.

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A Conversation with the Sun (VR)REPORTA

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evening progressing into night, audience members are transported to a

Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL (Thailand) andSAKAMOTO Ryuichi

time and space where the boundaries between dreams and reality andbetween the unconscious and cognition are blurred. The movie can be

A Conversation with the Sun (VR)Third Report: Performanceviewed while sitting in the chairs along the walls of the venue or while
walking around the space. However, as the venue is scattered with people
wearing HMDs, I had to move around to locations where the movie was

KWON Sanghae

more visible while watching it.
At the end of the first half, the audience members who were viewing

Owing to his health condition, I was unable to interview one of thethe VR take off their HMDs and leave the venue. Then, the audience

leaders of the international coproduction, composer SAKAMOTO

members from the first half view the VR (Fig. 3). After the HMD is put on,

Ryuichi. Before reporting on the performances, I would like to share the

Weerasethakulʼs movie is visible in the central frame with multiple small

background to Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL commissioning musicballs of light around it. Audience members can explore the space withoutfrom Sakamoto, along with an anecdote related to the production.

bumping into others or the set by remaining aware of the positions of the

Weerasethakul proposed the collaboration to Sakamoto in October 2021,

balls of light and the frame. If they get too close to their surroundings, aurging him to have fun with the production while resting. The two dined

gridded wall called the guardian appears and alerts them of the danger

together in March 2022 and discussed Sakamotoʼs health issues as wellof contact.

as books they had read recently.1 In August of that year, Weerasethakul

While looking at the central frame, six or seven frames appear floating

shared his image of the music he would like to commission with Sakamoto,in the distance. They show footage of people sleeping indoors or outdoors

along with a written explanation of the content and structure of the work,and trees swaying in the wind. The floating frames disappear, and thena storyboard, ambient sounds that he had recorded in the Amazon, and so

the floor transforms into reddish-brown ground, and stones of variouson. He proposed details about the music, such as further explaining thatsizes slowly fall from the sky. As piano music composed by Sakamoto

it should be Something between natural and man-madeSomethingmixes with ambient jungle sounds, the surrounding scenery switches to aand drawing
a timeline of the parts that would featureemotional
how: a calmambience with intermittent
breeze (leaves).

cave. Emotional music briefly brings back vaguely familiar memories andve sound from the screen, evening sound, crickets, and the performers' activity on both sides of the screen.
1). man,ʼsenvironment
ʼs music
music (Fig.
Sakamoto
Sakamoto
e-time soundfrom the VR(walking
moving fabric,
the sun) used(ﬁre). in the performances

images. Then, a clay statue suddenly appears in a corner of the cave. As

wascompleted
month
atthe
the
ofThenSeptember.
Sunroduce yoursound(seen in red ain theimage)later,
subtly atendbeginningof section one.
your sound will be coming and leaving inthe
the VR(the moves closer to the statueʼs head, the statueʼs eyes melt. The
cludes a headphone). It becomes more intense towards the end.
entire space slowly rotates counterclockwise, and the ceiling of the cave
starts to open up. The footage ends with the Sun floating up toward theceiling and dividing into countless balls of light.

Figure1: Themusictimeline that Weerasethakul sent to Sakamotou think of thefollowingsound
idea?:

ments, frequency bits, and waves, as though blown by the wind. Something between natural and man-made.
nents are combined to make a melody (body) (or a hint of melody). Something emotional. When one is connected to the universe, one
ng of self and memory, in my opinion. What remains are texture, color, lights, and movement with no or limitless meaning. There isrting with one's ego and memory, but there is also joy in entering a state of emptiness.

Performances

melodic body is then disintegrated into bits and pieces...until it reassembles itself. The melodic body in the timeline can be one orodies, resulting in an abundance of bodies and the inter-exchange of bits to generate the other bodies. A crash occurs, and chaos
re is also harmony.
On October 5, 2022, I traveled to Nagoya to attend one of theperformances of A Conversation with the Sun (VR) as well as a talk event
featuring Weerasethakul. This final report describes the outcome of theinternational coproduction, challenges, and future prospects.
First, I will discuss the artistic attainment of the work while touchingon its overall content and the experience of audiences. Before entering
the venue, viewers receive explanations from staff on how to use the VR,
precautions on bumping into other audience members or the set, andwhat to do if there is a problem during viewing. Upon entering the venue,
a two-sided screen can be seen hanging from the center of the ceiling,along with people wearing HMDs surrounding it (Fig. 2).
The work is divided into two parts, each 30 minutes long. Because the 15
audience members in the first half continue to view the second half in thesame space, there are always about 30 audience members in the venue,
excluding the first and last timeslots. The movie projected onto the screenin the first half depicts segmented events such as sleeping people, scenesof a night market, structures with neon signs, a crowd gathered in a plaza,and bushes swaying in the wind. While viewing fragmented images of
Figure 2 (Top) / Figure 3 (Bottom): A Conversation with the Sun (VR) (Aichi Triennale
2022, performance photo)
Photo: Shun Sato
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A Conversation with the Sun (VR)PROJECTAREPORTA

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What is notable about the work is that audience members are noteven when using the VR, which was quite dangerous, so we made an

restricted to their seats or to a particular perspective. They can view theannouncement asking them to walk around slowly before they entered

entire space, including the movie screen, from their desired position or

the venue and repeated that same message while they were wearing thewhile walking around wearing an HMD. This complex structure conforms

HMDs. After that, they moved around more slowly.

with Weerasethakulʼs recent tendency to extend his experimentation
with film through the two-dimensional medium of the screen into the

Evaluation of Project and Future Prospects

three-dimensional time-space of the performing arts. The experience ofmoving between real and virtual (dream) spaces through the introduction

As I have already mentioned, the VR used in the work is a medium thatof VR and the induction of movement in the audience are features that

holds new potential for art appreciation but also has various technicaldifferentiate this work from his past ones.

limitations.

Interviews

Weerasethakulʼs aim of an experiment with expanding the concept of a

In artistic terms, the work has important implications in the sense thatmovie has taken on further potential through VR technology. Rather thanWithin the production process, Weerasethakul regarded audience
movement

̶ audience members exploring the space according to theirsimply showing audiences Weerasethakulʼs movie in VR, the work gives
them an integrated experience of the disparate elements of a movie, VR

own lines of flow and sight̶ as an important component of the work andfootage, and music in a presentation space that emphasizes audience

aimed to create a presentation space in which both people watching the

movement. It could be said that the artistic significance of the work is themovie and those experiencing the VR can move around. I will explain theviewing experience thus realized, an experience of seeming to traverse

significance of the audience movement and the process of realizing it withdreams and reality.

quotes from interviews I conducted with Weerasethakul and production
coordinator SHIBATA Haruka (Arts Commons Tokyo).2

The VR technology that supports these artistic aspects currently has
several limitations. Examples include the low image quality of the VR
footage and the motion sickness produced by the scene of rotating inside

Interview with Apichatpong Weerasethakul

the cave. These technical issues with VR in the present can be resolved by
improvements to VR performance in the longer term. The act of production

̶ Tell me about the composition of the work, in which seated audience

using new technology itself is surely not as important as accumulating

members and those walking around are in the same space.

expertise in production processes and operational frameworks to realize aricher experience for audiences.

Itʼs like Iʼm showing my vision for how weʼll exchange

Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Sakamoto Ryuichi, Rhino Studios, andideas and emotions in the future. The first part is experienced while seatedArts Commons Tokyo collaborated systematically while sharing an overall

in a chair or walking around, and the second is experienced while moving

picture of the work and successfully established an operational frameworkaround the installation in VR. By synchronizing these experiences, my aim

on-site. In this sense, I believe that the international coproduction,is to activate memories through the movie̶ to make the experience ofcomprising the remote production due to the Covid-19 pandemic andwatching the movie not just a passive one. The work can inspire a physicalon-site rehearsals, will provide an excellent example for VR in future

experience in audience members, as if in a dream. As the technology isinternational coproductions.

Weerasethakul:

currently still in its infancy, you feel a sense of wearing the gear. But in the

What implications does the coproduction have for Weerasethakul

future, I suspect that itʼll be possible to have very natural experiences, andhimself, and how will it lead to future prospects? I would like to conclude

immersing oneself in a fictional environment will become common.

by quoting some of his impressions of the VR production that he shared in
an interview with producer SOMA Chiaki.

3

Operational techniques are necessary to guide the movement ofaudience members, because any contact between viewers or with theset not only affects viewing, but also puts viewers in danger while in avulnerable state. Production coordinator Shibata described the actual
operational situation as follows.

Interview with Shibata Haruka
̶ It seems like the operational techniques of Arts Commons Tokyo for・VR allows the viewer to simulate, which leads to a more expansive

and dreamlike experience of the world. This becomes very importantin navigating the audience through the space.
・VR effortlessly conveys rich sensations from every angle. It reflects

humansʼ ability to see the world beyond our own viewpoint.

Through this VR production, Weerasethakul appears to have obtained

the performing arts were very important in realizing audience movement.

a critical vantage point for exploring the audienceʼs movement and lines

How did the audience movement envisioned by Weerasethakul actuallyof sight. However, at the same time, he maintains a cautious attitude

manifest itself?

toward the fact that technology comes to the forefront and emotion isforgotten when talking about VR. His proposal of the collaboration to

The audience members moved around a lot. There were

Sakamoto was the result of him focusing on the underlying commonalities

situations that put a large burden on the operational side, so I think

between Sakamotoʼs music, which mixes traditional instruments withimprovement might be necessary. When you have 30 people in the same

futuristic sound production, and his own art blending film with otherspace, some move around a lot, whereas others donʼt move at all. My

media.4 While expanding the range of human perception and expression

impression is that audience movement varied by individual. Within thethrough technology, he always seems to shine a light on the touches offirst audience, there were a lot of people who walked around quickly

humanity that spill out. I believe that it is Weerasethakulʼs inexhaustible

Shibata:

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A Conversation with the Sun (VR)REPORTA

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inquisitiveness and vigilance toward technology that will lead to a driving
force for expanding humanityʼs imagination with regard to VR and art in
the future.

