Collaborating and Performing in Multiple Languages

Looking for Yogurt (The Poster Image)

Kijimuna International Theatre Festival for Children, Okinawa

Looking for Yogurt is a co –production between Birmingham Rep (England), Joyful Theatre (Korea) and The Kijimuna Festival (Japan). It is truly collaborative in that it features a performer from each country (each who performs in his/ her own language) and was written by a writer from each country, including Peter Wilson from the UK who also directed the piece.

The synopsis in the program reads: In a big construction site in a big city just before dusk, a Korean girl Norang encounters a Japanese boy Aka and an English boy Blue. These three children, who have no language nor culture in common somehow come to know, play with and understand each other and finally reach to hope and trust.

This was my first adventure into the world of cross -cultural collaborations and I was very excited to be in the audience. Naturally, the audience was mostly Japanese and therefore understood the dialogue of the Japanese performer only but through the characterisations, actions and reactions all three languages were made accessible. If anything, I wanted to see the three characters more challenged to be understood; this would not only have made the scenario more realistic but could also open up the possibility for beautiful comic misunderstandings. Instead the three characters seemed to get to know each other and understand each other too soon, seamlessly understanding what had been said and each translating it into their own language for the audience one by one. Hence the pattern of Korean then Japanese then English became a little predictable. Nevertheless, thanks to the audible response of the small number of children in the audience (recommended for those aged six +), there was no doubt that they were engaged throughout.

A note should be made here that many shows of the shows at the Kijimuna Festival unfortunately fail to attract an audience of children. Particularly anything that looks slightly experimental or contemporary. Instead, most of the audiences are made up of adults who have an interest in theatre (including a small number of international producers from Children's Festivals) and only a handful to half of the local audience escort their kids along.

Island Kitchen (produced by Mr Shimoyama, Artistic Director of the Kijimuna Festival) was a performance written and directed by Kato Tadashi and performed by one Japanese actor (in Japanese), one Korean actor (in Korean), a dancer and a musician. However, it suffered from the opposite of Looking for Yogurt, it did not go far enough to ensuring that the dialogue of the Korean actor was not lost on its Japanese audience. Instead we listened to long energetic monologues and had no idea what he was getting so worked up about. It was a very wordy play and even my thirty year old Japanese friend in the audience commented afterwards, that he found the story hard to follow. Recommended for an audience of children aged nine upwards, I can only assume that the meaning was completely lost on the few children that were in the audience.

Who are you? A production by Theatre Mala Scena from Croatia who are better known for their show, The Parachutists, featured a Japanese actress (who has been living in Croatia) and a Croatian actress. The program reads:Two women seeking for some new friend meet, talk, laugh and go while involving the audience. As speedy stage performed in Japanese.

The best thing about this collaboration was the gentle performance style of the two performers, which allowed for a genuine connection with one another and a sharing of basic language. And whilst the small audience mostly of adults and a few children aged 3-6 years sat quietly watching the performance from beginning to end, it lacked energy, theatricality and often integrity- particularly the extended game of hide and seek which was badly blocked throughout the piece (one actor pretending to look for the other that is clearly just a little further upstage). It occurred to me while watching this piece that it would not survive a showing at a kindergarten, where the children, on mass, yell out the obvious “She’s behind you!!” and any other suggestions they have along the way.

Sayonara, Kazenoko Kyushu! Mata Aimashoo!

風の子九州の皆さんへ、

沖縄に着きましたそしてとても暑いですよ。 毎日いろいろな世界じゅうから来たさくひんを見ています。けど、まだまだ風の子九州見のようなさいこなさくひんを見ていなかったですよ。

４日ににっこりぽっかりを見に行くことを楽しみにしています。

私は本当にかんしゃしたいです。７月に私風の子九州と一緒にすごした時間はおいしいとこどうりでしたよ。風の子九州のさくひんが見えたし、いろいろな行ったことがない島に行けたし、ワークショップも出来たし、やまかさまつりでいっぱいおしりを見えたし、皆と一緒に東京に行けたし、SAADARIのさくひんが見えたし、とてもとてもいい勉強になりました。どうもありがとうございました。

皆さんはいつも私にとてもしんせつので、わからない時でもいいけいけんでした。Thank you for your support and friendship.

