#kohatsu allen

Iwaizumi Hajime.

Haikyuu stage play.

Kohatsu Allen.

previously:
day 1 (shoen)
day 2 (itadaki no keshiki)
day 3 (karasuno, fukkatsu!!)

guests: ryoutarou, kairi, allen, kaito

will i get this out before i have to leave for shinka no natsu? let’s find out!

this was the most serious and quiet of all the screenings so far. which is no surprise, look at the content. the cast got super caught up in just plain watching the play and compared to previous days they spent the most time out on stage – i think there were maybe five minutes total all four of them weren’t out there. as ryoutarou said afterwards, “they told us we could come and go on and off stage as we liked but, i mean, how could we!”

so ryoutarou started off as MC but that didn’t last long–
ryoutarou: after i failed during itadaki no keshiki i thought i might get dropped but i somehow managed to hold on to the position – but honestly having the same person do the MC a second time would be boring right? so i’m gonna pick one of these three to do it.
kairi: (eyes slide suspiciously in his direction)
ryoutarou: kai– (starts to turn toward kairi)
ryoutarou: (whips around) –to.
kairi: ….whew.
kaito: :DDDDDD

in case you haven’t guessed yamagiwa kaito is SUCH A GOOFBALL omg. his delivery made even the most mundane lines funny. for cheering practice, they acted out a whole play on stage – yamaguchi service, iwa-chan receive, yahaba set, iwa-chan spike, tsukki block.
kaito: i want to receive!
allen: um THEN THERE WON’T BE ANYONE TO SET
allen: i mean, oikawa’s not here

allen: and like for the starting order, all four of us–
kairi: uh. some of us aren’t in the starting order.
kaito: YEAH
allen: but there’s that part, you like come out to the middle right–
kairi: no, that’s a different scene. :|
allen: ……………….(bows) im sorry my mistake.

they also went to a lot of trouble to get us to practice the “volleyball, haikyuu” chorus because in shousha to haisha it’s in call-and-response form at first – this is relevant later, haha, so please remember.

screening time! at the first closeup on kageyama, a group of fans in the back yelled “tatsunari arigatou!!” and i felt things. ._.

for the opening, the cast did fewer roles than yesterday but it was still cute – ryoutarou took over daichi’s trombone with extreme enthusiasm, kairi did suga, then when kageyama comes out to play the marimba sitting on tsukki’s back both kairi and allen had the same idea and ran out to take over tatsunari’s part so poor ryoutarou had two dudes sitting on him back to back. XD as for seijou, kaito and allen did their parts properly, then kaito ran out to take over oikawa’s conducting upon which allen delivered a roundhouse kick and dragged him off center stage.

i would say ryoutarou and kairi spent the majority of the first two acts whispering and giggling to each other, lol. guys. while on the other side of the stage, allen was using kaito as a punching bag, any time iwa-chan started in on oikawa allen would take it out on kaito instead. XD kaito was SO into the matches especially the second set, hee, it was super cute. plus at first he couldn’t get over the atmosphere and kept looking around the audience like :DDD, so of course then the people sitting up front would wave their thundersticks at him and he’d wave his excitedly back. then leaving the stage after the first act he caught sight of someone with the same seijou towel he had and got REALLY excited and held it up and waved it at them, until allen pushed him off stage. (are you sensing a theme.)

allen looked so unimpressed every time karasuno scored a point… and so embarrassed by the ah-un no kokyuu scene, heehee. DON’T BE SHY, ALLEN-KUN. he made up for it by making kaito go to center stage for yahaba’s little monologue on how great oikawa is and instead of trying to reenact yahaba’s movement kaito turned to the screen and stood there with his hands clasped looking starrily up at senpai. relatedly, for the iwaoikage junior high flashbacks, apparently kaito was the voice going “kyaa, oikawa-san!!” XD

and speaking of fangirls, everyone, cast and fans alike, HOWLED with laughter at what i have always noticed was one of the most unfortunate pieces of camera work of all of engeki haikyuu, the clip where tanaka is having his super serious emotional reflection on the importance of keeping it together… and in the background there’s shouri in braids and a skirt sitting there playing with his hair lfjdkalf;df. i thought kaito was going to hurt himself and/or cry.