1 The books included Freedom from the Known by Indian-born writer Jiddu
KRISHNAMURTI.
2 In this production, Shibata was responsible for clerical work, interpreting for
Weerasethakul, and production coordination.
3 Interview with Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Interviewer: Soma Chiaki),Apichatpong Weerasethakul A Conversation with the Sun (VR) Performance
Pamphlet , 2022, page 44 Ibid., page 5

FY2022 International Creations in Performing Arts

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PROJECT

Merzbow, Balázs Pándi & Richard
Pinhas with Lieko Shiga: Bipolar
SHIGA Lieko, Merzbow, Balázs PÁNDI (Hungary), andRichard PINHAS (France)
This visual concert marked the first attempt at collaboration between internationally renowned
photographer SHIGA Lieko; Merzbow, a noise project by AKITA Masami; Balázs PÁNDI, a drummer
who joined Akita on the musical album Cuts ; and Richard PINHAS, who pioneered experimental rockin France from the 1970s onward. Improvisation and video blended together in the experimental work,

AKITA Masami Photo by Jien Akita

with layered sounds born from improvisation by the three performers and new videos that Shiga hascontinually produced over the course of three years, which she edited in real time.
The work premiered at Kyoto Experiment (Kyoto International Performing Arts Festival) 2022 in October
2022.

Outline of Performances

Schedule: 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 8, and Sunday, October 9, 2022
Duration: approx. 60 min.
Venue: Kyoto Art Theater Shunjuza

Credits

SHIGA Lieko

Performers: Merzbow, Balázs PÁNDI, and Richard PINHASVideo Creation and Live Editing: SHIGA Lieko
Video Shooting and Editing Technical Support: SATO Takahiro
Camera Assistants: OHKUBO Motoki, KURIHARA Yusuke, CHIBA Dai, NAGASAKI Yoshitomo, and
FUKUDA Misato
Main Performers (Video): ARIMURA Maki, IWAMA Tomonori, KIKUCHI Soutaro, KUDO Natsumi,
KURIHARA Yusuke, SAITO Harumichi, TAKAHASHI Manabu, NAKAMURA Yuki, andMORIYAMA Manami
Stage Manager: OTA Kazushi (Kyoto Performing Arts Center at Kyoto University of the Arts)Sound: NISHIKAWA Bunsho, FUKAMI Hokuto, and KIRIHARA Madoka
Lighting: TAKADA Masayoshi (RYU)
Technical Support: MORITA Ryo
Production Managers: GOTO Takanori and KAWAHARA Miho (Kyoto Performing Arts Center at Kyoto

Balázs PÁNDI

University of the Arts)

Organized by: Kyoto Experiment and Kyoto Performing Arts Center at Kyoto University of the Arts
Co-Organizer: The Japan Foundation
Co-Production: Kyoto Experiment, Kyoto Performing Arts Center at Kyoto University of the Arts, and
The Japan Foundation

Richard PINHAS Photo by Richard Dumas

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Merzbow, Balázs Pándi & Richard Pinhas with
Lieko Shiga: Bipolar

REPORTA

Photographer: INOUE Yoshikazu
Credit: Kyoto Experiment

FY2022 International Creations in Performing Arts

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Merzbow, Balázs Pándi & Richard Pinhas with
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SHIGA Lieko, Merzbow, Balázs PÁNDI (Hungary), andRichard PINHAS (France)

Merzbow, Balázs Pándi & Richard Pinhas with
Lieko Shiga: Bipolar First Report: Launch of
Project
MORIYAMA Naoto
This project was planned as part of the Shows program of Kyoto
Experiment (Kyoto International Performing Arts Festival; KEX ), and its
character as an international exchange project is based on that premise.
Not only the specific work by the participating artists but also the concept
proposed as a launchpad on the planning side had important implications
for the process as a whole.
Accordingly, my report will start by focusing on the above two aspects.

Aims of the Planners
On July 22, 2022, I conducted an online interview with KEX co-directors
TSUKAHARA Yuya, KAWASAKI Yoko, and Juliet Reiko KNAPP.
（1）The seeds of the project were born around the summer of 2019, when

the three festival co-directors were confirmed as the successors
to their predecessor HASHIMOTO Yusuke. Considering that past
programming had included（1）performing arts and music and（2）presentation of historic artists, they apparently thought immediately of
the combination of Merzbow and SHIGA Lieko.
（2）Since meeting Shiga for the first time in 2010, Tsukahara had cultivatedtheir relationship in various ways. Shiga had been devoted to ballet
as a child and became familiar with avant-garde performing arts while
studying in the UK. Her photographic works reveal an ability to involveothers and an interest in physicality. The three co-directors discussed
Tsukaharaʼs proposal and decided to bring her on board.
（3）Merzbow had frequently collaborated with overseas musicians in

the past. Although various overseas musicians were proposed as
candidates for the project, changes had to be made due to the impactof the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the finalized members, Richard
PINHAS was proposed by AKITA Masami himself. Upon further
research, it was found that Pinhas had a very interesting background,having majored in philosophy in the 1970s and studied directly under

Inside Shigaʼs studio (video work in progress was projected onto the white wall in front)

Work of the Artists
A defining feature of the project is the fact that all of the participatingmusicians are at their best when improvising. Thus, the international
coproduction is not of the type in which all of the participants completea single package over a long period. What should be shared in advanceand how, and what should not be shared in order to produce the richest
improvisation during the actual performances? As of July 22, a basic
profile of Shiga and samples of her work had been sent to the musicians
and received a good response, but the participants had (intentionally) not
engaged in further interactions.
The format of a visual concert meant that Shigaʼs video footage
would be a key element of the jam sessions, so producing it preceded
other tasks. To learn more, I visited Shigaʼs studio in Miyagi Prefecture on
September 20. Her studio is a large space that was formerly a pachinko
parlor, allowing her to project video on almost the same scale as thescreen to be used for the actual performances (22 by 7 meters). The video
footage to be used in the actual performances was nearly complete. Shiga
explained the structure, which consisted of 16 sequences (each one looped)with 11 layers along a single timeline, using a diagram. She said that sheplanned to improvise with this basic structure in response to the live
music during the actual performances, like a DJ. I was fortunate to havethe chance to see a roughly 50-minute video clip using the basic layers̶Gilles DELEUZE and Jean-François LYOTARD. Balázs PÁNDI had
already established a reputation as a musician, despite his young age.

Online interview with the KEX direction team

FY2022 International Creations in Performing Arts

Scenery surrounding the studio24

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Merzbow, Balázs Pándi & Richard Pinhas with
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already shared with the musicians in data form on September 2̶ on thelarge screen. It was incredibly impressive.
Nearly all of Shigaʼs past photographic works have been still images.
She said that when Tsukahara first approached her about the project,
she felt it would be a good time to take on the new challenge of video,
as she had actually been continually working on various experimentswith filming for three years. She described her photographic works asimages that hit you in one breath.

Previously, she had focused on

how to receive the moment when the unexpected occurs or somethingcrosses over, which she believed without fail to occur. Thus, whether inphoto collections or exhibitions, a leap forward or gap between moments(breaths) exists between one photograph and another, which triggers theaudienceʼs imagination. However, with video, the time gap must be given
concrete form. That was her challenge in this project. She felt that actively
representing the in-between time (narrativity) that she had previously
only expressed as invisible gaps would give her a unique opportunity toreview the temporality of the 11 years that have passed since the Great
East Japan earthquake and tsunami, as well as her own photography. Thisis a somewhat rough summary of what she explained to me.
Like Tsukahara, Shiga said that she had idolized Merzbow since her
teens. On the day of my visit, she was projecting videos while blasting
Pinhasʼ music. She said she was also imagining the entry of Balázsʼ
drums as she edited the video. In this large studio space that would
have been impossible to maintain in a major Japanese city, as I immersed
myself fully in the overwhelming footage with a gritty feel with which Shiga
must have repeatedly experimented, I could sense that an image of theactual performances was steadily building up within her.
Full view of Shigaʼs studio

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Merzbow, Balázs Pándi & Richard Pinhas with
Lieko Shiga: Bipolar

SHIGA Lieko, Merzbow, Balázs PÁNDI (Hungary), andRichard PINHAS (France)

Merzbow, Balázs Pándi & Richard Pinhas with
Lieko Shiga: Bipolar Second Report:
Rehearsals at the Theater
MORIYAMA Naoto

REPORTA

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once each during the course of the hour would serve as major breaks
in the progression of the footage. During this time, TSUKAHARA Yuya,
representing the planning side, was constantly near the video operatingbooth engaging in detailed exchanges with Shiga.