また会いましょう！

それじゃ、皆さん、元気で，がんばって、楽しんでね！

Yours in theatre,

Liz Skitch

スキチ　リズ

Actors on an Annual Wage

Kazenoko Actors, Hiroko and Saske, working Front of House.

One of the remarkable things about Kazenoko in Japan is that their actors receive an annual wage. This intrigues me because in Australia, actors work contract to contract and in between times, take up other employment to pay the bills. Asano-san who was part of the acting ensemble for about ten years before moving into the role of writer/ director, explains “But not all theatre companies in Japan work like Kazenoko, most are like Australia, they contract the actors when they need them”, she tells me. Infact, Kazenoko is one of the five theatre companies in Japan that employ this system. “It was about 20 years ago that we decided to put actors on an annual wage. We found that our actors kept getting sick because they couldn’t afford to eat properly when they weren’t working for us and then when it was time for the next tour, it was hard to get the ensemble together again”, she explains.

The Kazenoko wages vary depending on the city in which you are based. Kazenoko have companies in Hokkaido, Tokyo, Kansai, Tohoku, Chushikou and Kyushu, while all share the same mission, each are incorporated as separate organizations, with varying company structures and their own ensembles and bodies of work. All together there are 128 Kazenoko staff (actors and administrators).

Kazenoko Kyushu has 23 staff, 14 of which are actors. Actor and Administrators working for Kazenoko Kyushu earn only 11 9000 Yen a month (928 AUS dollars) when they start out and each year this amount increases a little and the top wage is about 22 3000 Yen (1 739 AUS dollars). “It is not a lot of money”, says company President Kariya-san. “It is only about half of the annual wage in Japan” he explains.

And to give you an idea of how far this goes, the average monthly rent for a small apartment in Fukuoka is between 35000 and 40000 Yen ($273- $312) per month . So it is not great, but you can afford to pay the bills and eat, furthermore income tax in Japan is very low (about 1.5% for a low income earner). The wage seems to suit young actors okay but doesn’t seem to costs for the actors with families to care for. Hence one of Kazenoko’s main challenges of late is finding a way to hang on to their male actors beyond the age of about thirty.

Working on an annual wage means that the Kazenoko actors are required to carry out administrative tasks, workshops in schools and other jobs relating to the day to day running of the theatre company when not in rehearsals or on tour, hence increasing the efficiency of the company and cutting back on administrative costs.

So how does Kazenoko Kyushu survive? Unlike in Australia, there is no operational funding in Japan for theatre companies and so Kazenoko Kyushu constantly apply for project funding. In a good year their total takings in grants is about 1500 0000 Yen (117 000 AUS dollars). But in years when they are not so successful in their funding applications, theatre companies in Japan resort to taking out bank loans.

Needless to say both the company and the actors are doing it tough but there is a lot to be said for the security that an annual wage provides and the freedom it gives the company to continually tour its body of work locally, nationally and internationally.

The reality in Australia is that performers are very well represented by the Media and Entertainment Arts Alliance and as a result, when we are contracted for work, we are well paid and under good conditions (in comparison to Japanese performers). However, Australian performers and theatre makers always face hard times when in between contracts.

The Australian population is small, we need to find a new audience and this means that following local seasons it is integral to tour this work interstate and overseas. And small ensembles that can develop, produce and perform their work are in the best position to do this but they need more support. I hope that in the future, funding bodies in Australia and larger theatre companies and festivals will make it a priority to invest more in small ensembles of multi-skilled performers who can work onstage and behind the scenes on an annual wage (as recommended by MEAA). This may mean some radical re-structuring and re-allocation on funds but if we want to be realistic about creating a more sustainable future for theatre companies and performers, surely we should be investing in the most efficient models?

