"YCAM Performance Lounge" is a series of events designed to convey the fun and fascination of a stage production, allowing the audience to experience dancers and actors up close. Held every year in the spring, the program aims at once to function as a stimulator encouraging people to come back and watch dance and theatre performances at YCAM, and to communicate in a direct manner the power of an up-and-coming new type of physical expression. As an additional gateway enhancing the enjoyment of performing arts, a temporary café invites visitors to exchange with the artists after the performances.
(faifai "A Story of Y O'Clock": Performed in Japanese with English supertitles. )

Theatre company "faifai"


faifai "A Story of Y O'Clock" (2010, Tokyo) photo: Kazuya Kato

The company consists of members from various backgrounds and nationalities, most of them in their late 20s. Filling each of their shows with lots of ideas borrowed from the fields of dance, video, music, party and even catering, faifai operate far outside the ready-made concept of theatre, and always make sure to offer their audiences an explosive mixture of fun and amazement.
Generally performed in a freely experimenting manner, their portraits of multilayered identities using cell phones or blogs, and cool parodies of mass consumer society, result from the members' sharp observations of contemporary society. Looking at reality from a unique standpoint, faifai focus on the positive side of things, and suggest through their works to simply enjoy each moment in life. This approach reflects intensely the body sensation and sprachgefuhl of this new generation of artists that are gaining popularity among a broad audience in the realm of theatre and beyond.


Performance group "contact Gonzo"


contact Gonzo photo: Toda Yoichi

Based on "contact improvisation", an improvisational dance method focusing on the direct mutual transfer of body weight and power through body contact, the group has developed an original style incorporating forms of "contact" known from the realm of martial arts, such as punching, kicking, timing and defense. The group's sudden appearances at museums and public spaces that are securely maintained for whatever purpose cause instant transformations of the respective setting, that stimulate the senses of those who witness these performances. The four artists' almost excessive looking bodily encounters propose a new form of communication that reactivates our senses as we are entombed in the safe and sound environments of daily life.
The show this time features special guest Tetsuya Umeda, an artist known for sound installations and live concerts utilizing objects found in his direct environment.


performance piece　faifai "A Story of Y O'Clock"
The fantastic melodrama situated in an after-school daycare center generated a strong response. When it was first shown in Japan two years ago. The play now comes back in a longer remastered version!
Children's interests never meet adults'convenience, but they meet at Y o'clock.

faifai "A Story of R O'Clock" (2007) photo: kazuya Kato

A Story of R O'Clock, a fantastic melodrama set in a daycare center that generated a strong response when first staged in 2007, returns in a longer, upgraded version. The piece incorporates elements of puppet theatre, anime, computer games and other formats, to illustrate an entanglement of childlike worlds and adult rules. The contrast of a child's half-dreamed, half-imagined reality, and the adult sphere surrounding it, will refresh every grown-up viewer's childhood memories, while arrangements and gimmicks that everyone of us has surely dreamt up once or twice make this performance highly enjoyable for young and old alike.
(Performed in Japanese with English supertitles. )


"Performance + Theatre + Cafe"
The fascination of performing arts condensed in an annual spectacle!
Prior to the opening of the "faifai" performance group's latest production, A Story of Y O'Clock, there will be a performance by Contact Gonzo. In addition, the "After Hour Cafe" that opens temporarily after the show at the same venue provides visitors with a place to meet and exchange views with each other and the performers. The Cafe will also host special events for the ultimate one-day experience of performing arts and all the fun around.
Special events this time will be a laptop live performance by Shuta Hasunuma, who is responsible for the music in A Story of Y O'Clock (on 5/15), and "Let's play with faifai!", an occasion to join the faifai members and play around with the various stage props used in their performance (on 5/16).


Schedule

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May 15 (sat)
18:30 start
contact Gonzo's performance
Venue: Hoyer etc Admission free
↓
19:00 start
faifai "A Story of Y O'Clock"
Venue: Studio B * Entry with performance ticket
↓
play through
"After Hour Cafe"
Venue: in front of Studio B * Separate ticket required
Special event
laptop live performance by Shuta Hasunuma

Close　16:30

---

May 16 (sun)
13:30 start
contact Gonzo's performance
Venue: Hoyer etc Admission free
↓
14:00 start
faifai "A Story of Y O'Clock"
Venue: Studio B * Entry with performance ticket
↓
play through
"After Hour Cafe"
Venue: in front of Studio B * Separate ticket required
Special event
"Let's play with faifai!" by faifai members

Close　16:30

---

faifai "A Story of Y O'Clock"
Text: Yoko Kitagawa
Direction: Chiharu Shinoda
Cast: Mai Nakabayashi, Kouji Yamamoto, Yasushi Takeda, Shiro Amano
Stage management: Megumi Sato
Stage design: Ayami Sasaki
Lighting / Object design: Goh Ueda
Video: Shiro Amano, Ayami Sasaki
Sound: Daisuke Hoshino
Music: Shuta Hasunuma
Costume / Puppet design: Kyoko Fujitani
Diorama：Yui Yamamoto
Flyer design: Kensaku Kato (TOKYO PISTOL)
Photo: Kazuya Kato
Character design: Naoko Shinpou
Managed by: Mihoko Kawamura
Special thanks to: HEADZ

contact Gonzo's performance
Cast: Yuya Tsukahara, Keigo Mikajiri, Itaru Kato, Yu Kanai
Guest: Tetsuya Umeda


Organized by: Yamaguchi City Foundation for Cultural Promotion
In association with: Yamaguchi City, Yamaguchi City Board of Education
Agency for Cultural Affair
Produced by: Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM]