{"id":615,"date":"2017-12-04T21:45:00","date_gmt":"2017-12-05T04:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/?p=615"},"modified":"2021-01-09T22:38:58","modified_gmt":"2021-01-10T05:38:58","slug":"talk-dx-the-scarlet-pimpernel-kurenai-yuzuru-rei-makoto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/2017\/12\/04\/talk-dx-the-scarlet-pimpernel-kurenai-yuzuru-rei-makoto\/","title":{"rendered":"Talk DX – The Scarlet Pimpernel: Kurenai Yuzuru & Rei Makoto"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is an talk between Beni and Coto during the run of The Scarlet Pimpernel<\/em>, published in the June 2017 issue of GRAPH<\/em>. It\u2019s pretty in-depth and very fun!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

chemicalperfume helped with editing and translating! Many thanks as always <3<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Talk DX – The Scarlet Pimpernel: Kurenai Yuzuru & Rei Makoto<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> We\u2019re nearly to the middle of the run. I\u2019ve always wanted to do this show, so I\u2019m so happy during every performance. Therefore, thinking \u2018I\u2019ve still got half the run to go!\u2019 makes me really happy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> Me too. Each week goes by too fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> Darn right!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> I feel like it\u2019s a better experience for us each time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> Yeah! The power of the audience is really immense. They say \u2018one performance does more than 100 rehearsals\u2019, so I really feel like the audience helps us continually improve our performance. It completely changes the atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei: <\/em>If I go back and listen to recordings from the vocal rehearsals, it\u2019s totally different!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> Yeah! However, a restage performance is really difficult, isn\u2019t it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> It is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> It\u2019s already been expanded on so much through the premiere performance and the first restage, so figuring out how to perform on top of that foundation is really hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei: <\/em>For troupe members like me, who weren\u2019t in the first production, there was a feeling that the audience probably knew the show better than we did, so that was really stressful\u2026 But there was also the reverse, where since this was my first time at it I performed as if to demonstrate \u2018This is what The Scarlet Pimpernel is!\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> Yeah!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> The songs are all really well known\u2014though they\u2019re quite difficult songs (laughs). Every time I perform each song, I feel like I\u2019m working together with the whole orchestra in that moment and it\u2019s always a slightly different result. It\u2019s really fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> My favorite number is \u2018Days of Glory.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> Oh~!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> The power of the people is really important to the whole show, but in that song everyone finally comes together!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> Yeah\u2014but there\u2019s still a lot of individuality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> Exactly!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> It\u2019s so good~! I really like \u2018Into the Fire.\u2019 It makes me so excited! My classmate Seo (Yuria) is in it so I asked her \u2018Hey~ Hey~ What\u2019s it like to be in that scene?\u2019 Apparently due to the quick-changes and the moving platforms it\u2019s really hard for the actual performers (laughs). But I\u2019m always excited to watch it from the wings! It\u2019s also really popular to watch from the side entrances; it\u2019s always a struggle to get that spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> Really? (laughs) When I\u2019m doing that scene, somehow I feel like I\u2019m really living. There aren\u2019t a lot of moments like that on stage, are there? (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> Definitely! (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> I feel like I\u2019m living as Kurenai Yuzuru and as Sir Percy, and that all the other members of the League are living as their roles too. It\u2019s full of courage\u2014it\u2019s a wonderful scene!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> Yeah, yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> Since the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel are all good friends, I didn\u2019t want them all to treat me as an older brother type character, just because I was the most senior, so I told them that every time. As a result, I think we all felt like equals, or I hope we did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei: <\/em>In the rehearsal, there was a definitive moment where your group\u2019s acting radically changed, so I was watching like \u2018Wo~w!\u2019 But you know, my team gets along really well too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> Starting in the Prologue, Deputy Robespierre (Nanami), Mercier (Seki), Coupeau (Sazanami), and I do the offstage chorus together. We perform in the spirit of the French alliance in every show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> How about that adlib scene about the clothes Chauvelin (Rei) should wear to the masquerade!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> Oh gosh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai: <\/em>You don\u2019t laugh a bit!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> That\u2019s not it, the truth is I\u2019m really weak to adlibs\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> Huh? Really?