THE Otokoyaku: Cosmos Troupe Edition (Asaka Manato and Sakuragi Minato)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka:<\/em> I think that Zun-chan (Sakuragi) is the person I\u2019ve had the deepest connection with since transferring to Cosmos Troupe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi:<\/em> Same here. Maa-sama (Asaka) is the senior actress I\u2019m closest to. (Making a deep bow)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka:<\/em> You\u2019re bowing so deeply! (laughs) You often had my roles in junior performances, so of course I would take an interest in you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi:<\/em> I had [your] role of Kirchheiss in the first junior performance after you moved troupes, for Legend of the Galactic Heroes @ TAKARAZUKA<\/em>, and ever since then you\u2019ve done so much for me. I was ken-4 at the time, and it was my first time being given a large role, so it was all stuff I didn\u2019t understand at all. And then, even when Maa-sama would talk to me, I would get so nervous that I\u2019d stutter. But even so you would listen to me so kindly, and also you went so far as to tell me about how you got into character so thoroughly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka:<\/em> I remember that. It was my first time performing with Cosmos Troupe as well, so all kinds of things were really new to me, and I wasn\u2019t sure what everyone on Cosmos Troupe would think of me, so I was like \u201cThis is me!\u201d and putting myself out there fearlessly. At that time, Zun-chan was the one closest to me and helping me out, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi:<\/em> Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka:<\/em>\u00a0My first impression of Zun-chan is that you were a really cute kid. You have a cute face, and you were so diligent and earnest\u2026although you did stutter a little (laughs), I was sure you would have a lot of progress. And now it\u2019s a sort of strange feeling to think that I\u2019m performing together with that kid as Der Tod and Rudolf in\u00a0Elisabeth<\/em>. But even though it\u2019s a bit strange, I had always been thinking that things would end up like this someday, so it doesn\u2019t feel uncomfortable at all. And when I see you and the senior actresses in the role switch1<\/sup> mutually encouraging each other to improve, it makes me feel like you\u2019ve become a really reliable person, so that makes me very happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi:<\/em> Thank you so much. But it\u2019s also because Maa-sama taught me so much that I was able to come this far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka:<\/em> You\u2019re saying such nice things\u2026 Is there something you\u2019re after? (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi: <\/em>No way, no way (laughs). While you always tell me such valuable things during each and every performance, and I have a lot of memories of that, the thing that sticks with me the most is from the rehearsals of Gone With the Wind<\/em>. I was allowed to be in the Finale \u201cSaint Louis Blues\u201d number, but I couldn\u2019t manage to do the dance stylishly enough, so the director got angry and was calling me out by name. I stayed behind all by myself to rehearse afterwards, and Maa-sama told me \u201cAs long as you\u2019re doing your best, there\u2019s definitely someone who will see you,\u201d and totally boosted my spirits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka: <\/em>I don\u2019t remember that! (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi: <\/em>(laughs) Ever since then, when you would reach out to me it would make me so happy, and it made me feel like I needed to meet those expectations, so I really wanted to grow and become someone who could be a support for the rest of the troupe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka: <\/em>Wow, hearing that makes me so happy. I\u2019ve had my eye on you since Galactic<\/em>, and in junior performances you had my roles one after the other, like Ashley and Giroudelle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi: <\/em>That\u2019s right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka:\u00a0<\/em>In\u00a0Gustav III<\/em>, you were able to experience a junior performance lead, and when you played Radames I thought \u201cOh! She\u2019s sparkling so much, this is great!\u201d After that, in the Hakata-za performance of\u00a0A Song For Kingdoms<\/em>, I felt like you seemed a bit different. When you were given a Bow Hall lead2<\/sup>, I felt like you had really developed a sense of responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi:<\/em> I just dived into it heart and soul. In this show, that finale number where I can dance wearing a black tailcoat opposite Maasama, that number is like a dream come true, I always feel like I have to do it right so I always put more focus into it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka:<\/em> Since the production has begun, it seems like you\u2019re putting out more and more in that number, so as we\u2019re dancing together I can really tell that you\u2019ve absorbed a lot and gained more confidence. Even in the rehearsals, out of the three of you, you were the most junior but since you were in a central role, I felt like you needed a huge level of determination. And within that, you were able to take how you wanted to perform and make it happen. That level of expression and amount of energy\u2026I feel like you came to understand that if you 100% fill yourself with that and then release it, even if you\u2019re not doing something gradiose you\u2019ll still be able to communicate to the audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi: <\/em>I still can\u2019t really tell whether or not I\u2019m coming across to the audience, though\u2026 During the rehearsals as Rudolf, you told me that I couldn\u2019t just say the lines if I wasn\u2019t totally overflowing with emotion. You said \u201cI thought you had a bigger range of emotions than that,\u201d and all kinds of things to make me improve myself. I think it\u2019s because you really understand me that there is that progress and reaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka:<\/em> Progress\u2026reaction\u2026it\u2019s like you\u2019re studying for the entrance exam (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi:<\/em> (laughs) In rehearsals, you weren\u2019t just playing Der Tod, but also Sisi and Franz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka:<\/em>\u00a0In order to help you create Rudolf\u2019s inner self, I had you do his role starting with child Rudolf3<\/sup>. In\u00a0Elisabeth<\/em>, the drama and the songs are fixed\u2013it might not be 100% exact but in general it\u2019s the same. But if you don\u2019t do it with your own feelings, it starts to feel like you\u2019ve borrowed what someone else is doing. Acting is lying, but it\u2019s how genuine you can make that lie look that\u2019s where the fun comes from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi: <\/em>Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka:<\/em> Day by day your performance has become deeper and more intense. It\u2019s fun to see and it\u2019s also helped to bring out new emotions in my performance as well. You smile so nicely in the \u2018Dance of death\u2019 scene. I wish I could show the audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi: <\/em>What!? I smiled?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka:<\/em> Yes. You know, I think that helped me understand that Rudolf had no regrets, and he had put everything he had into his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi: <\/em>Thank you so much. In this show, when I was playing Rudolf, his instability and other aspects were really different from me personally. This made putting the character together difficult and I really struggled with it. Maa-sama, how do you handle creating your character when you\u2019re playing someone really different from yourself?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka:<\/em> First of all, I don\u2019t focus on a role being different from me. I go from what is written in the script, and try to dig into what is between the scenes. Even if I think they\u2019re different from me, as I get closer to the role, I try to become more like that myself. In order to find those feelings, I try to go further in my imagination that even just finding things I can relate to in the character. Of course, it\u2019s important to find those points that I can relate to, but what is there to relate to in the god of death? (laughs) But, he loves, and even though she does\u2019t look back at him, he spends decades thinking \u201cI want the living you to love me\u201d; that, I feel that I can understand in a way. So I do it like that, I don\u2019t reject anything, I just accept everything and try to become the character, I suppose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi: <\/em>I see\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka:<\/em> If you start out thinking it\u2019s different, it\u2019s hard to make up ground from there, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi:<\/em> It is. \u201cI don\u2019t like this\u201d, \u201cThat\u2019s not it\u201d, \u201cI don\u2019t get it\u201d; that becomes a chokepoint and makes it take a long time to get things started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka:<\/em> If you think about it like that you\u2019re going to waste a lot of time, don\u2019t you think. But it\u2019s okay! You really made Rudolf your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi:<\/em>\u00a0Yes, thank you so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka:<\/em> You\u2019re a big unusual, aren\u2019t you, Zun-chan. One would think you were a really naturally chipper person but you\u2019re actually a bit moody, aren\u2019t you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi:<\/em> Wah~ you know everything (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka:<\/em> So you\u2019ll show your dark side when people would be expecting you to be sunny all the time. But then you can turn on your sunny side, like when you played Radames, or like in Sky Stage programs, there are times you show a silly side too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi:<\/em> (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka:<\/em> Having Yin and Yang, possessing those two sides, is a really interesting thing for an actor to have, so I want you to make sure you don\u2019t lose that and learn to control it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi:<\/em>\u00a0Yes. I\u2019ve always thought of Maa-sama as the sun, and when you were playing Radames I felt like you were a sun god. Everything around you had such a bright atmosphere, and everyone in the troupe was smiling too. And this time around you\u2019re playing Der Tod\u2014the incongruity of that person I saw as the sun playing the darkness really made me think how amazing the breadth of your acting abilities must be. In Der Letzte Tanz, I was singing an off-stage solo4<\/sup>, so I was trying to become more