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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nParticipants:<\/strong> Mizu Natsuki, Ayabuki Mao, Otozuki Kei<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> On opening day, I didn\u2019t think personally that I was that nervous, but afterwards people who had been watching said \u201cYou were nervous, weren\u2019t you.\u201d (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> I got that too (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> (laughs) During the closing address I messed up my words a bit so I guess I really was nervous (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> (laughs) I was nervous on opening day too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> Right, since Lucheni (Otozuki) enters immediately after the curtain goes up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> Yes. I could feel a lot of tension from the audience this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> It wasn\u2019t just the performers but the audience who were nervous, huh (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> That might be true (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> But, Yumiko-san (Ayabuki), this is your third time performing in Elisabeth, so I would have thought you weren\u2019t nervous?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> No~, naturally I was nervous on opening day. When the curtain opened and I was on standby behind the coffin set, I was nervous but I also felt the familiar atmosphere of being onstage. \u201cOh, this is the same kind of nervousness I felt before,\u201d I thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> I see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> It was kind of a strange feeling (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki: <\/em>(laughs) What is it like being on standby behind the coffins? Can you not see the audience at all?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> You can see a little past the edge of the set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu: <\/em>Oh, you can see\u2026 After about a week had passed from opening day I was able to relax a little bit. Closer to opening, sometimes in the acting scenes all I could see was my acting partner\u2026well, basically, Tod (Mizu) can only see Sisi (Shirahane Yuri) anyway (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> Wow~! (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki: <\/em>(laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> In the milk scene and the cafe scene and such, the more I looked the more I\u2019d discover in the movements of the Black Angels and the townspeople, so that\u2019s really fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> I was also able to mostly relax once it was around a week in. I think the ensemble also started feeling more relaxed around then as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> That\u2019s right. It must be that they got to the point where they could listen better to the people around them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> That\u2019s right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> Kimu (Otozuki), how about you? Today, when I heard you delivering your lines, I felt like \u2018she\u2019s really enjoying performing this\u2019, but\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> \u2018I\u2019m finally getting there\u2019, is the feeling. During rehearsals, I couldn\u2019t imagine getting to the point where I could have fun with the performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> I often watch the milk scene from the entrance of the side stage, thinking the whole time \u2018Kimu\u2019s really enjoying this, isn\u2019t she\u2026\u2019 (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em>\u00a0Recently, in that scene, when we all are on the Silver Bridge, I\u2019ve been looking towards the gathered Black Angels a lot. But when I do that it means that all I\u2019m showing to the audience is my back, so recently I\u2019ve been trying to pay attention so I don\u2019t do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em>\u00a0Tod has a ton of different outfits, doesn\u2019t he. It\u2019s like a shichihenge [a kabuki term describing a series of rapid costume changes]. All his outfits are coordinated for T. P. O. [Time, Place, Occasion].<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> T. P. O.! (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu: <\/em>Unlike Lucheni (laughs). I have too many killer outfits, I\u2019m sorry (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> Lucheni just has that horizontal striped shirt\u2026 (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki: <\/em>(laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu: <\/em>(laughs) Franz (Ayabuki) has a lot of clothes too, right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> Yes, though they\u2019re mainly uniforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> A uniform line?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki, Otozuki:<\/em> (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu: <\/em>I love all of Tod\u2019s outfits, but in particular, I like the one from where he sings \u2018Die Schatten werden l\u00e4nger\u2019 with Rudolf (Ouki Kaname) the best. It\u2019s simple, but has subtle accents, and I just love it (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> You sound like a clothing store salesperson (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki: <\/em>You have a mark like a tattoo on your right hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> Right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki: <\/em>Chika-san (Mizu), you were the one to first bring up that idea, right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu: <\/em>Yeah. I wanted some kind of accessory that felt as inhuman as possible, so I was trying to think up something. At first I was thinking of putting a cross tattoo or something like that on my chest, but I couldn\u2019t really find anything good. So just as I was wracking my brains over what to do I thought \u2018Hang on, what about what Sakurano Ayane-chan did!\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> Black Lizard!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> Oh!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> I remembered the lizard Ayane-chan had on her back when she played The Black Lizard in Akechi Kogorou Casefiles: The Black Lizard<\/em>. Then I thought it might be interesting to reflect the jagged design elements from Tod\u2019s costumes in this production on my hand, so I brought it up to the designers and they were kind enough to agree with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> Do you take the decoration off when you\u2019re washing your face to change your makeup between the first and second performances?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> I leave it on. So I try to keep it from getting wet, which means I\u2019m washing my face with just my right hand that doesn\u2019t have the marking (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> I\u2019m always watching Chika-san thinking \u2018if you wanted it I could loan you my left hand\u2019 but that wouldn\u2019t really\u2026 (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu, Otozuki:<\/em>\u00a0(laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:\u00a0<\/em>In the mirror scene, you know, before I enter onto the Silver Bridge, when I\u2019m on standby in the orchestra pit, I always watch Yumiko on stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki, Otozuki:<\/em> Oh~<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> Today I thought \u2018maybe I\u2019ll make eye contact with Yumiko!\u2019, but\u2026 (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> Oh! I didn\u2019t notice at all. (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em>\u00a0When you looked down a little bit I thought \u2018could it be!?\u2019 but then you glanced to the side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> When I was singing \u2018But if that means losing you\u2026\u2019?