 So welcome everybody to the Martin Siegel Theatre Center here at the Graduate Center CUNY. It's the third reading in one day. It's much more than we normally do, but it is always a big decision what to do should we have, you know, one reading each week or two together. We want to have the players also come as a group. So we are very thankful for all of them to come here and for you to come here. The writer Kuro Tanino who's play Avida, the hot spring junkies in Hell Valley, he could not come and could not make it. He is rehearsing in Tokyo. He was briefly considering to flying in for one day, and then his production manager most probably wisely said no. And he really had on his mind. He's a great, I think, Japanese theater maker, a writer, own director, that auteur de théâtre, idea, they are often many of them like Jean-Luc Godard's in the film. They produce your work, write their work. It's a fantastic theater scene as we know. We hear it not enough and we do not see all the voices that are out there. So this is part of an exchange. It's the Japanese playwright project. It's the second one. We do ten years ago. We did it and Toshiki Okada at that time came. It's the first time he came to the US. He was very young writer. Now he became a very significant force in global theater and so it has given us a lot. And again, we have now those four playwrights with five presentations. And I think this is a most significant exchange. We need to hear voices from around the world. This theater is practiced locally in the room with the people who are there. But we have to think globally. This is very significant and very important. We need to know what's going on as musicians actually do know what their colleagues are playing around the world. My name is Frank Henschka. I'm the director of the Segal Center and the director of programs and we bridge academia in professional theater, international and American theater. And if you go to our website, you see all of our varieties of activities where they come to publishing and books, journals, hosting, visiting scholars from around the world. But this is really at the center of our activities to have artists come, expose them, also to New York, take time, be here, but also have worked in this professional New York actors and directors. And tonight we have the great pleasure to have two artists back who have worked with that a lot of three. There's of course Black Eyed Susan, Mallory Cutlet, the director who has been here for many times. Here she is. Well, let me say hi. And this is Susan. And Rob, who was here for Prelude, is many of them. So it's a fantastic lineup and also welcome, of course, to you and everybody who is involved in it. So it's a big honor to have you here again. Thank you to the Japan Foundation. We have two representatives here at the Japan Foundation. Generously supports this project. And I know everybody says, oh, let's take our sponsors and don't forget it on this and that. I really want to point out what great work the Japan Foundation does, how closely they actually monitor what we do. We think a little bit too much, but they really do. And they make these things happen where they say, you know, that actually does make sense. This is of significance. And really want to thank you for doing this. It would all not happen without you, as you really know. And we think it's a significant exchange that starts very small. And we hope perhaps to create this as a festival here in New York, as we did the first time that we did the Japan Playwright Project. So thank you all for coming. Now it's time to take out the cell phones. Where is it here? And see if yours is off. I'll do the same. So it could be on silent. And after the performance, if you want to join us for a beer or a wine around the corner, it's a little bar called the Archive Bar. And so these six streets, the address is printed in the program. So I hope you all come. And Mallory, can we ask you to say, maybe say a very few things about the play and the work and about what we did about the play? No, I think we should just get on with it. Just get on with it? Okay, so let's start. Okay. The four-sided set sits on top of a revolving stage. Side one, entrance, hall, and bathroom. Side two, guest rooms. Side three, changing room for the back. Side four, open air, hot spring back. A courtyard is at the center of the four sides, and a persimmon tree grows there. Japan has many places called Hell Valley. This place's name is due to the hot springs born of abundant geothermal energy. The Hell Valley Hot Springs in this tale is located in the Horuriku region of Japan. In addition to the plentiful mineral water, this place is named after the hellish looking scenery carved out of the diorite rock of the volcano that erupted about 200 years ago. Now, the lights go on as the wall clock strikes the hour. It is two o'clock. About eight kilometers deep into the mountains from the center of the hot spring area, there is a little known and unnamed hot spring in. A father and son have come from Tokyo to do a job on the request of the inn's management. With autumn preparing rapidly for winter, it is a cold day, and the temperature dips below zero degrees. They arrive in the afternoon, three minutes after two o'clock. Scene one, the front entrance. No one is manning the unadorned reception desk. Only a string of a thousand paper cranes hanging from the ceiling gives this space some ambiance. Excuse me! He exits the building. It is cold, so let us enter and take a rest. An elderly figure appears. A little breathless after having walked up the long mountain road. Excuse me! Let's go in. See the chair over there? Please. Ah, yes. No one seems to be around. Let's wait. There is a toilet here. What's this place called? There was no name on the letter we got. Ah, is that so? It's not a signboard either. Old inns like this sometimes don't put any up. He takes out a thermos from a wrapping cloth and offers his father some tea. I think. He opens a Tupperware container and offers the contents to his father. What's this? Dumplings smothered in sweet soy powder. In this cold, the human body needs sugar. But as if he had decided it was too early to consume any, his father continued to have only tea. No need to call anymore. Right. The letter. Have you checked it? I'll go over again. An honorable request, dear sir, the season of autumn colors has arrived. Wafting on the wind. Mr. Momokuku Kurata, master puppeteer. I hope this finds you enjoying days of good health. Please excuse me for making this sudden request, but I hope you will consider it favorably. And would it be possible for you to fulfill my long-held desire for a puppet performance by your esteemed self at my end? I take the presumption of enclosing a map with this letter. I humbly hope you will find this invitation agreeable and acceptable. Yours sincerely on a propitious October day 2013. Someone's coming. Oh, Riff. Most likely a guest. This is Takiko, a villager. Those who know of her call her Utaka. Her village is located about four kilometers from the spa. Over 80 years of age, she still cannot quit smoking. Since her husband's death ten years ago, her daily intake has increased. She has come to this spa since childhood and now stays every year for the period between autumn and the beginning of winter. The hot spring water serves to allay her chest pains. How do you do? I do. We're called from Tokyo this evening. We are scheduled to perform. Well... Is the owner of the inn away? Oh, the inn? A performance? That's right. We are looking for the inn owner. I see. No one's in charge here. Huh? No one in charge? Right. No one runs the inn. Where is the inn owner? Inn owner? He's not here. There is no inn owner. No one likes that at all. Is that so? Are you a neighbor? Oh, what? No, I don't live in your body. Do you come here often? Yeah, I do. Really? Are you too sick? Huh? You have to treat your sickness. Is that right? We only came here to perform. The inn owner asked us to... I told you the inn owner isn't here. How many times do I have to tell you? You're lying. You two are here because you're sick. She says no one's in charge. Ah, yes. I need to go. Sick. Who the heck are you, people? Each, you know. He sounds a cigarette from his pocket and lights it. He inhales deep and then exhales the smoke slowly. Well, I do follow what you say. This isn't the kind of place for entertainment. We don't get traveling stay here either. No one outside the village knows about this place. If you head farther west towards Sana Shrine, there's a hot spring town that has inns and so on that offer entertainment. Maybe you mistook this place for one of