OH BUT, for someone basking in the spotlight of ridiculousness, kaito was SO EMBARRASSED by his own ad libs, dyingggg. he was just slumped in his chair covering his face and grinning while allen smacked his shoulder and laughed.

but by the end the antics were over and it was super serious. surprising no one, the emotions got all four of them. after suga switches out for kageyama, both ryoutarou and kairi had to wipe away tears and then after yamaguchi’s failed jump floater they were both sitting there making the (unintentionally) funniest faces in an attempt not to tear up lol. and then starting with suga and kageyama’s last “uchi no renchuu wa?” “chanto minna tsuyoi” onward it was all over for all four of them, lol, i saw allen wiping his eyes multiple times (usually at karasuno-related scenes, which was cute), and kaito too – the post-match meal got him good.

THEN, that volleyball chorus they’d gone to so much trouble to get us to practice, they all totally forgot to recite. XD kairi had to tug at ryoutarou’s arm multiple times before he got what was happening and i think allen had to remind kaito as well (or vice versa?), but then like, the audience were all crying too so it was much quiter than usual and cast and audience ended up just all kind of smiling in watery fondness/embarrassment at each other.

the aftertalk started out with all four of them just emotionally wiped out, haha, like “…welp, we ended up just watching along like fans.” “sure did forget those lines we were going to say.” “literally all four of us.”

but then MC Kaito asked about behind the scenes stories and allen elaborated on the time he was hit – excuse me, “received a volleyball with his face”. (possibly he’s told this story before?) it’s when oikawa’s serving during the junior high flashback scenes – “a scene you DEFINITELY can’t laugh during, right??” – and as allen put it, “i was like, strong hit, wow, that’s coming really close today, wow, it’s coming closer and closer–” and then it smacked him full in the face, bounced off his forehead into the audience, and tatsunari just LOST IT fldjafkd.

kaito: any stories from the dressing room?
kairi: yeah, how you and kunimi and kindaichi were always practicing your ad libs, lol
kaito: ah yes, Yahaba Theater
kaito: …..did u like it :D
kaito: wanna see more :D

then he turned to the sound booth and yelled “just give me a few minutes ok? OK HUDDLE UP EVERYONE” and as ryoutarou kairi and allen looked at each other like “wait is this for real” pulled everyone in for a mini-rehearsal. they got whistled once but still stayed huddled up whispering, and this long stretch of dead space more than anything else convinced me this was not practiced. XD

kaito: presenting: the Yahaba Theater Spin-Off Series!

ryoutarou: you know, yahaba-san seems to have pretty bad eyesight
kaito: (stumbles into ryoutarou)
kaito: oh, a tree
allen & kairi: wakaru, wakaru!

kaito: iwaizumi-san, doesn’t tsukishima seem to have really bad eyesight?
ryoutarou: (stumbles into allen)
ryoutarou: …oh, a gorilla
allen & kairi: wakaru, wakaru!

kaito: um, iwaizumi-san’s cell phone case is really lame
ryoutarou: ring, ring, ring
allen: (holds a banana up to his ear) hello?

KAITO LITERALLY BROUGHT OUT A BANANA CONCEALED IN HIS POCKET IN CASE HE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE EVERYONE DO HIS DUMB SKITS, crying.

kaito: after every skit i’d get a Tatsunari-Kun Check, right, during the second intermission i’d ask him how today’s skit was and he’d be like (tatsunari voice) oi, kaito, I CAN’T ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR ATTEMPT TODAY.
kaito: and then takato would come along and be like “actually he was laughing the hardest.”

then kaito mentioned the yell shouhei always did to warm up karasuno.
ryoutarou: oh yeah… i think kairi should demonstrate it for us
kairi: ????????
ryoutarou: (mischievous little grin)

kairi wasn’t 100% sure what they were talking about at first though so ryoutarou kept grabbing his arm and whispering in his ear… i was into it.