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei: <\/em>Do you know how much I\u2019m panicking right before then!?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> I thought it was excitement (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei: <\/em>No no no. But listen! You never tell me anything!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> But then there wouldn\u2019t be any point!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em>\u00a0So I\u2019m always so nervous\u2026 But I haven\u2019t yet broken my vow not to laugh, have I!1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> But it\u2019s not like I\u2019m trying to make you laugh there\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei: <\/em>No~, you almost get me every time! And then when the audience starts laughing I really want to join in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> Ah, that\u2019s so hard~ I had that same issue when I was Benedict (in Ocean\u2019s 11).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> Ah~!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> There too, even though I didn\u2019t want to laugh at all, Toyoko-san (Suzumi Shio) as Rusty really went all-out with adlibs. She\u2019d use a wig that went bald at the pull of a string, stuff like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> It\u2019s a struggle every day!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> It was~ I don\u2019t do that <\/em>sort of thing, generally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> But, you know, I\u2019m training every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> Sometimes you can even play off it a bit, right~ (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei: <\/em>Maybe once in 15 times I\u2019ll give it a shot (laughs) Mainly I just rack my brain frantically but it always ends up like \u2018No, no comebacks here!\u2019 (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> The other day, during the final scene on the Day-Dream, a button on my glove got totally tangled up in Aa-chan\u2019s (Kisaki\u2019s) hair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> That must have been such a hard time! But you were amazing then. I was doing my quick-change, so it was a situation where all I had to go on was the audio, but you did some sort of adlib like, \u2018Ah! I love you too much to let you go!\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> Yeah (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> They say to try and make something positive even of accidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> It\u2019s more fun that way!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> If it was me I\u2019d surely just keep quiet and act as if it hadn\u2019t happened. It\u2019s really amazing that you could announce it to everyone like that and work it into your acting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> Oh, you think so?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei<\/em>: And for me, thanks to that issue, my quick-change was\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> Nice and relaxing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> Yes (laughs). So from my point of view, that was a happy accident (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> I always watch the \u2018She Was There\u2019 scene from the wings. In that scene Sir Percy (Kurenai) is released from all his turmoil, there\u2019s the mirror behind, and all the lights are on Sayumi-san (Kurenai)\u2026 You are just so dazzling there!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> Ahahaha (laughs) Really?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> It\u2019s amazing! Because, like, you throw aside the teasing attitude you used with Chauvelin, and how closed-off you were to Marguerite (Kisaki), and it\u2019s as if \u2018Sayumi-san\u2019s Percy\u2019 truly exists there. It gives me goosebumps every time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em>\u00a0That scene really has a different atmosphere. See, even if I remember when I did it in the junior performance the exact same scenery is before my eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> Awesome!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> But the way it feels to me is different. It\u2019s like I can feel how everyone on the staff is all working together to help bring my Sir Percy to life. I can feel the audience too, and the whole Grand Theatre. And besides, I have to think about how to lead into the next scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> Ah~<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em>\u00a0In the junior performance, when that scene ended I was like \u2018it\u2019s over!\u2019 but now I realize I\u2019m seeing it as one piece in the puzzle of Percy\u2019s life. I feel like that\u2019s what the passage of 9 years does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> That\u2019s true. I really love that scene!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> Somehow, this time around, Chauvelin is somehow really helping you break out of your shell, I think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai: <\/em>People mostly see you as this \u2018star student,\u2019 right, Makocchan? But you really have a very human side to you, so it\u2019d be good if the audience could see that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei: <\/em>Yeah\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> Well, you\u2019ve already been a great help to me, though. I\u2019m really an unpredictable, spontaneous type of person,, so I\u2019m grateful for your restraint. I think it\u2019s precisely because we\u2019re so different that things have come together so well. But I think if your attitude, rather than \u2018it has to be this way!