Dialogue with the Romanian Independent Scene for the "Happiest Days" Tour in Romania (2020)
Dialogue with the Romanian Independent Scene for the "Happiest Days" Tour in Romania (2020)
Dialogue with the Romanian Independent Scene for the "Happiest Days" Tour in Romania (2020)
Following the postponement of the Romanian tour of “Happy Days” due to coronavirus, the concept of the piece was reworked and the product held as a remote symposium online. The speakers were Radu Apostol, founder of Cultural Association Replika, the host organization for the Romanian tour and driving force of the independent cultural scene in that country, and Kamome Machine leader Yuta Hagiwara.
The theme of the “Happy Days” project was to question the meaning of “happiness” with the aim of facing this universal question from multiple perspectives through the physical self, alive in the modern world. The online symposium was designed to revisit this , on the basis of current circumstances.
With the aim of expanding discussions on the significance of the performance, and the possibilities and challenges for future co-productions from multiple perspectives given the current situation in both countries, Apostol talked about the current condition of the Romanian theater scene and the two shared their ideas.
Speakers: Radu Apostol, Yuta Hagiwara
Translator: Florin Popescu
Coordinator/ Moderator: Ayako Miyake
Production Coordinator：Satomi Shimizu
Kamome Machine LLC
Kamome Machine has been active since 2007, based in the metropolitan Tokyo area. Performances explore the relationship between bodies and society with a unique sense of physicality through the application of Qigong and Tai Chi techniques. Major works include “Waiting for Godot in Fukushima” (2011), performed by a road just outside Fukushima’s exclusion zone; “OREGAYO” (2015), the text of which is based on material from the Japanese Constitution, and which has been performed at the Temps d’ Images Festival in Cluj, Romania, as well as being taken on tour in Japan; and “Happy Days,” which garnered the Toga Theatre Competition’s Excellence Award in the director category, and was staged two years later at Theater Commons 2018.
Yuta Hagiwara
Kamome Machine LLC
info.kamomemachine@gmail.com
Waseda University Drama-Kan Theatre, Sinjuku City, Tokyo and On-line streaming
