Aoi Hitorigoto - 29. Audience - by Katô Shigeaki
With this, the list of the essay translation up to now is finally complete. yay.
Aoi Hitorigoto - 29. Audience
The first half of 2008. I could think about nothing else but the Katô Shigeaki one-man entertainment show “Konnan yatte
mimashita. (こんなんやってもました。 >>> I tried to do this)”, which I challenged for the first time. How do I do it? Can I
do it? What do I myself even want to do? I constantly thought about it, was able to somehow reach opening day of the
performance and before I noticed the surely long period of time of the stage play, I got to the final stage.
It was the first time until now, that I continued to make something for such a long period of time. Working also as a
producer this half a year, I experienced the struggle of creating something from zero. That was bitter. I was thinking and
thinking until I became half-crazed. However, that felt good. More than anything else a part that was created by myself is
near and dear to me. It was a time when I realized that once again. Well, to be honest it was the feeling of “I tried to do
the difficult thing” *...
Of course, I did not only get to know how to produce something, but also the pleasure of performing(acting) on stage.
Day after day conveyed the now of myself and depending on that, the reaction of the audience was different every time,
and sometimes I ended up going into improvisation to liven things up. That sort of new side to myself was also
interesting.
Nevertheless, I was mortified. There were audience members, to whom my thoughts were not conveyed. They talked to
friends during the performance. They entered the hall towards the end of the performance, and sat down in their seats.
Mobile phones were ringing during important scenes. Only when I fumbled with my words a bit and made a mistake, they
laughed like carping about it. At the end, during an odd scene, I was talked to in a loud voice.
It was mortifying. It was really, really mortifying. I was so sad, that they would watch me in this manner only. I had a
certain feeling like this performance that I put on and which I created with all my might, was made fun of. It might be that
I'm inexperienced. Like that, I get angry about it as well.
Why is that? It's the bad manners and morals, that were too much. Personally, I'll surely live my life being as attentive as
possible to those things.
Changing the subject, have you maybe thought about what there is a dress code for? To protect the ambience of an
establishment? Of course that also, but it's not only that. It for the other guests, that go there. For example, assuming
I would go to a gorgeous and tranquil restaurant in casual fashion that is not suitable. Having a conversation with a friend
in a loud voice, and eating the food, completely disregarding the manners. However. The guests at the table next to ours
are maybe a pair of lovers. That day is an important anniversary for them. They are there to make a confession or a
proposal. I would blemish the time that was sure to become a treasure of the lover's lives. The beautifully decorated food,
as well as decorations of the establishment, would become meaningless. No one has the right to do such a thing. No one
is allowed to disturb something. No matter what. Because even I don't want to have such a thing done to me. Clothes
and hair must be changed precisely to fit the TPO** No one is allowed to disturb the time to which someone else is
looking forward to. It's the same, even if it's not a restaurant. Whether it's a stage performance or a live concert, it doesn't
belong to just oneself. For the sake of the other people there, one should also properly enjoy it. It's not that everything
has to be necessarily perfect, but the feeling of trying to do so is important. When going to someone's stage
performance, I think I'll bear that in mind.
Though there was no dress code for my stage play, it might happen that I
establish one next time. Yeah, I will. A one-piece dress and bun hairstyle. Ah, this is just my taste.
_________________________________________________________
* He wrote 困難やってみました。With the kanji for “difficulty” instead of the hiragana meaning “this”, but it's still pronounced the same
way: Konnan yatte mimashita. He's playing with the words (again)
** TPO = time, place and occasion
Please note that English is not my native language. Although it doesn't feel like a foreign language to me, I'm aware that sometimes the phrasing might not be completely correct. So, I'm open for any corrections, regarding the Japanese-English translation or just the English in general.
And please don't take/re-post my translation without my permission, thanx.
