Kudan Project Production

Last updated

Kudan Project Production is a theatrical company for whom Tengai Amano writes and directs. They are only 2 actors, Hideji Oguma and Satoru Jitsunashi.

Contents

History

The production, which is active mostly in Nagoya, Japan, was founded in 1998 by Tengai Amano (playwright and director) and Hideji Oguma (actor and producer). It consists of actors and crew from various renowned theatre groups and freelance artists. By combining high techniques of numerous groups and different genres, the project pursues a wider possibility of theatre arts. [1] [2]

Originally, the Kudan Project was organised for performing the play Kudan No Ken when the group went by the name of Kikori No Kai, back in 1995. After 1998, the company changed their name to the Kudan Project and started performing in Japanese cities. They also performed in prominent Asian cities such as Taipei, Hong Kong, Beijing, Busan and so on. [3] The word kudan is the name of legendary Japanese monster that has the head of human and the body of a cow. The kudan sometimes shows up in human habitations and tells the people prophecies of a dire future.

After Kudan No Ken, the Kudan Project was looking for a new story to perform. Yaji and Kita is a two-man story, taking up the theme of reality vs dreams, life vs death. This was perfect match for the Kudan Project, their mission and their philosophy. Furthermore, Yaji and Kita happen to resemble to the actors, Hideji Oguma and Satoru Jitsunashi. It was seen as a fated meeting and they knew that they had to make Yayi and Kita for the stage.

Yaji and Kita also toured and performed in South East Asia, notably at KLPac (Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre) and Francisco Santiago Hall in Makati, the Philippines.

KUDAN Project is supported by Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ "Japan Foundation KL".
  2. ↑ "Kudan Project Production – "Yaji and Kita"". The Japan Foundation, Kuala Lumpur. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  3. ↑ "Artist Interview: Tengai Amano (playwright, director)". Performing Arts Network Japan. Retrieved 2023-11-08.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivan Heng</span>

Ivan Heng is a Singaporean actor and theatre director of Peranakan descent. He is the founding artistic director of W!LD RICE, a theatre company in Singapore, and an outspoken advocate for respect for diversity and freedom of expression.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">P. Ramlee</span> Malaysian singer, scriptwriter, actor, songwriter, and film director (1929–1973)

Tan Sri Datuk Amar Teuku Zakaria bin Teuku Nyak Puteh, better known by his stage name P. Ramlee, was a Malaysian actor, filmmaker, musician, and composer famous in modern-day Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Southern Thailand. Born in Penang, Malaya, he is regarded as a prominent icon of Malay language entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolfe Bowart</span> Mime artist

Wolfe Bowart is a physical comedian, actor, director and playwright. He is the creator and performer of the physical theatre productions LaLaLuna, Letter's End and The Man the Sea Saw. Bowart is the son of writer Walter Bowart and Linda Dugmore, and grandson of the abstract expressionist artist Edward Dugmore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Hasham</span> Lebanese Australian actor

Joseph Christopher Hasham (OAM) is a Lebanese Australian actor and artistic theatre director who became famous in Australia in the 1970s through his long running role of dependable and decent gay lawyer Don Finlayson in soap opera Number 96.

Tengai Amano is a playwright, director and the leader of the drama group called "Shonen-oja-kan". He was born in Ichinomiya, Aichi prefecture, and graduated from the Department of History in Aichi Gakuin University. In 1982, he founded "Shonen-oja-kan" in Nagoya. The group started performing all over Japan, including Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya since 1984.

The Necessary Stage is a Singaporean non-profit theatre company with charity status. Formed in 1987 by Alvin Tan, The Necessary Stage was established with its own mission to create challenging, indigenous and innovative theatre that touches the heart and mind. The Necessary Stage is a recipient of the National Arts Council's Major Grant FY2014-2016, and is also the organiser of the annual M1 Singapore Fringe Festival. It is currently located at the Marine Parade Community Building.