(you can see shouhei’s actual version in the dvd backstage, i cannot reproduce those sounds in text. XD)

kaito: the haikyuu day event will be livestreamed worldwide so check out the URL in the lobby and be sure to subscribe to the channel… wow, i sound like a youtuber. :O

final messages: first allen said that he was really grateful to have the chance to return to haikyuu and that he thought the matches in saikyou no team were going to have a lot of feelings (no kidding, dude) so they’d do their best not to let everyone down. then ryoutarou talked about how watching shousha to haisha made the feelings for saikyou no team even more intense, like watching kairi’s failed jump floater – and he said kairi, not yamaguchi (kairi: i’ve grown!!!) – and that the upcoming show was going to be a time for them both to shine. (it was cute, he said “for the first years” but obviously kagehina are first years too… i think it just shows that ryoutarou’s always thought of kenta and tatsunari as his senpai. XD) kairi said that not only does shousha to haisha lay the groundwork for saikyou no team, but in each show between then and now he’s been continuing that groundwork, building up to what’s coming in the next show, and that he’s really grateful that in his last appearance as yamaguchi he’ll be able to show the climax of that arc. then he pointed out that saikyou no team opens on his birthday!

kaito mentioned the new character, “kyouken-chan :D”, and then was like “and for my character, yahaba, there’s a very important development… he’ll meet… THE KARASUNO MANAGERS. i’ve never met them on stage or in real life! will this be yahaba shigeru’s chance at love??”
kairi: DON’T BE A CREEP

then he said “seijou’s kohatsu allen” would wrap it up and allen started laughing like “so, funny story–”
kaito: NO WAIT
allen: –kaito messed up the order, it was supposed to be him, kairi, ryoutarou, me–
kaito: DON’T TELL EVERYONE
allen: no, it’s funny, so i’m gonna

MC Kaito intially covered so smoothly i didn’t even notice though, i just thought it was kind of a weird order, until senpai exposed him. XD

WHEW i made it in time! two shows today, plus tomorrow i’m going to takarazuka boys in the morning before the haikyuu day event in the evening so idk how the report situation is going to work out, but! i’ll do my best!

for91valechan, the most patient Seijou fan around. thanks for all the supportive comments, and sorry it took so long. :)

A certain location in Tokyo, soon before rehearsals begin. Worry Kinoshita, Suga Kenta, Kimura Tatsunari, Asuma Kousuke, and Kohatsu Allen meet for a strategy session. Looking ahead to the curtain rising on Karasuno vs Aoba Jousai (Seijou), an encounter brewing since shoen, they opened up to each other…

“Karasuno rule the skies, and Seijou wield the wind.”

– With “Winners and Losers” coming up, how do you look back on the last show, “Karasuno, Revival”?

Worry: First, shoen was very well-received, and enjoyable for me to create as well. That’s precisely why, after having gone through saien, I wanted to make something completely different for “Karasuno, Revival"… As a result, because we were able to test out a lot of different things and confirm that yes, this production has even greater potential, it conversely made "Winners and Losers” easier to do. From the creator’s perspective, we were able to include a lot of foreshadowing in the last show, so I’m looking forward to calling those things back up – “Now it’s finally time for that one line.”

Suga: I… was a little worried about [Revival]. There was a certain amount of time between the saien finale and rehearsals beginning again… so then for a second I was like “Huh? How did we do that, again?” Personally, I felt that because we were tackling a brand-new production, it would be pointless to do the exact same things that I did before, as Hinata, and that I had to make use of what I’d learned in other settings since then… On the other hand, sometimes that feeling was too strong and I ended up spinning my wheels. I was trying to force polish on unstable foundations, and it made the start a little stressful. But as Karasuno came together and constructed the matches, and everyone around me closed in on their characters, I thought “Right, this is what it was like”, and was able to get it back on instinct. I do remember that.

Kimura: I… thought about what was coming next a lot.

– “Foreshadowing.”

Kimura: Right. I’d watch [Nekoma] thinking, I want to steal Kozume’s plays to fight back against Oikawa in the next match, and I thought a lot about how I’d take my next positions. “If I say this line this way now, that could narrow the development next time. So then how should I…”

Worry: I see. Deep as usual, Tatsunari.

– Seijou was represented by two players.

Asuma: It was pretty rough… that fence.

Kohatsu: Totally.

Suga: Uh, no! You just carried it a little! It was not that big a deal.