those. I see. The sound of mumufuku irradiating can be heard. Hey, wait a bit. Yes? Who the heck is that man? My father. Hey. He is my father. What? Your father? Yes. Oh, is that true? Your father, yes. Oh, come on, not true. Mumufuku emerges from the restroom. Otaki chants a Buddhist sutra. Namandab, namandab, namandab, namandab, namandab. It seems she still cannot believe him. Mumufuku puts on an extra pair of straw sandals provided by the inn that goes out. When Ichiro tries to follow him, he stumps his son. You stay. I'm going to take a look around. Otaki continues her Buddhist chanting while Mumufuku goes for a walk. So what is it? What kind of performance do you do? Puppetry. What is that? Well, you see, to put it simply, we manipulate a puppet and make a show. Really understand. I've never seen anything like that. Your father's an old man. He's enjoying a long life. He must be over 80, right? Right. Oh, that's it. Stay here. The poor man was brought all the way here. Yes, but this is how we make a living. The bus service is ended by now. Is that so? I'd better check again. Never mind. You can stay tonight. Use the room. Oh, down over there. If the buses have ended for the day, we'll have no choice but to stay. Oh, the buses have all gone. Oh, never mind, never mind. You'll meet a blind man called Maxwell in that room. People who come here are all sick. So we share a room with him, right? There are no other rooms, so it's a squeeze. Your father, your father hasn't come back yet. Right. What do you mean? Did I ask you before? I am Ichigo Kurasa. Did you? What's your father's name? Momofuku, Momofuku Kurasa. Momofuku? Well, that's an unusual name. What Japanese characters are used? The number 100 for Momo and happiness for Fuku. Wonderful. What a fascinating thing. I'm Takiko. Thank you. After you've had a rest, please try the hot spring bath. If the buses are gone. Oh, take your luggage to your room if you leave your bags out here and don't get in the way. We won't be able to smoke, you know? I see. You should get warmed up. Take it easy. Ichiro ducks under the beaded curtain and heads for the guest room. Otaki takes out a cigarette, but suddenly, feeling a cold draught past over her hot body, she decides not to smoke. Whether it was because of the two men's guileless appearance or because the cold was attracted to warm bodies or because Ichiro's eyes gleaned like a nocturnal insect, Takiko's thoughts wandered back to her deceased husband. At her age, this was extremely unusual. Otaki decides against mountain vegetable picking and goes back to her room. The inn's wooden structure also trembled at the visit of these two men. The heart, as barely known in, also seemed to be shaken. Blackout, greetings, everyone, and thank you for coming today to see Avidya, hot spring junkies in Hell Valley. Please enjoy the show. Lights up in two guest rooms. The two large guest rooms are on different floors. The room for men is on the first floor and the one for women on the second. From upstairs, a large persimmon tree can be seen standing in the courtyard with leaves past the glory of autumn and the ripe fruit ready to fall. Ichiro opens the sliding doors and enters the downstairs guest room. While he is setting down his luggage, Momofuku returns from his walk. Pointing at the wheeler suitcase, he says, let him stretch his arms and his legs. Yes, right away. Momofuku sits down by a window and gazes out at the scenery. Ichiro undoes the rope around the luggage. Then he stops working on the luggage, goes to the closet, and pulls out several cushions, dusts them off, and puts them on the floor by Momofuku. Please use these. Aren't you cold? Ichiro prepares tea again and serves it to Momofuku with the sweet dumplings. Thanks. So, what about the return bus? I don't know yet. After this, I will go check. Good. Hey, remember that time the house we fled to? Where was it? See, that was like this too. I know what you mean. Let me see now. What was it called? Oyama? No, I don't think so. Oh, Izumi? No, not that. That's not it. Really? This is a pleasant voice. The mountains are attractive. I'll go and check the bus timetable. Please do. The sun begins to set and the temperature drops. From afar, a shot from a hunting rifle is heard. The changing room door opens and a man, the wearing glasses, steps into the inner yard. This is not small. From the same village as Takiko, about four kilometers away. Since he damaged his eyes in an accident and lost his job, he's been staying in this spa frequently, the only clinic in the tiny village was unable to cure him. In despair, he believes that his eyesight has returned to the point that he can sense the outline of many things due to this health spa. For him, this is the last place of hope to regain his vision. Matsuo passes through the yard and enters the guest room. He has just left the bath and is carrying his towel over his shoulder. He sits down on the tatami floor and starts to read a book. Excuse me. How do you do? I didn't realize you were here. Uh-huh. My vision is very poor. Uh-huh. Are you a traveler? Well, sort of. It's unusual to have travelers here. Where are you from? From Tokyo. You must be tired. Are you alone? My son is with me. Ah, you're with a boy. That is commendable. Are you here about your body? What do you mean, my body? Well, there are hot springs further down. No one needs to come up this far. Are you ill? No. Are you just passing by? That's about right. Really? Is that so? I'm surprised you found this out of the way spot. Momofuku takes out a cigarette and smokes. He opens the window on a tad. Your throat is precious, you know. Huh? My throat is all right. Ah, but tobacco is bad for you. True. It's very clean, too. You know, rest well and you will recover in time. Momofuku stubs out his cigarette in the ashtray. Matsuo continues to read his book. You must consider this comical. What is it? To see a blind man read a book? Before, I would read Braille, but then I thought, as I couldn't see, there was no pressing need to read books. See, these are all pressed flowers. They say that if you become blind, your third eye will open up, but it's not that simple. Oh, really? Being in touch with life in this way, I feel I will have an opportunity to gain such wisdom. A third eye, you say? I just mean that I'm hoping for it. What will you see with your third eye? With my third eye. So with a third eye, what will you see? That would be the soul. Oh, really? What will you do when you see the soul? Nothing. I just want to see it. Oh, really? Please excuse me. I'm Matsuo. What is your name? Karata. Mr. Karata. Thank you. Not at all, Mr. Matsuo. Would you like to tell me? Matsuo cannot comprehend what mofuku means and ponders over his words. He has tremors from the neck up. Ichiro returns. Matsuo suddenly moves into a defensive position and quickly looks around warily. Ichiro tells his father that he could not find anyone managing the inn and the day's bus service has already ended. Yes, I see. So we cannot return today. Exactly. The next bus leaves 6.30 a.m. Yes. That will be all right. I am sorry. Pass me the box. When Ichiro makes a sharp turn to reach the box, he notices Matsuo. Ah, excuse me. Very sorry. Ichiro hands mofuku the wheel away, the wheeler case, the wheeler suitcase. Mofuku opens and checks the contents. Mr. Matsuo, I assume, we are from Tokyo. Yes, I know. Your father told me earlier. Is that right? I'm very surprised. Is something the matter? No, no. I have poor eyesight, so... Oh, I see. No matter. You misunderstand. I can pick up on people's presence, you see. So it wasn't a person just now, as you did feel? No, no. That's not what I mean. As you referred to your son, I was imagining a little boy. Uh-huh. Intending to serve tea, Matsuo searches for the tea canister and tea cups. He cannot find the items easily. I don't need any tea, thank you. Ah, really? We'll be sharing this room. We're the ones intruding into your space. We'll be leaving early tomorrow morning. Oh, that's unfortunate. And now that you're here, you might as well take your time. Uh-huh. Well, we'd like to do that, but in fact, we've been commoned. What happened? We received a request from this inn to perform. Perform? Uh-huh. We performed puppet plays at dinner parties and such. So that's it. I thought something was strange. Even the sick don't usually come to a place like this. I see now. Uh-huh. I assume that you were here for your father's ailment. Please excuse me. A puppet show? That's unusual. And also strange. And as you can tell, this is a hot spring inn, plain and simple, without parties and entertainment. Who contacted you? An invitation arrived, but without the sender's name. So, here it is. Ichiro offers the letter. You know. Excuse me. Never mind. But it is strange. You don't have an inn owner here. Uh-huh. We heard from the lady. Ah, you need otaki. Takiko. The granny. At the reception by the entrance. Of course. That was where the inn owner sat long ago. At that time, the surrounding villages were large, and this place was apparently quite a popular spot. The de-population and the owner's deceased become open to the public, and visitors are careful of how they use the premises. The so-called visitors are basically only the regulars. I see. It's not the kind of spot that would be reviewed in some tourist book. Uh-huh. So, ah, Sonsuke might know something. Sonsuke. Right. He's the bath attendant. That's so unusual nowadays. Just him. But he's not employed by the inn. I don't know the details, but he's the longest resident here after otaki. Is that so? I can ask him later. Yes, please. Are you in a hurry? No. No. Is there something else on your mind? Let me see. Where's the kitchen? Kitchen? Of course. Of course. Bath is a problem. There's no kitchen. As we're only staying overnight, you probably won't need to use a kitchen if I just wanted to check. Let's see. Ah, I'm about the only person who stays for long periods of time. I hardly eat at all. Uh-huh. And every few days, I go to the mountains for some greens and I boil them in the hot spring. Just that makes a tasty meal. Really? Spa boiled mountain greens. Sonsuke and I are the only ones who live here long. On rainy days, when the grounds get slippery, he'll gather some for both of us. That sounds like a tough life. I don't think I can bear it. Well, in the city, you can get whatever you want to eat, right? Oh, yes. For sure. I'd like to go if I had the cash. Uh-huh. Have you been in Tokyo all your life? Were you born there? Really? The door of a changing room opens and Sonsuke appears. Ah, that must be Sonsuke. The one wearing loose white leggings? And please wait while I talk with him. Could you lend me that letter? Please. See if he knows anything. I'll see what he says. The Japanese characters for Sonsuke are three and help lined up together. The word refers to a bath attendant who manages the bathing water supply, supervises customers, and also provides body washing and hair combing services. A very old vocation. These attendants were paid well in the Edo period. Nowadays, however, few public bath houses hire them. This Sonsuke is a silent and hard worker. As nobody has ever heard his voice or his name, we just call him Sonsuke. Monsuo returns to the room. He doesn't seem to know anything. Thank you for this. Thank you very much. This is Sonsuke. I am Kurata. My father and I will be staying overnight. Thank you for your services. Sonsuke looks at the sleeping room of Fuku and prepares the bedding. Please do not bother. Sonsuke disregards Ichiro and continues working. Upstairs, Otaki gets up. Moving to the window, she sits and ruminates over the father-son pair below. Thank you for talking with him. It's a great help to us. I'm sorry I couldn't find anything out. Oh no, not at all. Thank you very much anyway. He's a silent type. Very silent. He's probably dumb. Oh no. Don't say that. Sonsuke picks up Omo Fuku and carefully lays him down on the futon. I will do that. Sonsuke does not stop working. Is something bothering you? No. Has your father fallen asleep? Ah yes, he is asleep. Sonsuke puts Omo Fuku to bed and then moves into preparing Ichiro's futon. I will do my own. Sonsuke stops working and exits. Did he do something weird? No. You can open the window if you like. I'm not hot, are you feeling cold? No, neither. Ichiro takes cigarettes and a lighter out of his pocket and places them on top of his folded jacket. If you want to smoke, don't worry about me. There's an ashtray somewhere here. Thank you. If you're looking for a cushion, I need to go. There's a toilet beyond the reception at the end of the hall to the left. Thanks. Matsuo approaches the soundly sleeping figure and touches Omo Fuku through the bedding. He finds that this man's body is abnormally small. Matsuo stumbles at the sound of women's voices coming from the changing room. He knocks over a teacup. He is deeply upset. The two women come out from the changing room blowing pink from the heat of the spa. Eight kilometers east of this inn lies a rustic hot spring town. These two women, Fune and Iku, are Esha. The two climb the stairs, open the sliding doors, and enter the upstairs room. Oh, I didn't. Really? Downstairs, Matsuo begins to rifle through Omo Fuku and Ichiro's belongings. For me, for me, for me, hey. Each father, son, father, son, no. Are they guests? How unusual at a place like this. Well, they are a parent child, but close to our age. I hear they came from Tokyo. Wow, from Tokyo? Tokyo? They came here to perform, to do a puppet show. A puppet show? Oh my, at which hotel? Iku. Did you hear about it? No way. The witch is here. Huh? Here? Yeah, that's what they said. Oh, I was dumbfounded. You are kidding us. How about some tea? You sure are kidding. Oh, you do think I can't see now. I'm saying the truth. But this place isn't for dinner parties. How about your tea? Oh, thank you. Looks good. They go downstairs and ask them. Really? You're kidding. Someone hired them. What? Who would do that? Yeah, they had an invitation letter. Huh? Yeah, and a map. And what? Of this place? Yeah. It's a prank. Oh, that's true. That sounds spooky. You know, I know. It sounds super scary. No way. How spooky? He can't even talk. You're right. He can't write either. I agree. It's a mistake. A mistake. Some kind of a misunderstanding. Tonight, another aim is short by two to four months. Like the shamisen, the dead is above that much. What? It's height. Huh? Oh, yeah? He's short? Yeah. Well, so, you know, there are people like that. What? No, there aren't. I've never seen one before. Must be somewhere bold like that. The sound of Ichiro pulling on the toilet roll can be heard. Matsuo stills his hand for a moment, but then continues rummaging through the luggage. He pullings Ichiro's down jacket and tries it on. Now, the sum is what is more is also short. That is normal height. It's normal, but when you look at it, you'll feel butterflies in your stomach. Hmm. But what do they mean by butterflies? Never mind, never mind. What's got into you? Never mind. It's a bit of a butterfly. A toy that plushing is heard. Matsuo feels something in a wrapping cloth. Hmm. Divers? Well, that's enough, Otaki. Iku and me, I have to practice. All the people who don't mind? No, they won't. How should I know? Go ask them. Never mind. This is that kind of place. Brother says don't play with me. We won't. Okay, Iku, here we go. Ready. Age-wise, Fumie and Iku are like mother and daughter. Fumie, who is childless, treats Iku like a dear daughter, and Iku involuntarily recalls her own mother when she looks at Fumie. Short, knobbly fingers. Otaki watches the two women quietly from her bed. It was the usual kind of evening, but tonight seemed different. Thinking so, Otaki felt butterflies again. Downstairs, Ichiro returns to the guest room. Matsuo hurriedly gets to the table. Do you like some tea? No, thanks. Ichiro sits by the window and looks outside. Taking out a cigarette, he begins to smoke. When he opens the window, a tad, the music becomes audible. It sounds good? It certainly does. They are geisha. Oh really? They come here often. They live in a dormitory in a hot spring town, but come here so they can practice whenever they want. Indeed. They are stupendous drinkers. They can drink any man under the table. Really? They are also cheerful and kind. Just like family. I guess so. But during the winter, what with the heavy snow, we can't use this place. We all go different ways. When it warms up and the snow decreases, we hear again, but Ichiro Union is a totally new meeting of strangers as if nothing has happened here before. And two notes away. I don't know. Like the snow, as you say. I don't know. Is your father always... You mean that hotel? You don't need to know. Here's how I've been here already. Don't count. Here. Tea. Ah, thanks. You see that white temporary building? Construction is about to begin. Next summer, a railway will be laid down here. Is that really going to happen? I heard about it. Hey, is that true? Big sis, I didn't know you were a week. Is it true? One of my customers has an important position in the construction company, and he told me the new blitz train will pass through this area, though the hot spring town further down won't be affected. Is that real? What about here? What's going to happen