ART LIVES TORIDE Where Art Is Born

Sugai:
“Shintaigengorou” is a theater company. I am the writer and director, and take full responsibility for the productions.

I have been making videos and animations since junior high school. I had been watching them since childhood, so it was a natural progression for me to try my hand at making them. Following the course of nature, I create art at university. . Although I had planned to become a filmmaker, just making images was not enough for me anymore. At the same time that I was thinking about doing video in a form other than video, I became interested in the stage, or in creating a space.

I had more and more opportunities to perform in university classes, which led me to create a full-fledged theater company. Now I use the workshop at university and this space to hold readings before rehearsals, to create stage design, and so on. While we use the space on a theater company basis, we also use it as a kind of warehouse for each of us.

Takeda:
I always wanted to study music. While I failed to enter a university, I became unsure if what I wanted to do was pure music or something involving music. At that time, I learned about the Department of Intermedia Art at Tokyo University of the Arts. You can do art or music. I call it “media,” and I am going to find what I want to create here.

I stepped into the theater when Sugai asked me to do sound for a stage performance. I remember him very well because we were together when I took the entrance exam. The way he walked and the way he moved his joints were very unique. That really stood out to me.

We started working together, and before I knew it, I was also a performer. It was kind of fun, and I was hooked. As I worked with him, I gradually came to understand that theater is a good medium for communicating and incorporating things I like, stories, and so on. I am now doing sound, stage design, and acting. I would like to continue working in theater for some time to come.

Sugai:
It is difficult to verbalize, but there is a kind of “Shintaigengorou color” in what we are doing. It’s like a juggling act, like a circus, or something. Like a chair becoming a cart or a carry bag on the stage, or making a lot of use of the appearance of things. Overall, there are a lot of black stories. All the characters are unhappy, and so on.

We start by setting regular performance dates and holding workshops where we gather the members of Gengorou and the actors involved to get to know each other. This is where we get to know the personalities of the performers, and we decide on a project that we can put on stage with this group of people. It is not so much that we want to do this, but rather that we have the right people. For example, Takeda would look like a junior high school student. I create roles that suit the people who are there.

Since I am in the role of director, I am concerned about how to keep the audience interested in the 90-minute performance. The audience has to pay for the ticket, so I want them to enjoy their time there. Sometimes I think about it from a bird’s eye view and cut scenes that I think are unnecessary right before the show.

On the other hand, I’m also concerned about not giving gentle guidance that is easy to understand. I have had people tell me, “It was interesting for 90 minutes, but it ended without me really understanding it.” I think there is a richness in the ideal situation where half the audience cries and the rest of half laughs, just as chairs can be seen as various motifs. I don’t want to present too much of the story. It is important to leave chaos as it is.

Takeda:
What I try to do is to concentrate on what is in front of me. Sugai changes direction towards the end of the theater. He may cut a certain part, or add it. . It is no use for me to think about it, so I just go into the rehearsal room, concentrate on what he says, and perfect the performance. I personally think that repeating this process is the only thing a single performer can do to improve the quality of a theatrical piece.

It is very hard while doing it, and I think I will never do it again. But when I finish a performance, the sense of achievement and freedom makes me want to do it again. I think it’s half like a curse.

Sugai:
Since I started working here, I get vegetables from my neighbors. They are fresh and really delicious. They even remember our names. I would like to do a play in Toride, too. Maybe we could use this place as a stage.