Combining the Music and VideoThe musicians finally joined the others at the theater on October 7. Theirarrival was preceded by another run-through of just the video starting

Arrival of the Video Footage at the Theaterat 3:00 p.m. At first glance, the footage had a completely different feelfrom the previous day, which surprised me. Defining aspects such as theAfter the runup that I described in my first report, final checks priorredness and blueness of the light, the gritty feel of the surface, and theto the actual performances were conducted on October 6 and 7 at thedepth of the pitch blackness in the background loomed with overwhelming

performance venue, Kyoto Art Theater Shunjuza. I was able to attend bothclarity. The edges of the lighting for the musicians and footlights had beendays, watching the work mainly from the audience seats.

clearly isolated from the light of the video screen through close technicalLighting staff began prep work on the morning of October 6. When I

coordination, making the entire stage look very vibrant. When I checked

entered the theater after 4:00 p.m., a special video operating booth hadwith Shiga after the run-through, she said that she had tried varying

already been installed in front of the entrance to the actorsʼ waiting room

the brightness in different ways during yesterdayʼs run-through but

in the lowest tier of seats, and SHIGA Lieko and SATO Takahiro (video

adjusted it as little as possible today. She herself was testing out various

shooting and editing technical support) were working in front of a monitor.

possibilities ahead of the performances.

The lighting prep finished around 4:50 p.m., and a run-through of just thevideo began at 5:00 p.m.
When the footage that I had seen at Shigaʼs studio in Miyagi was

Meanwhile, Richard PINHAS (guitar) came onstage at 3:20 p.m., with
Balázs PÁNDI (drums) and AKITA Masami joining him by 4:15 p.m. For awhile, the three musicians were absorbed in checking their instruments

actually projected onto the screen to be used for the performances, theand equipment. The positions of the musiciansʼ video monitors are an

impact was overwhelming even in the vast space of Shunjuza. The footage

important aspect of this work. As each musician will essentially be facing

began with breathtaking video of waves processed into red tones andforward during the performances, they will be unable to look directly at the

projected across the entirety of the massive 22-meter-wide screen. Thismassive screen behind them. Thus, they will need to check what kind of

was followed by video of a number of people walking on top of a seawall,

footage is playing behind them by using monitors on the floor of the stage.

as if hurried along by something. On the other hand, I also noticed slight

The space around each musician was crammed with musical equipment

differences from what I had seen in Miyagi. Theatrical lighting that had

and speakers, so the optimal positions were determined through detailed

not been present in Shigaʼs studio cut across the screen, and it seemedarrangements with the theater staff. Pándi checked the volume level oflike the contrast of the video was somewhat weaker. Balancing video

each drum such as the bass drum, the snare, and so on with the soundand lighting, two different kinds of light, has long been pointed out

engineer.

as difficult. However, it is even more important in this work because thesuccess or failure of the video is so key.

The musicians finally began playing at 4:40 p.m. The sound from thespecially installed speakers was incredibly loud, but also very clear. During

The run-through finished in about an hour, followed by a meeting

this time, Shiga would occasionally walk over to the center of the audience

between theater staff including the stage manager and the video team.

seating and check the balance between the sound and video while testing

Shiga conveyed to the staff that she wanted to properly show footage

out various footage. At 5:10 p.m., Tsukahara, using a microphone, toldof people walking at various speeds for the first 15 minutes. She also

the musicians he wanted to share the cues for the start and ending ofshared with them that the fades to white and black that occurred about

the video. Next, Shiga explained the general progression of the video

Shiga Lieko (closer to the camera) and Sato Takahiro running checks from the video
operating booth

Rehearsal with all of the musicians

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Merzbow, Balázs Pándi & Richard Pinhas with
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in English. As expected, the impact of the video and that of the soundbe a good idea for her sake. At the same time, forcing improvisational

matched spectacularly. All of the arrangements were finished by aroundmusicians without a culture of dress rehearsals to take part in one might

6:00 p.m.

affect their motivation toward the actual performances. The decision not

In the end, a dress rehearsal was not conducted. When I asked

to hold a dress rehearsal was in some ways a gamble. However, come

Tsukahara about this at a later date, he explained that he had actuallyto think about it, in Noh drama, which emphasizes the concept of ichi-

been quite conflicted over whether to hold one. All of the musicians

go ichi-e or the transient nature of the performance, only a simple run-were experienced with jam sessions, so he had few concerns about theirthrough is conducted on the day before the show. In that sense, therelationships, but the issue was that this was a brand-new experience forfinal preparations had some commonalities with traditional Japanese

Shiga, who was joining as the fourth improviser. A dress rehearsal would

performing arts.

The music and video coming together for the
first time

An almost full view of the stage

FY2022 International Creations in Performing Arts27

Merzbow, Balázs Pándi & Richard Pinhas with
Lieko Shiga: Bipolar

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SHIGA Lieko, Merzbow, Balázs PÁNDI (Hungary), andRichard PINHAS (France)

Merzbow, Balázs Pándi & Richard Pinhas with
Lieko Shiga: Bipolar Third Report: New
Horizons Opened Up by a Visual Concert
MORIYAMA Naoto
The Performances
On October 8 and 9, two performances of Bipolar were held asscheduled at Kyoto Art Theater Shunjuza. I was able to attend both.
As described in my previous reports, a massive screen was installed at

The audience just before the performance on the first day

the back of the huge theater, which was about 18 meters wide. The threemusicians were lined up in front it with Merzbow (AKITA Masami) to the left

specially installed large-theater speakers during the rehearsals. Thus, itfrom the audienceʼs viewpoint (stage right), Balázs PÁNDI (drums) in theseems accurate to say that the performances achieved a sense of texture

center, and Richard PINHAS (guitar) to the right (stage left). SHIGA Liekoʼsand volume that would not have been possible at a music club.

video operating booth was set up near the back of the elevated walkway
through the audience (the entrance to the actorsʼ waiting room). A large

The Core of Collaboration

digital counter with red numerals was projected above the proscenium
arch, which began ticking as soon as the performances started.
Due to the nature of improvisation, describing the ever-changing details

Nonetheless, it is clearly（2）that was at the core of collaboration inthis international coproduction. How can a unique improvisation spaceof the work is difficult and will tend to become incoherent. However, if I

in which video and music balance each other in a true sense be

were to sum up the visual concert, I might say that it was actually eachcreated? In that very sense, the fact that Shigaʼs video in this work is

audience member fully feeling the trajectory of the approximately hour-backed by a single flow or force invoking vast voices and narratives while

long once-in-a-lifetime encounter between the tremendous explosion

maintaining a certain fragmentation presents a crucial approach to thatof sound from the musicians and the huge, constantly transforming andquestion.

shifting images.

For example, the first roughly 15 minutes of the work were constructed

From my perspective after viewing the performances, the main featuresof the work can be summarized as follows.

around footage of various figures walking as if hurried along by something,each at their own speed, on top of a seawall built after the Great East
Japan earthquake and tsunami. These walking scenes, in which Shiga（1）While concerts by explosive noise artists such as Merzbow arenormally held at small music clubs, this work was staged at a large
theater with the capacity for large-scale theatrical productions.
（2）Musicians and an artist who have already built global reputations

collaboratively created a highly unique improvisation space.
Furthermore, unlike your garden-variety music video or VJ
performance, in which either the music or video dominate andthe aim is mainly to create a stylish ambience with appropriate
harmony, this collaboration demonstrated the potential for a newkind of live performance in which the two balance each other in atrue sense.
（3）Video creator Shiga Lieko, a photographer who employs a uniqueproduction process very similar to that of theater or dance
productions, ventured into the realm of video improvisation, a newhorizon of expression for her. Furthermore, the video she createdstrongly reflected the concepts she has explored throughout her
career as a photographer.

herself said she continued to experiment with various speeds overthe course of a three-year runup period, are an intense eruption of theaccumulation of time within Shiga as an artist as she exhaustively probed
the relationship between the act of photography and its subjects throughthe disaster by which she herself was also affected, as well as its leadup
and aftermath, and provide the frame on which the work is based. The
music responded accordingly to this intensity through improvisationby each performer, and video operator Shiga, in turn, responded to themusic in the form of real-time improvisational editing. Bipolar as a work
consisted of the frenzied blending of these processes throughout theapproximately hour-long performances.
That being said, Shiga, who revered the musicians and had a deep
understanding of their characteristics, said she worried that verbally
sharing the narrative elements surrounding the disaster with the two
foreign musicians in advance would end up weakening the energy at stakein the improvisation. This point aligned conceptually with Tsukahara,
who chose not to hold a dress rehearsal (refer to my second report).
For Bipolar , which is substantively different in nature from a packaged
work, each performance was not only a work but also a collaborative

With regard to（1）, it is difficult for me to make comparisons, as I myself

dialogue.

am not an expert in noise music. However, when I interviewed multiple

The performances were truly overwhelming, lasting about 70 minutes

audience members familiar with Merzbow after the performances, theyon the first day and slightly under 60 minutes on the second. At thesaid that both the volume and sound quality were very different from whatsame time, both had a subtly different feel. However, before describing

they had experienced at live music clubs. Even producer TSUKAHARA

these differences, I must mention the fact that the three musicians

Yuya said hegot goosebumps

when he heard the sound from the

FY2022 International Creations in Performing Arts

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Merzbow, Balázs Pándi & Richard Pinhas with
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video monitors installed onstage helped the musicians follow the video

was the work of complex live operations that were not structured as ain progress without looking behind them. However, in addition to the

package but rather generated and altered moment to moment.

monitors, there were situations in which the two musicians other thanBalázs PÁNDI, who had the video directly behind him, escalated their

New Horizons Opened Up by the Projectplaying while occasionally gazing back at the massive screen. In thatsense, one might say a nonverbal dialogue was firmly established within

As observed above, this work set sophisticated artistic goals surrounding

the improvisation space through Shigaʼs video.

improvisationthat served as the basis for sophisticated, intensive

Some of the most critical moments in the international coproduction

technical and artistic dialogues, mainly during the performances.

