Ashizawa Jin’s 2015 interview column was called CARNIVAL. This interview with Akatsuki Chisei was published in the October 2015 issue of GRAPH.
CARNIVAL #10: Ashizawa Jin interview with Akatsuki Chisei
Something about Akatsuki Chisei makes me think of a young highschool baseball player passionately taking on the challenge of the Koushien tournament. It’s her youth and energy. Although her cuteness still catches the eye, she has an abundance of genuine talent as an otokoyaku, and her dreams are expanding as her appeal comes into full bloom.
Ashizawa: In 1789 – Les Amants de la Bastille, you played Fersen in the main cast, and also had the lead role of Ronan in the junior performance, so you must have been having such a hard time day after day.
Akatsuki: Right. The rehearsals were really difficult, and once the performance started I was being taught so much about acting; my own performance in the show kept changing. I learned a lot from that show.
Ashizawa: Considering your level (ken-4 at the time), there must have been a lot for you to take in, so you must have been discovering new things day by day.
Akatsuki: [My performance] was totally different comparing opening day and the last show.
Ashizawa: What sort of things changed over that time?
Akatsuki: I achieved a bit of breathing room, I suppose.
Ashizawa: So once you had that space, you were able to have more ideas, and make new discoveries?
Akatsuki: I suppose so.
Ashizawa: At the very beginning, it must have been a struggle just delivering your lines properly. Especially since in the main cast, your acting partner was Manaki-san’s character, Marie Antoinette.
Akatsuki: You’re right. It was the most I’d ever been allowed to sing in a show, so I was really nervous about that too.
Ashizawa: I feel like you must have been under so much pressure from those two roles every single day for four and a half months.
Akatsuki: It was such a long time, but looking back, it just went by in a blink.
Ashizawa: Since you spent so much time constantly thinking about your roles, didn’t you just want a bit of a break at times?
Akatsuki: At the time, I was solely thinking ‘I have to do this!’ so that was running through my head even on my days off, and I had trouble resting.
Ashizawa: Rehearsing let you get some release from that, maybe.
Akatsuki: While I was still stressed no matter how I rehearsed, it was better than doing nothing, I think. And through that, I think I picked up a bit more confidence.
Ashizawa: Fersen appears so often in Takarazuka, so I feel like that must have helped you settle on the character.
Akatsuki: Although I knew what he was like, it was still very hard to play him. It’s difficult for me to play adult men.
Ashizawa: Since you have so much boyishness remaining, right (laughs).
Akatsuki: Exactly (laughs). Ryuu-san and Kumichou-san (Asuka Yuu in 2015) taught me a lot about doing my makeup so I could at least look a little more mature.
Ashizawa: And how do you going about looking more adult?
Akatsuki: Making the distance between my eyes and eyebrows a bit further, for example, or since my eyes are still quite round, trying to line them so they look longer.
Ashizawa: Your voice is so good. It’s very masculine, and although it’s soft it carries so well.
Akatsuki: Wha~t, really? But my natural voice is very high, so I struggle to make low sounds, and I’ve been constantly training to lower my voice.
Ashizawa: And have you seen any difference?
Akatsuki: My method of speaking and way of using my body has changed, and I think even in normal conversation my voice has become lower.
Ashizawa: How did you manage when receiving criticism on your performance?
Akatsuki: Director Koike is really something. ‘Your singing is fine but everything else is terrible!’ he said (laughs).
Ashizawa: Are you crushed to hear things like that?
Akatsuki: I just take it like ‘Oh, I get it!’ Although sometimes it’s frustrating, it’s clear that I can’t do it, so there’s nothing to do but accept it. If he didn’t say those sorts of things I wouldn’t know, and the more errors he points out the more I can correct.
Ashizawa: You had your first junior lead at ken-3, in Guide to the Future (Jake – Ryuu Masaki in main cast). How was that?
Akatsuki: I didn’t have a clue about anything (laughs). Although the play was only about 30 minutes, my concentration didn’t even last that long. I didn’t know the first thing about acting.
Ashizawa: But you graduated from the Takarazuka Music School as the top student, so your grades in acting class must have been good, right?
Akatsuki: Before entering Takarazuka I had only done dance, so I didn’t start singing and drama until I joined, and as a Lower Student I was really bad at those things.
Ashizawa: Was Jake your first real acting role?