Worry/Kimura/Asuma/Kohatsu: (laughter)

– You were a sympathetic presence for the audience, explaining what happened in the match.

Kohatsu: We didn’t have a match of our own, so all through rehearsals I was paying attention, objectively, to “What does it mean to create a match from step one?” Like, watching Nekoma and Date Kougyou each band together, I wondered, “What color is Seijou?” There weren’t exactly a lot of opportunities for us to sit back and look around and think through our issues deliberately, so I feel like I absorbed a lot by osmosis.

Asuma: Allen-kun came in for the rerun, but in “Karasuno, Revival” we were really able to carve out a lot of “ah-un no kokyuu” time and improve our communication. Allen-kun took the lead in a lot of task, so our sense of trust was also excellent. I think that period will be very helpful for “Winners and Losers”. And my personal challenge was to see the whole play from the audience’s perspective… That will still apply, but I’ve become more aware of the condition of everyone on stage. “They’re having a really good time,” “They seem tired today,” “Oops, their real feelings are coming out.” (laughs)

Kohatsu: (laughs) Yeah, we’d also ad lib conversations like “He just wiped out!” and “I wonder if he’s okay” off mic on the other side of the fence.

Asuma: Yeah, yeah.

– And now you’ve arrived at “Winners and Losers”. The bloodbath between Karasuno and Seijou!

Asuma: This time I’ll be part of the match from the beginning, which is unknown territory… I wonder how we can face up to Karasuno, now that they’ve done three productions together and have a stronger sense of unity than we do.

Kohatsu: It’ll be fine. You’re the only one in Seijou who’s been in every production so far, after all. You’ve spent as much time in Haikyuu stage as Karasuno have.

Asuma: Oh, right.

Suga: So weak~ Hey!

Worry/Kimura: (laughter)

– Tell us about the directorial themes of this production.

Worry: There’s quite a few… One is “wind”. If pushed I’d say that up til now the big focus has been on the “character”, like the establishment of Karasuno as a team, or what the Hinata-Kageyama combo see and how they evolve together. Like, last time there was “the losers’ stories.” But this time I want to make volleyball a little more… I want to depict that special sense of being on-court. That tingling feeling you get on-court, things like that that are portrayed in the manga. You might say “space” rather than “people”. And then, what if a tremendous wind blew through the court. The moment you cross that line, you don’t know where the wind will blow next, and the storm’s already there. Isn’t it interesting to think of them as fighting amidst such a tempestous wind? That’s where I want to have the audience “enter” the court more than they ever have before, and the actors to embody the feeling of being in the middle of something special.

– “Wind.” Show something invisible to the eye.

Worry: That’s right. I think that’s the real thrill of theater. I want to compose it as flight, Karasuno ruling the skies versus Seijou wielding the wind.

Suga: Wind, huh. Seijou are so cool.

– Plot-wise, the focus is on the three setters. There’s that memorable line, “A setter is like a conductor.”

Worry: Mmhm. I discussed that with Wada-kun, who does the music, about how the image this time should be an orchestra. Position the three sets as first movement, second movement, third movement, and in principle always have music playing… We decided on a creative style where it seems as if the music is coming from the players themselves. Everyone will have to think of the music as they play their parts much more than they have thus far. In more concrete terms, the three setters will literally be conductors… Have you been doing your homework?

Asuma: I’ve been watching the videos you told us about. Ozawa Seiji-san and so on.

Kimura: Conductors… Then I want a baton.

Worry: Oh, that could work.

“On stage, we want them to know how serious we are.”

– We’re holding this discussion shortly before rehearsals begin, but what do you think the highlights will be this time?

Suga: Hinata’s highlight will be far and away the wide broad (moving attack), I think, but as a Haikyuu fan, it has to be Sugawara’s storyline. Sugawara’s “Not ‘win for me’ but ’we’re going to win.’” That’s a really great scene, so I wonder how (Ino) Hiroki and Worry-san are going to portray it… I can’t help being excited for it.

Worry: Ah, that part. When Sugawara comes out all at once the story changes, so I think in that moment, he’s the one who first sends a wind blowing through the court. It’s an important point.