between Shiga ʼ s video and Pándi ʼ s

Attendance was 344 people on the first day and 336 on the second. The

drumming. According to multiple sources, immediately after he finishedfact that the work drew a wide audience including not only fans of theplaying on the first day, Pándi said that he sensed an intense dynamism

performing arts but also those of fields such as music and visual artsand felt something that strongly stimulated his own

might be called a planned outcome. However, in some ways, it is possible

musicality in the previously mentioned walking scenes in particular.

to take the view that the outcome was confusing. This is because

During the first dayʼs performance, Pándi kept drumming at full power

although it definitely represented a major accomplishment in artistic

were found in thein the video

dialoguefor about 70 minutes, with almost no breaks. It was remarkable how theterms, we donʼt yet really have the language to critique it accurately. The

drums asserted their presence without becoming lost in the explosive

fact is that Shiga Liekoʼs followers can only speak from a visual-artsnoise. Afterwards, rather intensive discussions were held backstage ahead

perspective, whereas followers of Merzbow and noise will tend to leanof the next dayʼs performance. These discussions would end up making

toward music. How should the encounter between video and music

the performances on the first and second days feel subtly different.

in the improvisation space, along with the as-yet-unknown sensations

Pándi suggested that it would be better to keep the performanceborn from that encounter, actually be put into words? The work is perhaps

time within 60 minutes due to the physical limitations of full-powereda challenge posed to contemporary art audiences in general, including me

drumming

̶ in other words, that it should be shortened by about 10

as I write this report.

minutes. However, Shigaʼs collection of footage was constructed to form

Sometime after the performances, I had the opportunity to discuss

a complete story in about 65 to 70 minutes. Thus, shortening it by 10them once again with Shiga, albeit online. She explained as follows. As

minutes would require a change of no small magnitude.

the practitioner of the real-time video editing, she definitely felt that

The next day, Shiga and video assistant SATO Takahiro arrived at theshe had established communication with the musicians during thetheater at 9:00 a.m., 10 hours before the start of the performance, to take

improvisation, which was an amazing experience for her. In particular,

on the task of reconfiguration. When I finished viewing the second

the sense of freedom that she enjoyed during the jam session in the final

dayʼs performance, I realized that the structure of the latter half of the

15 minutes of the second day was one that she would never have foundwork was very different from that on the first day. Footage that had beenelsewhere. Shiga said that Merzbowʼs sound had commonalities with thepresented over the course of about 30 minutes on the previous day was

sound she perceived while taking photographs, and that Balázs Pándi

condensed into about 20 minutes on the second, and countless images

definitely led the musical team. Furthermore, after the performances, shewere layered within mere moments as if to generate a subliminal effect. If

gained confidence in the immense expressive potential of the real-timea sense of keeping track in a linear fashion was dominant on the first day,video editing in which she had engaged. If possible, she said she would

on the second day, I felt a stronger sense of doing so three-dimensionally.

like to develop this method in some way starting with her upcoming solo

When I asked Shiga about this at a later date, she said she was able

exhibitions.

to do live editing much more freely on the second day by planning for a
climax during the last fifteen minutes. The feeling of three-dimensionality

It seems safe to say that this international coproduction is having astrong impact on one photographerʼs future.

Photographer: INOUE Yoshikazu
Credit: Kyoto Experiment
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PROJECT

Goodbye, and good wishes for yoursuccess ― a response to Annihilationof Caste ― a speech prepared by Dr.
B.R. Ambedkar at the invitation of JatPat Todak Mandal of Lahore in 1936
but NOT DELIVERED owing to thewithdrawal of the invitation because
the organising committee found thecontents of the speech unbearable.

Sankar VENKATESWARAN
Photo by: Gabriela NEEB

WADA Nagara and Sankar VENKATESWARAN (India)
This theatrical production is a first-time collaboration between Sankar VENKATESWARAN, aninternationally acclaimed director based in Kerala, South India, and WADA Nagara, a Kyoto-based
director.
It tackles Annihilation of Caste , an undelivered speech written in 1936 by B.R. AMBEDKAR (1891–1956),
a central figure in the drafting of the Constitution of India and a leader in the fight for social equality
for the Dalits (the so-called untouchables). The text, which continues to be read in India today, is filledwith universal contemplation and eloquence in critiquing discrimination and division, and remains as
relevant as ever. The theatrical work reexamines and contemplates this timeless text through the lensof contemporary perspectives. Performed by Anirudh NAIR, Chandra NINASAM, and TAKEDA Aki, thepiece premiered at Kyoto Art Theater Shunjuza in December 2022.

Outline of Performances
WADA Nagara
Photo by: MORIYA Yuki

Schedule: 3:00 p.m. on Dec. 10 (Sat.) and Dec. 11 (Sun.)
Duration: 1 hr. 40 min.
Venue: Kyoto Art Theater Shunjuza

Credits
Co-direction/Concept: Sankar VENKATESWARAN and WADA Nagara

Technical administrator: OHNO Junichiro, OYAMA Harumi,
TERASAKA Sunao

Performers: Anirudh NAIR, Chandra NINASAM, TAKEDA Aki

Backstage manager: YUKI Toshie
With the special cooperation of YAMADA Setsuko

Dramaturge: MORIYAMA Naoto

Source: Annihilation of Caste by B.R. AMBEDKAR, translated by

Producer: TSURUDOME Satoko, KAWAHARA Miho (Kyoto Performing Arts

YAMAZAKI Genichi and YOSHIMURA Reiko, 1994, Akashi Shoten

Center at Kyoto University of the Arts)

Publicity cooperation: Kyoto ExperimentTechnical Director: OTA Kazushi (Kyoto Performing Arts Center at Kyoto
University of the Arts)

Organized by: Kyoto Performing Arts Center at Kyoto University of theLighting: KASAI Kenichi

ArtsSound design: KODA Toru, TAKIGUCHI Sho

Co-Organizer: The Japan Foundation

Japanese subtitle / Subtitle Operator: TSURUDOME Satoko

Co-Production: Kyoto Performing Arts Center at Kyoto University of the

Production manager and Press: FUJII Hiromi (Kyoto Performing Arts Center atArts, The Japan Foundation

Kyoto University of the Arts)

Production assistant: IKAWA Moe (Kyoto Performing Arts Center at Kyoto
University of the Arts)

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Goodbye, and good wishes for your success– a response to Annihilation of Caste – (… )Photo by: INOUE Yoshikazu© Kyoto Performing Arts Center at Kyoto University of the Arts

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PROJECTA

Goodbye, and good wishes for your success– a response to Annihilation of Caste – (… )WADA Nagara and Sankar VENKATESWARAN (India)

Goodbye, and good wishes for your success– a response to Annihilation of Caste – (… )First Report: Launch of Project
SHIBATA Takako

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reinterpreted the issues in connection with their own experiences. There
were also remarks like not knowing if they could break away from what
has shaped them within a culture based on caste and Hinduism. As
for the Japanese side, there was a gap between the logical context andreality, and both the actor and director could only grasp it abstractly, butthey felt the importance of this incomprehensibility. Thus, they decided to
discuss the issues of power and hierarchy within the text after physically
capturing them through the process of reading aloud in rehearsals.

Goodbye, and good wishes for your success – a response to Annihilationof Caste – ( … ) is a project in which Sankar VENKATESWARAN, an

Online Rehearsals (October 21–30, 2022)

internationally acclaimed theater director based in Kerala, South India, andFor several chapters, Anirudh Nair read the English text, Chandra

WADA Nagara, a theater director based in Kyoto, Japan, collaborate on co-

Ninasam read the Kannada text, and Takeda Aki read the Japanese text

directing a theatrical piece focusing on the theme of social exclusion,in sequence. By speaking and listening, they were able to understandwhich exists in all societies, taking the appeal for the abolition of the caste

the intentions and energy of the words in the text. Differences between

system in Annihilation of Caste as their starting point.

languages, such as the English versionʼs barrage of short sentences andthe pacing of the Kannada version, were also pointed out. The original

About Annihilation of Castespeech manuscript was written in English, and it was mentioned in themeeting that the Kannada translation was adapted to be more acceptable

Annihilation of Caste, which is the focus of this project, is a speech

to the translatorʼs caste, which was the ruling class. This is one example

manuscript written by Dr. B.R. AMBEDKAR (1891–1956), a central figure inthat demonstrated this point viscerally. After the reading, the actors who

the drafting of the Indian Constitution and a leader of the fight for social

actually read the text raised questions actively about the content and theirequality for the Dalits (the so-called untouchables). In 1936, Ambedkar was

feelings while speaking, leading to lively discussions.

invited to be the chairman of the annual conference of a caste abolition
association (Jat-Pat Todak Mandal) and prepared this manuscript for his
keynote speech. However, Ambedkarʼs views, which fiercely attacked
even Hindu members of the association, were difficult for the associationto accept. After they requested revisions and negotiations broke down,
the invitation was withdrawn, and the speech was never delivered.
This manuscript, self-published by Ambedkar himself, has become an
important work in Indiaʼs anti-caste resistance movement.

First Stage of Production: Online Meetings and Rehearsals
This project is an extension of the dialogue in an online study group on

Annihilation of Caste led by Venkateswaran and Wada since 2021. The
project aims to explore the performative aspects and intentions behind
Ambedkarʼs words, focusing on the fact that the text was originallyintended to be heard as a speech, and to bring it to the stage as atheatrical production. As the first stage of production, online meetings andrehearsals were held using Zoom.

