TSURU(鶴)
BYRYOHARADAANDSOPHIEKELLY
ATYPwouldliketoacknowledgethatweareacompanythatisbasedonthetraditionallandsandwaters oftheGadigalpeople,deliveringprogramsinthelandsofourFirstNationspeopleacrossthiscountry,rich withhistoryofstorytelling WepayourrespectstoElderspastandpresent
TSURU鶴
InternationalPlaymakingProject
ByRyoHarada&SophieKelly
Season
25-26October2024
TheRebelTheatre
EoraCountry Pier 2/3 Suite 2/13A Hickson Road
DawesPointNSW
Duration60minutes(nointerval)
Agerecommendation8+
ProductioncontentDimlighting, theatricalhaze,loudsoundsand music
Writer
RyoHarada&SophieKelly
Director
RyoHarada&SophieKelly
Composers
RyoHarada,RyosukeNakano& AshleyWalker,YuKatsuyama
CostumeDesigner
KatieFitchett
LightingDesigner
WillScougall
StageManagers
OliviaKelly&RowanBenz
Producers
HaydenTonazzi&KateMurphy
CoverDesign
MelanieRaveendran
Cast
AbelBond
SophieMay
TrixBowditch
LalitaLeung
BillyNicolaou
AvaPalfreyman
AlexandraSzewcow
EwanBuchananConstable
JeffreyDimi
ZacharyCrane
EdithYoudell
IsabelleRazavi
ArabellaHowell
AlyssaWallwork
YoungIndustryStudio
ATYP’s Young Industry Studio programs are designed for experienced young creatives who want to take their skills to the nextlevel Learningfromindustryprofessionals,theATYPYoungIndustryStudiobringstheartsindustryandyoungpeople togethertogrowanddevelopthecreativeleadersofthefuture.
ParticipantsoftheATYPYoungIndustryStudioprogramlearnskillsandtechniquesthatenhancenotonlytheirperformance and theatre-making ability, but provide valuable connections with the arts industry and their peers. Across a range of disciplines,theseprogramsprovidepracticaltraininginachallenging,creativeandcollaborativeensembleenvironment
TheInternationalPlaymakingProject
The International Playmaking Project is part of ATYP’s Workshops program, Young Industry Studio, that sees experienced 10-13 year olds work with industry experts to take their performance skills to the next level. Participants have had the opportunity to work with ATYP’s International Artist-In-Residence, Ryo Harada, and renowned Australian director, Sophie Kellytoexplorecross-culturalstorytellinganddeviseanewworktobeperformedonTheRebelstage!
Tsuru,2024.PhotosbyGeorgiaBrogan.
NotefromRyoHarada
Creatingartisajourney
Firstandforemost,IwouldliketoextendmyheartfeltgratitudetoATYPforthisincredibleopportunity Ithasbeen anabsolutehonourtoworkalongsidethebrilliantdirectorandtheatremaker,Sophie,throughoutthisprocess
This journey began unexpectedly In just two weeks, I wrote over 15 synopses From there, Sophie and I narrowed them down to 10, and together with the young actors, we devised 7 unique pieces through a highly collaborative process
With this international project, my goal was not to simply introduce Japan through Japanese themes. Instead, I wanted to create something completely new something that neither I nor the young Australian performers had everexperiencedbefore.It’slikedroppingasingledropofcolorintowaterandwatchinganewhueemerge.Rather thanforcingourindividualcolors,weletthemblendnaturally,creatingsomethingfreshandunexpected Thankstotheimmensetalentandpassionofthisincredibleyoungcast,Iamconfidentthatwe’veembarkedona truly remarkable journey together This work has a slightly different flavor from previous ATYP productions, and I sincerelyhopeyouenjoyit.
Bonvoyage!
AboutRyoHarada
Ryo Harada is a playwright and director with a profound dedication to exploring cross-cultural narratives and nonverbal communication in the performing arts A graduate of San Francisco State University with a major in Drama, Ryo has developedauniqueapproachthatfusesJapaneseinfluenceswithglobaltheatrepractices.
He is the founder of CCCTHEATRE, a community-based children’s theatre group, and Platanus, a professional theatre company dedicated to young audiences Over the years, Ryo has participated in numerous international projects, representingJapaninanAsiacollaborationprojectdirectedbyFraserCorfield,theArtisticDirectorofATYP,in2017.In2019, hecontributedtoacollaborativeproductionbetweenGermany,Brazil,andJapan,whichwasperformedinbothGermany andBrazil RyowasalsoselectedfortheprestigiousNextGenerationProgramatAssitejinPolandandNorway,highlighting hisabilitytofosterglobaldialoguethroughtheatre.
