With the mission of halting the degeneration of language, the four-person crew of the spaceship In-Between are joined by one android and an extra-terrestrial being they chanced to meet during their voyage in the Milky Way. These characters come to engage in a dialogue about language while floating in space. Just whose are the “words of ours” that are spoken and undergo change in the course of the play?

In 2021, chelfitsch launched a theater project with non-native Japanese speakers with a view to opening up the possibilities of the Japanese language in theater. This work was created together with actors who became acquainted with chelfitsch through workshops and whose first language was not Japanese.

The lines spoken on stage are conveyed to the audience without regard to the “correctness” of their pronunciation and grammar. Grounded in the workings of imagination triggered by the performance, speech freed from “correctness” functions and lays bare the essence of the play.

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About “Theater project with non-native Japanese speaker”
Theater can be successful even without an agreement between the attributes of the actors and their roles. The fact is, however, that the work of actors whose first language is not Japanese is liable to be judged by matters that have nothing to do with their theatrical talent, merely because of “incorrectness” in their pronunciation or grammar.
On the site of creation in German theaters, actors whose first language is not German are judged by their genuine acting ability, not their fluency in German. Witnessing this, Toshiki Okada felt doubts about the state of Japanese-language theater, which is dominated by Japanese generally regarded as “correct.” In response, he conceived and elaborated the idea of collaboration with actors whose first language is not Japanese, with a view to exploring the possibilities of Japanese.
Beginning in 2021, chelfitsch recruited participants for and deepened its thinking on the project through workshops and talk events. In the months of March and April 2023, the troupe held auditions for actors who had taken part in the workshops up to that time, and selected four to be in the play. It then created and announced The Window of Spaceship ‘In-Between’ together with these four.

Previous initiatives
Workshop
Part1　2021/9/10〜10/10
Report（precog note)：https://note.com/precog/n/n54be1d88d66a *Japanese
Part2　2022/4/11〜5/21
Part3　2022/7/31〜8/2
Part4　2022/10/21〜23

Related Workshop of chelfitsch "The Window of Spaceship 'In-Between'"
Facilitator：Justin Karera Yamamoto（Dr. Holiday Laboratory） 2023/7/23
Facilitator：Yuri Yamada(ZEITAKUBINBOU)　2023/7/27

Related Workshop of chelfitsch "The Window of Spaceship 'In-Between'"　performance in Kyoto
Facilitator：Masato Nomura（Retronym）2023/10/1

Talk Event
Reflections on “Theater project with non-native Japanese speaker”
Archiving （YouTube)：https://youtu.be/53gEzFUim5c *Japanese

Archive
Cross boundaries and progress with “The Window of Spaceship In Between”
*English

Special feature about
“Theater project with non-native Japanese speaker”(chelfitsch note)
他者とつなぐインターカルチュラル的な演劇の新様式(New forms of intercultural theatre that connect with others.)
https://note.com/chelfitsch_note/n/ndc9fb058d4cd
言葉がきこえる声、あるいは想像のヴァイブレーション(The Voice of Words, or Vibrations of the Imagination)
https://note.com/chelfitsch_note/n/n4378e4155e36
演技と観劇、もしくは宇宙の旅への必要な能力(Necessary competences for acting and watching theatre or space travel.)
https://note.com/chelfitsch_note/n/ndd8b2419fea4
* All articles in Japanese.