Kimura: I’m already like, “Will we have enough rehearsal time?” Because we have to do this and that and this too… I feel like the staff. (laughs) All I can think is that if we don’t draw up a proper rehearsal schedule we’ll run out of time.

Worry/Suga/Asuma/Kohatsu: (huge laugh)

Kimura: I mean, you can’t just create the outline of the match. Matching the acting of emotion with the performance… You have to put together what’s inside, too. For Kageyama, I stay conscious of the fact that everyone’s always watching him, and go down to the finest details.

– It’s not just the match in the present, there’s an abundance of flashback scenes as well.

Worry: The plan is to go back and forth a bunch, so of course that’s one of the highlights. You’ll see parts of Seijou that haven’t been shown yet, and there’s a bit of an interesting plan for it.

Kohatsu: That’s right~ I was surprised when I read the script. (laughs)

Asuma: I remembered all over again that I need to value those connections.

Kohatsu: Seijou have to put a lot of pressure on Karasuno. Like when Watari makes a toss and Nishinoya’s like, no way!, and the jump serve’s still insane!, and stuff… right.

Asuma: Right. We want to express all the members of Seijou, so I want to think about our presentation as far as how and where we draw attention.

– In this show, Oikawa seems almost like a completely different person from the Oikawa we knew before.

Asuma: That’s right. The side he hasn’t shown yet starts to appear more and more.

Worry: I think Oikawa’s a monster. So if Kousuke can get ahold of that interestingness… If he isn’t shallow and truly interprets the material, it will be a great experience for him as an actor. Conversely, if he can’t figure it out, his existence as an actor might be in jeopardy.

Suga/Kimura/Kohatsu: Ooooh.

Worry: That’s how interesting a character Oikawa is. Especially this time. Kousuke, I want you to fully understand the appeal of theater here.

Asuma: …Yessir.

– Has team spirit increased?

Kohatsu: Karasuno have been doing this since shoen so of course they’ve gotten better and better at volleyball. When Seijou all gathered, Worry-san told us, “It’s not just the match, you can’t lose there either. Make sure each one of you does what you can behind the scenes, and in the meantime get ready to do whatever may come.”

Suga: Karasuno is… still the type who can’t really hold proper meetings. (laughs) There’s a surprising number of guys who will end up brooding over it if someone says something to them.

Kimura: For sure.

Suga: But! I think we have to get over that this time. Just in gathering together all the things different people have thought up, Karasuno will fix itself here as Karasuno. We should also probe our passion and momentum all the way through, like we always have so far. it’s just, it would be amazing if that could be even greater and more expansive [than before]. For that reason, I think it’s necessary we make time for deliberate discussion and consideration.

Worry: When things seem all over the place, Kenta as zachou will always say one word, like “This one,” and everyone will jerk around to the same direction. I think that contributed to their sense of unity… Well, but if you feel like that now, Kenta… Is the message there “Stop counting on me”?

– “If someone says something to you, don’t be afraid to feel the pressure.”

Worry: Yeah. I think that’s a very good thing.

– So, if you were to say what you feel has improved over the previous productions?

Suga: How much we want to be circus performers. (laughs) Each time, there’s different things asked of us… In our physical expression. We’re really learning that you have to use your body perform. And getting that conveyed to actors of our generation – the increasing number of people who tell us, “Haikyuu’s amazing. I’ve been hearing about it. I’ve been watching it,” makes me thankful. I’m glad. And I want to get far enough until adults who say this and that about 2.5D shows will instead just say, “Yeah, I know Haikyuu stage”. I will. Absolutely!

Kimura: First and foremost, I can’t believe that the next show will be our fourth, if you include saien. In a short span of time we’ve really fought tooth and nail. Like Kenta said, Worry-san’s told us “I want you to work on this” about plenty of problems, and it’s important to clear those one by one, and it’s not just that, I think it’s our job to present Worry-san with infinite possibilities. I want him to think, “Damn, you guys can do anything!” and “Wow, Kimura Tatsunari’s good.” Of course the audience will be watching, since this is a play, but for me this comes first. I’m convinced that if you earn the director’s trust a good play will naturally follow.

