best stage march 2010 - domoto koichi - [Endless SHOCK] 10th Anniversary! interview
Translated by DesTi. Scans credit to virgopalz.
DO NOT POST ELSEWHERE WITHOUT PERMISSION.
"[SHOCK] is a work that I portray with my whole body"
Domoto Koichi - [Endless SHOCK]
This year [SHOCK] welcomes its 10th anniversary. [SHOCK] has transformed every year ever since it began showing but what was the journey to [Endless SHOCK] like and his thoughts standing as the chairman these past 10 years?
I: Interviewer
K: Koichi
I: It's been 10 years since the [SHOCK] series that you, Koichi-san, have starred in. What are your feelings for such a turning point as this year?
K: To be honest, it's not because it's been 10 years that I feel this way but I just continue to act in that day's one performance before my eyes with care. I don't sense whether it's the 100th performance or the 10th year performance. It's not the type of performance where I would have any time to sit down and feel those things. Each person in the audience section takes responsibility and come watch "for the sake of the production" more than anything. With that kind of trust and sense of security to my staff and fellow performers, I can stand on the stage. Even if there was a dangerous scene, there's no reason for me to become nervous at all. That feeling of gratitude is something I have everyday and not just because it's our 10th year.
I: You've been increasing the acrobatic performances every year, how do you decide that? Can you give an example of a tough scene you've had to do so far?
K: At our meetings, if I were to say that I wanted to do a certain thing, we would first of all verify it in numbers. If we have to use any stage machinery, how many seconds would it take? and such. The result, it takes up too much time. In that case, what can we do to shorten it? Then we recalculate. It's not like I want to do this kind of thing so I ask to do it but we would discuss it together. It must correspond with the calculations. Then I'd suggest we try filling up this certain period of time in the production. We do everything in that way so I can't really give an example of a single scene that was tough. Because every scene has been thoroughly worked out based on our calculations.
I: The [SHOCK] Company that has been watching you for these past 10 years has become an irreplaceable fortune for you.
K: Yeah. I do think that. I'm in there as the chairman and I'm able to let loose in a good way because everyone involved is facing the same direction and there's no disorder. This kind of job environment is not so. Especially because "Endless [SHOCK] is a story linked to this environment of the Company. Of course, the feelings of the one producing and the environment would influence the stage. If we don't have that kind of good condition, there would inevitably be parts in the backstage scenes that we won't be able to portray.
I: Everyone is facing the same direction, you have a sense of security with these people and are confident with going forth on stage. About which year was this bond formed?
K: Hm~mm... it's hard to say which year exactly. I just think that in ["Endless~] there have been many changes.
I: The title and story and production of [SHOCK] have been continuously changing until you reached [Endless~]. When you look back at your efforts to walk forward and improve that even more without fail...
K: There have only been gains. Even when I'm producing something other than the musical, since I've worked on this before, it has quite an influence on the way I think about things.
I: It becomes a learning experience and it connects you to your self-confidence?
K: I think confidence is something that I'll never have no matter when. Whenever I tackle something new, [my confidence] would start over from zero.
I: But aren't there times when having the confidence to say "I can do this" is necessary?
K: There are. If you don't have confidence and stand at the front of the stage, it will show. I think it's very important that you face things with confidence as the best condition of yourself. For that sake, I have to rehearse ahead of time so that I would have no regrets. I'm not really sure but, I think feeling "I can do this" is something I should not do first and foremost. At the end of my many rehearsals, I would have confidence so that I'd have no regrets but to say that it's my own confidence is a little wrong. Because I'm a coward at heart.
I: In your heart, you're exactly like KOUICHI from [Endless~] then.
K: Hmm.... I might say something contradictory here but if I don't have a strong conviction that what I pictured in my head is being created towards this certain direction, everyone will lose their home, their sense of belonging. It's a little different from confidence but I can say that I "have" a strong conviction. I do worry that sometimes that's not right and obstacles do arise even though it's gone through my mind. But [Endless~] is what was created after thinking things through, including that. I've been told by Johnny-san many times that, "That's not right." A perfect example of that would be the song Yoru no Umi.
I: Right now it's the song of the crucial scene that leads toward the ending.
K: At the beginning, Johnny-san was very much against it. "This song that YOU wrote is not right" (1). But I talked to him, asking to let me do the song at least once......that was confidence or rather, a strong conviction of mine. In the end, Johnny-san consented and understood though. Having that kind of conviction and letting your will run amuck isn't a good thing though. That's because it's really important to take in and consider people's opinions. Sometimes I notice casual words that people in the ensemble would say even. Sometimes I would think, "There are people who are interpreting it that way which means..." and so on. So this isn't something only created by the production team, I want to always keep my ear open for various opinions. I want to remain a person that can let anyone support and get excited about this production.
I: Do you have a desire to do a new work, an even newer production?
K: In reality, there have been talks about that in the past and it's not something I can't do as long as I seriously put my effort into it. I'm the type of person that can't begin something unless I'm pushed to do it. Well, the possibility isn't zero but it'd be hard to strike a balance. It's likely that when I produce something new, I'll still have [SHOCK]..., I always end up thinking that. Because I had those meetings with that kind of feeling, in the end, nothing definite would form as I imagined. That's happened before, you know. It's not the despair that I can't do any other production but it's all about timing there, I guess. It's strange to say this but if I want to close [SHOCK] that I can close it anytime. If no one comes to watch it then we can immediately close it. But right now we can do this because the audience wants it. Apart from that though, what can I do on that day's performance? That's all I think about.
I: Now it's simply a production you've continued with for so long that you can't rank it.
K: To put it into words, [SHOCK] is a work that I portray with my whole body and everything that I have (2).
*~*
(1) For those of you who aren't familiar, Johnny-san is known for referring to people with the English "you" instead of using a Japanese pronoun. I capitalized it here so it'll stand out that he says it in English, it's not like Johnny-san was pointing the finger at Koichi and yelling at him when he said that.
(2) I didn't put this in the title but I decided to add 'everything that I have' here just to get in the meaning of what Koichi says more. It's not just his physical body but basically his entire mentality that he puts into [SHOCK].
Translated by DesTi. Scans credit to virgopalz.
DO NOT POST ELSEWHERE WITHOUT PERMISSION.