videoart
Next month, Videoart Center Tokyo will be presenting Avicon 2003, an Asian Videoart Conference.
I don't know about you, but videoart makes me laugh. It makes me giggle uncomfortably and squirm in my seat. Sometimes it makes me guffaw. Other times? Just smirk. But when it's good, really good, it makes me think. As you can tell from this web log, I'm very wordy, so I can appreciate when an artist possesses the ability to effectively communicate through image-manipulation rather than pure babble. I'm also particularly interested in analyzing how the symbolism used by certain artists relates to their culture. But, since it's been a medium largely dominated by "westerners" for so long, our overused cultural symbols seem to me to have turned the medium a little stale. Fresh perspectives by Asian artists could be one remedy. Barring all that, if they turn out to be pretty bad, I can just sit there feeling all superior and shit.
The conference will take place from 13 to 23 December at Pola Museum Gallery. Polar? Paula? No idea. (I hate Katakana.) It's in Ginza, anyway. Here's a map. Tickets are 800 yen for one program or 4000 yen for a free pass. Hopefully, they'll get their act together and launch the promised English version of the site, but you can find a Japanese schedule here. Notice that they have some Telepidemic programs planned.
There'll also be a four-day English workshop held at out-lounge under the subject "Urbanism as Media." You can read more about the call for participants here (both artists and auditors).
Update 12/8: English version of the site. Also, it's being held at the Pola Museum Annex. The site for the main Pola Museum is here. (When in doubt, check Pole Pole.)
Friday, November 28, 2003
Wednesday, November 26, 2003
Lenne's Homeless Benefit
event
So, you know Lenne Hardt? She's organizing a homeless benefit for tomorrow night at Bar Isn't It?...in that place I avoid like the plague, Roppongi. Anything for charity, right?
Instead of the regular Tokyo Comedy Store show this week, Lenne, TCS comedians and other Tokyo-based performers (including Guy Perryman, Hakoita Bossa Nova Duo and Akaoni Daiko) will be taking the stage to raise money for Food Bank Japan.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., the show starts at 7 p.m. and admission is 2000 yen (including one drink). Attendees are encouraged to donate more, if they can. They'll also be collecting toothbrushes, toothpaste, toilet paper and other useful items to be distributed through Food Bank.
If you can't make it, but would still like to help, contact information (including account info for financial donations) can be found here.
So, you know Lenne Hardt? She's organizing a homeless benefit for tomorrow night at Bar Isn't It?...in that place I avoid like the plague, Roppongi. Anything for charity, right?
Instead of the regular Tokyo Comedy Store show this week, Lenne, TCS comedians and other Tokyo-based performers (including Guy Perryman, Hakoita Bossa Nova Duo and Akaoni Daiko) will be taking the stage to raise money for Food Bank Japan.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., the show starts at 7 p.m. and admission is 2000 yen (including one drink). Attendees are encouraged to donate more, if they can. They'll also be collecting toothbrushes, toothpaste, toilet paper and other useful items to be distributed through Food Bank.
If you can't make it, but would still like to help, contact information (including account info for financial donations) can be found here.
Friday, November 21, 2003
Dining Room
Audition
Help. I'm drowning in a sea of actors. And strange actor-type people.
I just got this e-mail, and if you've been toying with the idea of trying out for a play, pay attention.
The auditions for TIP's production of A.R. Gurney's "The Dining Room" are coming up in January. And the reason they're giving such an advanced notice is that the director is requesting two monologues for your audition. Don't freak out, though. They're not required, but they'd help. One of the guys in the next show, "Proof," told me that he auditioned for that with something from Colin's Movie Monologue Page. (It was his first audition ever.) And while you probably shouldn't do that for professional gigs, there's really no room for snobbery in community theater. (Still, if you can't shake the doubts, you can go here for links to monologue sites or buy a ridiculously over-priced monologue book from Kinokuniya.)
Here's the skinny:
Sunday, January 11th, 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Monday, January 12th, 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Tuesday, January 13th, 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
All auditions are on the 4th floor of Tokyo American Club.
Please prepare two contrasting monologues of no more than 2 minutes each.
Performance dates are March 12th, 13th, and 14th. (Plan to also be available on the 10th and 11th.)
For more information, contact David Neale at [Um...I don't want personal phone numbers on this site, so I deleted it. Contact him through TIP.]
We did "The Dining Room" at my high school. It really sucked. But as I mentioned before, this is the director who managed to make me like "Godspell," a musical that, for years, made me want to spit upon the very mention of it. If that isn't saying something...
