PROGRAM
Farm Lab
Farm-Lab Exhibition Exploratory Performance Presentation “What does it mean to be ’Queer’ and ’Asian’?”
“Spill the T” (2021). Culmination of a weeklong residency by Jzar Tabilin and Serena Magiliw at the Research Institute for the Mapping of Barely Perceptible Light. photo : André Miguel
Performers:
Aoi – Tokyo, Kanagawa (Japan)
gnomad – Tokyo, Matsudo, Toride (Japan)
SHINGO Yoshizawa – Tokyo, Saitama (Japan)
Resisting Permanence
Queer sits in constant opposition to formulations of the “normal,” destroying and reconstructing itself continuously. This Exploratory Performance Presentation brings together non-normative lives in Asia. In highlighting their narratives in a collaborative process of contemporary performance-making, it underlines the importance of understanding people who destabilize identities with their lived realities under an authoritarian region that heightens their risk of oppression and erasure.
Concept “QUEER ASIA”
“Queer” is not new in Asia. It is something that has existed in the regional context before the usage of the English term. Asian countries share similar histories of colonization and local queerness, based largely on the experiences and origins of each region. There is a need for us to reclaim queer identities that exist in Asia, separately from the binary notions of gender and sexuality in the West. How does the juxtaposition of unconventional identities, culturally unique expressions, transnational movements, and the circulation of images, ideas, and appropriations affect the formulations of gender and sexuality in people's embodied experiences? What are the social and cultural processes through which heteronormativity is articulated, enforced, transgressed and challenged? Through these processes, how is the multiplicity and mutability of sexual subjectivities revealed, in spite of state discourses and individual actors which work to attach specific meanings to particular bodies?
There is a need to represent non-conforming genders and sexualities through interconnected issues such as ethnicity, race, class, gender, religion, nationality, and immigration, where marginalized sexual subjectivities are formed and inhabited across the Asian region. Despite several strong representations of local queer visibility, there has also been an alarming rise in authoritarianism in the region, which has heightened the risk of our erasure and oppression. By locating and identifying these structures, we underline the importance of space and body in understanding and examining the lived reality, rather than being limited to the abstract concept of queer folx. By fully committing to a regional performance of queerness, our focus is to legitimize our existence and rich experiences, opening up further intraregional dialogue beyond the project.
Serena MAGILIW
Director
Serena MAGILIW
Manila (The Philippines)
Serena MAGILIW (b. 1998) is a transpinay* actor, performance artist, activist, and student of Filipinology at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. They utilize multidisciplinary and transmedia storytelling to present trans narratives as an invitation towards an in depth understanding of what it means to free oneself from the boundaries of cistems. She is a member of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines, an organization of Filipino artists, musicians, writers, filmmakers, and cultural workers from various disciplines that work towards a nationalist, people-oriented art and culture. Serena was also an Asian Performing Arts Camp 2021 participant.
*Pinay means "Filipino”. It is used by people with Filipino roots to refer to themselves. “Pinay" and "Pinoy" are the feminine and masculine forms of the same noun, respectively.
Performers
Aoi
Born in 1988. As well as being an actor and workshop designer, they proactively engage in other projects, such as the movie "Reflecting Prisms" (2022) which they conceived, wrote, directed, and performed in.
They is a member of theater company SYAKE-SPEARE, which performs Shakespeare works translated by Shoyo Tsubouchi on a Noh stage. The troupe has performed under invitation at Spazio Teatro NO’HMA in Milan, Italy.
gnomad
gnomad is a pursuer of knowledge and maker of things. They strive to create functional work that enhances the lives of others for while expressing gratitude for the natural materials they use and exploring themes such as connection, identity, and meaning. gnomad is currently a Ph.D candidate at Tokyo University of the Arts. They have participated in several exhibitions in Japan and aim to pursue community-oriented activities to support the growth and success of underrepresented creatives.
SHINGO Yoshizawa
Born in 1990. Dancer, actor, photographer and videographer. Graduated from Rikkyo University, College of Contemporary Psychology, Department of Body Expression and Cinematic Arts. They have appeared in performances in nine cities in seven countries. In 2019, they was posted overseas as a photographer covering two international theatre festivals in Europe, the Sibiu International Theatre Festival and Matera Abitare l'opera. They explore forms of expression unbound by existing genres.
To places you cannot reach alone
Farm-Lab Exhibition, part of Tokyo Festival Farm, is a trial creation program in which emerging artists based in Asia collaborate with other members from various cultures, nationalities, and backgrounds. The product will be a work-in-progress presentation, with the ambition of ultimately showing at Tokyo Festival and elsewhere in Asia.
