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dates
2023/9/18 (Monday/holiday)
■ 13:00-15:00 Read Part 1 “Cherry Blossom Orchard”! Reading workshops
Facilitator Nakayashiki Norihito
Workshop Assistants Keizo Nagashima, Rio Harada
■ 15:30 to 17:00 Part 2 Meeting to think about various forms of theater (roundtable discussion)
Speakers Norihito Nakayashiki, Saaya Yamada, Yoshiaki Kira, Komoru Nakauchi
venues
Kochi Prefectural Cultural Center Multipurpose Room 11
4-3-30 Honcho, Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture 780-0870
What is the summaryHere
The 18 participants were mainly young people in their teens to twenties, and the percentage of women was high, but there were also several men, and it seemed that there were also people here and there who seemed to know their faces from theatrical activities in Kochi.
With nervousness and anticipation, everyone gathered on time and started.
As the title suggests, the content is a reading workshop using a scene from Chekhov's “The Cherry Orchard.” First, “shiritori” was held for about 30 minutes to warm up the mind and body. At first it was a simple “shiritori,” but rules were gradually added to it, and eventually it became a shiritori called “tomato shiritori,” where you just endlessly return “tomato” to “tomato,” but this game also became a hint for reading to be carried out later.
After a break, it's finally time to read “Cherry Blossom Orchard.” Instead of deciding the cast and reading the lines decided by each person, everyone reads a pretty novel book where they “read their favorite lines (parts).” Since I only read “favorite lines,” of course, my voice may be affected by someone else, or conversely, it may become silent. At first, the participants were also fumbling, but as they got used to the rules for reading this book, an interesting rhythm gradually came into being. Nakayashiki said, “When the cast is decided and it becomes “my own line,” a sense of responsibility arises in the line. However, humans don't have a sense of responsibility for every conversation (statement).” It was said that “if you make it a rule to read a line you like, you don't have a sense of responsibility for the line in a good sense, and you can come out with a body without tension.” Then, by reading one line in a group, they are forced to adjust to the rhythm brought by someone else, and since they simply give a line without thinking about unnecessary things (feelings or situations), the conversation progresses in a comfortable rhythm. In fact, a really fun rhythm was created even when I listened to it, and I also felt that there was something similar to the style of “The Customer Who Eats Persimmons.”
It starts with the speakers and all participants introducing themselves, and then they will be guided through the rules where they can freely speak about anything. I found out that there were really a variety of participants, from students to adults participating as couples, and people with no theater experience.
As a starting point for the story, in the first place, “What is theater?” From that point on, they shared one definition, and then basic information was shared little by little, such as stories about the various forms of performances that have been performed so far in the case of customers eating persimmons, and further explanations of the flow that has been carried out until the actual performance is made.
In response to this, what kind of plays are the speakers actually performing? Where do you find it interesting? We will talk about things like that, with their own experiences. As the overall atmosphere calmed down, the participants began to ask questions, and it really felt like a “roundtable discussion” with everyone participating.
The story spanned a wide range of topics, but what was particularly interesting was that in Kochi City, there is a small theater called “Mini Theater Takokura,” where young local actors perform various performances, and it seems that there are planned performances by inviting theater companies and theater people from all over the country, so it's a place where quite a bit of effort is put into small theater activities. Also, it was interesting that there was a scene where people who were making plays together with elementary school students asked, “Children have an idea that they want to do business (sell things) in the play, but what should I do...”, and there was a scene where they all groaned at an idea that didn't come up easily from adult theater people.
Kochi is interested in theater, and I felt that there is a power of young people who want to do something interesting, and in that sense, I felt that this project was a “good opportunity.”
Report: Fukunaga Mitsuhiro