Peekaboo

It is summer holidays in Japan and there are festivals everywhere you go. Japan loves it’s festivals and they take on many shapes and sizes. Each town has its traditional ‘Matsuri’ (Festival) which generally involves the men in the town gathering to cry ‘Washoi! Washoi!’ as they carry large decorated floats through the town wearing nothing but loincloths to the local Shinto shrine. Then there are the fireworks festivals, these take place during the summer and young and old gather by riverbanks to delight in these brilliant displays, wearing ‘ukatas’ (summer kimonos) and waving ‘uchiwas’ (fans). There are all kinds of festivals: rock festivals, beach festivals, full moon festivals and of particular interest to me this visit, children’s festivals.

I have travelled to Tokyo with the Kazenoko Kyushu for a performance of their acclaimed work for zero to three year olds, Peekaboo which is being performed at a Summer Children's Festival at the Town Hall in Shibuya. The show was first created in 1985 when Kazenoko director, Ken Nakajima had just started a family of his own. With a baby and a toddler at home, he was inspired to create a show for this age group; something no one in Japan had ever done before. He told the three young actors to create an intimate show for a small audience, “This is a special show for Kazenoko- it is a true investment in this age group so I don’t mind if it makes a loss”, he said to his cast.

And it is indeed intimate. The audience sit on the floor in the round and I look across the circular playing space at the mothers and fathers nursing their small children. The atmosphere is calm but not without occasional cries, screams and toddlers who feel suddenly inspired to run across the stage. The show begins with song. Jiro, Hiroko and Saki, who are the Peekaboo ensemble, have beautiful voices and sing in sweet harmonies. All three also happen to be very cute and petite. I tell them later in the post show feedback session that I want to take them home to Australia with me…which would be easy because they would probably all fit in my 60L backpack.

The actors start by singing a sweet peekaboo song and interact gently with children in the front couple of rows leaning in close and singing ‘peekaboo!’. We learn early on when a little baby gets a fright and starts to cry that this is okay too- the actors are not unnerved, they nod in understanding and it is part of the experience. The actors play Japanese versions of “Row- row row the Boat”, holding the hands of the children, they play “Drop the hankie” and then the handkerchiefs become birds and they flutter through the audience and land on the shoulders and heads of the children. It is very interactive.

The whole experience is linked beautifully with song and half way through the show, each of the actors produce an instrument (a guitar, a violin and a cello) and as the room fills with the rich sound of the strings, everyone starts swaying. The children love the music and it soothes any cries.

The show climaxes with a story about ‘Ojisan’s Doubutsu’ (Grandpa’s Animals). Jiro-san plays the Grandpa and sits on a clever swivelling stool in centre stage and is visited by a chicken, a mouse, a lion and an octopus (all expertly physicalised by Saki and Hiroko and each unique and comic). It is a simple little story and holds the attention of the audience right through to its conclusion.

As with the other Kazenoko shows that I have seen for toddlers up, the story telling is only a small part of the show. Instead, the various forms of play and games leading up to the story occupy the bulk of the performance.

After the show I talk with the director, Ken Nakajima and he explains that apart from Jiro-san, the actors have changed many times since the first season. And as the members change, so too does the show, little by little. He explains that ‘Peekaboo’ is a very important playground for Kazenoko Kyushu actors to discover whether or not they can play with and for children. It requires great honesty, an ability to be in the moment and great sensitivity to the audience and the wide variety of reactions one experiences when performing for babies and toddlers.

Cut and paste the following link for a Peekaboo at Peekaboo!

http://www.kazenoko-kyushu.or.jp/sakuhin/peekaboo/top.htm

A Conversation with Mark Radvan

Mark Radvan is Imaginary Theatre’s Founding Artistic Director. He is lecturer in Performance Studies and a Theatre Director at Queensland University of Technology, lecturing in Acting and Directing, a position he has held since 1984. He is former Artistic Director of QPAC’s ‘Out of the Box Festival for 3-8 year Olds’ where he lead two festivals in 2006 and 2008.

On Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 2:54 PM, Mark Radvan wrote:

Hi Liz,

I’m very interested to know how Kazenoko positions children as ‘readers’ of performance – what assumptions they make about how children understand and interpret what the performers are doing, and how as makers they verify that understanding of children’s reception.

Also keen to know what aesthetic paradigms they mainly operate in?

Cheers
Mark

On 14/07/09 9:55 PM, "Liz Skitch" wrote:

Hi Mark,

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. The Kazenoko Philosophy is beautiful.
This is their mission statement:

Children have free, imaginative and creative spirits. We, members of Kazenoko Theatre Company, aspire to create and produce theatrical programs which give inspiration and encouragement to children so that they will find life interesting and exciting. We want our programs to make them happy and feel positive about dealing with life.
We do not intend to present children a simplified version of adult theatre. Our approach is not based on the theory and style of sophisticated adult theatre. We recognise that children think, feel and express in their own ways. They have their own unique minds and point of views. Therefore we adopt their ways into our works. We follow their growing steps and try to integrate them into our creative process, so that our works will reflect their energy and joy. We believe that creative ability of young people is rooted in their sense of play, so we try to create theatre in which their creative sense of play is nurtured and enhanced.
We want to think together with children how to live a good life. With children we want to find out how to live in harmony with others. We would like to think that wars and violence are not the ways to achieve happiness. It is not easy to find the best solution to achieve a good life and ideal society but children are in the best position to think about it because they have no past to be bound firmly.
The members of Kazenoko Theatre Company wish to devote their energy and creative resources continuously to offer theatrical programs of high artistic and educational qualities to children and young people of the world.

Based on their work for 3-6 year olds I have seen so far they take the children step by step into the story through a series of games and comic routines (no fourth wall). Some of these games are familiar to us, others are traditional Japanese and some are made up by the actors. They games melt into story telling and all is linked by song and music. Their designs (set, music and use of space) are very original and sophisticated. The stories are told through image drama, often making extraordinary things out of found objects.

Their pieces for primary schoolers dive into the story a lot earlier but still take the time to establish a sense of play, a strong relationship between performers and performers and audience and to unpack how the set and visual effects are created (often the set is put together/ pulled apart as part of the show). Not sure if my favorite so far is Kyushu Kazenoko's "Nan-de Man" (a very contemporary story with a comic book feel about a little boy who always asks "Nan-de"- Why?) or Tokyo Kazenoko's "Nanka Youkai" (about an old Japanese Grandma and a little ghost- this has a more traditional Japanese feel). Both are very different to each other and are by the same director Ken Nakajima, who created "Toppinshan" (which was programmed as part of the 2000 “Out of the Box Festival”). Once again the visual effects and sound designs are stunning. Their shows are packed with humor and are very original.

In terms of measuring how children receive their shows, they carry out test showings for children post creative developments and then head back into the rehearsal room to make changes based on the responses. But because their works exist in repertoire for years (some up to 20), they are constantly improving them based on audience response. Also, they are very connected with the schools and have a very unique organisation here "Kodomo Gekijou" (The Children's Theatre Company) which is mad up mostly of mothers who are passionate about children's well being and children's theatre. They organise lots of performance opportunities through gathering the wider community together and contacting the theatre companies (in effect, they have become producers). But they have also started to become an important sounding board for Kazenoko Kyushu in the development of new works and feel a sense of ownership.

Signing off,
Liz Skitch

On Wed, Jul 15, 2009 at 9:11 AM, Mark Radvan wrote:

Hi Liz

Love all that and relate to it very strongly. We (at Imaginary) have been working on the premise of beginning each Tashi story in the world of the familiar for exactly the same reasons – to build the relationship with the audience and to ‘train’ the audience into the performance conventions we are using. Then we take them through the ‘portal’ into the world of the imaginary, the story proper, where they will be taken into places that can be funny one moment and dark and threatening the next. But because we have built that sense of trust and because we have reassured them from the start that this is ‘pretending’ not ‘real’ they are ready for a journey that is full spectrum. And underlying everything is the sense that this is a celebration of storytelling and therefore of the transformative power of the imagination, which answers the question of ‘why’ we are doing it.