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> Right\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki: <\/em>That\u2019s so sad\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu, Ayabuki:<\/em> (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> But then I thought \u2018that\u2019s right, Yumiko was only looking away because she was caught up in acting\u2026\u2019 Oh, say, today, actually, I thought instead of looking only at Yumiko I\u2019d look at Tonami (Shirahane) too. But I couldn\u2019t see her from where I was for my standby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> Maybe one of these days the audience will spot Tod straining to see Sisi from the orchestra pit (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu, Ayabuki:<\/em>\u00a0(laugh)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> I think Sisi is a very lonely person, but Franz is quite a lonely person as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> Like \u201cI\u2019m lonely too, dammit!\u201d? (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki, Otozuki:<\/em> (laugh)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki: <\/em>While he\u2019s of course surrounded by government bureaucrats who flatter him, he can\u2019t come to an understanding with the one woman he loves\u2026 \u201cI\u2019m so lonely,\u201d I\u2019ll think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu: <\/em>That\u2019s right. In the end, the only thing that can heal loneliness is loving and being loved in return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> Yes. But in Franz\u2019s case it\u2019s only a one-way street situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> Tod is in the same boat there!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> Everyone\u2019s so lonely (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> It\u2019s turned into the loneliness Olympics (laughs). With Franz, his feelings of loneliness increases with each scene he appears in. In the scene in the hall of mirrors, when Franz accepts Sisi\u2019s conditions and Sisi replies \u2018[I] would be glad to share this path with you, Your Majesty\u2019 for just a moment he\u2019s excited and happy, but right after that there\u2019s \u2018however, my life belongs to me\u2019, so\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> It\u2019s like \u2018slam!\u2019 in his face (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> His happiness only lasted for an instant\u2026 (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> I think Franz is a really big-hearted person to still accept Sisi even so. He must love Sisi really deeply; I feel that every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> It\u2019s unrequited love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> Franz is a really great person, I think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu: <\/em>He\u2019s so accepting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki and Otozuki:\u00a0<\/em>Right~<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> As for that otokoyaku ensemble dance in the finale, I\u2019d always watched it from the audience and thought \u2018that\u2019s so nice\u2026\u2019, but it\u2019s great in a different way to actually dance it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> It feels like you\u2019re saying \u2018this is what it means to be an otokoyaku!\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu and Ayabuki:<\/em> Totally!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki: <\/em>I feel like in that scene we\u2019re really being carried by the offstage female chorus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> The one singing the solo bit in the middle is Keiko-san (Miho Keiko), isn\u2019t it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> Yeah. Apparently that solo wasn\u2019t in the original production, so they added it in the Star Troupe version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> It wasn\u2019t there from the very beginning?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> That\u2019s right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> Recently I\u2019m finally able to listen properly to Keiko-san\u2019s solo while I\u2019m dancing. Before now I wasn\u2019t able to relax that much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> Ah, I get that, I get that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki: <\/em>That tango-styled duet dance you and Tonami have is so impressive, Chika-san.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> Really? When I\u2019m dancing it, it seems to go by in a flash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> Not at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> Thank you. To tell you the truth, I\u2019m always a bit nervous after the end of that dance, when I go across the Silver Bridge (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> Really?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu: <\/em>Yeah. I never feel nervous when I cross the Silver Bridge usually, so maybe it\u2019s something to do with the lights. I want to \u2018make friends with the Silver Bridge\u2019 as soon as possible, so I can live up to the vision the directors and choreographers have (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki and Otozuki:<\/em>\u00a0(laugh)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> Starting with this production, Chika-san is the most senior person in the main dressing room, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> Right. The makeup tables are set up by year level, so as most senior I\u2019m right at the end of the main dressing room. And then Kimu\u2019s makeup spot is also moving to the senior actress zone starting with this production, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> Yes. It\u2019s sort of a strange feeling to be sitting myself where all my seniors have been before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> I\u2019m enjoying being able to constantly watch everyone else in the troupe from the end of the dressing room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> My makeup table is near Chika-san\u2019s, too, so I can see everyone from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> Do you look at the junior actresses and think \u2018there was a time when I was like that, too\u2026\u2019? (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> Yes. When I look at all the junior actresses it really makes me think \u2018having classmates is so nice!\u2019 Right now I\u2019ve only just returned to Snow Troupe, so I\u2019m people-watching. Kimu, you sing in the dressing room a lot, don\u2019t you (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> Huh!? Hang on now (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> Have you always been like that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> I never noticed\u2026 (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> (laughs) The whole intermission between act 1 and act 2, all you\u2019re thinking about is the adlib when you go out with the camera to start act 2, aren\u2019t you (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> I\u2019m talking to myself as I think (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> (laughs) The membership of Snow Troupe has changed a lot since I was last in it, but the general atmosphere of the dressing room hasn\u2019t changed a bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> There aren\u2019t many members left from when you were in Snow Troupe before, right, Yumiko?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki:<\/em> That\u2019s right. In the main dressing room it\u2019s just Yurika (Shiho) and Amase (Izuru).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> Is that all\u2026 Those two are doing a lot to look after me in the dressing room these days. Kayo (Yurika Shiho), Kaguya-chan (Morisaki Kaguya), and Koma (Saou Kurama) help maintain my wig, and Amase gives me massages (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otozuki:<\/em> You\u2019re getting real luxury treatment (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mizu:<\/em> It\u2019s thanks to everyone that I\u2019m where I am today!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ayabuki and Otozuki:<\/em> (laugh)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This talk, featuring Mizu Natsuki, Ayabuki Mao, and Otozuki Kei, was recorded late in the Takarazuka run of the 2007 Snow Troupe Elisabeth and published in the August 2007 issue of GRAPH. lost-in-the-land-of-stories\u00a0kindly provided the translation excerpts used when they … Continue reading
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