Tokyo Rehearsal Blog Week 3: Cherry Blossom and Details

I’m writing this on the Toyoko Line train to Motomachi-Chukagai, where I’m heading to see an interesting-sounding performance by Chiten company at the Kanagawa Arts Theatre.  It’s my day off and I’ve decided to do a theatre splurge – I spend four and a half hours this afternoon at the National Noh Theatre.  There the highlight was probably a half hour long dance by a rather large man in small-girl-mask dueting with a drummer and making very intricate, slow foot movements.  Eventually a huge bell dropped on him and he reappeared as a snake demon in a red fright wig, but there were a lot of small foot movements first!  It was hypnotic, fascinating, boring-in-a-good-way, and made opera look like a night out at the bingo.  Let’s see what Chiten have to offer!

I haven’t seen much theatre here as rehearsals usually start after lunch and go on through the evening, sometimes followed by production meetings till eleven or later.  This week, having sketched the whole play out, we went back to the start and began again. It’s great to have the time to really work on the scenes with the actors.  Our heroic translator Nao is working on extra cylinders now, as there’s a lot more discussion, questions, notes and exploration of differing possibilities.  The actors are all beginning to lock into their characters – it’s always great to watch that moment when a character really starts to emerge – comes into focus and seems to have a life and body of their own, quite separate to the actor you’ve come to know.  I notice it differently without direct access to the language.  Of course I can almost recite in English what the characters are saying in Japanese now, but still, watching them speak a language I don’t understand makes me more sensitive to the intricacies of their physical choices – the arch of the shoulders, the bounce or heavy tread of the feet.  (That Noh actor certainly has things to teach me as I look at the detail in these performances and try to help the actors find the depth and subtlety in their choices.)

Next week we will put all the bits back together again and start running the play at least once daily, taking the rest of the time to rework details, look at specific relationships, and make sure we’re telling the story clearly. 

And of course work on the transitions – which brings me to the music list.  I had a great range of suggestions for a Welsh track to appear in one of the scenes – and in a number of the rather complex ‘transition’ moments. Ideas included:

Euros Childs – Henry A Matilda Supermarketsuper 

Super Furry Animals:

(Drawing) Rings Around the World

God! Show Me Magic

Guacamole

The International Language of Screaming

Chubacabras

Ysbeidiau Heulog

Texas Radio Band – Chwaraeon

Meic Stevens – Y Brawd

Y Niwl 

Neon Neon – I Lust U or I Told Her On Alderaan 

Truckers of Husk – Awesome Tapes From Africa

Camera  – Hurt

Manic Street Preachers – Your Love Alone is Not Enough

Gwibdaith Hen Fran – Coffi Du

But after trying many options, it looks like the lead contender at the moment is a golden oldie – Stereophonics - The Bartender and the Thief – because its beat works really well for the scene, and there’s a delicious ironic reference to the plot!  I’ll keep you updated and do keep suggestions coming.  And remember we are also looking for a more hard rock track too.

(I’ve added most of the suggestions to a Spotify playlist called Efficiency, so have a look for it if you fancy imagining yourself in a Tokyo rehearsal room listening to Welsh bands!)

So, back to rehearsals on Monday – a final week in the rehearsal room before we move into the theatre for tech.  We’ve actually got a pretty thorough mock up of the set in the rehearsal rooms.  The piece is in the round, or rather the square – with an isolated platform framed with a cube of fluorescent lights as the central playing area – representing the lab where the action is based. Around that centre, in a lowered area are other key locations, and around them a runway, aka ‘the corridor’ made of a translucent white flooring underlit with fluorescents.  It all gives a beautiful sense of the trapped world of scientific and efficiency experiments within which the characters are desperately, and often comically, trying to survive.

But before rehearsal one more treat – an early morning trip to one of the bigger parks in Tokyo to see more cherry blossom before it all starts to fall in a week or so’s time.  I’ve caught some beautiful displays already, but want to make sure to see the full vision – and all the details… 

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Comment by Bill Hamblett on March 27, 2013 at 0:08

No Noh  Noh NoooHHH noh   YES

Comment by Lucy Davies on March 25, 2013 at 2:55

LOVE it John! The huge bell / snake demon with red fright wig is resonating with me - I've had those days. Beautiful blossom... Love and luck for the last week of playing x

Comment by Katherine Jewkes on March 24, 2013 at 23:56

Here's a link to John's Spotify Playlist! Efficiency Some great tracks on there!

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