プレイヤーズとの旅

… or afternoon. The Jungle Book debuted on a sunny Sunday afternoon, which was unfortunately an alternate day for many taiikutaikais that had been rained out Saturday. Despite that, we had a great turnout. The cast overcame first show jitters, the crew had very few hiccups thanks to Yuu’s amazing facilities and staff, and the show came off with nary a hitch. I can honestly say this was the smoothest opening show the musical has had in 4 years. We had a lively crowd that happily participated in learning animal greetings and dancing with the monkeys.

We’ll be updating the gallery with more pictures, so be sure to check that out as well. Next we’re off to the north for our performance in Takinoue-cho, and then down south to finish our run in Kutchan. We’re still in need of extra crew for these shows, so if you’d like to see it for free and get a great seat (running spotlight or music from the booth!) please get in touch with us. See you at the next show!

With only 2 rehearsals left, we are getting ready to take our show to the stage. Our first performance will be in Sunagawa’s Yuu Center – which is accessible from the train station – Sunday, May 22nd, at 1:30 PM. Doors open at 1:00. If you’d like to assist backstage, please email us at: thehokkaidoplayers@gmail.com. The poster shown above is specifically for the Sunagawa performance (some information will change for each show). Please feel free to print it out, put it up in your schools or offices, and give it to your friends. We hope to see you all there!

Check out our awesome T-shirts, featuring our new logo (thanks, Simon!) and a great design for this year’s show by Luce, a.k.a. Donkey Kong!

To order T-shirts, please fill out this ORDER FORM. The deadline for orders is APRIL 18TH. T-shirts will cost approximately 2000 yen each, perhaps more for shipping, but the more we order, the less they will cost.

FRONT

BACK

After a refreshing winter break, getting back into the rehearsal routine was a little rough. Maybe starting the year off with two rehearsals back-to-back wasn’t a great idea, but by the third rehearsal of 2011, everyone was mostly on the same page again. Here’s a brief look at what we’ve been up to since January:

TOYA

Our first rehearsal of the year was in Toyako Onsen. We had a beautiful view of the lake as we rehearsed the final song/curtain call of the show.

AKABIRA

In Akabira, we worked on the last dance to be completed for the show: a Bollywood dance (at about 1/4 normal Bollywood speed) set to Gandhara, to be sung by Kaa.

TAKINOUE

In Takinoue, we were lucky enough to practice in a theater for the first time (and for free!), so the actors started to get a sense of the dimensions they will be working with.

We had a nice dinner at a cool local restaurant with several of the teachers from the Junior High school. Oh yes, we slept in the computer room of the Junior High. That goes on the “Oddest Places Hokkaido Players Have Ever Crashed” list. But hey, it was very warm, had free internet, and the chance to scare stray kids in the hall in the morning.

Sunday after rehearsal, a group went to Mombetsu to see the ice flows. Looks cold out there…

FURANO

Then we moved on to Furano for our last February rehearsal. We’re starting to get into costume- and set-making time, so the wolves started building their hat/masks for the show.

Furano was one of the most generous towns the Players have ever been too. In addition to free lodging and a home-cooked meal, we were given travel money to boot! In exchange, we collaborated with the local ALT to do an international activity day/acting workshop. We had about 30 elementary and junior high school students come to make masks, play animal charades (this being the Jungle Book, of course) and learn one of the dances from the show.

That’s all for now, we’ll be taking a bit of a rehearsal break through March to make costumes, build the set, go to goodbye and welcome enkais, etc. Hopefully everyone will be off-book by our next rehearsal, which will be in Noboribetsu.

Check out the Recommendations pages to see reviews of the onsens and restaurants we’ve visited!

We now officially have a logo:

And now we’re looking for a design for this year’s production. Anyone can submit a design. It must have the title in English (The Jungle Book) and Japanese (ジャングル•ブック). Designs are usually white on black T-shirts. The deadline for entries is December 11th. Please email designs to thehokkaidoplayers@gmail.com. I look forward to seeing your submissions.

Starting with 2 back-to-back rehearsals, we began the 2010/11 musical year with a roar… and a “boo!” In exchange for helping with Takikawa’s popular Halloween party, the players were provided with rehearsal and sleeping space, and enkai’d with other Halloween party helpers. It wasn’t until our first rehearsal that casting was finalized, and we have a total of thirteen actors this year.

Our Saturday rehearsal session was held in an unused section of the basement of an old department building, separated by dividers from the Halloween party prep. This particular rehearsal location is in the top running for having the most …. character… out of any rehearsal spot I’ve been to in three years.

The very next weekend saw the players converge on a familiar little white church somewhere between Mikasa city proper and Furano. Last year’s players have very fond memories and good tummy feelings from this place. We were generously allowed to use the church’s kitchen to cook Thanksgiving dinner there last year. This year we decided to make a tradition out of it (it helps that the nearest restaurant is a Tsubohachi about 20 minutes away) and everyone pitched in for a spaghetti feed that was followed by some amazing desserts.

Because there is worship in the church Sunday morning, we moved to the Mikasa dome for practice. This year’s script is short, but the focus of the performance is on the dancing.  So, for these past two rehearsals the actors have been tuning in to their inner ballerinas… or just their pulled muscles.

Our third and final rehearsal before winter break will be an intense one-day practice session the day after MYC in the producer’s hometown of Kamisunagawa. During the break, the set and props crew will get to work on bringing our jungle to life.

The Hokkaido Players’ 2011 production is promising to be one romping, stomping, wild adventure in the Indian jungle. Our original stage adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book will follow Mowgli as he grows from a cub into a man.

This year’s choreography is inspired by stomp, ballet, traditional Indian dance, and modern dance. Kipling’s original poetry will be the basis for several songs. Costumes will be a fusion of traditional Indian dress and stylized animal masks.

This year will also focus on bringing the audience into the show. We will hold workshops for elementary and junior high school students before performances so that they can make masks and learn dances to participate in several scenes!

Come with us, into the jungle …