to this place? I don't know the details. My vanish is hard to tell. But if the demolition team comes here, this building will be the first to go. Without the owner, that's inevitable. Oh, that is so... I wanted to die here. No, don't get lighted up. This place has been so convenient. Having a soak, practicing, performing at parties, getting drunk, staying here whenever we please. No fear, bumping into customers. Light you up. What a shame. Just another year would help. Why? Why another year? It's going to be winter very soon. Without this place, Sasuke will leave. Iku will return 39 next year, you know? Oh, so that's what it's about. It's tremendously important. Iku, what does your husband do? Oh, Kozo is on a business trip to Hokkaido. But he'll return soon. He's got my back. For his sake too. I want to have a baby before I turn 40. Oh, you've got to work at it. Right. You'll do fine. No problem. Oh, but it'll be lonely here. May I have one? Cigarette? Is that okay? Of course. Could you light it for me too? Are you all right? Look over here. Are you all right? So, right and good to eat, huh? Or the percentage? I wonder why the sunset seems so red. Now I know the fruit is ready to be harvested. You think so? They look a tad on the brown side. When they ripen that much, they are soiled. A touch of brown brings out their best. Let's try some. I will later. Don't fuss. Come on, Ik. Get ready. Our contact will arrive soon to pick us up. Are you two going already? Today's an early performance. Iku? I'm coming. Right away. Are you both busy? Not at all. This time today is unusual. I wonder if there will be more work when the bullet train comes. When the new railroads with it will lose your jobs to the young women moving in. Otaki. What? Don't talk like that. I'll take a nap and then another soak in the spa. What a shame. Nomantab, nomantab, nomantab. Make sure you really sleep. Fuuye and Iku start from their professional makeup in front of the vanity mirrors. Let me show you the bath. Are you sure you don't need to wake up your father? No, not at all. You see, I want to see your bodies. Do you think it's strange of me to say that? Well, why do you? Not many men come around here. They're unusual. Is that so? This is a very unusual opportunity and what's more, I said I would start with your appearance because I thought you'd be a little boy. Maybe that wasn't the only reason. Well, my bod's hardly for display, you know. Please, go ahead. I'll have another smoke. I'll wait for you. Your father's sleeping well. Oh, Otaki. Do you want me to bring something back for you? How about some leafy pickles? No problem. Momofuku wakes up and leaves the room. Matsuo is so excited he doesn't notice that Momofuku has left. The stage revolves quietly. The setting sun casts shifting shadows on the six character's faces. Scene three. The changing room at the back. Sunset. The rays of the setting sun enter through the ventilation duct. The electric fan on the wall is on, but rattles from old age to unity and overuse. The sound of hot spring water flowing into the bathtub in the bathing area can be heard. Sansuke is cleaning the changing room with zest. He is going after each spot that needs attention. The door of the changing room opens and Momofuku enters. Sansuke stiffens and stands at attention. So you were Sansuke. How curious. Sansuke nods eagerly like a mouse, devouring its prey. As Momofuku undresses, Sansuke is absolutely thrilled and almost paralyzed with joy. He throws small change into the small bamboo basket on the floor. Sansuke bows deeply. I'll have a soak first. Momofuku opens the sliding door to the bathing area and disappears into the clouds of steam. Sounds are heard of Momofuku pouring hot spring water over himself, followed by lighter snappier sounds of the wood basin being handled. Sansuke presses himself against the glass door and peers in at Momofuku in the bathing area. Liquid oozes from Sansuke's nose. He wipes it away with his finger. A nose bleed. He tries snipping many times but the bleeding won't stop. He shoves some tissue paper hard of his nose. A distant temple bell rings faithfully. Sansuke looks at his gold wristwatch. It is just about 5 p.m. Sansuke feels something happening between his legs. His penis is erect and throbbing vigorously. He is astonished by this reaction and tries to repress it by blowing on or hitting himself. The changing room door opens and Ichiro and Matsuo enter. You can undress here. Thank you. You probably don't have a hand towel. Sansuke can provide you with one. Ichiro begins to undress. Matsuo watches him spellbound. Ichiro places banknotes in the bamboo sit. Sansuke's eyes open wide in surprise. I'll go ahead. Oh, sure. Matsuo removes his clothes hurriedly. Sansuke stops Matsuo who is about to enter the bathing area and removes his eyeglasses for him. I'm shaking. Let me rest a bit. What is it Matsuo wants to see? What can there be for him? Now I'm ready. Now, let us enter the bathing area. The stage set revolves. Scene four, the bathing area. From evening into night an open rock bath comes into view. The sound of the continual waves of bubbling hot water makes one sense the submerged power of the mountains, the formidable pulsation of nature. Momofugu and Ichiro are already soaking in the rock bath. I'm feeling all right now. Passing his hand over the stony surface of the tub, Matsuo walks along the bath with practiced motions. He pours hot spray water over himself twice and then enters the bathtub. He does not allow his attention to waiver from Ichiro who is on the other side of the misty steam. Momofugu rises from the tub. Hey, oh, Mr. Korona, you were here after all. Sonsuke comes running from the changing room to the bathing area. He washes Momofugu delicately and then massages his shoulders. Afterwards, he comes Momofugu's hair. Good job. Thanks. Your turn now. Thanks. My turn, please. Sonsuke gives Ichiro a wash. Moving on to massaging his back, his thick biceps begin to quitter. The blind do look younger than others. Don't you think? I can't tell. Touch yourselves and you'll see. Use those fingertips you grabbed yourself from. Go on. Go on. You're an interesting character. Are your fingers only for pressing flowers? How about you, Mr. Korona? What's it like? What is it? How is your body? It's hideous. Do you want to touch it? Uh-oh. Momofugu takes his jokes much more cheap. I didn't mean to be rude. That's too bad. What about your son? Ichiro? He's in a worse state. Is that so? I don't understand. What? There's no need to be so tense. Sonsuke finishes washing Ichiro and goes back to the changing room. Ichiro returns to the bathtub. Masuo stiffens his body and tries to sense where Ichiro is. Silence continues for a while. Only the sound of the flowing spring water is heard. Momofugu puts his head against the edge of the bathtub and falls asleep. The faint sound of his breathing reaches Masuo's ears. He must be tired. Has he gone to sleep? I talk too much. But not to worry. The spring water's here, Amelo. Uh-huh. I can feel that. Just a blind man, you know. But your father is eccentric. I can tell from what he says that that makes him very interesting. Uh... I see. Excuse me. Not at all. I'd like to see your puppet show. Well, it is unlikely that we will perform. Of course. I wouldn't be able to see it any way. What kind of puppet is it? What kind? The shape. What does it represent? My father made it, so... Is it like a ventriloquist show? Oh, no. Really? If it's okay about you, could I touch the puppet later? No. You can't. Why not? No one can touch it. Not even me. I might see it. Excuse me for asking. At this moment, Masuo felt that Ichiro's heart was at the bottom of eternal night. He felt darkness swell like a full, fully-fed snake's belly and come after him. Where was the darkness rising from? How profound was it? For the first time, since he became blind, Masuo experienced an overwhelming desire. He wanted to see, with his own eyes, to see Ichiro. Mr. Masuo. Yes? What are you searching for? The soul? It doesn't exist. Not anyway. Not at me, nor at you. Ugh. It's hot. As if escaping, Masuo crawls out of the bathtub but quickly collapses on the floor. His lean, emaciated body heaves with irregular breathing. The thin glass shakes hard as the bath doors open. Otaki enters the bathing area. Oh, excuse me. Oh my, what are you doing here? Are you alright? Excuse me. Otaki pours hot spring water over herself twice and steps into the rock tub. Oh, the spring water feels weird today. It's unusual. Sounds good. Otaki, the standard wash. What are you doing today? I gave you plenty of money. Now, do your job. Well, that's right. You