Asuma: My theatrical debut was Haikyuu stage shoen, so I’ve always felt like this is truly everything I know. At first I didn’t know how to count a rhythm, I was starting from, like, where’s first position? Which is stage left and which is stage right?? …Now I’ve gotten more experience and it’s finally time for a full match. I want to play a match soon!

Kohatsu: Yeah, I want to play a match~ I’ve always been watching. The more I watch, the more the feeling “I want to play a match soon!” gets stronger and stronger.

Suga: That frustration is part of why I’m looking forward to our fight with Seijou. I can’t wait. Because when you say just that one word, “watching”, it’s like there’s a corresponding explosive power, or like, a heat and passion you’ve been saving up that will come out. I won’t accept anything less. I want us to know each other’s true commitment on stage.

– It’s no surprise that you’re already on fire.

Kimura: We can’t calm down. (laughs)

Kohatsu: The Seijou members are all looking forward to going up against Karasuno as one. In this fight between two separate schools we want to show the audience a single sense of unity, and for them to understand the color of Seijou with Oikawa at our heart. Obviously the passion of the work itself, plus the things all of Seijou hold, and the things we want. We want to show everything, so that they understand us.

Asuma: Our most important job is to strengthen the teamwork that says “This is the type of team Seijou is.” Then there’s the setter showdown between Oikawa and Kageyama… Tobio-chan. I want the audience to enjoy the drama at the heart of the story. On the staging side, there will be a lot of new portrayals of volleyball itself, and as a former volleyball player, I want to do my best to convey the attraction of volleyball as a sport.

Kimura: I’m going to play Kageyama the setter, rawer than anyone, shining brighter than anyone. I’m sure many things will come up between now and opening night, but together we’ll overcome them and finish something great by the time we show it to the audience… I expect. I’m excited to see how we look in a month. And I believe that throughout the run we’ll keep growing, in the most enjoyable way.

Suga: “Winners and Losers” features a match that’s a major part of the original manga, a storyline where as a team Karasuno becomes truly complete. So that no one forgets that we create this production together, we want to use in full everything we’ve done so far as the Haikyuu Theater Troupe, and create a play that everyone reading the pamphlet now will enjoy… We did, right? Yes, we did! This is the story of the people entrusted with the ball, the setters. I personally am excited for the changes that might also change how we look on stage, and I’m glad that I’ll be able to see them from up closest of all. Of course, I also want everyone in the audience to enter the court with us, and be able to experience that feeling.

Worry: A new stage of development. The production spectacles will further increase. And I know the actors won’t lose to that… These people understand that theater is dependent on their physical selves, so as the spectacle increases so does their fervor. They’ll show us that in this play. Although we create in fine detail, the heated drama occurs right there right then. And… by all means, don’t forget what’s waiting ahead, the vivid final scene so evocative of high school. We’re going to bring back that feeling of that time, “I want to go back to high school,” or “I want to play volleyball,” or even conversely to bring back to life negative emotions like “Club was so hard on me” – and for those who didn’t have those experiences, a feeling so true-to-life they almost hallucinate that they did.

Shirakashi Juudai official blog 2018.09.14

Third Years.

Good evening!

Thank you for your likes and comments!

So Friday’s already over.
The week went by fast!

I thought we had so much time for rehearsal, but all of a sudden there’s just a month left.
I know that month will go by in a flash, so I have to do my best to make sure I don’t waste a single day.

To be honest I don’t like straining my body, but I don’t mind straining my brain, so I’ll think hard.

Hm, was it yesterday?
We didn’t plan on it, but the Seijou third years ended up leaving together. We were talking and joking about dumb stuff and laughing at little things, and in that moment, I had the weird feeling I was a high school student again.

Obviously I was too embarrassed to say so to the other three, but moments like that are really valuable, and I was reminded all over again that I want to show on stage how we trust each other and can always be ourselves.

I guess I’ve getting sentimental over Karasuno’s graduation and the Seijou third years’ last match haha.
Well, everyone who’s supported Haikyuu stage thus far, let’s do our best to end on a big smile – cast, staff, and all.

The pic’s from the last performance of Winners and Losers.
Aoba Jousai High School will be even stronger.

I’ll leave it there.
See you tomorrow ^^
Thanks as always!!