Edited 11/25: adding that monologues are requested rather than required and changing the audition location from TAC's 5th floor (which doesn't exist) to it's 4th.
Help. I'm drowning in a sea of actors. And strange actor-type people.
I just got this e-mail, and if you've been toying with the idea of trying out for a play, pay attention.
The auditions for TIP's production of A.R. Gurney's "The Dining Room" are coming up in January. And the reason they're giving such an advanced notice is that the director is requesting two monologues for your audition. Don't freak out, though. They're not required, but they'd help. One of the guys in the next show, "Proof," told me that he auditioned for that with something from Colin's Movie Monologue Page. (It was his first audition ever.) And while you probably shouldn't do that for professional gigs, there's really no room for snobbery in community theater. (Still, if you can't shake the doubts, you can go here for links to monologue sites or buy a ridiculously over-priced monologue book from Kinokuniya.)
Here's the skinny:
Sunday, January 11th, 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Monday, January 12th, 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Tuesday, January 13th, 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
All auditions are on the 4th floor of Tokyo American Club.
Please prepare two contrasting monologues of no more than 2 minutes each.
Performance dates are March 12th, 13th, and 14th. (Plan to also be available on the 10th and 11th.)
For more information, contact David Neale at [Um...I don't want personal phone numbers on this site, so I deleted it. Contact him through TIP.]
We did "The Dining Room" at my high school. It really sucked. But as I mentioned before, this is the director who managed to make me like "Godspell," a musical that, for years, made me want to spit upon the very mention of it. If that isn't saying something...
Edited 11/25: adding that monologues are requested rather than required and changing the audition location from TAC's 5th floor (which doesn't exist) to it's 4th.
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
My Pal Foot Foot, Pervenche, Night Teller
music
At Super Furries last night, Andrzej reminded me that I don't update much anymore. So here's me, rolling out of bed to post.
Remember how I stalked the Lucksmiths? It was a good idea, and you're not going to get me to admit otherwise. For one thing, it got me out of the house. And for another, I was exposed to the music of Pervenche and My Pal Foot Foot. The latter brings fun Japan pop that's not annoying (whoo hoo) and the former brings skillful experimentation that's just as accessible as it is innovative. Both will be playing at Koenji's Penguin House on 7 December. The music starts at 7:30 p.m., admission is 1500 yen plus one drink.
Also playing are Night Teller, who played with the Lucksmiths as well as with The Cannanes and Scout Niblett at their Kyoto shows, and Place Called Space, whom, honestly, I've never seen, but whose music you can listen to here.
Here's a tip for you. (And by "you" I mean me.) Stalk Pervenche instead. They always seem to show up at all the good gigs, and their role at Clover Records certainly doesn't hurt. For example, coming up for them at the end of December is a Showboat gig on the 28th with Melbourne musicians Love of Diagrams and Baseball (a.k.a. Cameron Potts). Also featured will be the very very weird eepiL eepiL, banging away at kitchen appliances and such. They make me nervous. But nervous in a good way.
At Super Furries last night, Andrzej reminded me that I don't update much anymore. So here's me, rolling out of bed to post.
Remember how I stalked the Lucksmiths? It was a good idea, and you're not going to get me to admit otherwise. For one thing, it got me out of the house. And for another, I was exposed to the music of Pervenche and My Pal Foot Foot. The latter brings fun Japan pop that's not annoying (whoo hoo) and the former brings skillful experimentation that's just as accessible as it is innovative. Both will be playing at Koenji's Penguin House on 7 December. The music starts at 7:30 p.m., admission is 1500 yen plus one drink.
Also playing are Night Teller, who played with the Lucksmiths as well as with The Cannanes and Scout Niblett at their Kyoto shows, and Place Called Space, whom, honestly, I've never seen, but whose music you can listen to here.
Here's a tip for you. (And by "you" I mean me.) Stalk Pervenche instead. They always seem to show up at all the good gigs, and their role at Clover Records certainly doesn't hurt. For example, coming up for them at the end of December is a Showboat gig on the 28th with Melbourne musicians Love of Diagrams and Baseball (a.k.a. Cameron Potts). Also featured will be the very very weird eepiL eepiL, banging away at kitchen appliances and such. They make me nervous. But nervous in a good way.
Friday, November 14, 2003
Stray Dog
film
Because of a friend's recommendation that I see more French films, I was just browsing the list of events at L'Institut Franco-Japonais Tokyo's site to see what was coming up. I didn't find any French films I'd like to see, but I did find a good piece of Japanese film noir.
