Firstline Participants Wanted! (Deadline: 23:59 on Sunday, July 21st)

Hirofumi Arai (Representative Director of Theatre & Arts Ueda General Incorporated Association / Representative of Sai no Tsuno / Performing Arts Producer)

Born in Ueda City. After working in the production department of the Shizuoka Performing Arts Center, he launched the cultural project group "Theatre & Arts Ueda" in Ueda City. He produces cultural and artistic activities centered on theater. In 2016, he renovated a vacant store in the central shopping district of Ueda City and opened "Rhino Horn," a private cultural facility with an event space that can be used for theater and live performances, as well as a guest house. It is operated as a place for various expressive activities and for interaction between local residents and artists. In recent years, he has developed projects that focus on artist-in-residence programs and create places that reexamine the role of theaters. He is a member of the Ueda City Cultural Exchange Center Management Council. He received the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award in the Art Promotion category in 2023 (74th) Art Encouragement Prize.

Yukako Ogura (Program Director, ROHM Theatre Kyoto)

Program Director of ROHM Theatre Kyoto. Graduated from Kobe College, School of Literature. Worked as a dance specialist at Ai Hall (Itami Municipal Theater Hall) and a freelance stage producer. From 2008 to 2013, as Ai Hall Director, he planned and produced mainly dance program performances and workshops at the theater. From 2010 to 2015, he was a production staff member of KYOTO EXPERIMENT (Kyoto International Performing Arts Festival). From 2011 to 2013, he was the Directing Director of TPAM. In 2015, he stayed in London under the Agency for Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan' Overseas Training Program for Emerging Artists. Director of the Open Network for Performing Arts Management (ON-PAM). Graduated from the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, University of Tokyo, Department of Cultural Resource Studies, Specialization in Cultural Management. He has worked at his current theater since April 2016, and will assume his current position from April 2021.

Kanoko Tamura(Art Translator)

Representative of Art Translators Collective. Active in a wide range of fields including Japanese-English interpretation and translation, and communication design. Exploring the possibilities of translation from the perspective of an intermediary between people, culture, and language, he proposes creative dialogue suited to each setting and content. He is a part-time lecturer at the Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School of Fine Arts, Department of Global Art Practice, where he teaches English and communication for artists. He also served as the communication design director for the Sapporo International Art Festival 2020, where he practiced mediation connecting the exhibition and the audience. He is a member of the NPO Arts Commons. https://art-translators.com/

Atsushi Fukai (editor)

Born in Osaka in 1985. Studied art history at a university in the UK, and after returning to Japan worked for an art publishing company. Using his experience as an art editor, he works to connect art and society through strategic consulting for artists, arts organizations, companies and local governments.

Kenta Yamazaki (critic/dramaturg)

Born in 1983. Critic and dramaturge. Editor-in-chief of the theater critical journal Kamisen. Serializes short reviews in the online magazine artscape. Other publications include "SF Aspects of Contemporary Japanese Theater" (SF Magazine (Hayakawa Publishing), February 2014 - February 2017). Since 2019, he has presented stage works as y/n with director and actor Hashimoto Kiyoshi. His main works include Coming Out Lesson (2020), Education (in your language) (2022), a performance prototype presented as an international collaboration at the Tokyo Festival Farm 2022 Farm-Lab Exhibition, and From Koenji, Aichi, Brazil (2023).