Participants (titles omitted)
From India: Sankar Venkateswaran (director),
TSURUDOME Satoko (producer), Anirudh NAIR (actor),
Chandra NINASAM (actor)
From Japan: Wada Nagara (director), TAKEDA Aki (actor),
MORIYAMA Naoto (dramaturge),
KAWAHARA Miho (producer)
Zoom meeting before coming to Japan

Online Meeting (September 30, 2022)
The performance format had been tentatively decided as a post-

Observing a Rehearsal

performance talk following the speech. To realize this, the directionof online rehearsals was discussed on a level playing field without

The point carefully discussed was how and what to present fromdistinguishing between actors and directors. It was decided at Wadaʼsamong the issues written in the text to an audience of a different culture,suggestion to have the actors try reading the text as a speech. Even

namely Japan. There was also an awareness of the multicultural nature

among the participants from India, the sense of distance from theof the performers. Although the discussion aimed to bridge the cultural

text varied. Some recalled experiences around them, whereas others

understanding gap, the Japanese participants tended to lean toward

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learning about caste as an outsider. This led to consideration of the

problem of caste is not an issue of the untouchables or the non-dominant

structure of discrimination internalized even in Japanese examples, withclasses, but of the dominant classes. Those who have experienced

Wada bringing up discrimination against women. The author initially felt

discrimination desire its elimination, but many who benefit from thethat the Indian participants had a question as to why the issue was not

structure of discrimination are unaware of it. Moreover, culture exists

about Japanʼs burakumin (discriminated social minority) problem. However,within the connections between people, such as families, and somethe issue of women seemed to function well as a common ground, andstruggle with the idea of abandoning everything because it fosters

in the latter half of the rehearsal, it was pointed out that while the upperdiscrimination. Viewing an event in a different culture as an outsiderclasses have various ways to cleanse themselves of various impurities,

reveals the structure but does not solve the problem. It will be interesting

the lower classes and women do not, and the social structure itself isto see how the questions raised through their own experiences anddesigned to be more comfortable for the upper classes.

physical sensations will be spatially developed in the future.

During the rehearsal, Venkateswaran repeatedly pointed out that theRehearsal in India

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fortunate life in Japan. I have come to realize in our discussions that I am
in a privileged position as a woman, so I often think about the meaning of

Goodbye, and good wishes for your success– a response to Annihilation of Caste – (… )Second Report: Production Process andRehearsal Observation

̶ How were the rehearsals at the theater in Kerala?

SHIBATA Takako

aloud the speech in three languages. Each day, one person read the entire

that in the creation process.

Venkateswaran:

The rehearsals were led by Nagara, and everyone readspeech, and we all shared our reactions to it in discussion. Reading out

Interview: Sankar VENKATESWARAN and WADA Nagara(November 23, 2022)

Ambedkarʼs speech for three to four hours straight every day revealed the̶ How did this project begin?

̶ By different tones, do you mean linguistic, or the physicaldifferent tones of the text and the three peopleʼs respective perspectives.

characteristics of the actors?
Venkateswaran: During the production of Criminal Tribes Act , I encountered

AMBEDKARʼs text and wanted to take it on as an artist, but at the

Venkateswaran: Both. We had been reading the text in online rehearsals,

same time, I thought it was impossible. At that time, thanks to YAMADA

but reading it through was a historic moment because this text had neverSetsukoʼs bridging efforts, I had the opportunity to collaborate with the

been read aloud before. It was deeply emotional to hear it voiced in three

Kyoto Performing Arts Center of Kyoto University of the Arts, and I thought

languages, and that itself was already three performances.

that, in the environment of a foreign culture, it might actually be possible tostage a performance.

Wada:

On the first day, Rudy (Anirudh NAIR) did it in English, on thesecond day, TAKEDA (Aki) did it in Japanese, and on the third day,
Wada: The trigger for me, too, was receiving a phone call from Yamada

Chandru (Chandra NINASAM) did it in Kannada.

Setsuko, asking if I would like to work with Sankar. When I heard that

Annihilation of Caste was the subject matter, I was worried because
I was neither knowledgeable about Indiaʼs caste system nor Japanʼs
discriminatory structure. However, having worked on the play Couvade ,in which actors who had never experienced pregnancy perform
pregnancy and childbirth, I felt the potential of theater performed bypeople who are not participants in an event. Also, I thought that The

Water Station directed by Sankar was entertaining, so I wanted to give ita try together.
Venkateswaran:

Through a collaboration with Nagara, the meaning andperspective of the text expanded. I was surprised by the viewpoint fromoutside, which an Indian could not possess.
̶ How was your stay in India?
Wada:

I was happy to meet everyone in person. Although the stay

was short, Sankar ʼ s theater was wonderful. I felt how amazing it
is to maintain an independent theater in the mountains and create
works while communicating with the local community. I knew, seeing
THEATRE E9 KYOTO in Kyoto, that building a theater while maintaining
a relationship with a specific community is extremely tough. I spent
most of my time at the theater in Attappadi, but I went to the city ofThrissur, an urban area, for just one day. I noticed that men were theonly ones driving cars and motorcycles, women above a certain age wore
traditional clothes, and there were no other women in the bars where we
could drink beer, which became an important experience connected tothis creation.
̶ Are you interested in women in society?
Wada:

Although it wasnʼt central in the initial phase of the creation,

I feel that the importance of women has gradually expanded withinme. However, I am not an Indian woman, but a woman who has had a
Rehearsal in Kyoto

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̶ I think it requires a lot of concentration to listen for three or fourhours straight. Were the performances that intense?
Venkateswaran:

They were something I wanted to make public to an

audience as an open rehearsal. Perhaps, doing it in India made a big
difference. In Japan, it probably wouldnʼt have been the same.
̶ What kind of staging do you have in mind at this point?
Wada: I want to make it a performance that canʼt help but refer to thereality of living in contemporary Japan. Iʼm thinking of staging something

like a post-delivery talk, as a mechanism for the audience to think about
this text in their own lives.
Venkateswaran: Making a post-delivery talk into the performance is a very

natural and practical method. Imagining the unspoken text brings creative
thinking and deliberation. I think it will plant a tiny question in the mindsof the audience about their places in society. Ambedkar is addressing theissue of caste, which is unique to India, but there are hierarchical issues
in every social system. The anger, exclusion, and power structures at theroot of these problems are important.
̶ How are you thinking about the audience and theater space?
Wada:

I think itʼs important to have an intimate distance with theaudience, so weʼll create a thrust stage. I hope to use of the spatial

relationship between far and near on the stage and the hanamichi ＊ togood effect in the temporal distance between the work and the audience.
Venkateswaran:

This text was written in 1936. On the other hand, theperformance takes place here and now . In Noh, a form of Japanesetheater, things come to visit, and in this performance, a text that exists as
something from the past appears in the here and now. A text written about
100 years ago in India appears in a theater in Kyoto after a long journey.

＊ An elevated walkway running from the stage to the rear of a theater through theaudience

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of his identity as Rudy while stating that his name is derived from caste

WADA Nagara and Sankar VENKATESWARAN (India)

and Sanskrit. Takeda Aki does not reveal a surname because it would

Goodbye, and good wishes for your success– a response to Annihilation of Caste – (… )Third Report: Performances and Reﬂection

make his true identity known, and only gives the name Chandru.

SHIBATA Takako

While indicating the distance to caste on a personal level, the aim is toexpand the possibilities of theater as fiction by adding the gesture of
quotation.
Creation was carried out with attention to six relationships:（1）that
between the three actors,（2）that with the text,（3）that with a country

This work, with its long title, Goodbye, and good wishes for yourdifferent from oneʼs own,（4）that with the audience,（5）that mediated bysuccess – a response to Annihilation of Caste – (… ), went through online

the voice, and（6）that with the content/topics being spoken about. Thererehearsals, rehearsals in Kerala, South India, and Kyoto, and finallyreached its performances at Shunjuza on December 10 and 11, 2022.

was a common understanding of translating othersʼ stories, including

Ambedkarʼs speech, and showing how they were transformed into oneʼsown. Translation is not just about exchanging words. The Ambedkar

Production Process

texts used included the original English, a Japanese translation (translated
by YAMAZAKI Genichi and YOSHIMURA Reiko), and a Kannada translation,

Online rehearsals: April–September (1 or 2 meetings per month),which give a very different impression in terms of the sound of the words.

October 21–30

The English, which piles on short sentences, is the most powerful, while

Rehearsals in India: November 3–7

the Kannada, for which two translations have been published, wasRehearsals in Kyoto: November 14–December 9translated into a form that is more acceptable to the ruling class, perhaps

Performances at Shunjuza: December 10–11

because the translator was from the ruling class. It is also said to be moredifficult to understand than the English. To Sankar Venkateswaran andSummary of the Workothers on the Indian side, the Japanese version sometimes sounded like astory being told. And then there are the bodies of the actors who mediate

The production is largely made up of excerpts from Ambedkarʼsthose words. As there is no language that all members of the creative

speech and talks based on the actorsʼ personal experiences. There is ateam can understand, there was a constant process of translating othersʼ

microphone stand and a podium at the back of the stage, and a sofa andremarks with explanations, even in rehearsals. This translation process

a low table are placed in front. The space with the podium at the back ofleads to showing the boundaries between the cultures of Japan and India,

the stage is where Ambedkarʼs unactualized speech is re-enacted throughthe differences between the privileged class and the discriminated class,the actors, presenting a time from the past. The living-room-like space

and the differences between men and women from different angles. It canon the edge of stage is a place for here and now responses, where thebe said that this performance was made possible because it took a form

actors freely discuss topics related to the speech from a contemporaryof production different from creation divided into roles such as playwright,

perspective.

director, and actor.