Man, he was really ticked off by the behaviour of the audience, wasn't he. Understandable though. I'm someone who didn't get to see his solo play, because I live on the wrong side of the world it seems *g*....but I'd have loved to go see it so much. And reading that made me also a bit sad and maybe even a bit upset. It's really a matter of knowing manners, and it's sad that there were so many people without that kind of knowledge to make him be so enraged about it. :/
:)
Aoi Hitorigoto - 29. Audience
The first half of 2008. I could think about nothing else but the Katô Shigeaki one-man entertainment show “Konnan yatte
mimashita. (こんなんやってもました。 >>> I tried to do this)”, which I challenged for the first time. How do I do it? Can I
do it? What do I myself even want to do? I constantly thought about it, was able to somehow reach opening day of the
performance and before I noticed the surely long period of time of the stage play, I got to the final stage.
It was the first time until now, that I continued to make something for such a long period of time. Working also as a
producer this half a year, I experienced the struggle of creating something from zero. That was bitter. I was thinking and
thinking until I became half-crazed. However, that felt good. More than anything else a part that was created by myself is
near and dear to me. It was a time when I realized that once again. Well, to be honest it was the feeling of “I tried to do
the difficult thing” *...
Of course, I did not only get to know how to produce something, but also the pleasure of performing(acting) on stage.
Day after day conveyed the now of myself and depending on that, the reaction of the audience was different every time,
and sometimes I ended up going into improvisation to liven things up. That sort of new side to myself was also
interesting.
Nevertheless, I was mortified. There were audience members, to whom my thoughts were not conveyed. They talked to
friends during the performance. They entered the hall towards the end of the performance, and sat down in their seats.
Mobile phones were ringing during important scenes. Only when I fumbled with my words a bit and made a mistake, they
laughed like carping about it. At the end, during an odd scene, I was talked to in a loud voice.
It was mortifying. It was really, really mortifying. I was so sad, that they would watch me in this manner only. I had a
certain feeling like this performance that I put on and which I created with all my might, was made fun of. It might be that
I'm inexperienced. Like that, I get angry about it as well.
Why is that? It's the bad manners and morals, that were too much. Personally, I'll surely live my life being as attentive as
possible to those things.
Changing the subject, have you maybe thought about what there is a dress code for? To protect the ambience of an
establishment? Of course that also, but it's not only that. It for the other guests, that go there. For example, assuming
I would go to a gorgeous and tranquil restaurant in casual fashion that is not suitable. Having a conversation with a friend
in a loud voice, and eating the food, completely disregarding the manners. However. The guests at the table next to ours
are maybe a pair of lovers. That day is an important anniversary for them. They are there to make a confession or a
proposal. I would blemish the time that was sure to become a treasure of the lover's lives. The beautifully decorated food,
as well as decorations of the establishment, would become meaningless. No one has the right to do such a thing. No one
is allowed to disturb something. No matter what. Because even I don't want to have such a thing done to me. Clothes
and hair must be changed precisely to fit the TPO** No one is allowed to disturb the time to which someone else is
looking forward to. It's the same, even if it's not a restaurant. Whether it's a stage performance or a live concert, it doesn't
belong to just oneself. For the sake of the other people there, one should also properly enjoy it. It's not that everything
has to be necessarily perfect, but the feeling of trying to do so is important. When going to someone's stage
performance, I think I'll bear that in mind.
Though there was no dress code for my stage play, it might happen that I
establish one next time. Yeah, I will. A one-piece dress and bun hairstyle. Ah, this is just my taste.
_________________________________________________________
* He wrote 困難やってみました。With the kanji for “difficulty” instead of the hiragana meaning “this”, but it's still pronounced the same
way: Konnan yatte mimashita. He's playing with the words (again)
** TPO = time, place and occasion
Please note that English is not my native language. Although it doesn't feel like a foreign language to me, I'm aware that sometimes the phrasing might not be completely correct. So, I'm open for any corrections, regarding the Japanese-English translation or just the English in general.
And please don't take/re-post my translation without my permission, thanx.
Man, he was really ticked off by the behaviour of the audience, wasn't he. Understandable though. I'm someone who didn't get to see his solo play, because I live on the wrong side of the world it seems *g*....but I'd have loved to go see it so much. And reading that made me also a bit sad and maybe even a bit upset. It's really a matter of knowing manners, and it's sad that there were so many people without that kind of knowledge to make him be so enraged about it. :/
:)