Currently, Ryo is serving as an International Artist in Residence at ATYP His work continues to push the boundaries of storytelling,incorporatingmovement,visualimagery,andadeeprespectforthenuancesofculturalexchange.
NotefromSophieKelly
Tsuru started as a collection of ten stories with roots in Japanese history and culture But Ryo and I weren’t interested in re-telling Japanese stories. Nor did we want to tell stories where we placed young Australian actors intoaJapaneseworld Instead,wewantedtoseeiftherewasawaywecouldexplorethemomentsinthestories whichfeltsimilaracrossbothculturesaswellasthemomentswheretheculturesdiverged Andsothisiswherewe began.
Devising a piece of theatre with a group of young actors is a vastly different process to giving them a pre-written script It requires patience, curiosity and committing to an idea that is not fully formed It necessitates everyone takingahugeleapoffaith Howdoyoubeginmakingashowwhenyoudon’tevenknowwhattheshowisabout?! Theprospectcanbeterrifying!Ourjourneyintotheunknownstartedbylookingateachindividualstoryandasking thestudentswhetherthethemesandideasresonatedwiththem?Couldtheyconnectwiththeidea?Ordiditfeel new/different to them? From there, we used a multitude of different approaches to flesh out the ideas in each story Sometimesweimprovisedaroundanidea Sometimesthestudentscreatedaphysicalmovementsequence Sometimesweaskedtheactorstowriteamonologueorshortscenefromtheperspectiveofacharacterwithinthe story.
These early rehearsal explorations provided the skeleton for the final curation of seven non-linear stories woven together The stories cross theatrical genres - comedy, drama, non-naturalism, absurdism, magical realism and physical theatre Some of these stories will feel familiar Others will feel tantalisingly idiosyncratic The overall effect,Ihope,isaglimpseintotheheartsandmindsofyoungpeoplethatisbothculturallydistinctandyetdeeply universal
Iwanttogivespecialthankstomycollaboratoronthisproject,RyoHarada WorkingwithRyohasbeenanabsolute joy He is such an intuitive and skilled theatre-maker and his commitment to this project has been above and beyond.
Specialthanksto…
AlltheteamatATYPwhohaveguidedandsupportedus SpecialmentionmustgotoFraser,HaydenandKate
I also want to give special thanks to our costume designer Katie Fitchett, who created the extraordinary texturedpaletteyouseeonstagewithnexttonobudget.
I also want to give special thanks to Ash Walker who, along with Ryo, provided much of the sound design supportingthisproduction.
Wehopeyouenjoytheshow!
AboutSophieKelly
Sophie is a director and theatre-maker specialising in the creation of new work Her directing credits include The Human Experience, Romeo and Juliet, Such Sweet Sorrow, Just Romeo and Juliet and Just Macbeth! (Bell Shakespeare); A Doll's House, Boxing Day BBQ, The One and Photograph 51 (Ensemble Theatre); Originate: Our House (Q Theatre); Intersection: Arrival,Wonderfly,(ATYP,GriffinTheatre);Rosaline(KXT)
In2022,SophiewasarecipientoftheEnsembleTheatreSandraBatesDirector’sAwardandshewasanArtistinResidence for the Sydney Opera House from 2020 - 2023 Sophie holds a Bachelor of Performing Arts (Acting) from VCA and a BachelorofLaw(LLB)fromtheUniversityofSydney
Tsuru,2024.PhotosbyGeorgiaBrogan.
CAST
BillyNicolaou
EdithYoudell
AlyssaWallwork
ArabellaHowell
AvaPalfreyman
AbelBond
AlexandraSzewcow
TrixBowditch
ZacharyCrane
LalitaLeung
SophieMay
JeffreyDimi
EwanBuchananConstable IsabelleRazavi
Thanks&Acknowledgements
Ahugethankyougoesouttoourincredibleyoungpeopleforbringingtheirenergyandbrilliant ideastotherehearsalspaceoverthelastfewmonths.Theyhaveshownsuchprofessionalism andarealpassionfortheoriginalwork Ithasbeenajoytohavethemhere,creating,building andperforming!
ThankyoutoRyoandSophieforguidingouryoungartistsandbringingtheiryearsofexperience tothisbeautifulproduction.Theyhavecreatedaspaceforthestudentstoexploreandstretch themselves,thankyouforyourdedicationtothisproduction
Andthankyoutoallofthewonderfulparentsandcaretakersforgettingyouryoungpeopleto rehearsals,stayingupdatedwithschedulesandsupportingyourcuriouscreatives Wecouldn’t dothiswithoutyou!
—KateMurphy,WorkshopsManager
Supporters
#ATYP Tsuru
#ATYP Workshops
#ATYP YoungIndustryStudio
#OnlyAtTheRebel
