All within me
There are many kinds of performing arts in Akita. Festivals allow us to feel things that cannot experience in our daily lives, from the presence of the dead or even gods to the interchange with others at the festival or the manifestation of joy. Festivals act as opportunities to sustain and refresh local communities. The extraordinary feelings we experience at the festivals then feed into our daily lives, and we begin to look forward to the next festival again. However, the disease that currently befalls our lives has taken away this opportunity for renewal and communication. And then there are the problems that already lurked in this land, like the aging population, the declining birthrate, and the resulting loss in community. We have lost our shared space, and we find ourselves confronted head-on with the reality of our loneliness.
In Akita, there is a popular custom called the ‘drinking rehearsal.’ At parties or banquets, people already begin drinking ahead of time, before all participants have gathered, and call it a ‘practice run’ or ‘rehearsal.’ I suggest that we should try integrating the idea of a rehearsal of future performances as a part of our daily lives. For this project, we will try to unravel the mechanisms of the performing arts – the circuitry behind its pleasures or its structure as a place for renewal and communication – as part of our practice run. I would like to create a place not only for those already involved in the performing arts but a place where each one of us can create our own joys, a place for us to live in the future.
During the ‘Creation’ phase, we will hold multiple workshops aimed at collecting writings and words from every participant, do research, make use of questionnaires, and create the foundation of a script. Then, during the ‘Presentation’ phase, we will perform the theater performance ‘soda city funk’ in an ensemble that includes people living in Akita.
Takashi Shima