HOUYHNHNM

COMII am a big fan of chelfitsch. However, I have not seen many plays, and to be honest, I am not a fan of them. I am not good at "theatricality" by any means. But I like chelfitsch very much. I saw "God bless baseball" the year before last, which was recommended by an acquaintance, "Journey of Time in a Room" last year, and "Five Days in March," which I saw three times. I like the way the actors talk to each other.

COMII think chelfitsch is most memorable for things like the feel of a moment, the atmosphere of the whole. It's like a fragment or a feeling of the air. For example, in "Five Days in March," I remember the moment when I left the love hotel and the town of Shibuya looked like "a different Shibuya. I don't remember it as a phrase, but rather as a vague memory of the new colors I was made to see.

rice field in the charge of a nominal holder (ritsuryo system)I would like to realize a theater that can appeal to people like you who have a sense that they are not good at theater. But people who do theater don't really care about that. It is only natural, since they are people who love theater (laughs). It is encouraging to hear that you have taken these points into consideration, which people who like theater don't have a problem with.

COMII believe that among those who are involved in directing, only Mr. Okada and Apichatpong Weerasethakul (a leading contemporary Thai filmmaker) are aware that we have entered the 21st century.

COMII am aware of it, or rather, I am aware of it. I often feel the weight of the past, whether it is music or anything else, even when I am in Tokyo. I think that Okada-san is "liberated" from that. I often fall asleep while watching chelfitsch and apichatpong. But there is a good thing that I can't think of it as a bad thing... I am starting from a very rude place (laughs).

COMIYup. It's like that moment when you feel like falling asleep and suddenly want to drop off, and you don't want to think it's a bad feeling. That reminds me, I think that chelfitsch plays are "not fast. For example, in the dialogue, you use phrases like, "What I'm going to talk about is not about this day, but about the day before this day. It's a little annoying, but I like it (laughs). (Laughs.) Because we proceed slowly while checking, it is very "slow," but thanks to that, everyone (including the audience) can proceed at the same speed. So, in the end, I think it is the fastest way to reach the audience.

rice field in the charge of a nominal holder (ritsuryo system)I think theater is about "experiencing time," so I think about time a lot, and that "experiencing time" leads to "slowness" for me. I myself am very slow in thinking and developing things. Well, fast people leave slow people behind, but slow people don't leave fast people behind, so I'm fine with that...although it may irritate me a little (laughs). For you, such "speed of experience" in music has nothing to do with the speed of BPM, for example, does it?

COMIIt doesn't matter. To use an analogy, it's a quick turn of thought, and the conversation is conducted as if the answers are given by rote. The exchange is pompous, like a breathless game of ping-pong. After seeing chelfitsch, I feel relieved that it is okay to be honest, that it is okay to be slow. I myself am a very slow thinker.

COMINo, I am really the type of person who is reflecting on chelfitsch that I have been pretending to be fast when I am not. I went to see the show, reflected on it, and felt relieved...I feel like I went to a temple (laughs).

rice field in the charge of a nominal holder (ritsuryo system)That's right (laughs).

COMIWhen I see Apichatpong, I feel relieved. I hope that such a strong, gentle, and big "attitude" will come after the capitalist society. I feel that the "21st century," as I said before, will come after the era in which everything is amplified.

COMIAs a friend of mine said on the way home from the theater, Mr. Ushiro (Ryuta) of Chim↑Pom (a group of six artists known for their socially stimulating works and projects) hardly remembered the names of the works and authors, and during the talk he asked Erii, "Um, whose work is that? But when he looked at various things, he remembered only what he had found in his mind. I was thinking that she is the type of person who remembers only what she discovers in herself when she sees various things. For example, when I see a plant, I feel that I have to look at it more before I can associate it with a proper name or something else. When I say, "This looks like ...," it just goes over the top. That is the danger of "speed. And I think that's okay. I now feel that I want to remove such "speed" from the things that have nurtured me and that I have respected, and put my faith in something new. I believe that a new kind of richness will emerge more and more in the future, something that will provide a kind of "gap of forgiveness. And I think it is Okada-san who is expressing it now.

rice field in the charge of a nominal holder (ritsuryo system)One of the things we often say in the rehearsal room is that the reason we ring the bell is to make that sound we ring be heard. Throwing a pond at a stone is also to create a ripple with it, rather than to throw a stone. But there are some performances, for example, in which ringing the bell itself has become the objective.

COMIIt is "lonely"....

rice field in the charge of a nominal holder (ritsuryo system)It means that although the bells are being struck, there is no "echo" (that reaches the recipient).

