{"id":607,"date":"2017-10-31T21:02:00","date_gmt":"2017-11-01T03:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/?p=607"},"modified":"2021-01-09T22:39:51","modified_gmt":"2021-01-10T05:39:51","slug":"the-otokoyaku-snow-troupe-sagiri-seina-and-tsukishiro-kanato","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/2017\/10\/31\/the-otokoyaku-snow-troupe-sagiri-seina-and-tsukishiro-kanato\/","title":{"rendered":"THE Otokoyaku – Snow Troupe (Sagiri Seina and Tsukishiro Kanato)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

THE Otokoyaku was a\u00a0Kageki<\/em>\u00a0feature from 2016 where Top Stars talked in-depth with up-and-coming otokoyaku stars about their acting styles and behind-the-scenes history. The Snow Troupe edition, published in the May 2016 issue, featured Sagiri Seina and Tsukishiro Kanato (prior to her transfer to Moon Troupe).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

THE Otokoyaku – Snow Troupe (Sagiri Seina and Tsukishiro Kanato)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> My first encounter with Reiko-chan (Tsukishiro) was in Snowy Landscape<\/em>. It was a triple feature, and you had performed in the second section, \u2018Flower Hairpin\u2019 at the TMS private exhibition. The lead role, Isaji, in fact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em> Due to that connection I was able to join the cast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> Since it was a prose drama with no singing or dancing, not to mention in a traditional style, it was difficult for me at that time. During the rehearsals, I would ask you all sorts of questions about Isaji, even though you had only just been assigned to the troupe. But Reiko-chan wasn\u2019t a very junior-like junior actress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em> Oh\u2026really?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> Generally when a senior actress starts talking to a junior actress they\u2019ll react too formally and not offer their own opinions, but if I asked Reiko-chan something you\u2019d tell me what your views were clearly, so you were easy to discuss things with. Often it would be just the ken-1 actresses and the leads, me and Koma (Saou Kurama) in the rehearsal room (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em> No matter how early I\u2019d go in the morning, Chigi-san (Sagiri) would already be there rehearsing, and you would stay so late at night\u2026gradually getting more and more worn out\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> I was approaching total exhaustion (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em> Watching you as a Ken-1 I thought it was really amazing. Seeing how much you would give. I hadn\u2019t had an example of such a driven personality before, so those rehearsals were the first time I saw that kind of thing and it really affected me. ‘The lead is pushing herself so desperately\u2019, that kind of feeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> That rehearsal room was like a battlefield (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em> I thought ‘if I can\u2019t do this much the show won\u2019t come together\u2019 and it was a great model for effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> My impression of Reiko-chan hasn\u2019t changed much since then. You must be told this a lot, but you\u2019re very mature and intellectual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em> Oh, no! (laughs) Since ‘Snowy Landscape\u2019 I got the chance to help Chigi-san backstage a lot, and when we\u2019d be discussing something, I would want to think things through step by step, in order, but then you were suddenly like ‘fwoosh\u2019 (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> Like an arrow from a bow (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em> Yes. So I was made to realise all my previous nitpicking was pointless after all. This cycle repated itself over and over these 7 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em>\u00a0That\u2019s not so. But you have always been one to think over everything. After\u00a0Snowy Landscape<\/em>\u00a0you were given a role in the junior performance of\u00a0Dawn over Solferino<\/em>\u00a0and I was surprised at your instinct for character building. ‘She\u2019s so young but she acts so convincingly\u2019 I thought. When I got closer to you I realized you really loved acting, so it was fun talking to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em> I really admired you, so I would think ‘I want to be just like Chigi-san!\u2019 But we\u2019re really quite different, I realized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> Our approach and skills we bring to the table are different, I guess (laughs). When did you realize that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em> Fairy early on\u2026 When I realized there was that gap and I couldn\u2019t be just like Chigi-san I was actually really troubled for a while . Also, Snow Troupe at that time was full of very energetic, youthful stars like Kei-san (Otozuki Kei), Chigi-san, Ayanagi-san, and Ayakaze-san, so it struck me ‘Huh? I\u2019m not like that\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> You\u2019ve always had a very refined style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro: <\/em>So after that I spent a while thinking very hard about what I would do with myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> Everyone has times like that. When I was in Cosmos Troupe I couldn\u2019t accept how small I was. I was surrounded by really tall, grown-up otokoyaku. I wanted to be like that but at some point I realized that was impossible for me (laughs). When I finally managed to accept that, it was a massive relief. Currently I know what my personal style is, but I do still study the more reserved otokoyaku – I think it\u2019d be nice to do something like that sometime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em> Yes. And a while after that, Misuzu (Aki)-san came to Snow Troupe, so I realized ‘there\u2019s also mature otokoyaku like that\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> Definitely. So that was a turning point?