This season has been the first with two new cast members – Bernadette Pryde and Kevin Spink – and because they are both ‘actors’ as well as performers we have been able to start exploring character in much greater detail and the emotional integrity and insight that comes with that. But it is a long journey. We are such a slot machine culture that we have little patience with organic processes. This is Year 6 of the Tashi Project and each year we investigate another layer and found ourselves needing another level of training and preparation. But it is starting to pay off – we sold 95% this season in the Visy (over 3500 tickets) - and in October we will be in two festivals – Brisbane Festival and then Sydney Children’s Festival.

The Mothers thing – so interesting – that’s what happens in South Korea too – the Mothers Club is immensely powerful and no children’s theatre company can afford not to pay attention to them as a major buying force and influence.

Cheers
Mark

On 16/07/09 11:35 AM, "Liz Skitch" wrote:

Hi Mark,

Beautiful hearing about the philosophy of Imaginary. It is good for me to see it articulated so clearly:

First a relationship is built between audience and performers.
Then the audience is taken through a portal into the world of the imaginary.
Yes- and because the trust has been built, and it has been set up as a 'play' and the audience know that visual effects are created by the actors, it is okay to for things to get a bit scary.

And the reason for doing it: the transformative power of the imagination. And I think that the imaginations is ignited (for children) through games various forms of play.

Sayonara,
Liz Skitch

On Thu, Jul 16, 2009 at 9:11 AM, Mark Radvan wrote:

Hi Liz

Re scary – I think the point to make here is that theatre for children can be a full spectrum dramatic experience (including high tension bits) if the trust has been built and the audience understands the dramatic conventions. I read an evaluation by Patch Theatre (Adelaide) of one of their works and the comment was made of one scene that the children got scared/worried in the argument/fight scene because some of them thought it was the adults themselves fighting rather than the characters. So the children hadn’t fully understood the dramatic convention of ‘pretending’.

I can identify with that – the very first time I saw television (I had never even seen a film – we were living in South America at the time) I was already 5 years old – it was The Lone Ranger (cowboy drama series) and I had no idea it was ‘acting’ - I fully assumed it was real and reacted as if people really were fighting and really being shot. It was quite traumatic. An adult tried to explain to me that it was acting, but I still didn’t understand that the violence was fictional. I though they must use criminals for the people who got hit or shot and that was part of their punishment! (I also couldn’t understand where people went to when they walked out of screen, or how you could be indoors one moment and riding on a horse the next. Of course these days by the time a child comes to the theatre they are very used to this jumpcut way of telling a story.)

I am working at the moment on a theory that children come to the theatre with certain dramaturgical conventions already in their heads. If for example they have had a lot of picture books and stories read to them they understand how words can then be expanded on in a picture. We can use this convention. Similarly they hear the dramaturgical ‘turning points’ of literary narrative – eg Just then..., or, and that’s the end of the story. So we can incorporate those. And so on. The exciting thing is that these often turn out to be the hidden rules of adult theatre, so the research we do leads us to findings that apply to all theatre.

Keep well and keep writing!
Mark

Powerful and Playful

Nan Nan Nan- de Man

I have just returned from touring with ‘Nan- de- Man’ to Nagasaki and to an island known as Gota (about 2 hours on the ferry from Nagasaki) and the tour was and experience parallel with the play, which is best described as powerful and playful.

Once again (just as on my the tour last week to Kagoshima with ‘Furato Burato’) I was very impressed by the ‘Kodomo Gekijou’ (Children’s Theatre Company) which is an NPO largely run by mothers who are responsible for producing the Nagasaki season, in collaboration with Kazenoko Kyushu. As well as producing the season (getting funding, advertising, hiring the venue and selling the tickets) the mothers of ‘Kodomo Gekijou’ and their children are thoroughly present at the event, both receiving a special pre-show brief with the artists and conducting a formal post show brief over ‘Udonsha’ (cold tea) and ‘Okashi’ (sweets). It is a very strong relationship, fuelled by a mutual passion for the well being of children and a great love of children’s theatre. Sitting in a local 'Izakaya' (bar) after the show that night with the Mothers and the cast I thought to myself, "Would actors in Australia do this? Would they go above and beyond their role as actors and give their time and energy post show and late into the night to a group of middle aged women?"

