Montag, 20. Juni 2011

Japanese Broadway Lion King

I went to the Japanese Broadway version of Lion King yesterday, along with my parents on their anniversary. It was kind of them to let me come to the show with them. I was a bit wary about going as the show was all in Japanese, but figured it would be good practice to try to pick up what they are saying and what words they are using. It was an amazing production! I loved it. The, beginning was phenomenal, with all the different animals entering onto stage, the costuming was creative and well put together to be realistic. There was even a huge elephant that came onto stage, being followed by a baby elephant!

I found the Cheetah to be an amazing costume. The person in charge of the cheetah was the back legs of the cheetah, and she stayed standing up. The head and front legs of the cheetah were in front of the person, and wires from the person to the cheetah`s head were attached, so that when she moved her head whichever way, the cheetah`s head would move in that direction too. Her arms had sticks attached to the cheetah`s front legs, and so she would move the legs while walking around the stage. I thought that was pretty ingenious.

Another costume I liked were the Hyena`s. I know they are on the bad side in this show, but I really enjoyed watching the Hyena`s. They were funny, and the costuming was so well done, and the actors really made you believe they were hyena`s, displaying the mannerism`s of Hyenas so well. For the three main Hyena`s, the actor had their hands in the head (like a puppet). But the person`s head, was actually making the big humpback that Hyena`s have. Their elbows rested on these small, small stilts that were the hyena`s front legs, and the back legs were their actual legs, but in a slightly crouched position, so I could imagine that takes a lot of muscle and can be quite tiring to be in that costume. They did so well though, and were really funny. The other Hyena`s that were not the main ones, had Hyena masks over their heads, and their arms were the legs. They did this really cool dance routine as well, and it felt like a party was going on up there, with some really awesome dance moves.

The two big lions, Mufasa and Scar had really cool lion head masks. They were attached to the actor`s back by wire, and when they would bend forward, the mask would fall down in front of the actor`s face. When they would stand up again, the mask would rise right above their heads. And when the actor moved their head, their mask would move as well. It was really cool how they portrayed Lion behavior and the movements that lions make. Another great character was Zazu. The actor/puppeteer had this big bird zazu on his arm and hands, but Zazu was a puppet, the actor was not dressed up as Zazu, but he would work the beak, eyes, and the neck. The neck was really great, when Zazu was flustered or agitated, his neck would stretch really far. At one point, when Mufasa was lecturing him on losing Simba and Nala, Zazu gets all agitated and stressed, gets hysterical and the actor did such a great job, Zazu`s neck went everywhere, started banging it`s head on the ground. It was really a funny scene, with how well the actor was using his puppet, Zazu.

Timon and Pumba were also a very funny pair, of course. I was okay with not understanding most of what the actors were saying, but when it came to Timon and Pumba I really wished I understood more of the language. But the actors did a great job of being funny in their mannerisms and antics. Timon was a puppet, with an actor controlling his mouth and arms. Timon`s legs were attached to the feet of the actor. The actor was painted in green, and his outfit was green. He did an amazing job with Timon, making it so very funny to watch. When they first met Simba, he made Timon so nervous to see if Simba was alive, he had Timon shaking so much, it felt so read. Pumba was great as well. That was a huge costume, and the top of his head, where his hair goes, is where the actor`s head was, and the hair of the warthog, was the actor`s hair (wig).

I was wondering how they were going to do the scene where Mufasa dies, when all the wildebeests are on a stampede, and Mufusa goes and saves Simba, but then gets pushed into the stampede by Scar. Even though it was a sad scene, it was amazingly done. They made those huge cliffs with the valley. The closer it was to the audience, it was lower to the ground, the further away was higher, and to make it look like it was far away. So you have this layered valleys, and a picture of wildebeests on the top, way in the back of the stage. Then you hear a rumbling, and Simba starts shaking, to make it feel like the ground is shaking, and then you see the wildebeests, all picture, go down that huge dip to the valley. Then at the first layer back there, you see heads of wildebeests go up and down, up and down, then it gets to the next layer, and more wildebeests heads, except they are bigger because they are getting closer to Simba, then to the next level, bigger wildebeests, and then they are alongside Simba. I thought that was so well done. With the music, it made it seem very intense and scary. “

For that cheesy love song “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”, even though that is a really sappy, cheesy love song, they had these cool acrobatic dancers, that were in the air doing these dances for the song, and that was really cool to watch, despite the sappy song.

I found it very interesting that the humor that was in this show, as there are humorous parts to the Lion King, it was all done in a Japanese comedic way. It was definitely not western style humor. The way Timon and Pumba were, reminded me to Japanese Comedic acts that I saw on TV, from time to time. It worked well though, and we even heard them use the sound “Bi-Bon” The sound that you make when you get an answer write, used here in Japan.