The performance begins with the three actors making their entrance
along the hanamichi that runs through the auditorium and introducing

Thematic Setting: Response to Incomprehensibility

themselves to the audience at the front of the main stage. The show
progresses through reading of Ambedkarʼs original speech and follow-up

Despite dealing with heavy themes such as the caste system in

discussions and story developments. The topics brought up in the speech

India, the issue of the so-called untouchables, and the structure ofinclude caste as unjust discrimination against untouchables who are

discrimination, which are still far from being resolved, the impression one

placed outside caste by Hindus, the isolation and indifference to others

gets from this work is light and cheerful. This is probably intentional on

brought about by the caste system, the existence and contradictions ofaccount of the difference in degree of interest on the part of the audience.

women in the caste system, and other issues related to Indiaʼs caste

As the title suggests, the theme of this work is a contemporary response

system that are still far from being resolved even after nearly 90 years. In

to a speech manuscript that was never delivered. The 1,500 copies of

the actorsʼ talks, it is suggested that these structures of discrimination

the English first edition immediately sold out, and Annihilation of Caste ,are not only problems in distant and exotic India, but also in Japan andwhich has been translated into the official languages of various Indianprobably in other regional cultural zones as well. The performance ends

states and the languages of other countries, including Japan, has alreadywith Ambedkarʼs words of apology for the speech being too long, with the

become a historical text. The creative team focused on conveying theactors then stating their own names to the audience before leaving theincomprehensibility of this historical text, which has a large gap between

stage.

the logical context and the reality being told, rather than promoting easysolutions or a correct understanding of the problem.

Quotation and Translation in the Creative Process

On stage, even when questioned about Japanʼs burakumin issue, Aki(Rudy) avoids eye contact and does not try to answer. Although theThis is a creative place where discussions are held on an equal footing

Japanese side had researched discrimination against ethnic Koreans in the

without being bound by the roles of actor, director, and dramaturge, using

Utoro District of Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture, and the Bank of Yanagihara＊

English, Kannada, and Japanese. The talk parts are scripted based on thein the Sujin District of Kyoto City during the preparation phase, they had aactorsʼ personal histories and experiences in Japan and India. In the initial

reason for not lecturing on stage about what they had learned, but instead

self-introduction scene, the three actors switch places. Anirudh Nairlimiting themselves to gestures of embarrassed confusion. In rehearsals,(Rudy) says he is TAKEDA Aki, and Chandra Ninasam (Chandru) speaks

there was a scene where the Indian side pointed out that they felt

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uncomfortable as the discussion proceeded in the direction of learning
about caste. Just as being Japanese does not mean one understands the
problem of burakumin discrimination, being Indian does not mean one
understands the problem of caste. The sight of Aki being at a loss forwords demonstrates the discomfort of being questioned from the outside
as an interested party about a problem that she was not aware of.
For those living in India, the annihilation of caste in Ambedkarʼs
speech and the consequent departure from Hinduism mean leaving thecommunity they have spent their lives in, shaking to the very foundations
their accumulated being. Hinduism, which is not a proselytizing religion,is passed on in the form of children joining their parentsʼ caste. Religion
is so closely intertwined with culture, customs, and community thatleaving it is nearly impossible. However, by showing a response to thisincomprehensibility,

the work attempts to sow small seeds in thehearts of individual audience members.

The Presence of Women
A part of the speech that is quoted on stage rebuts the claim thatthe four-varna system of Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra is an
occupational classification. Ambedkar shows that the exclusion of womenfrom these four classes is based on the relationship to the jobs womentake on. When asked about the connection between the text of the speechand herself, WADA Nagara mentioned the internalized discrimination
against women in daily behavior as a commonality in the structure of
discrimination. Referring to the fact that the treatment of untouchables
starts with the treatment of women in the house, and that while the upperclasses are provided with methods to purify pollution, classes in lower
castes, whereas women are not, the issue of patriarchy latent in Hindu
customs was discussed during rehearsals. This speech scene reminds usthat not only is the issue of women in the caste system unresolved, butalso that discrimination, under the name of distinction, is internalizedeven in Japan, where there is no caste system.
The response scene brought up the example of an Indian who landed a
job in an IT company, where it is said that there is no caste discrimination
because it is not part of the job classification. It shows how even in
Silicon Valley, far away from India, caste is transferred as long as there isa Hindu community. The scene where one person recognizes the otherʼsorigin by name, behaves in a friendly manner, and casually touches the
personʼs shoulder to check for the presence of a sacred thread, a markof the high caste, is similar to the Japanese attitude of valuing hometown
and alumni communities. The cold treatment Chandru (Aki) receives asa person outside the caste somewhat overlaps with the way women areseen in workplaces and elsewhere.

Post-Performance Reaction
A review by TAKASHIMA Megumu was published in the art museum
and art information web magazine Artscape (January 15, 2023 issue).
Takashima writes,

This work, which gives voice to unspoken andsuppressed words, presents the duality of how Takeda/Wada make theirown voices take the part of this text of the other . She also notes thatthe play questions the difficulty in seeing the fragmented discriminatory
structure within minorities through the theatrical technique of proxy(i.e., representation), demonstrating the fictitious and irrational nature of

the caste system. The reviewer, who precisely decodes the multi-layered
speech scenes, highlights the audienceʼs participation as hearers, andPhotos by: INOUE Yoshikazu©Kyoto Performing Arts Center of Kyoto University of the Arts
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highly praises the performance as reaffirming the power of theater toof this work, there were parts that drew on the inability to communicate

think and critically reinterpret together with the audience.

in the creative process. The online environment introduced early in the

Other positive reactions and comments could be seen on social media
and heard in the lobby after the performance. Regarding the ending, some,production also seemed to have worked effectively in building a flat
relationship not confined to the roles of actors or directors.

such as KAWASAKI Yoko, co-director of KYOTO EXPERIMENT (Kyoto

International co-productions require different communication skills fromInternational Performing Arts Festival), wondered whether it was okay forconventional productions. The stage is not a place to find compromise

the ending of the response to Ambedkarʼs criticism of Hindu nationalismwith others and reach a conclusion. Therefore, not only knowledge-

to conclude with individual identity, and whether there was room forbased communication in terms of language proficiency and cross-cultural

further refinement. On this matter, I look forward to the next work byunderstanding, but also the creativity to imagine others through the body

Sankar Venkateswaran, who dreams of making this a trilogy.

and substitute that with shareable expressions is essential. Althoughcommunication is time-consuming, including translating and repeating

Potential of International Co-Productions

what is understood, highlighting the differences in each otherʼs ideas andapproaches is the key to conveying different cultures to the audience.

There are various methods for international co-productions. This attemptInternational co-productions open up the possibility of presenting a richer

involved a meticulous discussion and rehearsal process, including online

creative future through the participation of people from different cultural

meetings, without a common language among all the participants, whobackgrounds. This project was a great contribution to considering theworked on crafting the script through recording, transcription, translation,

possibilities of communication in international co-productions.

and editing as a collaborative effort by all. This production process, whichleveraged remote meeting systems, speech recognition software, andautomatic translation, is already an interesting challenge to the nature oftheater as a language art. International co-productions do not necessarily＊ A bank founded by and for burakumin, a minority group subject to prejudice anddiscrimination

require a complete understanding of each otherʼs languages. In the case

Photos by: INOUE Yoshikazu©Kyoto Performing Arts Center of Kyoto University of the Arts

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PROJECT

HourglassCompany Derashinera, LEE Ren Xin (Malaysia),
LIU Juichu (Taiwan), and Jung Young Doo (Korea)
This is a new work-in-progress by ONODERA Shuji-led Company Derashinera, which has continuously
engaged in international co-productions since 2016.
Company Derashinera members, KAJIHARA Akiko, LEE Ren Xin (Malaysia), and LIU Juichu (Taiwan),
who appeared in the 2021 production of Toge were joined by Jung Young Doo (Korea) as a new castmember. Through international collaboration and cross-cultural exchange among the cast members
from different countries, they felt the differences in physicality rooted in cultural backgroundand lifestyle. While examining the physical language and imagination they have in common, they
underwent an intensive 10-day workshop in an attempt to capture a new language.
This piece, inspired by Bruno Schulzʼs Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass , is a non-verbal
play depicting a fantastical world that oscillates at the border between dream and reality. It waspresented at Hoku Topia in December 2022.

Top left: KAJIHARA Akiko ©Amandine Crochet
Bottom left: FUJITA Momoko, Top right: SAKIYAMA
Rina, Bottom right: ONODERA Shuji(Company Derashinera) ©Suzuki Jouji

Performance Outline

Date & Time: Friday, December 23, 2022, 19:00
Duration: 40 min.
Venue: Asuka Hall, Hoku Topia

Credits
Direction: ONODERA Shuji
Cast: LEE Ren Xin (Malaysia), LIU Juichu (Taiwan), Jung Young Doo (Korea), KAJIHARA Akiko,
SAKIYAMA Rina, FUJITA Momoko, ONODERA Shuji
Lighting: ABE Yasuko
Sound Coordinator: IKEDA Nobu, SAKURAUCHI Shomi, TANNO Musashi
Scenic Design: ISHIGURO Takeshi
Stage Manager: HASHIMOTO Kanako
Interpreter: IWASAKI Mark Yudai
Production cooperation: NISHIO Sachiko (arts knot), SONODA Shoko (arts knot)

Top left: LEE Ren Xin ©Bernie Ng
Top right: LIU Juichu ©Yi Hsin Lo
Bottom left: Jung Young Doo ©LG Arts Center

Organized by: Company Derashinera
Co-Organizer: The Japan Foundation, Kita-ku Culture Foundation
Co-Production: Company Derashinera, The Japan Foundation

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PROJECTA

HourglassPhoto: SUZUKI Jouji

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HourglassCompany Derashinera, LEE Ren Xin (Malaysia),
LIU Juichu (Taiwan), and Jung Young Doo (Korea)

HourglassFirst Report: Preparation
SUZUKI Rieko

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theories for drama, so we might not have had much experience in mixing
language and body in expression. Derashineraʼs works are non-verbal, butthere are scripts, and each scene has its own color. I have to understandthose shades and think about how to use my body. Having the script
gives me a sense of what I should do and where to start, and I find it
comfortable being able to express that freely. There is also the aspect ofcarrying out various tasks as performers in the live performance, and I was
surprised at how watching the streamed version of Toge had stimulated

Creation at the Intersection of Body and Language

my imagination differently from what was written in the text, Liu added.
Although Derashinera had previously used pieces based an original

The Global Theater Project Ba (Place) (the project name at the time ofwork or took literary works as motifs, Toge was actually the first time

application) was launched as a platform for Company Derashinera, led

they had created a textual script before the production. It started as

by ONODERA Shuji, to come together with various artists based in otheran attempt to share an image of the piece as soon as possible, as theparts of Asia to engage in dialogue, creation, and presentation of theirplanned rehearsal period had been shortened due to quarantine measures

work. Derashinera has regularly engaged in international co-productions

against the spread of COVID-19. However, it helped expand ideas andsince conducting workshops and performances of Another Story and An

enrich the creative process.

