For the whole rehearsal process and the subsequent performances, it really hadn’t sunk in that I was going to Japan. Even though Japan has always been a part of the production, what with the Japanese-themed set and the little prep things here and there, it was just not in my mind that I was actually going. Maybe it was because I wanted to focus on the American show and make sure I did my best for the American audiences and if my brain was in Japan freak-out mode, it would have not been as good. But as we were sitting there at Old Chicago, looking through our packets, and Bryce Alexander, Phamaly’s Artistic Director and the director of our show said, “Welcome to Phamaly’s first international tour,” that’s when it all sank in. Holy wow! I’m going to Japan! And I’m going with people I love and respect and who have my back just as much as I have theirs, which is the best thing in the world.
We learned a lot about what to do and what not to do. For instance: apparently, Japan is one of the cleanest—if not the cleanest—country in the world. I think everyone knows that you have to take your shoes off when you go into anyone’s house over there, but did you know that there are regular inside slippers and toilet inside slippers? So you have to wear a separate pair of shoes in the bathroom like than you would in the rest of the house. And as the conversation about footwear wore on, I had a sudden realization: I’m going to have to wear socks!
Now, the people who know me the most know how much I think socks are the scourge of the earth. Not only are they super hard for me to put on, but my feet like to breathe, not be confined to a stretch cotton prison all day. But then I remembered that I had to dig out my ambassador hat and show that I am flexible and adaptable and I’ll just have to have someone help me put on my feet prisons—I mean socks. No biggie. And plus, I’ve been told that my feet are nightmare material, so I should wear them anyway, lest I create an international incident.
But then we got into the nitty gritty of what is planned over there. This is going to be one of the most accessible shows in the world: they are pulling 300 seats for the bewheeled folk, and there will be a team of Japanese interpreters (who have already began to study a tape of our performance to get their interpretation as accurate as possible), and some Japanese sign language interpreters, and audio description (I think)… It’s just going to be tremendous.
But before we do all that, we’re going to be conducting workshops for both people with and without a disability, and we’re going to work with them closely to get a final product that we’ll perform when it is all over. It’s going to be interesting because there will be a couple deaf people participating in the workshop, and so they’re going to sign to the sign language interpreters who will interpret what they say into Japanese, and then the Japanese interpreters are going to translate that into English. It’ll be like a game of telephone. And for a language geek like me, it’s like I’ll be in heaven, if any of the deaf people are put in my group, that is.
But before we do all that, we’re going to be conducting workshops for both people with and without a disability, and we’re going to work with them closely to get a final product that we’ll perform when it is all over. It’s going to be interesting because there will be a couple deaf people participating in the workshop, and so they’re going to sign to the sign language interpreters who will interpret what they say into Japanese, and then the Japanese interpreters are going to translate that into English. It’ll be like a game of telephone. And for a language geek like me, it’s like I’ll be in heaven, if any of the deaf people are put in my group, that is.
Now the only thing is to go shopping for an adapter, some pants, some *gulp!* socks, and figure out a gift to give people in my workshop group and anyone else I’ll be interacting with. I don’t know when the next post will come. Maybe I’ll live blog the 12-hour plane ride! Okay. Maybe not.
Until next time!