I enjoyed watching this with my parents. Dad kept translating to my mom, who in turn translated to me, at the parts we really wanted to know what they were saying, as there was some scenes that were not in the original movie. I could explain some more amazing set affects, and staging, and whatnot, like different things popping out of the stage, but that would be a really long blog of explanation, so as it probably already is a long blog, I will leave it as this. Watch the Lion King if it is around your area. And maybe it will be in your own language.

Donnerstag, 9. Juni 2011

An Apartment of my own!

This is something I wrote while sitting at my desk at work, after I finished my planning for the whole week.

The weather has finally been getting warmer. Today is a sunny day and I only wore a light jacket over my outfit. I probably did not even need the jacket. I do not know if this weather will hold, but for every day that it is warm, I do not want to be spending that time inside. As a working person, I must stay inside. Then when work is done, I get to ride my bike back to home. Then I can go to a park or take a long bike ride to some unknown neighborhood near me. One day, I went to a park that we call “Lily Park”, where the tulips have been in season for a few weeks. I took a book, sat at a bench and read to my heart`s content. Pleasant weather, a book to read, birds singing, and an afternoon to spare is a beautiful and peaceful experience. I intend to repeat that, time and again while the temperature stays warm.

I mentioned that the tulips have been in season for a few weeks. They have reached their peak, and some tulips have lost their petals. I love spring and seeing a bunch of flowers blooming. I am slightly saddened when I see them go away again. I know that is the life of a flower. My parents wanted to make sure that we saw the tulips in full bloom at this one particular park “Lily Park”. Mom thought it would be a good idea to go early in the morning before I went to work. (We couldn’t wait till the weekend, because every weekend so far has been cloudy and rainy; while the weekdays are nice and sunny). So we had to seize the day and see the tulips in peak, even though I had work in an hour. We made the decision to go in two minutes, and after 5 minutes we were dressed, a breakfast had been quickly put together for me to eat on the way, and we were ready to go. My dad found a quick way to get to the park, trying to beat the rush hour. We got to the park, found the field of tulips of so many varieties of colors. It was amazing. It is nice to be at a park early in the morning. Everything feels new and fresh. It wakes me up. We spent like 10 or 15 minutes looking at the different tulips, and then we walked back to the car and were attempting to beat the traffic to get myself to school. We drove home, I got my bike and actually had 5 minutes to spare before I had to cycle my way to school. That was a fun morning and I am thinking that I need to wake up, get ready really fast and enjoy being at a park, before I start the days work.

For the last few months I have lived with my parents. I have really enjoyed being with them and being able to say good morning and good night. But I also have been looking forward to having my own place. For various reasons, one being that my parents are not going to be in Japan next year, and I would really like to know how to live in Japan on my own, before they leave. I think the transition would be easier then waiting till they left and start living on my own in Japan cold turkey. I found an apartment! We had gone to an apartment of some lady that was moving out and she was selling/giving away some stuff. So we went to the apartment to see what we could get for my future apartment that we were not searching for at that moment. We went to the apartment, and while driving around the area, both my mom and I really liked it. Nice neighborhood, full of gardens. There were nice parks around the apartment, and a nice bike/walk/run path I could go on. So when we saw the apartment, and heard how much it cost to rent, etc. I really wanted to pursue the possibility of getting the apartment. The apartment is not brand new, but it is cozy, and the kitchen size was manageable. But it is considerably small, but not as small as other kitchens in other apartments. There are two 6 mat rooms. This means two very small rooms. If I put a couch in one room, it would take up half the room. But the place is manageable and I can have guests over. I did not want a place that I could not have guests over. I am a people person, and love to be surrounded by others. Given I have some time by myself, of course. This apartment makes it possible to have friends over. Not a lot of friends but enough to play games and eat dinner. The location of the apartment is about a 20 minute bike ride to my parents place. That is not so bad. Only when it starts to snow will it be harder to get around. The place is near a bus stop and about a 10 minute bike ride to a train station. Which will be great until it snows. And then I shall manage with taking more time to get places. It`s also just a 12 minute bikes ride to school. This will really be the first time that I am renting an apartment without having any roommates. I am excited to have my own place, decorate it, and be on my own time schedule. I am also nervous, as I typically do not like being alone (all the time) and if I cannot control my anxious thoughts then the anxiety can take over. But overall, I am excited and cannot wait to move in. Beginning of July is when I get to move in to my apartment. It`s on the third floor, so I have a nice view of the mountains, and the sunlight is always shining through one of my windows. A new part of this chapter of my life…really living on my own….Let`s see if I can manage!

I want to get plants for my apartment. I have two right now in my room. I find plants exciting because you see them grow. Not instantaneously but throughout the days, you see new buds coming in or new leaves coming in. Plants are a lot easier to take care of then pets. Provides more oxygen to your place and it provides your apartment with natural colors. I am excited to see how I am going to decorate my apartment. Hopefully it will not be a crowded mess.