know, the girls will be back early tonight from their party meeting. Take care of Ichiro tonight, okay? Oh, hey. Hey, what's taking you? She grabs his crotch. Enough. Finish off. Finish off. I don't need to do my job. Sounds good. Goes back to the changing room and Otaki steps into the bath. Excuse me. Go ahead. Momofuku goes to the changing room. Ichiro also ready to leave. Oh, right. The spring water is mellow here. Yes, it is. You can't get this in Tokyo, right? You're right. Aren't you glad you stayed? Yes, to be sure. I knew that. Where about your mother? Is she about my age? She's gone. Really? Did she pass away? Right after she gave birth to me. What? Hey, are you married? No. Not even once? No. No, no mother? None. In junior high, you must have had a sweetheart. Do you remember? I didn't go to school. What? You didn't want to junior high? No. How about elementary school? No. What were you doing then? I helped my father. With the pocket? Uh-huh. All the time? Yes. But what did you do? That was my father's decision. Excuse me. I've got to go. The sun has set completely. The stage revolves. Scene five in the guest rooms. Night time. It is a little after six o'clock in the evening, but it is already completely dark outside. The shaded incandescent white above the changing room door wets up the immediate area. After it's back, Momofuku is in the yard looking at the precipitry. Matsuo is in the downstairs guest room. Momofuku returns to the room. It's dark in here. Momofuku gets up, on the table, pulls the dangling pole string and lights up the room. You were here after all. Going for a walk. Isn't it dangerous at night? I'll take care of it. You'll take care of it. Isn't it better to stay inside? Matsuo exits. Momofuku sits by a window and sucks. Excuse me, I got held up. Baiting a tea. Only rice balls. I'm sorry. And some tea, too. Certainly. It's strange, isn't it? Uh-huh. Are we such a curiosity? Not really. They just want to think so. Well, I look utterly miserable. If that's what you want to think, father, I do. The sound of the front door of the in-being opened roughly. Fuiye and Iku have returned from work. Both are drunk. They are bad now in their customers and boasting of how they escaped from having to help out in the kitchen. Hear that? The wild beasts have arrived to grace our table. They can be quite and active, you know. They know how to prey on you. Afraid? Aren't you afraid? They come to devour you. Women are terrifying. Here they come. Oh, uh, good evening. Good evening. Good evening. No kidding. You're a father and a son. Shh. He moved. He moved. He really moved. That's thin. Is it the puppet? No way. That's the man who handled the puppet. A puppet man? What do you mean by puppet man? He looks like a puppet, right? I'm totally confused. You mean there's a puppet that moved the puppet? Stop it. They can hear us. Close the door. Just close it. Let's be proper. I agree. I totally understand. They opened the door again. Good evening. I'm Kumiye. And I'm Iku. We are geisha at the hot spring town. They show the men the shummysons strapped on their backs. Good evening. We're from Tokyo and have arranged to stay overnight. The name's Kurata. That's quite all right. Mr. Kurata, please have an enjoyable stay. Man, don't act as if you own this place, sis. We've finished for the day. Completely finished. Mr. Kurata, would you like some sake? I snitched it from the dinner party. Uh-huh. But go. You said it would be all right, sis. Let's have a drink. That's the spirit. Drink, drink. Oh, Otaki. It's Otaki for crying out loud. Oh, I heard you grow back already. That's right. Wanna join us? Oh, my bad. Too bad. What a loss. Let the green cheese go and let's have some fun. Stop fucking me. Otaki starts going upstairs. Piece of shit, bitch. Upstairs, she hangs up her towel and sits by a window to cool down. With an ash tray in one hand, she smokes. When she opens the window, the sound of boisterous voices rises up. Fuck up, you dumbasses. Downstairs, Fumiya and Iku are serving sake. They pour it generously into tea cups. Would the master care for sake for some? No, no, thank you. My father doesn't drink. Shame. This is from you. Welcome to our part of the world. I'll take just one. Oh, great sake. Ready? Here's another. Tokyo is my dream. It's an ideal place. I don't wanna go there. There are citizens from an ideal city with stone-paved roads and roads of red brick buildings. Yay, yay. Everyone is outside. Outside? You didn't know? They take their table and chairs outside and they drink wine. They don't drink, they don't eat rice. No food, you know? They eat potatoes. Potatoes. Much potatoes, see? Yeah, I'm drinking delicious wine. Not the smelly old sake. Oh, shoot. I almost forgot. Fumiya brings out pickles. Did you get that for our sake? Who cares? She won't want it anyway. Here you go. No thanks. Oh, come on. Don't hold back. Very tasty. I want some, too. And here. I hear you guys do puppetry. Uh-huh. What kind? Like traditional Joe Lee's puppetry? Or like the road puppets in that TV show? Romance of three kingdoms? Oh, I know. That's it. What's it called? The kind with strings? What kind do you use? No, it's not like that. Well then, what is it like? Well, let me see. Oh, I'd love to see your show. I see. Want to see, want to see. But not today. Please, oh please, big bro. Fumiya slides across the tatami floor to where Pichiro is. She pushes her firm wrists against his arm. Oh, no, that's not... We beg you, please. Even so, it's not possible. In that case, we'll go first. And you go next, okay? We go first. You're next. Oh, righty. What's the music? Like says, it's fine with me. Oh, anything goes home. We're so drunk. Everything will sound the same. Let's see, what would... She sits quietly in front of the vanity mirror and loosens her hair to comb. She knew she wasn't beautiful. She was jealous of Fumiya and Piku, but also supportive. She wanted to be like, pay attention to their shamisen strumming. However, the sound of her music rising from downstairs clutched in her heart. Her jealousy was ignited. She had dreamed of herself as a gay chef with a beautiful figure, loved with patrons, the gaze of construction workers on her ample breasts. Her memories and dream intermingled were chased by the strong tone of the music into evaporating. She does not want stoned of... The tea interpavement to Tanki Oh, don't be ridiculous. Get up now and go upstairs. Hey, uh... We'll do a short feed. Yes, sir? What, really? Hey, you guys are the best! Woohoo! It's a culture, a Japanese feel, you know? Suddenly, the sunscape charges into the room. The sunscape puts away the tea cups and pot and turns the top board over to the mahjong side. He wipes down the board with his hand towel and those are she out again. Ichiro closes his eyes and begins to play. It was a sound his audience had never heard before. Momofu opens the wheeler suitcase and takes out the plummet. It has a very large base in ratio to its small body. Its arms are thin, but the five fingers of each hand are big and long. Totally naked, the puppet displays a large penis. Dr. Wilder Tenfield, a Canadian neurosurgeon, made this model called homunculus to indicate the relationship between the cerebral cortex, motor field, the somatosensory cortex and various body parts in a heightened way. Holding this puppet, Momofu gets on top of the low table. The puppet seems to cuddle up to him and stays close to him. You're going? Yes, that's it. Just move as you like. What does he always do? Haven't been embarrassed? Just try it. Momofu will continue to talk gently to the puppet, puts it back in some case. You did very well, Ten. Tomorrow we'll start early. Let's get some shut up. We have to take the early bird bus back to Tokyo. Momofu will get into the futon and falls asleep. Sonsuke is standing in the courtyard, a thin layer of snow is forming on his head and shoulders. Good night now, Ten. Otaki. Thank you very much. Otaki leaves the room. At the top of the stairs, she turns off the light and the two women had left on. Good night. Otaki gets into her futon, lying on her back. She raises one arm and moves her fingers. She isn't trying to mimic the puppetry, but to confirm that she is alive. She wants to touch life itself. Iku stretches her hand from the futon, finds her smart phone on the low table and phones her husband, who is on a business trip but there's no reply. She emails instead. Furie is wrapped up in her futon and doesn't move. Sonsuke is still standing outside. He is sobbing loudly and large tears are running down his face. Ichiro opens the window. The show's over. It's all right now. You'll catch cold out there. He is