Akira Kurosawa's Nora Inu (or, as the French say, [exaggerated French accent] Un Chien Enragé [/exaggerated French accent]) will be screened on 13 and 14 December at the institute's l'Espace-Images as part of the Simenon Program. (The program celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of writer Georges Simenon, who is most remembered for his detective novels featuring Inspector Maigret.) Unlike the other films in the program, Nora Inu is not a film adaptation of one of the writer's stories. Rather, Kurosawa wrote the script, basing it on real-life incidents. (A police detective loses his gun to a pickpocket and tries to get it back.) However, he was influenced by Simenon's work, and the character of Detective Sato (played by Takashi Shimura, who later played the head of The Seven Samurai and the man who made me bawl like a baby for two and a half hours in Ikiru) is pretty much Inspector Maigret in Japanese.
According to a lot of descriptions I've read, the thing that people seem to find the most fascinating about his film is how Kurosawa portrays Japan in the years before the nation's strong economic recovery of the 1950s. Forget the sleek and glossy Tokyo you see today; Nora Inu shows you an occupied Tokyo where impoverished individuals are just barely surviving amid the sleaze. With the contrast of a main character (played by Toshiro Mifune) imbued with a moral imperative and clashing with the demands of social context, one might read a bit into all this and take it as a sort of struggle toward national recontruction. But I'm jumping ahead of myself; I haven't even seen it yet.
Come with me and we can clear our heads at the brasserie. Nora Inu, which will be shown in Japanese with English subtitles, starts at 2:30 pm on both days. Admission is 1000 yen.
Because of a friend's recommendation that I see more French films, I was just browsing the list of events at L'Institut Franco-Japonais Tokyo's site to see what was coming up. I didn't find any French films I'd like to see, but I did find a good piece of Japanese film noir.
Akira Kurosawa's Nora Inu (or, as the French say, [exaggerated French accent] Un Chien Enragé [/exaggerated French accent]) will be screened on 13 and 14 December at the institute's l'Espace-Images as part of the Simenon Program. (The program celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of writer Georges Simenon, who is most remembered for his detective novels featuring Inspector Maigret.) Unlike the other films in the program, Nora Inu is not a film adaptation of one of the writer's stories. Rather, Kurosawa wrote the script, basing it on real-life incidents. (A police detective loses his gun to a pickpocket and tries to get it back.) However, he was influenced by Simenon's work, and the character of Detective Sato (played by Takashi Shimura, who later played the head of The Seven Samurai and the man who made me bawl like a baby for two and a half hours in Ikiru) is pretty much Inspector Maigret in Japanese.
According to a lot of descriptions I've read, the thing that people seem to find the most fascinating about his film is how Kurosawa portrays Japan in the years before the nation's strong economic recovery of the 1950s. Forget the sleek and glossy Tokyo you see today; Nora Inu shows you an occupied Tokyo where impoverished individuals are just barely surviving amid the sleaze. With the contrast of a main character (played by Toshiro Mifune) imbued with a moral imperative and clashing with the demands of social context, one might read a bit into all this and take it as a sort of struggle toward national recontruction. But I'm jumping ahead of myself; I haven't even seen it yet.
Come with me and we can clear our heads at the brasserie. Nora Inu, which will be shown in Japanese with English subtitles, starts at 2:30 pm on both days. Admission is 1000 yen.
Friday, November 07, 2003
Anhedonia
Anhedonia...
rears its flat, apathetic head. I'm busy, bored and completely numb all at the same time, so I can't work up any excitement over dandy things for this weblog. Yet for some inexplicable reason, I feel guilty for not really updating. Therefore, I've decided to post an excerpt from an old e-mail to my sister from August 2001 (titled "It's Martyrlicious!"), after I visited Christon Cafe for the first time. It's kind-of-sort-of an outing suggestion, right? Still relevant to Mint Dandy?
Well, here goes nothing. Really. Just nothing.
Sara and Toshi visited me last week and I took a few days off of work to show them around town. On the last night, we went to a Christ-themed restaurant called "Christon Cafe." It was so fucking weird, but not as weird as I would have liked. I mean, it was possibly the most ill-conceived restaurant ever. It was designed like a gothic church and there were Jesus adornments everywhere. But it was dark, so we couldn't really read the menus or see the food. And the interior was spacious and made of concrete, so it was loud because the sounds were bouncing all over the place. Plus, it was all about The Jesus. Some of the menu items were Jesus-related, but still not that interesting—a dessert called "Angel eggs," a cocktail called "Brainwashing." But the waiters weren't even dressed in costumes, the bathrooms were kind of plain and they didn't rename the house wine "Blood of Christ." I was a tad disappointed.