Akatsuki: No, before that I was in The Merry Widow, where I was able to play Hokushou-san’s character Danilo’s butler, and in my first junior performance I was given Seijou-san’s character, Ganimard. But it was my first time having to advance the story as the lead, so it was really difficult.
Ashizawa: For some reason my impression of you ended up being a rather minor-league performer, but when I saw the next junior performance, PUCK, where you played Bobby (Tamaki Ryou in main cast), you were really going all out and giving such an amazing performance, so I thought ‘this can’t be the same person?’
Akatsuki: Ah… (laughs)
Ashizawa: That was a really life-sized role, so were you able to achieve some freedom in the performance?
Akatsuki: Since playing Bobby, I started to realize how fun acting can be. The character was also close to my age, so that was really fun.
Ashizawa: When did you start studying ballet?
Akatsuki: When I was 5 years old, and continuing until my second year of middle school.
Ashizawa: Was it at your mother’s urging?
Akatsuki: No, apparently, when I went to see a friend’s recital, I was dancing in the audience seats afterwards (laughs). So then my parents say they thought ‘let’s get her lessons!’ (laughs).
Ashizawa: So you liked dancing.
Akatsuki: I enjoyed it a lot. Although I would go to the studio every day, when I started going to middle school it dropped to around once a week.
Ashizawa: Why was that?
Akatsuki: Um, I ended up overdoing it, and then I didn’t like it so much (laughs). In middle school I ended up joining the volleyball club, but…
Ashizawa: Oh!? Ballet and volleyball?1
Akatsuki: Yes (laughs). At the time I preferred volleyball, and I was the club captain, so I only began concentrating on ballet again in my second year of middle school.
Ashizawa: The agility from that must have helped you bring Bobby to life.
Akatsuki: That might be it (laughs).
Ashizawa: When did you first encounter Takarazuka?
Akatsuki: When I was in my third year of middle school, the mother of one of my ballet friends said ‘have you thought about Takarazuka?’ and was recommending it, but I didn’t know much about Takarazuka, and I wasn’t really into the idea of women playing men… But I thought I might as well watch it once, so when a national tour came to Hiroshima I went to see it. That was Flower Troupe’s Sorrowful Cordoba and Red Hot Sea II, and when I saw Matobu Sei’s back I thought ‘I’ve got to get in there!’, and totally fell in love with Takarazuka immediately (laughs).
Ashizawa: Coming up is your first Bow Hall lead, (double lead with Asami Jun) A-EN. You must feel a lot of pressure from that.
Akatsuki: Obviously (laughs). Since I have to be the one building up the show from the center, I’m wondering how to lead everyone else… And I also have to keep going over several days. A junior performance is one time only, so it works if you just put everything out there and go for it, but…
Ashizawa: It seems like you dance a lot in the revue portion.
Akatsuki: Yes. Apparently there are both modern dance and ballet sections.
Ashizawa: Since I’ve heard dance is your strongest point, I’m looking forward to seeing what sort of dance you will show us.
Akatsuki: Oh no, if you put so much expectation on me it will only make me more nervous (laughs).
Ashizawa: Is there any sort of dance that you dream of performing in the revue portion, for example?
Akatsuki: I’d like to dance barefoot. In Takarazuka I dance wearing heels most of the time, but it’s difficult. I want to dance freely in bare feet.
Ashizawa: What is your biggest issue performing as an otokoyaku currently?
Akatsuki: There’s a lot, but as for the biggest one, hmmm… there is a lot about the way of moving that I don’t get at all yet, and I don’t really have enough charisma.
Ashizawa: If you could do all that at your level you would have a terrifying degree of star-power (laughs).
Akatsuki: Haha… (laughs) Those people who can make you think ‘wow, they’re so cool’ when they’re just standing there are really great, I think. I want to be able to make the audience swoon with just my expressions.
Ashizawa: Is there anything where you think ‘I want people to notice this aspect of Akatsuki Chisei!’
Akatsuki: Hmmm, I mean, I really want people to look at me when I’m dancing…
Ashizawa: I see. When compared to singing and acting, you like dance a bit better.
Akatsuki: Just a little (laughs). But I’m bad at remembering choreography, and I’m not the type who can just do it right away, so if I don’t rehearse a lot I’ll be embarrassed to have people see me (laughs).
1 – In Japanese, the words for ‘ballet’ and ‘volleyball’ are near-identical so Ashizawa is making a joke about that.