Backstage Journal is a short Kageki feature where very young cast members write anecdotes about what’s going on behind the scenes of the productions. They’re not very deep, being full of emojis and more like blog entries than articles, but they are a good way to get to know the newest actresses in each troupe.

This one is by Snow Troupe member Houka Haruna (of the 98th class), writing about the Chunichi production of One Night of Stars/Greatest HITS!, and was published in the March 2017 issue.

chemicalperfume helped with this translation!

Backstage Journal: Houka Haruna (One Night of Stars/GREATEST HITS!)

Hello everyone 💖 it’s been so long. This is my second time appearing here! It’s ‘Gigi’: Houka Haruna! Please pardon my poor writing; I hope you’ll read through to the end.

I know I’m talking about myself here, but this was my first time going to the Chunichi venue. I had heard a lot about the theatre from other people, but when I had the chance to go onstage there myself I found it really enjoyable, so I like it a lot  😃 For example, the aisle through the middle of the audience!! Apparently it’s used for Kabuki performances, and since there hadn’t been anything like it at a theatre I’d been to before, I wondered what to make of it. Our Snow Troupe Top Star, Sagiri Seina, runs through there during the show, so I thought ‘the audience must really enjoy that~’ ⭐️

Also, I was really surprised by the fact that the theatre is on the 9th floor!! The venue is scheduled to be closed, so I’m glad I had this chance to appear there for the first time ✨

And now I’ll change topics to backstage stories from the Snow Troupe trip to Nagoya! …Though I’ve said that, first I have to say that this show had a ton of quick changes, so it was always a really stressful race against the clock 😅 I’d like to write about some things I had the chance to overhear among all the furor then as well as things that I’ve only realized just now.

~GHOSTBUSTERS in NAGOYA~
I’m sure those who were able to see the show know this already, but the Ghostbusters scene was redone for the Nagoya production! While they only said ‘in NAGOYA!!’ onstage the one time, I heard it over and over again backstage 🎵 (LOL) The senior actresses who were busy changing for the big ensemble number coming up next would always add ‘in NAGOYA!!’ after ‘GHOSTBUSTERS’ (LOL) like a backing chorus. They were even talking about how they really want to be in an actual backing chorus for this scene. By all means, let me join in too (LOL)

~Phosphoresence~
One day before the show, when I was crossing from stage right to stage left so I would be in the right position for my entrance, I noticed a staff member holding a flashlight against the stage!! I watched for a little while, wondering ‘what on earth are they doing?’ and realized that they were lighting the glowing marks that show us where to go when it’s dark onstage. That was the first time I ever realized that! I was like ‘Oh my gosh, they don’t light up by themselves!!’ Because of that staff member carefully lighting up those marks one by one, we are all able to take the stage safely ✨ Because of that I realized once again just how many people, starting with the backstage staff, are helping us perform onstage.

I won’t ever forget these thankful feelings and I’ll continue to do my best! Please continue to support me 😊 ✨