\u2019 was more like \u2018maybe I\u2019m going to try that other way\u2026\u2019 then maybe in the future an even more amazing Makocchan will be born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> Yes\u2026 Yeah\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> It won\u2019t be as bad as you think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> For sure. Right now the biggest challenge is just that~ Wah~ You\u2019re so understandi~ng! Sayumi-sa~n!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> Chauvelin is a character who messes up a lot (laughs), but it\u2019d be good if you could convey new sides of yourself through the audience seeing your struggles!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> Thank youuuu~<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> The finale starts out with Makocchan. You look like you\u2019re having fun (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> I just feel like \u2018I can smile too now~\u2019 (laughs) It\u2019s the first time I am given the duty of bringing everyone\u2019s mood up, leading into the rockette.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> That really struck me in rehearsals. \u2018Makocchan has inherited the position I had up till now.\u2019 So I really understand your feelings in that situation. It makes you really nervous in the beginning! Especially on opening night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> Gosh, I was so nervous!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> And then imagine that being the New Years\u2019 show, where they\u2019re livestreaming it as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei: <\/em>Ahhh\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai: <\/em>(laughs) So you see I really understand those feelings, and it made me really happy. \u2018I\u2019m really passing the baton!\u2019 I thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> I\u2026I\u2019ll do my best!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> In the ensemble dance I have with the group of musumeyaku, I\u2019m supposed to be searching for Marguerite. It\u2019s got a feeling of longing. Then in the next scene it\u2019s otokoyaku! And it segues into the group sabre dance. Speaking of that, yesterday the sabre was really heavy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> Eh?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> It definitely wasn\u2019t mine!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> They do vary a bit like that. The way the wood feels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em>\u00a0That little weight difference actually made it really hard, because I\u2019m still holding it scene after scene. But to the fans, it\u2019s not Scarpim2<\/sup> without the sabre dance on the Grand Stairs! That kind of feeling makes me happy somehow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> Yes! And then Sayumi-san leaves the stage first and that shout as you leave is\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> By the way, everyone, that was thanks to Director Koike\u2019s instructions!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> Ahaha (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em>\u00a0Although I might seem as if I\u2019ll just say whatever if you give me a microphone, that was something I was specifically instructed to say. \u2018Everyone Dances!3<\/sup><\/em>\u2019 \u2018Let\u2019s dance! Dance, everybody!\u2019 is what it means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> You always raise the energy level so much by saying that!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai: <\/em>I always make eye contact with you, right Makocchan?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> Yes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> In the duet dance afterwards, the costumes are actually super heavy, so it was really hard but\u2026 Aa-chan is so adorable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> Wah~ Squee <3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai: <\/em>Even if she messes up a little bit I just think \u2018well we all have our days\u2019 (laughs). I\u2019ll say something if I have to (laughs) but basically she puts trust in me too. So it\u2019s really fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> When watching I can tell that  you both put your heart into it, so it makes me happy to see. After all it\u2019s your Grand Theatre debut show!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> It is! And me, Aa-chan, and Makocchan were all in Star Troupe the whole time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em> That\u2019s right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurenai:<\/em> Therefore I want to make sure to respect our seniors and the longtime fans. But it\u2019s not like I\u2019m going to take on too much there, I want to enjoy things and show \u2018this is how our Star Troupe will feel!\u2019 I want to keep on in the Star Troupe style, in a way everyone can enjoy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rei:<\/em>\u00a0I\u2019ll follow right behind you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 – I\u2019m not sure if Rei is discounting her breaks in the last couple performances of the Takarazuka run (at least) or if this interview took place before then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 – \u2018Scarpim\u2019 (or\u00a0\u2018Sukapin<\/em>\u2019 in the Japanese spelling) is the fandom nickname for the show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 – English in original.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is an talk between Beni and Coto during the run of The Scarlet Pimpernel, published in the June 2017 issue of GRAPH. It\u2019s pretty in-depth and very fun! chemicalperfume helped with editing and translating! Many thanks as always <3<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[13,360,177,73,6,115,116],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615"}],"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=615"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":616,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615\/revisions\/616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}