Theatrical festival “FESTA Matsumoto 2022” is finally opening! ~ The eve of the great success & Kazumi Kushida’s “Skapan” report has arrived! ! ~

Kyodo Medias Co., Ltd.
Theatrical festival “FESTA Matsumoto 2022” is finally opening! ~ The eve of the great success & Kazumi Kushida’s “Skapan” report has arrived! ! ~

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Theatrical festival ”
FESTA Matsumoto 2022 has started. Kazumi Kushida, general director of the Matsumoto Performing Arts Center, has long envisioned a theater festival that will bring together theater and dance performances. With Matsumoto Performing Arts Center as the main venue, the city area is likened to a single theater, based on the desire for people to enjoy it as a thing.
“FESTA Matsumoto 2022” URL https://festamatsumoto.com
Brochure PDF
https://prtimes.jp/a/?f=d12949-20221001-8125485e5c4e569bf36314b46af69879.pdf Prior to the opening, on September 29th (Thursday), at the eve held in front of the Shinmai Media Garden, the Isazu Quartet started with a jazz performance, and Hiroshi Omori, who appeared in “Skapan”, was moderated by TC Alp. The performers and directors of each performance, such as Fumiyo Kohinata and Tetsuya Chiba, who directed “Betsuyaku Minoru Trilogy,” introduced their own performances. The performers of “Grasshopper’s Dinner Party” and the Isazu Quartet performed the music in the play, and the performers of the performance and many people who stopped in the city became one with the music. We had a lot of fun at the celebration eve for the opening of “FESTA Matsumoto 2022”. [Image 2

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Photographed by: Takeshi Yamada Regarding the holding of “FESTA Matsumoto 2022,” Kushida said, “I think it is very important to create something together with the city. I think it would be nice if you could find a way to enjoy it.” commented. At “FESTA Matsumoto 2022”, the young director Takuya Kato, who won the 10th Moriichi Ichikawa Screenplay Award for the first time in his first participation in the theater group “Dodo Falls”, will appear in the NHK Taiga drama in 2023. However, not to mention the gems of theatrical works such as Tetsuya Chiba’s “Betsuyaku Minoru Trilogy” and the six stories “Mitzaro’s Crow” presented by the theater unit Grass919 led by Hiroshi Omori, Yasutake Shimaji and Sakai Contemporary dance “Toshishun-” by nano unit Altneu, based on Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s masterpiece, selected dance works created by Japan’s leading choreographers during the corona crisis.
Dance works such as “Performing Arts Selection 2022” will also be performed. Furthermore, continuing from last year, Matsumoto’s famous Nawate Street will be turned into a theater for one day only on October 9th (Sun), at the “Autumn Nawate Street Carnival”, in addition to professional artists, performances by citizen performers will be held. Enjoy in style. And this time, with the addition of fringe planning, artists from various genres will participate, and it will be held at guest houses and cafes in the city, making FESTA Matsumoto even more exciting.
“FESTA Matsumoto 2022”, which is scheduled to have about 20 programs over 10 days, will run until October 10 (Monday/holiday). Check the FESTA Matsumoto website for details.
“FESTA Matsumoto 2022” URL https://festamatsumoto.com
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Kushida’s lifework, “Skapan”, which is also the highlight performance of this time, is a legendary masterpiece in which Kushida has repeatedly re-performed the French comedy masterpiece “Skapan’s Ingenuity” with his own interpretation and adaptation.
For the first time since the premiere at On Theater Jiyu Gekijyo in 1994, three members, Hiroshi Omori and Fumiyo Kohinata, who were members at that time, are together. Kushida’s son, Kushida Twelfth Night, and Kohinata Fumiyo’s eldest son, Kohinata Seiichi, also appear, and the two parent-child co-stars are also worth seeing. On September 30th (Friday), “Skapan” will be performed at Matsumoto Performing Arts Center as a preview performance. At the press conference held the day before, Kushida, Omori, and Kohinata made comments. “I’m just happy to have this combination. I don’t think it’s possible to be able to do this with friends who have the same aspirations as Jiyu Gekijyo, which I’ve worked hard to create. I think it’s a happy thing.” (Kushida) , “If I can successfully link to the indescribable thrilling world of ‘Skapan’ that Mr. Kushida is making.” I want to stand there.” (Kohinata) answered the question in a candid atmosphere unique to the three of them, who have a deep and long relationship as former members of On Theater Jiyu Gekijo. [Image 3

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Photographed by: Takeshi Yamada This time, we have received a report from theater journalist Fumiko Kawazoe, who saw the attention-grabbing “Skapan”.
On September 30th, just before the opening of “FESTA Matsumoto 2022” where Kazumi Kushida (general director of Matsumoto Performing Arts Center) serves as general director, a preview performance of “Skapan” was held.
When the theater gets dark, I hear the voice of seagulls and the rustle from afar. As the light enters, a crowd of expressionless people appear like dolls from within the haze, passing each other. A small space gradually transforms into the port town of Naples, where the stage is set, and the audience is slowly invited into this world. The color of the sky, the amount of light, and the gradual change in the shape of the clouds, the feeling of “not one color” is
synchronized with the feeling of covering this Kushida version of “Skapan”.
The highlight of the original work by Moliere is that the well-spoken and worldly-skilled Sukapan helps young people find love, and takes advantage of two arrogant rich men to thwart them. But Kushida’s version is not just an abysmal comedy. Skapan plays pranks, makes a fuss, and behaves cheerfully when he is with people, but when he returns to his kennel-like house and spends time alone, you can catch a glimpse of his loneliness and poverty. The “feeling of life” of a man living at the bottom of the story, which is inserted in between, gives shadows to the story. The scene where Skapan dances alone in silence while wearing an Arlecchino mask (a servant and clown in the comedy “Commedia dell’arte”, which was born in Italy around the 16th century) is also impressive. The music of nomadic people that flows everywhere reminds us of the hard life of Skapan, who has lived without roots. The Brecht curtain, which was quickly pulled from side to side and changed the scene, gave the stage speed and rhythm. It’s also charming when someone shows their face for a moment.) Hiroshi Omori (as Argant) and Fumiyo Kohinata (as Geront), who have worked together with Kushida on numerous stage performances as former members of On Theater Jiyu Gekijyo, will also appear. Sukapan Kushida (a surprisingly 80-year-old!), who moves lightly, rolls around, and talks a lot, and the tasteful exchanges between these misers who have a dull expression from beginning to end are humorous and excite the audience. Two couples, Octave (Seiichi Kohinata) & Iassant (Hina Yukawa), Leandre (Juniya Kushida) & Zerbinetto (Maho Minamoto), who are crazy about love and enjoying youth, are also blind. Inviting laughter with a ferocious move. Life goes by fast… these
rosy-cheeked children will soon grow up! This time, it is also a unique stage where two parent-child groups, Kushida and Kohinata, and Kohinata and their parents, have performed together. In addition, TC Alp members such as Taku Takei, Takashi Hosokawa, and Naoko Shimoji, who have been working under Kushida since they were young, clearly showed their individuality,
I was happy to see him playing an active role as a reliable fighting force. It is a sitting/casting that naturally leads to thinking about “the time of life”.
Young people who can’t say no when asked, and wealthy people who are ruthless to their servants. If you try to expand the cruel and egoistic part of human beings like a caricature, here too, the “back and forth of light and shadow” will have a tingling effect
everywhere, giving you an indescribable sense of reality, a world that exists in any era. to reflect the reality of It’s a happy ending, and the picture-perfect happy ending is mixed with a bit of bitterness. I’ll keep the details a secret for those who watch the stage, but this is another “not one color” ending.
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Photo: Takeshi Yamada
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　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Photographed by Takeshi Yamada
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The first half of the performance schedule will be held in the small hall of the Matsumoto Performing Arts Center, and the second half will be transformed into an outdoor theater at Matsumoto Castle’s Otemon Masugata Square. Even with the same performance, the atmosphere changes drastically, and you can enjoy the atmosphere and sounds of the city that change depending on the time of day in the city of Matsumoto as the sun goes down. By all means, I would like you to enjoy it with Matsumoto in autumn.
[Performance information]
Performance name: “Skapan”
Original: Moliere “Skappan’s Ingenuity”
Embellishment/Direction/Art: Kazumi Kushida
Cast: Kazumi Kushida, Hiroshi Omori, Taku Takei, Seiichi Kohinata, Twelfth Night Kushida, Maho Minamoto, Hina Yukawa, Takashi Hosokawa, Naoko Shimoji/Fumiyo Kohinata
Performance schedule: Matsumoto performance
Matsumoto Performing Arts Center Small Hall
September 30 (Friday) 19:00 *Preview performance
Saturday, October 1, 15:00
Sunday, October 2, 13:00
Matsumoto Castle Otemon Masugata Square (outdoor performance) October 6th (Thursday), 8th (Saturday), 9th (Sunday), 10th (Mon/Holiday) 16:30 * “Skapan” will be performed in Mito, Kitakyushu, and Kanagawa, starting with the Matsumoto performance.
【Overview】
Event name: FESTA Matsumoto 2022 (Festa Matsumoto 2022)
Schedule: October 1st (Sat) to October 10th (Mon/holiday)
Venues: Matsumoto Performing Arts Center, Shinmai Media Garden, Agetsuchi Theater, Matsumoto Castle Otemon Masugata Square, Suite Nawate Main Store, etc.
Organizer: Matsumoto City Arts Foundation
Planning and production: Matsumoto Performing Arts Center TC Alp General Director: Kazumi Kushida (General Director of Matsumoto Performing Arts Center)
Official website: https://festamatsumoto.com
Inquiries: Matsumoto Performing Arts Center TEL.0263-33-3800 [Image 6
Photo: Takeshi Yamada
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Photo: Takeshi Yamada
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Photo: Takeshi Yamada
Details about this release:
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000002043.000012949.html