immobile. Excuse me. Sonsuke? Look. Sonsuke, it's over. He's gone back inside. Sonsuke remains in the yard. His tears continue to flow. Sonsuke. You know he's gone. That's not... Mr. Matsuo. Let it go. I'm going to bed. Uh-huh. I see a point. May I turn off the light? Please don't worry about me. Come ahead and you can turn it off. Thank you. It doesn't matter to me either way. Ichiro turns off the electric light. Matsuo also tries to turn it off but has difficulty finding the pole strain. Ichiro grabs Matsuo's arm. Ichiro makes Matsuo grasp the pole strain. I never turn the light on. So I'm not used to finding the cord. The hole in is now in darkness. Only the small, incandescent light by the changing room shines. On the large snowflakes of snow, Sonsuke bows deeply and returns to the changing room. Matsuo, still standing, takes off his dark glasses with trembling hands. Revealed are two holes where his eyeballs should be. No one uses it anymore. But a very long time ago, this place was called Avidyaen, really. Avidyaen means ignorance and is one of the twelve nidanas in Buddhism. Are you familiar with them? The twelve nidanas are the twelve late doctrines which describe causes of human pain. The first one is ignorance, which means not knowing. Indeed. It begins with ignorance, then constructing activities, consciousness, name and form, sixfold senses, contact, feeling, love, clinging, becoming, birth, aging, and death. They are considered the primary causal relationships between the connected links. Humans are naturally in anguish of mostly everything, and that is what we call life. Understanding these doctrines and their relationship truly would lead to spiritual awakening in Buddhahood. Is that right? It is intriguing that in Buddhism love is considered a cause of suffering. Uh-huh. Please excuse me. The blind are blabbermouths. Mr. Karama? Yes? Do you have any anxieties? Well, don't be all. Do you have someone to love? Mr. Matz to update. If I may ask. That's enough. Sounds of the sunscape cleaning the bath and changing room. Iku shuts off her smartphone, gets out her futon, and leaves the room on tiptoe. But when Iku's warm body passes through the icy cold, a wooden hen, the wooden hen creaks loudly. She silently begs, quietly, as she descends the stairs. Iku reaches the courtyard. She spreads a hand towel over her hair to keep it from getting wet from the snow. She knocks on the changing room door, but there is no answer. It is cold. She knocks again, but the sunscape doesn't hear. Looking down, she spots a white persimmon falling on the snowy ground. She picks it up, blows on it, and brushes the snow off. The surface snow melts, and the fully ripe, orange persimmon glows in the palm of her hand. The changing room door opens slowly, and sunscape's face appears. You can't sleep. Me neither. That puppet show. It scared me. I kept my face down, cause it was too much for me. You know what I mean? Yeah, that puppet was creepy. Really weird city people. I didn't understand them, but that dad was working his butt off. That was his son, his internal baby, who never grows up. What are you talking about? I don't get it. Remember, I couldn't have a baby. What? What happened? Remember? And so? No. So you see, I don't know. I feel something. Something will slip away. Oh, gotta get more sleep. I get the fluttering. Don't you? Shut it. You are different from them. No, no. That's not the point. Weird. I just went blank. She was staring, huh? Iku was staring hard. Iku, I hope it goes well this time. Sunscape, go for it. For me. This time, you are bound to succeed. For me too. What is it? Never mind. What the mother, Otaki? I'm going for a smoke. Why don't you quit? It'll kill you, you know. Your show isn't playing. It has improved. The sound was attractive. Iku has got so much better too. It's sad that we might not be able to enjoy the performance from next year. Oh, shit. Cut it out. For me, it gets up and pursues Otaki. Iku's panting can be heard from the changing room downstairs in the men's guest room. Ishiro? Ishiro doesn't answer. Manso assumes that Ishiro has fallen asleep and searches for the voiler suitcase. Practically crawling around the room quietly in the darkness, he eventually finds it. Ishiro is alert and watches Manso's every move. Manso opens the suitcase and grazes up the puppet. Face, hands, body, legs, all the body parts of the puppet, Manso touches are abnormal. Manso freezes up. The mechanism of the puppet's mouth is released and its huge tongue flaps out. It hits Manso right in the face. He runs out of the room, cuts across the yard and opens the changing room door. What? Mr. Manso, what's going on? Ishiro and Momofuku are left in the guest room. Ishiro sits by a window and lights a cigarette. By opening the window or crack, he can hear many voices and sounds from the changing room. Coming in his bones from the entrance. Formules leaping. From the bathing room, Manso's voice fraught with a push of pain. These sounds intermix and shake the small pot spring in or maybe the inn itself travels. Ishiro puts out his cigarette closes the window and leaves the room. In the yard, he looks up at the sky. The snowfall is even worse. He enters the changing room. The stage leisurely begins and continues to revolve. Sansuke and Iku are in embrace of the changing room. Iku is on top of him and kissing his neck. She gives him ecstasy and doesn't notice each other. He watches for a while then moves to the bathing area. Girl, the candles are lit. Manso has his mouth directly on the tap from which the hot spring water flows and drinks the hot water desperately. Ishiro watches for a while then moves out to the bathing area. In the entrance hall, Otaki is smoking. Next to her, Fubihei is standing and crying. Ishiro watches for a while then moves back to his room. Moufu is asleep with the puppet in his arms. Ishiro sits nearby. The stage continues to rotate and the changing room Iku is astride Sansuke. Eventually, the great convulsion they are both consummated. In the bathing area, Manso is still frantically swallowing the spring water. His stomach looks swollen like a pregnant woman from all the spring water he has drunk. In the entrance hall, Fubihei is crying against Otaki's chest. The stage continues to astride with a cigarette dangling from Manso with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Ishiro enters the entrance hall and hurries to the restroom. His father was afflicted with dwarfism. Ishiro had no choice in life. That was all. Observing his pee run weakly, he thinks, oh, how I've aged. Looking up at the ceiling, he notices that the remains of a moth caught in the spider's web is swinging in the draft. The next day, early in the morning, the stage revolves quietly. It stops at the point where the changing room and the bathing area can be seen simultaneously by the audience. Scene six, the changing room and the bathing area. Early morning, at six o'clock, silvery white rays of sunlight penetrate the changing room and the bathing area. On a day like this, the cries of the wild birds that are just awake into the woods and the sounds of the bathing area blend beautifully. Sonsuke and Iku are sleeping, cuddled up together in the changing room. Soon, they wake up. Iku goes for a soak and Sonsuke returns to his usual work. Right away, last night, right? As usual, Ootaki carefully pours hot spring water over himself twice and gets in the rock bath. Three women are now soaking in the tub in the morning rain. Iku is doing air, Shami said. It's totally spaced out. Sorry, what is it? So, I'd like you to show me how to play the song after this part. Oh, that goes like this. Oops, was it a pig or a dumb pig? Again, remember. Alright. It's gotta be a dumb pig. Huh? It's a dumb pig. Hey, Sister Ootaki. You are the one. Anyone would know how to play that song. Then, could you help it with the rest of it? What? Hey, Ootaki. This is the bit I don't get. Well, like this. This. No. No, this way. Jing Dong Xiang. Jing Dong Xiang. Jing Dong Xiang. Now. Now. Now. Now. Now. Good morning. Mo Fugu at Ichido come into the bathing area in street clothes and with their luggage. Mo Fugu is holding the puppet. Here we are. Good morning, everyone. Do the cleansing ritual. Ichido takes a basin, scoops up some hot spring water and pours it over the puppet. Yes. Very good. Now let's take a bath. Mo Fugu picks up the puppet lovingly in his arms and gently, carefully washes him. Is it too hot? Are you okay? No, no. No. No. No. No. No. No. Mo Tzuo alone. The overnight ideal is not over. Mo Tzuo, the empty amount of vomit splashes onto the bathroom floor. He repeats this family many times. The