The Boys Next Door: Retrospective

(日本語は英語に続く) Around the time production started on The Boys Next Door I had been with NP for just a few months and had a small role in the previous show, The Diary of Anne Frank. I think The Boys was selected because, honestly, there were no other options on the table at the time. After the show was agreed upon, a director was needed. With no other volunteers, before I knew it, I raised my hand and said I would do it. Other than the small role in Anne Frank, I had no theater or any kind of directing experience. But, much like how the play was chosen, there were no other options, so everyone agreed. While the majority of people who were in the room that day did not stay to help with the production, thankfully the few who remained were a huge help, and I spent the next few weeks consuming every book on theater directing I could find. I had no idea what “blocking” meant, never mind the difference between upstage and downstage.

While it was a daunting task, I am the kind of strange person who actually likes that kind of what-the-heck-am-I-supposed-to-be-doing environment, and unless I’ve selectively blocked out the bad parts, the production process went fairly smoothly. It was quite a small cast and a fun script. The hardest part of the production was trying to fill the roles of the technical crew (lighting, sound, etc.), as well as dealing with the set design company that Nagoya Players used to work with. In hindsight, we were overcharged for a very poorly built set (the show is set in an apartment, and to give you an idea of their craftsmanship, a door knob came off during one show), but at the time, that’s who we had to work with. Overall, though, I absolutely loved the process and was sad when it was over. I can’t remember how the show was received; ticket sales were middling, as you might expect for a show nobody had heard of, but for me, it was more about the rehearsal process than the show weekend itself. For my first show, I am quite proud of what we put together.

Looking back on the production, initially raising my hand in a moment of madness to volunteer to direct the show had a big impact on my life. This is not hyperbole–it allowed me to become friends with the director of the previous Nagoya Players show Anne Frank, which led to us working together for several years in his production company, which led to the work I’m currently involved in. It also taught me a lot about working with a large, diverse group of people, managing strict deadlines, dealing with tight budgets, and a bunch of other stuff that is currently on my LinkedIn profile. Simply as a creative outlet, the production was a great place to be for a few months, and there are times when I wish I could go back and do it again. If nothing else, just to check all the door knobs are secure.

– Carl Bradley, Show Director, The Boys Next Door (2008)

私が名古屋プレイヤーズのメンバーになってまだ間もない頃、「アンネの日記」で小さな役を演じた。そして、その直後に「The Boys Next Door 」の制作が始まった。正直に言うと他に演目の候補がなかった為「The Boys Next Door」に決まったと記憶している。が、演目が決まれば演出家が必要となる。他に志願するものもおらず、それならばと引き受けたのが始まりだったように思う。
それまで私には「アンネの日記」での脇役の経験以外に演出経験はおろか、演技の経験もなかった。
数名が多大な協力をしてくれたものの、その後数週間に渡り、演劇の演出に関する本を読み漁る日々が続いた。
簡単な演劇用語ですら、何も知らなかった。

気が遠くなるような任務を抱えた私は、とにかく次にするべきことが何なのかすら分からず、闇雲に動いていた。皆にたくさん迷惑をかけた。
出演者が少なく面白い作品だった。
それでも一番大変だったのは、音響や照明などのテクニカルスタッフを見つけることだったが、以前から大道具で協力してくれたデザイン会社が協力してくれた。
それは同時に、小さな舞台装置にも関わらず大きく予算オーバーすることにもつながってしまい、大変な事にもなったが、それでもその時にはその会社しか頼るところはなかった。
私自身は、全制作過程をとても楽しむことができた。
終わってしまった時は、抜け殻のように虚無感を感じた。

この舞台作品の演出に、何かの気の違いで手をあげてしまったことが、その後の人生に大きなインパクトを残すことになる。
名古屋プレイヤーズ前回作品の「アンネの日記」の演出家と友人関係が作れたことは大袈裟ではない。その後数年に渡り彼の劇団で何作品も一緒に作り上げてきたし、今もその業界で働き続けている。
様々な人たちと一緒に働くこと、期限がある仕事をすること、少ない予算内で収めることなど、本当に多くを学び、今の私のプロフィールの多くを占めていると言ってもいい。
数ヶ月かけ作品を作り上げる経験は、シンプルに良い経験になる。
また機会があればぜひやってみたい。
機会がないかを常に伺っている。

カール ブラッドリー　「The Boys Next Door」(2008) 演出
— 有馬ちふ美 翻訳

PHOTO GALLERY

Photography courtesy of Andy Boone.