Also on the tour is Asano-san, who co-created and directed ‘Furato Burato’. She was so humble that I did not find out that she was the writer of ‘Nan-de Man’ till half way into the tour when inquired into how it was devised. “I wrote it”, she kind of confessed. And I then confess “Well, I just became your number one fan". She has just taken a gulp of beer and sprays it across the table with laughter. From there I asked about her influences and it was no surprise that she was brought up on a healthy diet of comedy shows on Japanese TV. Her influences include shows such as ‘The Drifters’ who are probably best described as the Japanese equivalent to ‘The Goodies’.

And now for a description on ‘Nan Nan Nan- de Man’:

The three performers burst onto the stage singing “Nan-de, Nan-de, Nan- de, Nan-de man!” and in the song, they introduce the roles they will be playing today through fun plays on words and actions. We meet ‘Otoosan’ (Father), ‘Oniichan’ (Brother) and ‘Nan-de Man’, a five year old boy who considers himself a superhero and has the comic book style moves and poses to prove it! The name Nan-de Man has been awarded to the little boy by Otoosan because the he is ALWAYS asking ‘Nan-de?’ (Why). The 5-year old boy is performed very energetically by Inoue Mari-san, a thirty something year old female performer who is incredibly convincing and likeable. Nan-de Man’s likeability lies in his fallibility, declaring that he will kill all the monsters and save the world in one breath and “Kedo, mazu Oshiko o shitai” (but first I need to do a wee) in the next. The cast of three are each very funny; displaying perfect comic timing, brilliant slapstick skills and the ability to play a myriad of original and hilarious characters.

Nan-de man falls asleep and goes on an adventure to a strange land full of strange characters. But this is a strange land with a difference, in this land it is forbidden to ask “Nande?” (Why?). If you do, a big scary monster comes and eats you up! After witnessing a couple of his new friends being gobbled by the monster, Nan-de Man loses faith in himself and even stops asking “Nande?”. But the play comes with an important message; Never be too scared to ask why.

In the end Nan-de Man conquers the monster and his work in this strange land is done. He will return home victoriously, but first, he must do a wee; this was the climax of the play for me. Nan-de Man yells ‘Kimochi ii!!!!’ (It feels so good!) as he relieves himself at the same time as the set transforming around him and the hall filling with heavenly music. He is transported back into his bed, on a wet mattress.

After the show, we sit in a circle with the ‘Kodomo Gekijou’ members and one by one we listen to each other’s feedback: “It was powerful”, “It was so simple but I felt so inspired”, “I am not sure who loved it the most- the children or the grown ups!”

It is my turn and I say the same thing I said last year when I saw the show in Tokyo for the first time. “I laughed so much that I wet my pants too!”

Asano-san laughs mid way through a gulp of Udon-cha and sprays it across the room, the mothers are all giggle and race to mop up the mess and Nan-de Man gives me a high five.

Japanese Comedians- Crazy or Genious?

The Method Behind the Madness

It is 9am and already sweltering hot. I frantically grab random objects from my small apartment: a frypan, a hat, a scarf, a soup spoon and a boomerang (just happened to have one in my backpack) in preparation for today’s clowning workshop with the Kazenoko Company Actors. I am usually very comfortable these days in the role of clown master and have conducted hundreds of workshops with a wide variety of people since studying clown with Philippe Gaulier (French Clown Master) at his school in 2000/ 01, however, today I am a little nervous because I will be running the workshop in Japanese.

Prior to the workshop I have studied up on essential new vocab such as ‘Dokeshi’ (clown), ‘Mujaki’ (Innocent), ‘Kurikaishi’ (Routine), ‘Kusuguru’ (Tease out the laugh), ‘Kiwadori’ (Hit and miss) and ‘Ochi o toru’ (Punchline) but more than not being understood, I am worried that I might be teaching the actors things they already know. The Japanese have a natural comic ability, largely because they are a country that has a long comic tradition and still greatly respect and celebrate their comedians.

