Interview with Kiyoka Wada From Okinawa to Tokyo with "I want to practice!" Music activity, theater company, rakugo? !! Looking back on the life of an actor who went all the way in / "Musical Relayers" file.4
"I want to practice! I want to be covered with plays!"
Kiyoka Wada, who jumped from Okinawa to Tokyo with that intent, is now showing an almighty role as an actor and singer. A shy girl who wasn't good at appearing in public, she discovered her talent in an audition she unexpectedly received, and now she is fascinated by the play without her knowledge.
She was cheerful and calm, but with her heartfelt narrative, she simply talked about her rushing actor life.
An audition that entrusted her feelings to a paper plane
Kiyoka Wada
--Mr. Hiroshi Kudo, who appeared in the previous "Musical Relayers" interview, said that he respects Mr. Wada anyway.
I co-starred with him for the first time in the musical academy-sponsored concert "JOYFUL2" (2015). My legs come out of my ears, Hiromu! My legs go up to the height of my ears. The first impression was, "Why is this child! Does it even have a spring?" (Laughs). The co-starring is clear, but he is a cute junior who will continue to watch the stage where I am appearing and convey his impressions.
――Mr. Wada is from Okinawa? Please tell me what kind of her childhood she spent.
She was born in Tochigi and grew up in Okinawa. She was learning the piano when she was a kid, but a few days before her recital, she was a girl who was nervous and hungry (laughs). Because of her older sister, who is seven years older than her, I used to bite into the TV and watch "M-Ste" (Music Station). I've loved singing since I was little.
――When she was 11, she auditioned for Okinawa Actors School, which produced popular artists such as Namie Amuro and SPEED.
When she moved to Okinawa, a music variety show called "BOOM BOOM" was popular among teenagers. The Okinawa Actors School was involved in the planning and production of the program. There was a story that an audition was held on the program at one time, and the whole school was talking about it. I wasn't good at appearing in public, so I didn't want to audition, but a friend I was friends with at the time invited me to "I'll definitely do it together!" It was decided.
――It was triggered by an invitation from a friend. What is your family's reaction?
Opposed by parents. It started with "Is Seika really able to do it?" "Isn't the tuition fee expensive?" Perhaps because of the opposition, I got hot for some reason and rebelled, "Which is more important, me or money?" (Laughs). I went upstairs to the house and wrote a letter about how much I wanted to audition, so I broke a paper plane and flew it to the first floor (laughs). If you don't convince your parents somehow, you won't be able to keep your promises with your friends! I guess I was desperate. I was such an elementary school student (laughs).
Kiyoka Wada
――Your parents forgave you after reading the letter from the paper plane.
You wouldn't accept it anyway, and you would have thought that if you received it, you would be silent. I passed and went to school (laughs).
――Did you start performing arts activities right from there?
Yes. In my case, I decided to join a group called BBWAVES soon and made my debut in elementary school 6. I took lessons while doing promotional activities all over the country, such as appearing in variety shows and information programs, and concerts.
――So you learned singing, dancing, and acting at the Okinawa Actors School.
I agree. When I joined, it was a singing and dancing school, but originally it was a musical school. It seems that Namie Amuro once played Peter Pan. The principal of the school (Masayuki Makino) was a person who valued the play, so he was required to make a role in singing and dancing. How to sing and how to dance. Although it is not a musical, I was taught that I will make a role from the content of the lyrics.
--So that's it. Through the experience at that school, the musical elements may have naturally entered the body.
I agree. So, I feel like I've slipped into a musical without any gaps. To be honest, I don't feel like I'm doing something different from what I used to be. I suddenly remembered that when I was in middle 1, I sang the song in the "BOOM BOOM" program. It's a song about a woman who killed a person because she loved her.
――What a spectacular song in the middle 1 ……!
That's true (laughs). I wore a black costume and sang, but that was the first song I was praised for, and it may have been a rewarding moment. When I think about it now, I've always liked plays since then.
"I want to practice!" The world of the play that suddenly jumped in
Kiyoka Wada
――How long did your activities at Okinawa Actors School continue?
Until about 17 or 18 years old. After quitting, I belonged to the office and started music activities as a singer-songwriter. Make songs, sing, and make your own.
――Currently, you are active mainly in musicals, but what was the change in your mind from your musical activities?
As I was singing songs in Okinawa, I felt like "I want to sing while playing." Sadly, Okinawa isn't close to theater. There were occasional performances by Shiki Theater Company and family musicals, but there were few opportunities for Okinawans to visit the theater. Even in such a situation, I always had a desire to play. Then, at one point, the moment I saw the rehearsal video of the stage on YouTube, I thought, "I want to rehearse!" Rather than wanting to appear in a play, I wanted to practice! I want to be covered in a play! When it was 25 years old. It was early when I decided, and I came to Tokyo in about half a year.
――So, did you actually see the musical in the theater after you came to Tokyo?
I agree. When an acquaintance of Okinawa came to Tokyo, I was taken to the Imperial Theater and watched "Les Miserables". After all, it came out just because I wanted to practice (laughs), so I was shocked by the grandeur of the theater and the works when I watched "Les Miserables" without knowing anything about it.
