Playing around (dramatically!) in Ibaraki

If you know where to look, you'll find that non-Japanese residents of Ibaraki are engaged in all sorts of community activities alongside Japanese residents. Today, in the style of Mr. Baron, I've decided to interview one of these brave (if I do say so myself) and yet modest (unflaggingly) souls, who happens quite coincidentally to be me.

Would you mind giving a brief self-introduction?

Well, I don't know . . . is "very brief" ok?

Ok, thanks. My name's Jonathan, I'm from California, 24 years old, and am just finishing up my second year working at Ibaraki Prefecture's International Affairs Division. Aft—

You said "very brief," so I think that's quite enough. Are you involved in any sort of community activities outside work?

Thanks for asking; as a matter of fact, yes. In high school I was involved with drama, and though I was too busy in college to keep it up, I was lucky enough to get the chance to get back into it here in Ibaraki.

Acting in your non-native language—that sounds difficult!

Part of "Kaitō! Yoshimura Gundan" cast resting between shows

Well, it's excellent practice. I've unfortunately reached the point with my Japanese where, in almost all situations, Japanese people around virtually never correct my Japanese mistakes any more, though I know they still abound. But on stage, speaking your lines perfectly is a necessity, so people will correct even subtle aspects of my pronunciation, which I'm very happy for.

And y'know, it's really not as hard as one might think; I actually think I might have an easier time memorizing lines than my Japanese comrades, because learning a language is not so different from memorizing lines. After all, you've gotta memorize set phrases, sentence patterns, etc. From that point of view I've memorized more "lines" in Japanese than the majority of them.

That sounds fun! Would you recommend it to other foreigners living in Japan?

Oh, absolutely, of course. It doesn't necessarily have to be acting—though acting is great, and gives you language practice too—but getting involved with any community activity makes your time in a foreign country so much more fulfilling. When I came to Japan (this time around) it was to work, and so for the first year or so, Ibaraki felt like just "the place where I work," and not a home. I didn't feel connected. But getting involved, through acting, with people unrelated to my work, has given me a sense of connection to the area, the importance of which I can't emphasize enough.

I mean it—if you've come from abroad to live in Ibaraki (or anywhere in Japan, really) but can't get over the feeling of being a temporary intruder or guest in a foreign place; if you have a vague sense of ennui that you can't put your finger on; if you want to make more friends: try joining a club or circle or group of some sort in your community. If you don't like it, maybe it's just that activity: try another. Something where you can meet people your own age is a big plus.

So the obvious question now is, how did you get involved in acting here?

Building the set for "HELP!"

Why, I was just thinking myself that's the obvious next question. It started through one personal connection and then expanded through the personal connections created there. I asked a wonderful teacher at Ibaraki University whom I know through work to introduce me to some sort of club there that allows non-students to participate. When she asked me what kind, I went with drama, the activity I had most enjoyed in high school. The students of Ibaraki University's drama club (茨城大学演劇研究会 Ibaraki Daigaku Engeki Kenkyū-Kai) welcomed me warmly, and I ended up part of their winter show last year, called "HELP!"

Then, the director of that show introduced me to a group of people that, every year, round up willing participants from amateur acting troupes across the city, and do a collaborative show as part of the Mito Theatre Festival (水戸市民演劇祭 Mito Shimin Engeki-Sai), and—

Do you have any shows coming up?

Flyer for "Kachi-Kachi Yama Saiban [Court]"

If you hadn't so rudely interrupted me, that's precisely where I was about to go. The aforementioned collaborative show will be performed twice (afternoon and evening) on Saturday, August 23rd, at the Mito Art Tower's ACM Theater. It's a courtroom black comedy about the tanuki from the Japanese folktale Kachi-Kachi Yama getting put on trial, post-mortem, by the Japanese version of the Devil.

The show is all in Japanese, but if that doesn't faze you, feel free to check out the PDF version (smaller | larger) of the flyer shown here for more details, and/or the production blog for updates.

What makes you so sure I'll post the flyer for you?

A hunch.