Isla! Isla! Isla! at the Japanese Playwrights Project at the Segal Center—Tuesday 13 November 2018
Channel: HowlRound Theatre Commons
Date: 16/11/2018

Isla, Isla, Isla! (イスラ！イスラ！イスラ！)
1 p.m. PST (San Francisco) / 3 p.m. CST (Chicago) / 4 p.m. EST (New York)
written by Yudai Kamisato
directed by Sarah Hughes, performed by Tony Torn
translated by Aya Ogawa

On a fictitious island in the south, an island dictator addresses his countless soldiers before a battle. In part he recounts the story of how he, the king of the island himself, arrived on the island and encountered the first natives there. He goes on to describe the lengthy history of how he brought “civilization” to the island, and recounts his violent encounters with his rival, a monstrous bird of the island. Soon the island is wracked by a huge earthquake, followed by the arrival of a wave of foreigners. With the new inventions brought onto the island, the island itself is transformed irrevocably. The king’s words gradually become the voice of the island itself. With references to real historical events, this play portrays an epic and mythological reflection on colonization, immigration, culture and civilization.

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center presents the Japanese Playwrights Project (Day 1) livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 12 November 2018 at 11:00 a.m. PST (San Francisco) / 1:00 p.m. CST (Chicago) / 2:00 p.m. EST (New York).

After the success of the first edition of the Japanese Playwrights Project (JPP) in 2007 once again the Segal Center brings some of the brightest, most innovative, and most engaging emerging playwrights from Japan to New York to develop their pieces through translation into English and public readings of the work. The Japan Playwrights Project plays an important role in introducing contemporary writing and dramaturgy from Japan to the US.

In 2018, the Japanese Playwrights Project is proud to present:

A Question of Faeries by Satoko Ichihara
Favonia’s Fruitless Fable by Satoko Ichihara
Isla, Isla, Isla! by Yudai Kamisato
Avidya – No Lights Inn by Kuro Tanino
Sokonaizu by Jun Tsutsui

The Japanese Playwrights Project 2018 was made possible by the generous support of the Japan Foundation, New York (Koji Nozaki, Sanae Tani, and Kenji Matsumoto). Additional support for English translations by the Japan Playwrights Association. The Japanese Playwrights Project 2018 was initiated and realized by Frank Hentschker and Aya Ogawa.

Board of Advisors – Japan: Peter Eckersall, Shintaro Fujii, Kako Kishimoto, Hiromi Maruoka, Aya Ogawa, Toshiki Okada, and Masahiko Yokobori.
Board of Advisors – New York: Peter Eckersall, Anne Erbe, Frank Hentschker, Andrew Kircher, Kate Loewald, Aya Ogawa, and Yoko Shioya.

Participants of the 2007 JPP included Masataka Matsuda, Akio Miyazawa, Toshiki Okada, and Mikuni Yanaihara. Josh Fox/International WOW Company; Dan Safer/Witness Relocation, Jay Scheib, and The Play Company each presented successful productions in New York theatres.


https://howlround.com/happenings/livestreaming-japanese-playwrights-project