Occurrence of a Night in Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2016. In December 2021, they

Hourglass, currently in preparation, is structured around Bruno Schulzʼswelcomed KAJIHARA Akiko, who is active in Europe with France as her

short story Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass . The narrative

base, LEE Ren Xin (Malaysia), and LIU Juichu (Taiwan), and premiered Toge ,of a person, I, who visits a sanatorium in the suburbs to see his father

a work inspired by George Orwellʼs Animal Farm , at the Kanagawa Arts

and finds himself wandering in a time and space where the past and

Theatre (KAAT) as the first phase of this project. This fiscal year, building

present, and reality and fantasy, mix, rejects logical understanding andon these achievements, they plan to hold an intensive 10-day workshop

explanation. At the same time, it includes many elements that stimulate

and a work-in-progress showing in late December 2022 for their new

bodily sensations, such as repeated depictions of sleepiness andpiece, Hourglass .

sleeping. Onodera said, I felt a desire to tackle poetic language, and I

Onodera said of the impact of the first phase, I have the feeling that thefeel motifs like dreams and memories are close to what weʼve been doing

experience with Toge will serve as a launchpad in a big way. International

at Derashinera. Given that this is a work-in-progress, I think the focus isco-productions are often highlighted for the cultural exchange aspect, butmore on creating several pieces rather than assembling a complete work.

I feel this project is more than that; it is an opportunity to extend the base

Online meetings with each cast member began in early December,of what Iʼve been doing even further. There are many ways to describe

just before the residential rehearsals in Tokyo. Discussions revolved

what we do̶ non-verbal theater, physical theater̶ but I want to solidify

around how to elevate the original work into a performance. Onodera andthe uniqueness of our work. Meeting the members with whom I worked incompany member FUJITA Momoko explained the vision, including the2021 and 2022 is definitely a plus for staying true to this ambition.

conditions of the venue, stage design and lighting, and the use of space

Derashineraʼs style, which isnʼt strictly dance or mime, allows for(which can be seen as the start of image exchange through language ). They

individual bodies to converge and create narratives by setting up scenes

also gave homework related to ideas for movement and choreography.

while building relationships. Even though there is a textual guide (original

There were some intriguing words heard here, such as multiple peoplework), they donʼt strictly follow the plot. This approach seems to haveplaying a single role,brought various discoveries for the participants from abroad as well.

was about to begin, where the images of language left by Schulz would

Lee Ren Xin, based in Malaysia and actively creating and presenting her

clash and mix with the language of physical art that Derashinera has

own works, reflected on Toge , saying, I feel that different parts of theconstructed, and the body language of the participants from different

work offer different experiences. In some parts, we invite the audiencebackgrounds, including Jung Young Doo from Korea, who is participating

to experience the texture of the body, and in others, we show social

for the first time.

Noh, and male–female duo. An experimentconnections. I found it interesting that each scene was distinct, yetseamlessly connected. Liu Juichu, who met Onodera at an audition in
Taiwan in 2018 and is participating for the fourth time, had been trained indance from elementary to high school, and majored in theater in college.

＊Online interview with Lee Ren Xin on September 6, interpreted by IWASAKI Mark Yudai＊Online interview with Liu Juichu on September 6, interpreted by YAMAZAKI Rieko＊Online interview with Onodera Shuji and Fujita Momoko on November 14

Our studies focused on physical training for dance and academic

From an online meeting

FY2022 International Creations in Performing Arts

41

PROJECTA

Hourglass

REPORTA

I,

1st

2nd

3rd

Father, and the doctor in the sanatorium, repeating the same

Company Derashinera, LEE Ren Xin (Malaysia),
LIU Juichu (Taiwan), and Jung Young Doo (Korea)

sequence, and with the prologue and epilogue scenes also being repeated.

Hourglass
Second Report: Rehearsal to Showing

the body. Here, the body is akin to a pen that creates the worldview, and

SUZUKI Rieko

This is why the performers must understand and express that sense withmovement creates the phrases.
Communication during the workshop was conducted in Japanese andEnglish with an interpreter. Even with a focus on bodily expression, halting
exchanges wouldnʼt be enough to share the image of the work. Moreover,Creating a Drama Depicted by the Body

in Derashineraʼs works, even slight differences in nuance hold significant

meaning. IWASAKI Mark Yudai, who has been an interpreter for thisThe first time I visited the intensive workshop by Company Derashinera
was on the afternoon of December 13, 2022. In the rehearsal room
prepared upstairs at the venue where the showing would be held, a large
box-shaped set made of a level platform and metal pipes stood ready. The
performers from Malaysia, Taiwan, and South Korea arrived in Japan on
December 11, just prior to the workshop. Two of them, LEE Ren Xin and
LIU Juichu, have been involved since last yearʼs Toge , while Jung Young
Doo, who is participating for the first time, has experience creating works
in Japan. This put the team in a relaxed mood that one wouldnʼt expect on
the second day of a workshop.
To my surprise, at this point, the contents of each scene were alreadytaking shape. When ONODERA Shuji, who also directs, calls out, Letʼs dowhat we did in the morning, everyone quickly pairs up and acts out therelationship of being inside and outside the walls of the aforementioned
box. They depict a state where they are touching it but canʼt get out,or the boundary itself is distorted. The scene titled Sanatorium in thescript has I arrive at a sanatorium in the suburbs to visit his father andproceed down a corridor, checking the room numbers. Only I and afemale ward clerk appear in the original story, but here six people in threepairs move simultaneously. This creates an effect where the actions of two
people in the past, present, and future overlap, and conveys the closed-off
and labyrinthine nature of the sanatorium, with its dozens of doors and noway to grasp its overall picture.
Upon inquiry, it seems that the images and parts of movement for eachscene had almost been completed as a result of the cast bringing together
and developing ideas in response to the themes that Onodera presented
beforehand. Therefore, the subsequent workshop was devoted to adjusting
how to show the relationships between the performers, their positions
and timing on stage, and what to show through deformation. Watching thesame scenes repeated over and over again under the direction of Onodera,
who is responsible for adjusting the entire work, gradually makes one
aware that the drama on stage continues, including the moments when theperformers donʼt move. Of course, itʼs essential that they move smoothlyand express clearly, but what is required here is probably to express theworldview of the work, the space on the stage, and a sense of distance,
all of which must first be firmly contained in the body. In our preliminaryinterview, it gradually made sense that Onodera raised the exploration ofDerashineraʼs unique body language as a project theme, and expressed
their work as non-verbal theater rather than dance or performance.
Two days before the showing, when I visited the rehearsal siteagain, the work was almost perfected. A lot of time was being spentconfirming whether there were any hiccups in the overall flow andmaking adjustments. As it is a work-in-progress performance, there was a
possibility of performing extracted scenes, but the run-through rehearsals
showed that all scenes in the script, albeit in a fast-paced manner, wereskillfully composed into a single, complete work. In particular, the way inwhich the work depicts time is unique, with multiple performers playing
Rehearsals

FY2022 International Creations in Performing Arts

42

PROJECTA

Hourglass

REPORTA

1st

2nd

3rd

project since 2021 and is also an actor himself, was impressive in handlingcommunication with the overseas participants while sharing the overall
picture of the work and movements for transitioning to the next scene.
The day of the live show arrived. Before an audience of over 100
people, some of whom were standing, each performance was enhancedwith lighting, sound, and other effects, creating even more contrast andvariety. The decision to reveal the bare space, which can also be used as abanquet hall, and to have a man with a flashlight enter from a corner door
at the start, brought a strange sensation that this peculiar world exists
contiguous to our everyday life.
During the post-performance talk, when asked about the relationshipbetween their cultural backgrounds and physicality, comments like Theremight naturally be differences, but I didnʼt focus on it. Here, the body is apath, and through it, expression was born. (Lee Ren Xin), and Bodies aredifferent due to local climates, but this experience made me realize thatphysical expression is also a method . (Liu Juichu) were made, which is
intriguing considering the theme of this project, body language.
Onodera, while asserting that

how to bring out the appeals of

being human is the basis of theatrical expression, dreams of the set
boundaries between dance and theater breaking down, melting, andchanging into a new form of expression. The fact that this project wasso successful despite the short period is largely due to Derashineraʼspreparation and attitude toward communication, as well as the result ofgathering performers who have already received specialized training andare technically and mentally independent. When Onoderaʼs vision of the
future begins to take shape in reality, what skills, training, and creativeenvironment will be needed for the performers who follow? These arethemes that go beyond the activities of a single company.
During rehearsals on the day of the performance, everyone checked video footage thatwas shot separately for streaming.