COMII also think about when I perform. If I performed in the same place every day, I would probably get tired of watching the "ripples"... I would think, "I've had enough for today, let's look at the leaves over there" (laughs). I rarely perform in the same place two days in a row. Even if I bring the same set to a different place, the atmosphere and the audience will all change depending on the location.

rice field in the charge of a nominal holder (ritsuryo system)The director's job after the opening day is to assess the differences between yesterday's performance and today's performance even at the same venue, and if there are any problems, to point them out in words. In this way, the performance is nurtured toward its "future.

COMI（Do you watch it every day (even after the show is over)?

rice field in the charge of a nominal holder (ritsuryo system)As much as possible, I will watch it every day.

COMIEhhh!?　I may not be able to do that. I would like to see "Five Days in March" one more time, but I'm not ready to do that with my performance... (laughs).

rice field in the charge of a nominal holder (ritsuryo system)The actors in this production are young, in their 20s, but I have the impression that one stage is one year old. The first performance was held on December 1, and it is now the 8th day, so I am about 8 years old (at the time of recording the interview). I'm growing up (laughs).

COMIThat's how you think, interesting! (Laughs)

COMIThat may be so.

rice field in the charge of a nominal holder (ritsuryo system)It would be great if I could do that, too. That would be a kind of improvisation.

COMIIt was after I formed Wednesday's Campanella that I began to realize the meaning of improvisation. This year I performed in a drama, and it is difficult to do the same thing again.

rice field in the charge of a nominal holder (ritsuryo system)To put it coolly, it's a "battle against repetition. But I know in my head that there is ultimately no difference between improvisation and doing what has already been decided.

COMII envy those who are about to see "Five Days in March" for the first time. I had also read "The End of the Special Time Allowed to Us" (ed. note: the collection containing the novel version of "Five Days in March", Shincho Bunko), so as soon as I started watching the play, the scenery of the Shibuya slope that was supposed to appear at the climax of the play floated in my mind. I wondered what would happen if it did not. It was also very interesting to hear the personalities, feelings, and memories of each of the performers. In the role of Azuma-kun, various people played Azuma-kun, and they would say what Azuma-kun said or what he thought.

rice field in the charge of a nominal holder (ritsuryo system)I have been shifting and turning things upside down in terms of what this actor is representing at the moment.

COMIIt was such a nice feeling to hear it so clearly - the demonstrations (depicted in the work), the war, Tokyo, and the personal things that each of us felt were being generalized.

rice field in the charge of a nominal holder (ritsuryo system)When a play is performed in a theater, it becomes public, but it is not easy to succeed in really publicizing it. Music, on the other hand, can be made public as soon as a sound is released. I don't know if the musician is good or not, but I sometimes think that the sound is good because the musician takes responsibility for the sound he or she produces. And musicians listen to the sound they put out anyway. That's why I often tell them in the rehearsal room to "listen" to my performance.

rice field in the charge of a nominal holder (ritsuryo system)I am trying to create a work of art as a "mirror. Because it is a mirror, it reflects the people who see it. So everyone's impression will be different. I am happy when people tell me after the performance that they liked this scene, but I am also very happy when people talk about their personal (or private) life.

COMIThat's true!　During the documentary filming after the concert, one of the cameramen started talking, "I'm in a dispute with my wife right now, and I was thinking about this part of this song..." (laughs). It's fun to start that kind of conversation, and it doesn't make me "lonely" after all.

rice field in the charge of a nominal holder (ritsuryo system)Yes, that's what "experiencing" means. I think theater is a "phenomenon" like a rainbow. Not a physical one, but a rainbow that can be seen from different places under different atmospheric and lighting conditions - if a work can be created as such a "phenomenon," it will surely become a "mirror.

COMIInteresting!　I too aimed for a "natural phenomenon" at this year's concert. I wanted to create a storm-like effect by spreading a large cloth out into the audience and shaking it with light and sound. But the concept of such things often becomes clear when you try it out, and sometimes you find it out on the day you do it yourself! I also find out on the day of the event. Sometimes I think it is difficult to explain in advance when involving others.

rice field in the charge of a nominal holder (ritsuryo system)We could just say, "I'm sure something will happen."

COMIHahaha!　That's good! (Laughs)

rice field in the charge of a nominal holder (ritsuryo system)Yes, that's what I'm saying! (Laughs.) Something interesting is bound to happen. I don't know that in advance. I think it's interesting because you will know when you try it.

COMII can understand that very well. In his post-performance talk, Mr. Okada talked about "writing about the future," and when I see his works, I think, "Oh, that's the future.
In "Five Days in March," the actors are in their 20s and look like they are from 2003, but the present is depicted in a proper way, and I feel that it is the 21st century.... So, if you look at the present in a mirror, it feels very much like the "future.