If it were my restaurant, I'd have sections named after virtues or the apostles. I'd have a guy dressed as Jesus going from table to table, blessing people. I'd start every meal with the breaking of the bread. I'd have a little wading pool with a guy dressed as John the Baptist baptizing people for 100 yen a pop. I'd have a lady walking around, offering to wash people's feet with her hair. I'd have entertainers, singing and dancing to sweet Jesus songs or Mel Brooks' "The Inquisition." There was only one room that had a Last Supper table, but the wall "frescoes" were just pictures of Jesus. I would have made it look like the background of Da Vinci's painting. And not only would my dishes have cute Jesus names, I'd make all the dish descriptions look like they came out of the King James Bible and each would end with "Bless you, my child." I have big dreams, I tell you! Big dreams!
rears its flat, apathetic head. I'm busy, bored and completely numb all at the same time, so I can't work up any excitement over dandy things for this weblog. Yet for some inexplicable reason, I feel guilty for not really updating. Therefore, I've decided to post an excerpt from an old e-mail to my sister from August 2001 (titled "It's Martyrlicious!"), after I visited Christon Cafe for the first time. It's kind-of-sort-of an outing suggestion, right? Still relevant to Mint Dandy?
Well, here goes nothing. Really. Just nothing.
Sara and Toshi visited me last week and I took a few days off of work to show them around town. On the last night, we went to a Christ-themed restaurant called "Christon Cafe." It was so fucking weird, but not as weird as I would have liked. I mean, it was possibly the most ill-conceived restaurant ever. It was designed like a gothic church and there were Jesus adornments everywhere. But it was dark, so we couldn't really read the menus or see the food. And the interior was spacious and made of concrete, so it was loud because the sounds were bouncing all over the place. Plus, it was all about The Jesus. Some of the menu items were Jesus-related, but still not that interesting—a dessert called "Angel eggs," a cocktail called "Brainwashing." But the waiters weren't even dressed in costumes, the bathrooms were kind of plain and they didn't rename the house wine "Blood of Christ." I was a tad disappointed.
If it were my restaurant, I'd have sections named after virtues or the apostles. I'd have a guy dressed as Jesus going from table to table, blessing people. I'd start every meal with the breaking of the bread. I'd have a little wading pool with a guy dressed as John the Baptist baptizing people for 100 yen a pop. I'd have a lady walking around, offering to wash people's feet with her hair. I'd have entertainers, singing and dancing to sweet Jesus songs or Mel Brooks' "The Inquisition." There was only one room that had a Last Supper table, but the wall "frescoes" were just pictures of Jesus. I would have made it look like the background of Da Vinci's painting. And not only would my dishes have cute Jesus names, I'd make all the dish descriptions look like they came out of the King James Bible and each would end with "Bless you, my child." I have big dreams, I tell you! Big dreams!
Tuesday, November 04, 2003
35 Degrees
dandy
Just a small shout out to Kim of 35 Degrees and Matt of opinios.
We met by pure chance last week (we have a non-blogging friend in common) and I wanted to tell Kim I knew who she was, but I didn't want to creep her out or anything. They're both really cool, fun people, and I hope to see them again before they leave. (I seem to have made a habit of meeting "cool, fun people" just before they leave Japan. Or maybe I drive them away. Whichever.) At the very least, I hope to hear Kim sing, since Dave has built up my expectations to Sheena Ringo-like proportions.
No pressure, though, Kim.
Just a small shout out to Kim of 35 Degrees and Matt of opinios.
We met by pure chance last week (we have a non-blogging friend in common) and I wanted to tell Kim I knew who she was, but I didn't want to creep her out or anything. They're both really cool, fun people, and I hope to see them again before they leave. (I seem to have made a habit of meeting "cool, fun people" just before they leave Japan. Or maybe I drive them away. Whichever.) At the very least, I hope to hear Kim sing, since Dave has built up my expectations to Sheena Ringo-like proportions.
No pressure, though, Kim.
TIP Directors
audition
Okay, well, this isn't really an audition, per se. But then again it kind of is.
Tokyo International Players is looking for directors for next season (2004-2005). So if you have an idea for a play or musical that you'd like to direct, please go here for details. You can submit as many shows as your little heart desires; just make sure to do it before the interview dates specified on the site. Don't hesitate if you've never worked with TIP before. They're eager to welcome new volunteers all the time.
Just...you know...no plastic pants.
Okay, well, this isn't really an audition, per se. But then again it kind of is.
Tokyo International Players is looking for directors for next season (2004-2005). So if you have an idea for a play or musical that you'd like to direct, please go here for details. You can submit as many shows as your little heart desires; just make sure to do it before the interview dates specified on the site. Don't hesitate if you've never worked with TIP before. They're eager to welcome new volunteers all the time.