FY2022 International Creations in Performing Arts

43

PROJECTA

HourglassCompany Derashinera, LEE Ren Xin (Malaysia),
LIU Juichu (Taiwan), and Jung Young Doo (Korea)

Hourglass
Report 3: Reﬂection Interview
SUZUKI Rieko

REPORTA

1st

2nd

3rd

this method could be used to gather movement elements and create
textures, apart from what I wanted to do as a director. By examining each
personʼs skills̶ for example, if Kajihara leads the workshop, then sticking

to her skills̶ we can in a way share more of what we want to do. I had
previously asked Kajihara to hold a workshop for the contemporary Noh
Collection IX Taketori to help explain to the performers what I wanted
to do, and it went very well. So, I asked about doing this again as anevolution of that, and when they conducted the workshops, everyone

Interview: ONODERA Shuji × FUJITA Momoko

started moving and creating elements for the scenes.

̶ The showing for this project, Hourglass , was a short work in the̶ I think what you just said made me better understand that what

Company Derashinera style, depicting, with a focus on bodily expression,you ʼ re doing in this project is directing , not choreographing . The

the strange dream world composed by Bruno Schulz. Including the scenic

performers must develop their own body language , that is, what they candesign, sound, and lighting, it turned out to be highly polished for a work-

express with their own bodies, in the rehearsal studio and propose it.

in-progress.
Onodera: Yes, thatʼs right. Also, how they deform or abstract their body

We had actually planned to take more time to experiment thanlanguage will, I think, become the color of the company. The members

ever before. However, as we also had plans to present a somewhat

this time had good chemistry, even in terms of how to develop everyday

finished piece through video streaming, we inevitably went in the direction

gestures, for example. Although Ren Xin and Juichu may have regulatedof completing it in a hurry. Even so, Iʼm satisfied that these 10 days werethemselves somewhat by looking at the bodily expression of Fujita,

Fujita:very well spent. In particular, weʼve worked with both LEE Ren Xin and LIU

Kajihara, and Sakiyama, who have been working with me for a long time,

Juichu before, and just giving them a small seed of an idea, theyʼd expand

it was very interesting to me how those two, they created a subtlety

upon it vibrantly, so I felt once again that we could create great workand energy that no Japanese person could embody. For instance, when

together.

Ren Xin appeared on stage and breathed heavily, I felt that thereʼs noJapanese person like this. Even with a slight gesture, the way she reveals
The relationship between a director and actors or dancers

her body is different. That kind of energy and strength is something you

tends to follow a pattern of convey à reproduce. So, after the show,donʼt see often in Japan, especially among women. Of course, whether

Onodera:I was pleased that in the post-performance talk with the members whothatʼs due to cultural differences or individual differences, I still donʼtcame from overseas, there were comments like I wanted to make theknow. However, meeting such people has enriched my life, and I consider

strange world of the original author and the director even stranger andthis project to also be a journey in search of such encounters.

I was able to exercise my imagination. Juichu, who came from Taiwan,
said that in her local scene, most projects only demand either dancing

̶ So far, the destination of this journey is set in Asia, isnʼt it?

or acting, so she finds it very enjoyable to do both at Derashinera. In thisI feel that Iʼm focusing on the region of Asia as a sort ofworkshop, what each person wanted to do and our desires matched well,

Onodera:so I think we were able to form a wonderful relationship.

research subject. As I mentioned earlier, the question of how physicality
and the culture behind it are connected is not something that can beIʼm glad we were able to continue this project with Knife inanswered simply by working together a few times. Thatʼs why I want to

2020, Toge in 2021, and now into 2022. While learning from others about

focus on Asia and keep examining this question. Then, if possible, I would

contract documentation and overseas remittances, weʼve managed tolike to show our work in Europe someday to see what kind of reactions

do these things on our own, albeit with some unfamiliarity. Along the

we would get there. When creating with people from overseas, I always

way, it was encouraging that all the participants always had a positive

have a feeling like weʼre all the same, but there must be some kind

Fujita:perspective on this project. While we donʼt have a concrete plan, after the

COVID-19 situation improves, Iʼd like to present this work abroad.

of originality or identity of our own behind that, and we must not forgetto think about that. Isnʼt extolling diversity leading to monotony? So, I
feel that clinging to what is being blurred by that may provide clues for̶ The first time I observed the intensive workshop for Hourglass wascreating new expressions.

on the second day. At that point, I think the movements and flow for the
opening scenes were beginning to jell. It was a fairly fast pace, but what

̶ During rehearsals, communication was in Japanese and English.

kind of work and discussions led up to that?

IWASAKI Mark Yudai, the interpreter, is also an actor, and his approach of
supporting rehearsals while sharing the content and flow of the work was

Onodera: I think the second day was when we held a workshop led byimpressive. I felt that the use of language here was a key to bringing out

KAJIHARA Akiko in the morning, grasped the theme of the work, andthe body language.

began to create specific scenes. The idea of having a dancer hold a
There are parts that can be understood even without words,

workshop came about when I contracted COVID-19 during the project

Onodera:before last, Knife , and was quarantined in a hotel. As the rest of the castbut I think the reason the participants from overseas can say I see,tested negative and were able to rehearse, I had each of them lead athatʼs what it means is that Mark was there. Also, and this is somethingworkshop that I watched online. Derashinera member SAKIYAMA Rina,

I felt when I had Mark join us in the previous work Toge , but once we go

Kajihara Akiko, and Juichu all led workshops. At that time, I realized thatthrough an interpreter, I feel that a black box in a good sense is created.

FY2022 International Creations in Performing Arts

44

PROJECTA

Hourglass

REPORTA

1st

2nd

3rd

Listening to my talk with the sense of it seems thatʼs what heʼs saying

Onodera:may stimulate their imagination. So, even if I were to become able to use

to see how far you can go in terms of difficulty, how visually imaginative

Dance has various elements, and itʼs a legitimate enjoyment

English, I think it would still be better to have Mark there.

you can make it, and how much you can improve technique. But I donʼt
aim for such superhuman and technical goals; I want to focus on and̶ So, you are saying that having an interpreter as a third party not only

pursue body expressions that make people feel the beauty of everyday

arouses imagination, but also guarantees a certain objectivity that what

life, relationships, flow of feelings, and sometimes even clumsiness. To do

the director is saying may not be the only correct answer.

that, I want to unravel as much as possible the things that have become
habitual and commonplace.

Onodera:Exactly. Pina BAUSCHʼs company (Tanztheater Wuppertal) is

After the performance, Ren Xin said, What Iʼm doing is not dance.

made up of members from various countries, and although they are each

When Juichu heard that, she said, Itʼs Ren Xin style. Whether or notproficient in languages, I feel that more than that they have a strong sense

you can have your own style is the greatest strength in expression. So, if

of wanting to share the same image. I think thatʼs a good way to be.

we can convey the message that we should not only hone our skills within

In the first place, in international co-productions, we often have to try

a certain category, but also take them to the point where we can change

hard to communicate in English, but as a result, we may get caught upthem into our own style, the future of education and the establishment ofin explanations, or lose sight of what we have expressed with our own

an environment may change as well.

languages and bodies. NUNG Van Minh, a previous participant from
Vietnam, and I used to communicate almost intuitively without using＊＊＊＊

English. He had good intuition and could participate without any problem,
but gradually the people around him started to learn Vietnamese and they

While preparations for the overall concept, such as meetings with thewould try hard to explain things to him. I thought that process was very

scenic designer and stage manager, had been underway since aroundimportant in such projects. In fact, Jung Young Doo, who participated forJanuary 2022, the performers had only 10 days to build a relationship withthe first time this time, is very proficient in Japanese, but because of that,the prepared environment (stage set, co-performers), weaving the storyʼs

I ended up relying on him and making him feel uneasy at times. Superficial

time with their bodies. During this process, the fact that language

explanations came first, and I feel like that might have confined his body.

(including the script) became an important tool for sharing the image of the

As he takes things very carefully and seriously, I think it would have been

work and a challenge is intriguing.

better if I had been more creative in how and how much I explained things,
even in Japanese.

Also, the purpose of this project, which was to explore new possibilities
of expression by bringing together differences in physicality based on
cultural and social backgrounds, is abstract, and the results are hard to̶ In the post-performance talk mentioned earlier, you said that throughgrasp unless you are an expert or a connoisseur who knows what to lookthis project, you aim to acquire a new body language and eventuallyfor. However, that is exactly why there is significance not only in Onoderaʼsestablish an expressive field beyond categories. If there is an environment

endeavor to persistently cling to it over and over but also, although it may

to further spread the core of Derashineraʼs expression, its thoughts andbe self-flattery, in recording the process of this experiment in this way.

methods, and to cultivate talent, what would it look like?

FY2022 International Creations in Performing Arts

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The Japan Foundation
FY2022 International Creations in Performing Arts
Process Observer Reports
Edited by: NAKAGAWA Takao
Reviewed by: ONO Fuyuki
Design: SHIBANO Kenta
Published by: The Japan Foundation (JF)YOTSUYA CRUCE, 1-6-4 Yotsuya, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0004
https://www.jpf.go.jp/j/©The Japan Foundation

Published July 24, 2023

The Japan Foundation International Creations in Performing Arts Website
https://www.jpf.go.jp/j/project/culture/perform/creation/index.html