Alvin Tan is the founder and artistic director of The Necessary Stage (TNS), and the co-artistic director of the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival. Under Tan's leadership, TNS has grown from a small society in 1987 to one of Singapore’s most prominent and respected theatre companies. He also initiated the Company's Theatre For Youth Branch and the Marine Parade Theatre Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cedar Grove Productions</span>

Cedar Grove Productions is an independent production company based in Los Angeles, California, specializing in media and theatre arts representing the Asian Pacific American community. Media projects are educational, with Visual Communications (VC) serving as a non-profit fiscal sponsor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Kan Gotanda</span> American dramatist

Philip Kan Gotanda is an American playwright and filmmaker and a third generation Japanese American. Much of his work deals with Asian American issues and experiences.

Brian Gregory Syron was an actor, teacher, Aboriginal rights activist, stage director and Australia's first Indigenous feature film director, who has also been recognised as the first First Nations feature film director. After studying in New York City under Stella Adler, he returned to Australia and was a co-founder of the Australian National Playwrights Conference, the Eora Centre, the National Black Playwrights Conference, and the Aboriginal National Theatre Trust. He worked on several television productions and was appointed head of the ABC's new Aboriginal unit in 1988.

Asian American theatre is theatre written, directed or acted by Asian Americans. From initial efforts by four theatre companies in the 1960s, Asian-American theatre has grown to around forty groups today. Early productions often had Asian themes or settings; "yellowface" was a common medium for displaying the perceived exoticism of the East in American performance. With the growing establishment of second-generation Asian-Americans in the 21st century, it is becoming more common today to see Asian-Americans in roles that defy historical stereotypes in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muid Latif</span> Malaysian artist (1979–2020)

Abdul Muid bin Abdul Latif was a Malaysian-based web designer, graphic designer and digital artist, who is known for promoting the cultural elements of the Southeast Asia from Batik and Songket into his commercial works and artworks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Shiomi</span> Japanese-Canadian playwright, stage director, artistic director and taiko artist

Rick Shiomi is an internationally recognized, award-winning Japanese Canadian playwright, stage director, artistic director and taiko artist, and a major player in the Asian American/Canadian theatre movement. He is best known for his groundbreaking play Yellow Fever, which earned him the Bay Area Theater Circle Critics Award and “Bernie” Award. Over the last couple decades, Shiomi has also become a notable artistic and stage director. He directed the world premiere of the play Caught by Christopher Chen for which he received the Philadelphia Barrymore Award Nomination for Outstanding Direction. He is currently the Co-Artistic Director of Full Circle Theater Company.

The Asian American Theater Company(AATC) is a non-profit theatre performance company based in San Francisco. Its stated mission is "To connect people to Asian American culture through theatre".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre</span> Malaysian performing-arts center

The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre in Sentul Park, Kuala Lumpur is one of the established performing art centers in Malaysia. It is a non-profit company, aims to cultivate and sustain the performing arts for the Malaysian.

Stray Factory is an Indian Independent entertainment company founded on July 17, 2010 by Mathivanan Rajendran as a performing arts company before diversifying into online media in 2014 and independent film in 2017. Upcoming films include Nirvana Inn (2019) & Nasir (2020).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Theatre Playhouse</span>

The British Theatre Playhouse (BTP) is a professional theatrical and musical production company incorporated in Singapore in 2004. With the motto Bringing to the World the Best in British Entertainment, the BTP is internationally focused with a British connection, as well as it is a long-standing member of the Singaporean British Chamber of Commerce and the European Chamber of Commerce. In 2012, the BTP also established a UK branch office, in order to work more closely with British playwrights, writers, actors, directors, musical directors, and set and costume designers.

Events in the year 1959 in Japan.

Datuk Faridah Merican, born 25 October 1939, is a Malaysian actor, director, producer and dramaturge. She is the co-founder of the Actors Studio (Malaysia), the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, and the Performing Arts Centre of Penang (Penangpac).

Hiroshi Koike is a Japanese director, playwright and choreographer. After his former performing arts group Pappa TARAHUMARA was dissolved in 2012, he formed the Hiroshi Koike Bridge Project (HKBP).

References

1. Excerpt from Unita Momiichi, "The Revival of Yaji and Kita".

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.