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em> Yes. And then when Sou (Kazuho)-san came I experienced that kind of bubbly yet still mature otokoyaku style and realized I had a lot of options. When Nozomi-san came I saw her high-energy style. So now I think I can emulate the passion I\u2019ve always admired in Chigi-san after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> Despite being so refined (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em> Yes. (laughs) I started thinking, there\u2019s nothing wrong with being refined and<\/em> passionate (laughs). Over the years I\u2019ve realized that even if we have different styles our dedication to the stage is the same, and and came to the conclusion that a show is enjoyable because there are many different types on stage. Therefore I understood that even if I couldn\u2019t be just like Chigi-san, there were a lot of things I could learn from your feelings for the stage and your rehearsal methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> That\u2019s true. Ever since you were ken-1, and I would abruptly ask you questions about the plays, I would realize that you were coming from a very different viewpoint, and there are many times when that has really helped me out. I feel like all our different discussions of the important things have benefited us both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em> To tell the truth, there was a time when I couldn\u2019t bring myself to talk to you about something and it would really stress me out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> Really!?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em> I\u2019d have lots of things I wanted to ask you, but putting it into words was too hard\u2026 I couldn\u2019t just go up to you and start talking\u2026 I\u2019d see you chatting happily with someone and be like ‘that would be nice\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> I see (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em>\u00a0But when I was given Chigi-san\u2019s role in a junior performance, I realized that after all, the best way to learn is through observation. I don\u2019t want to ask about something I could figure out by watching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> I know that feeling!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em> I learned a lot from seeing you onstage and experiencing that atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> I also would feel relieved to know you were watching. When I was in shinjin kouens, I was determined to watch the main performers 100%, so I suppose that\u2019s a similar situation. If there was something I absolutely couldn\u2019t understand, I\u2019d ask, but if I had to ask out loud about character creation or something, I would end up as just a carbon copy of the main performer for precisely that reason. I feel like it\u2019s much more effective to start imagining based on what you see and feel and expand from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em>\u00a0Back then, I realized how difficult it was for me to put a character together from square one, so I figured out that that was a weak point of mine. That junior performance was the first time I considered everything in my own way before obtaining a lot of advice on it, so\u00a0One Night of Stars<\/em>\u00a0is special to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> That\u2019s right, that role was too amazing (laughs). I was oddly relieved to see your performance, like ‘she managed to bring Haruoki to life\u2019 (laughs). I think it\u2019s because you made your own Haruoki, Reiko-chan, so I was able to watch as more of a third-party observer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em>\u00a0In\u00a0Rurouni Kenshin<\/em>, I had just graduated from junior performances and could relax a bit, but at the same time, I began paying attention to even the slightest details of Chigi-san\u2019s behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> Eh!? Scary\u2026 (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro: <\/em>Chigi-san would react very clearly to what I did, so I could realize ‘I was no good today\u2019 or whatever. Even though I should be able to figure it out for myself\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> No, no! Even when I think ‘I really should fix this\u2019, I adjust based on the reactions of the other people in the scene. Sometimes there\u2019s really good synergy so it has really good results, and sometimes not. Of course, I\u2019d like to be at 100% all the time, but I also have to be able to react and play it by ear if some sort of accident happens. Therefore, it\u2019s really important to be flexible. You have to rely on the people you\u2019re acting with and go with the flow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em> During the Grand Theatre performance I paid really close attention to everyone I was acting with, and I started seeing how people put energy into their roles, which wasn\u2019t something I really understood how to do. Especially for Aoshi, who is such a quiet character, I was like ‘what do I do with him?