Oliver at Chion-in

Kyoto Colors

Twilight tour of Pleasure Quarters

This was a very intimate visit to Hanamikoji-dori in Gion where you experienceda slice of  the intensely secretive world of the Geisha.

Post Show Talk at KUAD

Here is a snippet of video from a post show discussion with the audience and students.

Backstage

This is backstage of "Dogugaeshi" at KUAD, from the puppeteer's point of view, behind all the towers that are filled with screens.

Post Performances at KUAD

After our final performance in Kyoto we had to say goodbye to the fantastic staff and to a special member of Seki Hideya's crew, Ozaki. He was with us in Kanazawa as we loaded in for the first time and was pivotal to the tour,  traveling ahead of us to Kyoto and loading us in early, while we were still performing in Kanazawa.   Ozaki took care of us in Kyoto when Seki had to leave us for a few days.  We could not have pulled off the performances at KUAD without him!  Thank you for everything Ozaki.

Japan Times Review and Link

Writer Daniel Rosen joined the company for interviews in Kanazawa, and he wrote a wonderful feature on DOGUGAESHI that appeared in the print edition of The Japan Times.  Here is a link to the online article titled: FLIPPING SCREENS.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ft20071129a1.html

Touring Underneath a Kabuki Stage

We received a very special interactive tour of the underbelly of the stage where the mechanisms for the revolving turntable are stored as well as the lift for the Hanamichi used for the Kabuki performers.  We also practiced pulling the traditional Kabuki curtain.

Kyoto performances

We were lucky to have had sold out houses for our performances here.  Thanks to the hard work of a totally dedicated team, the show is looking its best.  A gem in the company is native son Poe, who is not only our associate lighting designer, but he is also our interpreter and tour guide. The stage was completely transformed and audiences connected to our Dogugaeshi.  

Yoshidaya Restaurant

we enjoyed several meals at the cozy, inviting and scrumptious Yoshidaya Restaurant.  Like home away from home;  I was introduced to this intimate and hidden enclave by Toru Camyada of the Dumb Type company when I was in residency here at the Kyoto Arts Center in 2004.  Hiroko, the adorable owner/chef treats you like you were family and constructs an entire meal for you from her seasonal menu as she shows you photos of her recent culinary expeditions.  We had salmon that was inspired by her recent trip to Turkey, it was so comforting and delicious.

Kyoto University of Art and Design

We are hosted by Kyoto Performing Arts Center at Kyoto University of Art and Design on the stage of the Shunjuza Theatre. Chie Otsuka organized these performances, and we are so grateful to have a tour stop in Kyoto,  it is incredibly beautiful and the university has an amazing roster of professors and visiting artists - many of which we were fortunate enough to experience during our stay.  In Kyoto audiences entered our special intimate seating and stage through the Hanamichi.

Sticker Booth Results!!

Arriving into Kyoto

The company arrived into Kyoto Station and wound their way up the mountain of Eastern Kyoto through Maruyama Park to Yoshimizu, a traditional japanese ryokan,  surrounded by magical woods, shrines and temples.  This is a photo that Oliver took on their first moonlit walk.

Post Show Kanazawa

The Kanazawa the staff was very kind and invited us to a traditional post-strike meal. But the BEST part was actually after dinner when we went to the local amusement arcade complex. Almost everyone piled into one massive photo booth, followed by an important session adding hearts and stars and sparkles with the computer interface outside.

And then, the Taiko drumming video game!

21 Century Museum

Our stay in Kanazawa started with visiting the performance space with Cara our new technical director and meeting Yasuyo Kondo the chief program officer, who is really warm and wonderful.  We enjoyed a tour of the museum and heard a wonderful string quartet from the Ukraine.  The next day we hit the ground running with the puppeteers arriving just in time to help load our set into the theatre.

We celebrated Barbara's birthday onstage with cake and the whole company and crew and then had our first dress rehearsal.  Our first performance in Japan was very well received.  After our second sold out performance, the amazing staff from the Museum took us to a very special dinner in a Tatami mat room, where courses of traditional dishes kept coming and coming.  Then we all went to a gaming center and squeezed into a sticker photo booth, which are serious events here in Japan, and we of course were very silly.  Also,  Yoko Shioya who was the original commissioner of Dogugaeshi from The Japan Society, surprised us all in Kanazawa for our final performance. 

We have received many lovely emails from people who saw the performances at the Museum, it is very special to be sharing this show with Japanese audiences.

Kanazawa

Performing at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa is an amazing treat.  The facility is new and a very comfortable place for our first "landing".  We are lucky that this is the first venue for our tour,  we have all the bells and whistles available to us so we can work the kinks out of the show , just arriving off of a two-month sea container journey!  The Museum has many fantastic exhibitions and the famous garden, Kenrokuen,  right across the street is beautiful.