`Manzai’ (Comedy Duos) are the most popular form of comedy in Japan these days, unlike Australia/ America where the Stand Up Comedian is king. These comic duos do everything from ‘mono- mane’ (Imitations), to `kanto` (improvisations) to sketch comedy. Successful comedians in Japan can become big stars and go on to build careers not only as TV personalities but also as serious actors in TV series and films. But ‘Manazai’ has not always been popular in Japan. In fact when it was first introduced in the 1920s, audiences hated it. Up until that time, audiences had only seen ‘Rakugo’, which is the traditional form of comic story telling. ‘Rakugo’ is performed solo, in old style dialect, wearing traditional dress and sitting down and is still very popular in Japan today. Hanabishi Achako- san was the first ‘Rakugo’ artists to try standing and delivering his routine at the Yoshimoto Theatre in Osaka but apparently, the audiences didn’t like it at first. Then the more radical ‘Rakygo’ artists decided to try it in pairs but the stories were long winded and it still didn’t work. And finally, they tried adjusting the content to make the subject matter more accessible (marriage, food, drinking, children etc) and delivered each subject in bite -sized chunks before hitting the punch line and moving on to the next topic. Very much like stand up comedy, only delivered in pairs and evolved completely separately.

Switch on the television in Japan and to the untrained eye it looks like a bunch of people doing crazy things, laughing at each other and throwing themselves around. In actual fact there are a wide variety of comic formulas at play that are key to clowning. For example, if your friend attempts a gag, it is your job to laugh (either with or at your friend…what ever you honestly feel at the time). If the gag falls flat, acknowledge the fact that it bombed. Or as Philippe Gaulier would say “Ahhhhh! Someone is here- someone is with you! It is your old friend, Mr Flop. Play with him.” And other clowning essentials such as if you do something that gets a laugh, do it again, and again until it doesn’t work; then remember it for later and bring it back to save the show!

The Kazenoko rehearsal space is a little out of town so we all meet at the office in down town Fukuoka and pile into the touring vans. We arrive and enter the space, my curious eyes scan the organised chaos of every spare inch of wall from floor to ceiling. I spy set, prop and costume items from the various shows ‘Furato Burato’, ‘Nande Man’ and ‘Toppinshan’. The actors have already changed into rehearsal clothes and are stretching. I join in and discover that this bunch like a thorough warm up.

The highlight of the warm up was getting them to do tongue twisters in English. Next time you meet a Japanese friend, get them to teach you one of their ‘Hayaguchis’ and you can teach them yours. I recommend “Red Leather, Yellow Leather”- You’ll have each other in stitches in no time.

Then I introduced the group to ‘Simon Says’. Anyone who has played this with Gaulier, or a student of his school will know that it is no ordinary game of Simon Says and at the end of the game everyone must add up their mistakes and decide if they want hits, kisses or ‘nothings’ for their mistakes. The hits are issued unforgivingly on the head (by the clown master) and the kisses are negotiated with fellow group members, but if someone says ‘no’ to giving you a kiss, you will be issued hits instead. It is a very funny game and goes a long way to breaking the ice and establishing relationships between fellow performers. Interestingly enough, most of the Japanese actors opted for kisses, which is surprising in a society where a kiss or a hug is rarely exchanged between friends…as opposed to in Europe.

Warmed up and ready to go, I issue the group with red noses and we move into a series of clown training exercises drawing from Philippe Gaulier and another director that I trained with in England, John Wright.

Highlights included Tamaki and Jiro-san’s very funny routine with a boomerang (the clowns have no idea what a boomerang is and end up using it as a back scratcher) and Jun, Yuji and Daichi trying to convince the audience they are identical triplets (when they look nothing alike).

It was a great chance to share skills with the Kazenoko performers and confirmed my belief that the Japanese are gifted comedians.