We hold workshops for the Seinendan audience so that they understand our works more deeply. We have developed a system to make our tour productions a multi-aspectual event accompanied with workshops and lectures by Oriza Hirata so that they will be more than a road show people enjoy and forget about after walking out of the theater.
Seinendan's workshops are different from the conventional drama classes meant to teach techniques. We think a workshop should reflect the director's view of theater and the world: "This is what I think theater is," "To me the world looks like this," and "This is what humans are like, don't you think?" By introducing Oriza Hirata's view, Seinendan's workshops offer the participants the opportunity to decide on their own what theater means to them.
Also, the Komaba Agora Theater started the Theatre Workshop Society in 2003 to develop and establish workshop methods suited for Japanese people and situations. The group theorizes and practices methods based on various theatrical experiences and styles of the participating directors, playwrights and actors.
Besides research and study, they have already been active in giving the actual workshops for elementary and junior high school students as part of the integrated study curriculum and in developing educational programs for non-professionals. Many public halls and theaters are in need of, and waiting for, such programs.
There are fourteen original members, many of whom have their own theater companies.
First-time audiences often say "I didn't get the theme" or "What was the author's point?" This is due to the fact that Seinendan's works, being contemporary theater, do not hold a regular "theme" or "story line." In contemporary theater, the audience is asked to directly face the artist's view of the world, without pursuing the theme. It may be more like appreciating the pieces of contemporary art in galleries.
The participants of Seinendan workshops experience part of the difficulties and joys of theater by actually acting, directing and creating pieces. Through these experiences they come to understand the qualities and techniques needed in an actor, a director, or a playwright. We'd like them to realize that theater is open to everyone to participate, and at the same time, that it is a complicated and high-quality form of art. We'd like them to realize that pursuing the theme is not the only way but there are various ways to appreciate and enjoy theater, through actually experiencing different aspects -- the script, directions, movements, words -- in our workshops. In this way we are trying to make theater more open to the society.
Besides showing ways of enjoying theater to the audience, we hold various kinds of workshops depending on the needs of the people in the region. For actors and people already involved in theater, for example, we give a more technical and practical workshop to be of help to their activities. In a region where theater is not yet very popular, on the other hand, we might hold a workshop for high school drama club students so that they will grow up and become the theater people and the audience of the next generation. Oriza Hirata has given highly acclaimed workshops not only in Japan, but also in Australia (1998), Korea (1999), France (1999-2000), the U.S.A. (2000), Ireland (2001) and Southeast Asian countries (2003).