Just...you know...no plastic pants.
Rent
theatre
I'll tell you a secret if you promise not to laugh. Okay? You have to promise because it's kind of embarrassing and I don't know if I want this to get around. So, okay? You ready? Here it goes.
I like showtunes.
Shut up. I do. I like them a lot. The cheesier, the better. The floppier, the more awesome. In fact, if the show just barely made it past previews despite a whole lot of hype, then chances are that I have a live bootleg recording of it sitting somewhere in my parents' garage. I like Carrie: The Musical, based on the Stephen King novel. (Sample lyrics: "God has seen your sinning/ Just beginning/ Pray for your salvation/From damnation!") I like Merlin, starring magic-freak-boy Doug Henning (ahem, rest in peace) and Chita Rivera singing a song called "Satan Rules" ("Satan rules/ We both know it/You're a fool/And I'll show it.") And any musical with the word "zombie" in the title automatically makes it onto my list of must-haves.
I haven't been able to feed this obsession very much since coming to Japan because, as funny as Japanese musicals probably are, I only ever get any real joy out of laughing at the lyrics. But fortunately for me (and probably not for anyone else), the only English-language musicals that come to town are usually serious cheese-fests, written with a stick of mozzarella on a sheet of brie. Disagree with me if you must, but I think Rent could fit that description quite nicely. It was not a flop by any stretch of the imagination, having won numerous Tonys and a Pulitzer Prize in 1996. But any musical that pleads for "no plastic pants" in its audition notices is fine by me. (I really wonder how many people came to audition in plastic pants for that to become a problem.) More over, the opera on which it was based, La Boheme, isn't exactly high art itself (though it does have its moments); so expect weepy love songs, struggling artistes and a manipulative death scene. (New Year's Resolution #34: Try not to be so cynical all the time.)
I've already tricked one person into coming to see the show with me, so don't worry your pretty little head about keeping me company (not that you ever do). Rent, which (I gather from here) will be sung in English with Japanese supertitles, runs from 12-18 February at Tokyo Kouseinenkin Kaikan in Shinjuku, and the weekend tickets are already selling out pretty quickly. "Breakthrough Seats" can be purchased for 6000 yen (normally priced between 8000 and 11,000 yen) on the day of the shows, depending on seat availability.
I'll tell you a secret if you promise not to laugh. Okay? You have to promise because it's kind of embarrassing and I don't know if I want this to get around. So, okay? You ready? Here it goes.
I like showtunes.
Shut up. I do. I like them a lot. The cheesier, the better. The floppier, the more awesome. In fact, if the show just barely made it past previews despite a whole lot of hype, then chances are that I have a live bootleg recording of it sitting somewhere in my parents' garage. I like Carrie: The Musical, based on the Stephen King novel. (Sample lyrics: "God has seen your sinning/ Just beginning/ Pray for your salvation/From damnation!") I like Merlin, starring magic-freak-boy Doug Henning (ahem, rest in peace) and Chita Rivera singing a song called "Satan Rules" ("Satan rules/ We both know it/You're a fool/And I'll show it.") And any musical with the word "zombie" in the title automatically makes it onto my list of must-haves.
I haven't been able to feed this obsession very much since coming to Japan because, as funny as Japanese musicals probably are, I only ever get any real joy out of laughing at the lyrics. But fortunately for me (and probably not for anyone else), the only English-language musicals that come to town are usually serious cheese-fests, written with a stick of mozzarella on a sheet of brie. Disagree with me if you must, but I think Rent could fit that description quite nicely. It was not a flop by any stretch of the imagination, having won numerous Tonys and a Pulitzer Prize in 1996. But any musical that pleads for "no plastic pants" in its audition notices is fine by me. (I really wonder how many people came to audition in plastic pants for that to become a problem.) More over, the opera on which it was based, La Boheme, isn't exactly high art itself (though it does have its moments); so expect weepy love songs, struggling artistes and a manipulative death scene. (New Year's Resolution #34: Try not to be so cynical all the time.)
I've already tricked one person into coming to see the show with me, so don't worry your pretty little head about keeping me company (not that you ever do). Rent, which (I gather from here) will be sung in English with Japanese supertitles, runs from 12-18 February at Tokyo Kouseinenkin Kaikan in Shinjuku, and the weekend tickets are already selling out pretty quickly. "Breakthrough Seats" can be purchased for 6000 yen (normally priced between 8000 and 11,000 yen) on the day of the shows, depending on seat availability.
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