spring water he drank last night to purify himself has burst out. After this happening, Mo Tzuo led to the inn for good. Blackout Ichido departs for the next performance venue. As the whole nation has gone insane and is craving for blood, Mo Fugu's dwarfish figure and puppetry were in much demand. People want to see misery. Overwhelming misery. Time at this inn was different from ordinary time. On the way down the hill, Mo Fugu and Ichido exchanged glances and smiled. This was not because they were called with a gold wristwatch and the generous payment. It was simply a familiar smile between father and son. Several days later, as if dropping through a crack in the sky, the hard winter season set in. Every year, snow becomes 2.5 meters deep in this district of villages. View visitors come and the villagers stay indoors. Due to a shortage of workers, the hot spring inns all close down. This inn is no exception. The hot spring water alone continues to gush out and wait for the snow to thaw. This year in particular, the hot spring sounded sad as it shivering. It seems afraid of the roar of heavy machinery arriving to lay the rails for the new bullet train. Ten months pass and summer comes around again. The trees are spreading their fleshy leaves and displaying the fecundity of nature. Below them, cicadas are competing for their lives. So what has happened to the little-known and unnamed hot spring inn in Hill Valley? Lights up. Scene 7. The women's guest room. Summertime. Daytime. In the courtyard. In the courtyard, a persimmon tree is spreading wide its deep-breeding leaves. A baby is crying. Upstairs, Iku awakes and cuddles her baby. She brings out one of her breasts and nurses to your visiting house again. I'm Nia. This year will be the moderate. This is the state. This play gets you in. And your performance of it and interpretation. I was wondering, I always wanted to do this. It's just something that any of you would like me to ask. Because often there's, yeah, I always thought maybe you have a question that you'd like to ask. You'd like to be asked that you could answer. I thought maybe I'd open with a chance to do that. In relation to the work. I would like you to ask me if I have an answer to it. Yeah. Weirdly. When I read it, I had an impression, but did anybody get the impression that the inn was haunted and that none of us were real? Wait, is that my question? Should I ask you that? Did any of you have the impression that the inn was haunted and none of you were real? I'm really happy that you asked that question. Thank you. Can you take the mic since we're recording? Oh, sorry, the recording, yes. Yeah, I had that impression the first time I read through the play. It just ended and I was like, it was very, it just got very surreal. And it reminded me of some kind of like horror movies I've seen before. And ending with a birth and a death and the water and all of that stuff, it was very... I was like, this is probably just an empty spa in the middle of nowhere that like these spirits kind of flow in and out of on a loop. Very nice. Very nice job. Thanks. So if you feel like you want to be asked a question, let me know. Yeah, I also wanted to... Well, there's a lot, I think, to say one thing that I had in... Well, the whole process of translating a play and specifically from, I think, Japan which is always our fantasy of a lost in translation land, right? A place that's so different in a way. And often it happens with theater specifically that you have a sense of otherness, right? How did you... How did that translate in the rehearsal room, for example? Well, I mean, it came up right away. I remember Rantz because when I was talking to Rantz about doing the part, he posed a very good question to me and there's like how... I guess it was sort of how I was thinking about its cultural translation, right? So it came up really quickly with that conversation which was really interesting and I remember writing an email, a quick response and then thinking like, wow, I didn't really answer his question because I think the... I think I was nervous about casting someone in this role and wanting to have like... just give a sense of confidence or about what I was thinking, but then when I... So I sent something and then when I thought back about I was like, wow, I didn't really answer his question, like that below the surface of just sort of feeling like I needed to be like it's okay, it's gonna be okay. You know what I mean? And then I thought and it made me just think again and I thought, oh, he's asking a really interesting question which is like how... and he asked if there was gonna be Japanese people casting it and I said, you know, my sort of boilerplate answer was well, I sort of believe this is about real cultural exchange and so my instinct was not to cast a bunch of Asian actor actors, but it was to see if... what would translate or what would work and what wouldn't work if it wasn't a lot of Asian actors on the stage. But then when I thought more deeply about it, I thought more about what things might connect to a Western audience and what things might be distinct and what I found interesting about this piece is Tino's relationship with what I feel like a sort of Western psychological you're like Freud and Young and I thought well that would be interesting because I actually don't know how... I don't know if in Japan the fact that Tino's dealing with Freud and Young is what makes it interesting for people or whether that's like part of just current Japanese notions of psychology. So I felt like oh well that I think might translate in a Western audience a little bit that kind of it's about the Empire and I felt like it was about a lot of those Western sort of psychological traditions. So I mean that once I really started thinking about it and then just... I mean we just talked about otherness and the gaze he's doing lots of things with like a man who wants to see, who can't see people looking at other people in ways that seem unsanctioned and I know like when we got together and we're staging a puppet show I was feeling like oh I don't want to put the person in the view of the people of the audience and then I thought oh maybe it would be more interesting if we got to watch the other people watching that and so that's kind of like those were just small ways that I kind of... and how those ideas arrived. I mean it's interesting I also felt that not only is translation I really... well I'm interested in theater and I think the idea of translated theater is somehow a more difficult task and more interesting in that it's it's really impossible it's always impossible but the idea of intercultural or transcultural work I think the play itself also represents a kind of half I don't know half but you see clear inputs from both Japanese you know dramaturgy and idea of spirits and nature that's always and the kind of yeah ambient I'd say dramaturgy or flow of the action and on the other hand it's true that there's a lot of check off right from the vanilla-esque destruction of the place and this play within the play that's kind of so and your last work was vanilla I was just thought that was... did that resonate? is that a... actually it's interesting that makes sense but I actually wasn't really thinking about check off actually but yeah it kind of makes sense you don't have to say yes that's why no no I mean now that you brought it up yeah I mean it's interesting but I didn't really think about check off but I mean that's kind of I guess my way to connect to your question as actors also there's a question of am I playing a spirit or am I playing a person no what kind of what kind of presence am I supposed to summon here what kind of do you and I know this is a a little reading that we're doing but is it something that I don't know anybody of the actors felt that they are dealing with the question of am I... do I have a history am I a person here or am I a more metaphysical representation of personhood let's say check off I was doing a reading of Uncle Vanya which was put together by Mallory Catlett but each person that we played we were of an older age and I was Sonya in Uncle Vanya and still madly in love with Astro and it was just it went along like that but we also were looking back and reliving what we went through the people that we all cared for and how our lives were decomposing and it was interesting because lives do happen like that and it was so interesting that check off was right on to it and he wrote this in the 1800s maybe one last question that I have before I'll open it to the audience after the narrator or it's okay don't be scared no I was wondering about that