\u2019 but I gradually figured things out through experience as I fought with Kenshin every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em> Chigi-san, where do you start in character creation? I do a lot of acting with my voice, so I start out taking inspiration from the first reading of the script at the start of rehearsals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> For me, the first impression I get from the script is really important\u2026I hang onto it like an heirloom jewel. Then I think about the meaning behind what kinds of goals the directors have, or behaviors they want, and work on that until I can put it all together. Then I use that to put facets on the jewel and see if anything seems to be missing. I used to start with the voice as well, but recently I don\u2019t put so much thought into it – ‘It would be weird if Kenshin\u2019s voice was too low\u2019, that\u2019s about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em> During rehearsals, there are times when\/sometimes I get stuck because of not knowing what to do with myself. Also, as my roles get bigger, I have more and more people watching me in the rehearsal room so I\u2019m like \u2019\u2026what do I do with myself?\u2019 What would you do in that situation, Chigi-san?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> Since everyone starts off rehearsing by themselves, rather than expecting the rehearsal to go smoothly immediately, I feel it\u2019s better to be like ‘Mr. Director, this is how far I\u2019ve come so hurry and help me out a bit!\u2019 (laughs) Of course getting to that point is difficult and full of stuggles, but to me, even those struggles are fun (laughs). When you\u2019ve been here over 15 years you come to realize how fun it is to strive towards a discovery. If I think ‘Eventually I will be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, I can get hold of the character\u2019, then I can handle it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro: <\/em>During rehearsals, even when everyone else is starting to feel it\u2019s too much, Chigi-san will be steadily polishing her performance and one day we\u2019ll see that ‘Eureka\u2019 moment. ‘Oh, Chigi-san\u2019s got it!\u2019 we notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> I\u2019m aware of it myself, I\u2019ll just have a moment where I realize ‘Oh! There\u2019s Kenshin.\u2019 But that comes from simple hard work leading up to it. Since I see everyone else working so hard on their own roles, I\u2019m determined not to lose to that and feel motivated to create a fun show together with everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em> I wanted to talk about offstage things as well. Chigi-san, you always have different celebrities you will be into, like ‘now it\u2019s this person!\u2019 So, who is your favorite celeb at the moment?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> Mitsushima Hikari and Eita are my favorites. I get a lot of inspiration from watching their performances. And as for variety TV, I really like Matsuko Deluxe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em> All very striking personalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> I like people who go all the way with whatever they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em> I also really like Mitsushima Hikari. It\u2019s hard to describe but she has an amazing atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em>\u00a0It\u2019s really unique, isn\u2019t it. Sort of like Director Tani\u2019s1<\/sup> plays, don\u2019t you think? Natural, but deep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em> I want to be striking too\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> You\u2019re fine. After all, you\u2019re too refined (laughs). You have a lot of things, I don\u2019t have: depth, layers, an air of unwavering persuasiveness\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em> No, no\u2026 But I want to be passionate and refined\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sagiri:<\/em> Right, that\u2019s your goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsukishiro:<\/em>\u00a0Yes. I\u2019ll work hard! Thank you very much for spending time with me today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 – As this was published prior to Tani Takaya’s debut as director, they must be referring to Tani Masazumi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE Otokoyaku was a\u00a0Kageki\u00a0feature from 2016 where Top Stars talked in-depth with up-and-coming otokoyaku stars about their acting styles and behind-the-scenes history. The Snow Troupe edition, published in the May 2016 issue, featured Sagiri Seina and Tsukishiro Kanato (prior to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[13,360,167,42,14,165],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607"}],"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=607"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":608,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607\/revisions\/608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}