Thursday 29th May Day Four in Tokyo

We started the day with an exercise introducing the idea of animals, through a continuum, animal to human, changing from one to the other, and points in between. The actors are leaping into this kind of exercise now, and the following session was the best of the fortnight so far, with four very powerful pieces of improvisation in groups. They were in response to different stimulus cards, but they shared a new level of intensity. Language is beginning to be less relevant within these - some of the scenes contained two or three languages but without dwelling on misunderstanding, even without misunderstanding at all. Also striking were the repeating patterns of behaviour...the way playfulness is the route children use to overcome fear or difference, the way childs play reflects their view of the adult world.

The next exploration centred around the nature of monsters, real, imagined, metaphorical. Again the work was strong, and the themes are becoming clearer. The concerns of the children in Seoul and here for the world around them mix well with their preoccupation with monsters, whether the monsters are purple with three heads, or a cloud of dark smoke. Also clear was the fun to be had from childrens incomplete understanding of the world, alongside what we know we want to say about their wisdom...

When under threat, all believed that adults would come to save them.... initially at least.

We discussed the relative merits of playing children and animals.. some felt that playing children is to be avoided, all agreed that playing children badly is to be avoided!

After an exhilerating days work in the rehearsal room, we set off for our second workshop with children, in an after school group in Tukerazewa. The japanese actors did not come, with the exception of Tatsuo, but there were more adults involved with the group, and is was different in feel from the school session. The ages were more mixed [from maybe about 7-12] but the atmosphere was very positive, and once again any shyness they felt was certainly quickly got over. Their ideas of monsters were certainly inventive - the vegetable monster created from all those vegetables left uneaten by children, and the giant cucumber, which were defeated by dressing and by salt respectively.

After the session we had a wonderful evening at Toyoko's house, with a succession of delicious courses of food, prepared by her, and enjoyed long and loudly by all of us. The highlight of the evening, apart from the food, was the sight of Byung Ho our tireless Korean producer, getting his head around the task of doing that thing where your two index fingers back each other and rock back and forwards as if one..... I am sure you know what I mean. There is a real sense of family across the group now.