{"id":2622,"date":"2023-01-02T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-02T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/?p=2622"},"modified":"2022-12-31T06:42:35","modified_gmt":"2022-12-31T13:42:35","slug":"looking-back-on-2022-moon-troupe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/02\/looking-back-on-2022-moon-troupe\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking Back on 2022 &#8211; Moon Troupe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Every year in Kageki, each Top Star and Top Musumeyaku publishes a recap of their year in the December issue. While in the actual magazine, the Top Stars and Top Musumeyaku have separate sections, for posting I am combining the two statements for each troupe. (I have also only translated the statements and left off the rather overwrought advertising-style intro blurbs just to save time.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Note that Moon Troupe&#8217;s statement was taken while they were still in rehearsals for the National Tour that played in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Looking Back on 2022 &#8211; Moon Troupe<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Tsukishiro Kanato<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_20221231_215005539-609x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2623\" width=\"305\" height=\"512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_20221231_215005539-609x1024.jpg 609w, https:\/\/zukalations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_20221231_215005539-178x300.jpg 178w, https:\/\/zukalations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_20221231_215005539-768x1292.jpg 768w, https:\/\/zukalations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_20221231_215005539-913x1536.jpg 913w, https:\/\/zukalations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_20221231_215005539-1218x2048.jpg 1218w, https:\/\/zukalations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_20221231_215005539-scaled.jpg 1522w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 305px) 100vw, 305px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>I was thankful that we had the chance for a new start as Moon Troupe at the start of the year, and I welcomed the new year with different feelings as well. During the performance [of <em>Tonight at the Romance Theatre<\/em>], I felt a lot of tension every day since I was worrying about whether I could carry out my duties properly, and if the whole troupe would be able to make it to closing day safely. It was my first time performing in a lead role for a month-long performance, so getting through it successfully gave me some confidence. My character, Kenji, is helped out by everyone around him. So I didn&#8217;t want us to lose that freshness day after day. The revue was Moon Troupe&#8217;s first work in a while that felt really &#8216;adult&#8217;, so we were all taking it on desperately, and I hope that even the most junior actresses were able to learn the awareness needed to stand on their own feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Rain on Neptune<\/em> was a fun show that had a lot of challenges. The type of acting movements needed for performing in the round are totally different, so I learned a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The Great Gatsby<\/em> was such a high hurdle\u2026 [The question was] how could I fit with the Director&#8217;s vision, and once I got past that, how I could make it my own. We hardly were able to perform in the Grand Theatre, but I gained so much from each performance, and I was so focused during the run. For a week after closing, I couldn&#8217;t lose the character of Gatsby: this was my first time having an experience like that, and I was so sad the show had to end. I was happy to be challenged with performing in a historic show, and I feel like through this performance, I was able to get closer with everyone [in the cast] through developing the play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the National Tour (<em>Black Jack<\/em>), we are all so excited about going to different places that I think the biggest challenge is probably trying to stay focused. The play is really about life, so there were a lot of lines that I couldn&#8217;t say carelessly, and while the content is difficult I don&#8217;t want it to become too heavy. The revue is the same one from my Top Star debut, and I&#8217;ve been with Umino for a year now, and in rehearsals I&#8217;m feeling things now that I didn&#8217;t back then, and I think we can each feel how the other has transformed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This year flew by so fast\u2026in the past I might have wanted to just stop for a bit, but this year I had more goals and things I wanted to challenge myself with, and I felt really fulfilled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next year I want to strive to find more different sides of myself while trusting that there are more things I can do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Umino Mitsuki<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_20221231_215040904-661x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2624\" width=\"331\" height=\"512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_20221231_215040904-661x1024.jpg 661w, https:\/\/zukalations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_20221231_215040904-194x300.jpg 194w, https:\/\/zukalations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_20221231_215040904-768x1191.jpg 768w, https:\/\/zukalations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_20221231_215040904-991x1536.jpg 991w, https:\/\/zukalations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_20221231_215040904-1321x2048.jpg 1321w, https:\/\/zukalations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_20221231_215040904-scaled.jpg 1651w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 331px) 100vw, 331px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><em>Tonight at the Romance Theatre <\/em>felt so fresh that it was like opening for the first time every day. I played a character who was completely removed from the real world, so I was approaching the role while thinking about how to insert her into the Showa era world everyone else lived in. The jazz revue was a challenge too, and while it was difficult presenting the bright and new Moon Troupe through the the mature vision of the revue, but now that we&#8217;re in rehearsals for the revival right now, I really feel that we were blessed with a show that was packed with all the appeal of Moon Troupe. Although everey day was a battle for me, when I saw the way Tsukishiro-san focused on her performance and went on stage and always hoping to make it even better, it made me want to put in all my effort too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Rain on Neptune<\/em> was in a round theatre, so it made me widen the way I thought about how I could express myself in a way that everyone in the audience could enjoy. It was a show that let me feel so many things while enjoying [making] entertainment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For <em>The Great Gatsby<\/em>, I kept thinking about how I could perform in a way that would convey what a wonderful work it is\u2026 Every show I discovered new things, and rather than aiming for one single goal, I think I was trying to perform with new feelings every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Iris, my character in the national tour, is in a very different situation to Black Jack, who Tsukishiro-san plays, so I&#8217;m really thinking about how they might relate to each other emotionally. For the revue, I&#8217;m trying to look at the original run objectively and make up for my shortcomings while also making new discoveries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This was a year of re-examination for. Rather than just carelessly charging in, I now think about what I can bring to the role and what I&#8217;m lacking, and then challenge myself. I want to take that even further, and also, since after all theatre is a live medium, next year I want to relish every every moment of that time and enjoy myself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every year in Kageki, each Top Star and Top Musumeyaku publishes a recap of their year in the December issue. While in the actual magazine, the Top Stars and Top Musumeyaku have separate sections, for posting I am combining the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/02\/looking-back-on-2022-moon-troupe\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[13,357,49,42,165,166],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2622"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2622"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2622\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2625,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2622\/revisions\/2625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}