Co-performances we wanted to do in 2020 to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics finally come to reality!
Theatre transcends disabilities, borders, and languages.
Some part of this programme is conducted in English.
This programme is available with English subtitles which automatically appear on the iPod screen.
Co-performances we wanted to do in 2020 to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics finally come to reality! Theatre transcends disabilities, borders, and languages.
During the travel restrictions due to COVID-19, Jiyu Gekijo-Freedom Theatre and TBTB continued to exchange their ideas: Via Zoom, they created two short plays and read through a third play together. CTRL L is a stage version of a piece created through Zoom video co-performance: Great chaos ensues in the rehearsal room of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. A DIFFERENCE OF BEAUTY is a monologue play: It was born out of the writer's interviews with each performer. Their murmurs fold together and become a swell of hope.
“CTRL L”
Written by Jeff Tabnick
Directed by Nicholas Viselli and NAKASHIMA Makoto
Performed by JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatre (MIYOSHI Mahirou, SHIMADA Hikaru), TBTB(Nicholas Viselli, Ann Marie Morelli), SAITO Yoriaki
“A DIFFERENCE OF BEAUTY”
Written by Tatiana G. Rivera
Directed by Nicholas Viselli and NAKASHIMA Makoto
Performed by JIYU Gekijo-Freedom Theatre (ITANI Yuuta, ISHI Yuumi, MIYOSHI Mahirou, SHIMADA Hikaru), TBTB (Ann Marie Morelli, Bree Klauser, Scott Barton, Stephen Drabicki)
Message from the writer
Message from Jeff Tabnick, playwright of “CTRL L”
CTRL L tells the story of American actors and Japanese actors coming together to rehearse A Midsummer Night's Dream over Zoom. When their magical director uses a keyboard command to make them stop arguing, he accidentally causes them to fall in love with unlikely partners.
A farcical romance, CTRL L explores the importance of loving others and feeling loved. Conversely, the play looks at the damage done when one doesn't feel worthy of love or can't see beyond one's own self. As the playwright, it was a true joy to get to know all of the actors involved and funnel some of their thoughts and feelings into this fanciful comedy.
Message from Tatiana G. Rivera, playwright of “A DIFFERENCE OF BEAUTY”
A DIFFERENCE OF BEAUTY explores the ways in which beauty inhabits the mind and the body. It challenges the idea of what beauty is and what it could or should be. This play explores how one simple statement can ignite the psyche.
Theater Breaking Through Barriers (TBTB) is New York City's only professional Off-Broadway theater organization dedicated to advancing artists and developing audiences of people with disabilities and altering the misperceptions surrounding disability by proving, once and for all, that disability does not affect the quality or integrity of our art or artists. We began in 1979 and are currently celebrating our 43rd season! Disability is the only diversity that cuts across all racial, gender, social, and class distinctions. Disability knows no age, race, religion, gender, culture, or sexual orientation. As such, we view disability as a common ground, where the voices from every sector of our society can come together to be represented and expressed. To accomplish this, it is imperative that we reach out to all members of our society, so they know our voice and realize that we serve and represent them.
The project, produced by BIRD Theatre Company, started its activities in August 2013. It aims to bring people with and without disabilities to work together to create a theatre performance, discover the richness of each individual, which tends to remain hidden in everyday life, and share it with the audience. They continuously make theatre pieces and present them in and outside Tottori Prefecture; in 2017, they also performed in Nantes, France, where it received great acclaim.
Jeff Tabnick
He's a proud member of Theater Breaking Through Barriers. Jeff’s plays include The Intimacy Effect (Vital Joint, JTK Productions, Michael Chekhov Theatre Festival), Something Truly Monstrous (The Blank Theatre), An Idiot (Hangar Theatre’s Lab Company, Propinquity Productions), The Problem of Verisimilitude (DUAF) and I Found Her Tied to My Bed (Lightning Strikes, Strange Roads and Propinquity Productions). Current plays in development include Chekhov on Vacation (workshop at Interrobang) and Early Days (staged reading at The Blank). His work has been included in collections published by BackStage Books and Smith & Kraus. His screenplay Otherwise Engaged, co-written with Jonathan Todd Ross, has won honors at Slamdance, the Honolulu Film Festival, the LA Screenwriting Contest, and the LA Movie Awards, among others.
Tatiana G. Rivera
She is a chicana playwright and higher education administrator who is passionate about social justice and making food and education accessible to all communities. She is grateful for her continued creative partnership with TBTB and the incredible artists involved.
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BIRD Theatre [Theatre]
Adults: 2,500 yen
Under 18: 500 yen
Elementary School Kids and under: Free
【Host】BIRD Theatre Company TOTTORI
【Co-host】Japan Foundation
【Co-production 】BIRD Theatre Company TOTTORI / Japan Foundation
【Grant】KANSAI・OSAKA 21st Century Association / The Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission (JUSFC)
This engagement is supported by Mid Atlantic Arts through USArtists International in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Mellon Foundation.
【The Period of The Festival】 SEPTEMBER 16 - OCTOBER 2, 2022
【main venue】 BIRD THEATRE and SHIKANO TOWN
【Host】
【Co-Host】
【Grant】
The Agency for Cultural Affairs Government of Japan in the fiscal 2021【Support】
【Artistic Director】
BRECHT ON BRECHT!
【Host】 BIRD Theatre Company TOTTORI
【Grant】 KANSAI・OSAKA 21st Century Association
US-Japan Co-production Works: “CTRL L” “A DIFFERENCE OF BEAUTY”
【Host】 BIRD Theatre Company TOTTORI
【Co-Host】 The Japan Foundation
【Grant】 KANSAI・OSAKA 21st Century Association