This year will feature two teams, each with different directors: Serena MAGILIW, based in Manila, The Philippines (a past participant of Tokyo Festival Farm 2021 Asian Performing Arts Camp); and y/n, based in Japan (a unit consisting of director/actor HASHIMOTO Kiyoshi and critic/dramaturg YAMAZAKI Kenta). NAKAJIMA Nanako, a dance dramaturg who is active in both Japan and overseas, and NAGASHIMA Kaku, dramaturg and co-director of the Tokyo Festival Farm, will act as mentors to support the creation process.
Collaboration begins online in early August, and participants will come to Tokyo for a 10-day residency in late September. In early October, they will perform their work-in-progress to the public at Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre’s Atelier East and Atelier West (TBD), where the artists will receive feedback from the audience to further improve themselves and their work.
Performance schedule
Friday, Oct. 7, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 8, 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 9, 3:30 p.m.
* Box office/doors open: 15 minutes before the performance starts.
* Program duration: 90 minutes (30 minutes for performance, 60 minutes for feedback session)
*After each performance there will be a feedback session with audience members and artists.
The artists will use audience feedback including impressions and questions to brush up on the performance.
Booklet (PDF)
Please click here to download the booklet.
Accessibility/Subtitles
– Child care facility (reservation required)
*Please see below for more information.
https://www.geigeki.jp/rent/kids/
Language
English, Japanese *TBD
Ticket information
Free (reservations required)
Reservations will be available from Saturday, Sept.17, 10:00 a.m. (JST)
Click here for details
Notice to visitors
This performance will be held with measures in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Please be sure to check the following link on the Tokyo Festival website when visiting:
Tokyo Festival anti-coronavirus measures
https://tokyo-festival.jp/2022/en/info/covid19/
-Please wear a mask at all times.
-Please be advised that those who have a temperature of 37.5℃ or higher or those who are not feeling well may be denied admission on the day of the performance
Venues
Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre (Atelier West, Lower Plaza)
Staff credits
Farm-Lab Exhibition Exploratory Performance Presentation ”What does it mean to be ’Queer’ and ’Asian’?”
Director: Serena MAGILIW
Assistant Director: SEIKE Mana
Creative Assistant: Kuki Zinampan
Creative Intern: KUBOTA Luna, LILISE
Farm-Lab Exhibition
Mentor: NAKAJIMA Nanako, NAGASHIMA Kaku
Lighting: NAKAYAMA Nami
Sound designer: WADA Masashi
Stage manager: SATO Yukimi (Stage Work URAK Co.,Ltd)
Stage Manager Assistant: MORITA Chihiro (Stage Work URAK Coy.,Ltd)
Art Translators Collective: TAMURA Kanoko, MIZUNO Hibiki, HARUKAWA Yuki, MORIMOTO Yume
Art Translator Assistants: ODAGIRI Minami, UMEDA Ayaka, HAYASHI Keiko
Program Coordinators: FURUKAWA Mao, OKAWA Satoshi
Production Coordinator Assistants: HIRANO Minano, SEKI Ayumi
Farm Editorial Office
Chief Editor: Rieko Suzuki
Assistant Writers: FUNAKOSHI Chihiro, NAGANUMA Wataru, SEKIGUCHI Mao, SUZUKI Matsuri
Farm-Lab Office
syuz’gen LLC.
Chief Manager: UEMATSU Yuko
Program Manager: TANI Akiho
Program Coordinators: FURUKAWA Mao, TERADA Rin, EGUCHI Masato, OKAWA Satoshi, MIYAHARA Kanae, MITO Ayumi
Public Relations: YUKAWA Yuko
Back Office: KAWAMURA Mihoka, SOMEYA Hinako
Communication Design Team
Art Translators Collective
Team Lead: TAMURA Kanoko
Members: YAMADA Kyle, MIZUNO Hibiki, HARUKAWA Yuki, MORIMOTO Yume, UEDA Haruka
Tokyo Festival Farm Director: TADA Junnosuke
Tokyo Festival Farm Co-Director: NAGASHIMA Kaku
Tokyo Festival Executive Committee
Manager (Farm): MUROUCHI Naomi"
Organizer credits
Organized by
Tokyo Festival Executive Committee [Toshima City, Toshima Mirai Cultural Foundation, Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture (Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre & Arts Council Tokyo), Tokyo Metropolitan Government]
Supported by
the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan in the fiscal 2022
Sponsored by
Asahi Group Japan, Ltd.
Related link
About Tokyo Festival Farm
https://tokyo-festival.jp/en/tf_farm/
Inquiries
Farm-Lab Office
farm@tokyo-festival.jp
+81(0)3-4213-4293 (Open weekdays 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. )