because that in itself is also a bit like is it a person is it the author is it an actor is it a narrator and the way that the text seems to play with these different roles and this different modes of engagement with the action was also intriguing and I thought reflected back on this unstable presence of the actress as well so it's a kind of open question about that but how did that feel what were your thoughts about this unstable position yeah unstable that's a really good word because the very first time I read this script was this afternoon and a long time ago yeah so it it so it was a process of discovery actual happening in the moment discovery of oh this is happening and so the same thing happened here except it's a little bit different because you're not alone in a little room with your little group but there are people watching and listening and yet something else happened there was another level of something else happening while as the I was thinking I didn't think I actually didn't think I didn't have time to think but I started to feel like oh I'm the narrator I'm the guide now I'm kind of speaking for or expressing the inside feelings of and now I'm here's the set and here's and so it changed and that was I thought oh my god you know if I knew all these lines how much fun could you have with that so yeah it felt like a character it felt like the spirit of the house it felt like the voice of the writer whom I haven't met and yeah so it started to feel like that I'm kind of curious about that kind of unstable narration but also when the author's voice is breaking through or when there's breakage in the character or language that doesn't seem to track with like the smart phone suddenly or in the rehearsal we were thinking well clearly they're all masturbating at this point but I like the idea that to solve that problem right that the ghost of something is I don't feel as visitors to the space the two of us did not feel particularly ghost like but that the breakage or that the narration the voice of the narrator some of the kind of overly rich description the rationale for that would be well they're clearly 18th century ghosts or something that are beyond their time or beyond this time somehow I like that I'm just saying I like the idea that you would have broken broken moments or slippery moments where you're trying to figure out why is the language drawing attention to itself as language and decide oh it's haunted that's the reason I'm not sure if that helps but no but I think it also the question of haunted and the time that passes also has to do with the father's son you know coming into this other place to negotiate the time with this ever flowing spring I'll open it up is there questions on the audience maybe a bit about the use of the music and how that came in of course I'll just say I actually tried for a while to find the actual instruments that are mentioned in the script and found a lot of difficulty and then eventually got a hold of Tenino and he's the Koku which is the instrument that goes along with the publisher is extremely rare and there was almost no one in the city that even played it so I asked the playwright what was the significance and he said well it's just the local thing in the area and he said you can do whatever you want and so I was just thinking about the casting and Robin Kristin have a band called the Cushions and I had just seen them and I was just like oh wow and they would also be really good in the thing and so maybe I'll just ask them to do it and it was really fun so I don't know if you want to chime in but I think the idea of translation was really interesting in that because once we decided we weren't going to try to match up the instrumentation then it was like well how do you take this like very like something that's very organic and natural to that sort of Japanese setting and just do something like sort of completely synthetic and like use a drum pad you know not even drums and and then it was just it kind of was freeing but I think you guys might talk a little bit more about how you negotiated the sounds and things like that well I think we considered lots of different options for instance my instrument which is the shamisen which is like a stringed sort of a guitar like yeah instrument but just playing an acoustic instrument seemed wrong especially I'm a white person so I thought maybe just to make it completely ridiculous and also yes we were approached as a band sort of as an option and so in the band Rob sings and plays guitar and I play the drums so it was sort of like a version which we don't sound anything like this but it just made sense for our sake but also yes I mean I did feel strange being a white geisha so yeah I just wanted to make it completely clear that it was a strange endeavor but I think we're using the tools that are available to us as musicians like regularly but also trying to create environment direct sampling especially on the floor just everything's live and kind of in that way as inorganic or as synthetic as it might sound it's also very organic physical experience to do it that way I think I could imagine developing it where everyone's in the loop the whole ensemble sort of in this kind of wildly complicated mess but for what especially the crying baby at the end is my favorite moment I'll just say like the funny thing that happened which is like suddenly I was like oh this really working is that I think because Rob's doing so much of like physical sounds that bodies make and that's so much a part of what the play is about and it just allowed me to kind of get over within this reading setting of having to have the actors kind of simulate those sounds I think it's really tricky because there's so much sound information and obviously that's a tremendously rich part of his work I mean you can just tell there's so many descriptions of sounds that I just it was really nice because it didn't feel like Foley so much I didn't want it to get there but I loved how the sighing the breathing the squishy you know all this sort of bodily sounds I thought we're really worked really well with all the references of the body and sex babies and drinking water and you know all of that so I thought that was just like a kind of great happy accident in the meshing of these two things I totally agree it really worked well for me as well Alex do you have a question? I was going to ask about sex in the play and the pleasure I wanted to know what your experience was by translating it right from a Japanese experience of sex I guess exactly but how it translates to your body since you read it and experienced it I don't know it was interesting we did have that thought at the end when they're singing like it just sort of came up after getting all the way through it and I don't know that we kind of like could really convey it but this idea that the three women in the bath might sort of be masturbating the laughing is all about sort of this like great masturbation scene it just sort of it kind of occurred to us as by the end and I actually don't know if that's what it's really about but I think we kind of eased into that where we just started thinking oh all of this is about sex and bodies but we kind of I mean that's something we sort of discovered once we were in the room together and that would be one of the things that would be really fun to kind of really go for and like get into that aspect of it I think if we were to continue to do it and the other thing I think that was interesting is just the the way in which once you understand those things the way in which the sort of city folk can kind of turn the tables on the other characters by understanding that they have these sort of perverse desires or and they kind of know and so they can kind of like when he touches his face he sort of is like checking him so they can kind of use their difference and their physical difference to kind of undermine all this kind of normative behavior that's happening and that was something that we sort of like talked about certainly when we were rehearsing and I think there's something about how the sexual aspect or those kinds of things get flipped and then become this like really nice like life force of the piece which is something that I think that I just could really feel once we started talking and being in the room together. Alright, I think there's I should be saying something about the archive is that the there's a bar on 36 right, is it 36 streets called the archive and we will have a drink there hopefully if you're interested and have the will so please join us at the archive post show post talk reception. Thank you for coming.