attuned to how Der Tod felt, and I started to see so many new sides to Maa-sama, and felt like those things were part of your appeal too. I hope I can also come to control those dark and light elements like you do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka:<\/em> Zun-chan\u2019s grown in the four years since I\u2019ve come to Cosmos Troupe has been amazing. Not just your skill and abilities as a performer, but your inner self has grown as well, which is helping your onstage performances improve. As you carefully pile up all of these things, you find new barriers. Then you put in the effort that it takes to get over that barrier, which brings you to the next thing, and you engage with that just as carefully; I think that aspect of you is amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi:<\/em> It\u2019s what I\u2019ve been given to do, so\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka:<\/em> After you clear one thing nicely, then the next thing comes along. This might be taking liberties, but I think that in terms of personality you resemble me, Zun-chan. So I understand how you\u2019re feeling and I\u2019ll think \u201cDo your best!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi:<\/em> Thank you so much! Is it alright if I ask you a few things about your offstage life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka:<\/em> Go ahead!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi:<\/em> What time each day do you feel the most relaxed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka:<\/em> When I get in the bath after the last performance ends, maybe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi:<\/em> Ah, I get that!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka:<\/em>\u00a0Especially in the summer, it\u2019s still light outside so it feels really luxurious. You still haven\u2019t been in the Uni Baths5<\/sup>, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi:<\/em> Yes. I\u2019ll do my best so I can make it into that world quickly!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka: <\/em>Well, in this one case you\u2019ll be stopped by your year level, and that\u2019s a barrier you can\u2019t get over (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi: <\/em>(laughs) Also, in your own residence, is there something you\u2019re focusing on in your interior decorating?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka:<\/em> Right now, I\u2019m into a West coast beachy style, so I\u2019m working on organizing my room so I can redecorate. I love this painting I bought recently based on a photo of the ocean, and I have it sitting on a white wood shelf. You can come over to hang out if you want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi:<\/em> That would be great, I\u2019d love to!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka: <\/em>Come over, come over~ (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi:<\/em> I\u2019m so happy I could ask you so many different things today. Besides obviously everything you\u2019ve said and taught me, I\u2019ve stolen everything I can from you by watching and learning from you onstage. Although I\u2019m on the smaller side, I came to want to have such a big presence, like you have, that I can change the atmosphere of the stage and make people not notice my size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaka: <\/em>That makes me really happy to hear. But, your physical size doesn\u2019t have anything to do with it. Thinking back on it now, when I was a junior actress I was just tall, I didn\u2019t have any substance. It was after learning from experience and accumulating that learning that I was able to perform confidently onstage, I think. I think it was watching the senior actresses onstage that I learned the most from, so hearing that you were studying that way makes me really happy. Of course if I notice something I\u2019ll say it, and I think there are things you can notice from people telling you, I think the very best thing is to watch on your own and learn from that. Zun-chan, you already have a good sense of that, so I look forward to see more from you. Please continue to grow more and more as someone who supports Cosmos Troupe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sakuragi:<\/em> Yes, thank you so much!<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1 – Sakuragi Minato was the youngest of three performers sharing the role of Rudolf. The other two performers were Sumiki Sayato and Sorahane Riku.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2 – The 2015 show\u00a0Portrait of the Heir<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3 – Rudolf is played by two separate actresses in Elisabeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4 – There are a few lines in one section of Der Letzte Tanz that are from Der Tod\u2019s perspective, but performed by an off-stage singer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5 – There are multiple bathing areas for performers in the Takarazuka Grand Theatre complex. They are divided by seniority, with the Uni Baths being restricted to the most senior performers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" THE Otokoyaku was a Kageki feature from 2016 featuring Top Stars talking to younger up-and-coming otokoyaku in their troupes. The Cosmos Troupe interview was published in October and features Asaka Manato and Sakuragi Minato. This talk seems to have been … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/the-otokoyaku-asaka-zun.png\")
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