――The first musical theater was the royal road called "Les Miserables" at the Imperial Theater. What is your first stage?
Appeared as an ensemble in the music drama of Office 3 ○○ (Sanjumaru), which is presided over by Eriko Watanabe. Under the title of "Akai Kabe no Ie", there were many cast members such as Akinori Nakagawa and Saki Takaoka in addition to Eri.
Kiyoka Wada
--Did you complete the long-sought practice you had envisioned?
Yes. The first play lesson in my life was really fresh. No matter what I see, it feels like "Oh, the one I saw on YouTube!" The coldness of the floor when I sat in the rehearsal hall was "this is this!" (Laughs). Generally, the training period is about one to one and a half months, but at Office 3 ○○, young training is organized from two months before the actual performance. It was 3 ○○ that hit the gate, so I had a rich experience unique to the theater company.
At the beginning of the lesson, the script had not been written yet, and I was instructed that "I might make this kind of scene, so I want you to do this kind of lesson", so I worked on exercise lessons and mat lessons. For example, I was asked to create a scene in which a person drawn from a stone mural peels off and comes out, and I've been practicing for about two weeks. Yo (laughs).
――No way (laughs). Suddenly you came across a great work.
Eri-san said, "You're the first stage of a play, right? If you experience it here, you're not afraid to go anywhere anymore." Thinking about it now, I think it was a valuable experience. Starting from ironing all cast costumes every day, presetting props for the main cast, after the performance, sprinkle ethanol for deodorization on sweaty costumes and dry with a fan, the men are yelling at the stage director We set up the stage, and we did everything from the stage preparation to ourselves. Since it was a nationwide tour, I also did a "ride-and-run". It is carried in in one day, prepared, put on the stage in the actual performance, and the set is disassembled and withdrawn after the performance. It was a very happy first stage to be able to put myself in the theater that I had envisioned.
――Did you decide to go this way after experiencing the first stage?
I've been here since I started working when I was in elementary school, so I can't imagine anything else. The moment I saw the rehearsal video on YouTube, I decided to "play a play" and moved to Tokyo, and since then I have been running without hesitation.
Possibility of new theater experience that "first detonation velocity actress" felt
Kiyoka Wada
――After Korona-ka, Mr. Wada appeared in the premiere of "Singing Shibahama" in the original musical "Dramatic Chaya" series based on rakugo in July 2020. Please tell me the background.
The director, Takuya Nagano, gave me a LINE saying, "Kiyo-chan, are you interested in rakugo?" I had never seen rakugo, but when I saw and heard materials about rakugo from there, this was interesting! I understood the meaning of trying to make it into a play. A rakugo storyteller plays many roles by himself and also plays a role as a storyteller. One way to make a sound, interval, pitch, voice, tone, tone ... The technique is really skillful. I thought it would be invincible if the actor could reach that level. As an actor, I felt that it would not lead to an improvement in level.
――In addition to rakugo, "Dramatic Chaya" is delivered live, isn't it? Moreover, I think there was also the technical difficulty of the hardware that the actor himself operated around the PC while acting.
That's right. The video of Zoom of three actors was distributed using Vimeo (distribution platform). I went to the point of "No, can the actors do this much?" For example, changing the background, queuing the sound, adjusting the reverb, turning mute on and off, etc. The actor was doing what the technical staff always did at the theater.
――A set of equipment for distribution arrives at your home, right?
Yes, it arrives as a ping pong (laughs). As the lessons approach, the room becomes more and more mechanical. I think that the images that customers see are in the world of work, but the actors are playing the everyday space. So it was difficult to switch at first. The intercom rings (laughs).
[Digest video] "Singing Shinigami" (Kohei Ueguchi, Metal Yoshida, Kiyoka Wada)
In order to match the line of sight with the other person in the video, I decide the position of the line of sight to some extent, but in my case it was an air purifier. Every day I cried, got angry, and laughed at the air purifier (laughs). Also, since it is delivered, the internet environment is very important. If the internet line at home wasn't explosive, sometimes the video wouldn't reach at all. As we go through the lessons, everyone's internet environment is getting better and better. Since I was the premiere cast, I was called the "First Detonation Velocity Actress" (laughs).
――Various distribution works have appeared in the wake of Korona-ka, but I think that "Dramatic Chaya" was a novel work. How was it when you participated in the launch?
It's a little different from acting when the customer is in front of you on the stage. It uses a tremendous amount of energy to deliver heat to the other side of the screen. At the same time, you also need a cool part to operate the equipment. When I was just starting out, I thought it would be impossible to change the background while saying a line or pressing the play button in my play. But as you practice, everyone will naturally be able to do it. It feels like the work of the equipment is becoming a choreography. It was difficult to learn the setup, but once I got used to it, my hands moved naturally and it became fun.
――How was the reaction from those who actually watched the delivery?
When I heard the words of the customers, it seemed that they felt the warmth of seeing the same work together on the Internet. Even if you are in different places, the act of tasting the same thing while watching the same thing at the same timing is very warm. Because it is a distribution, it can be viewed by people all over Japan, and I felt hope that it could be established as a genre in the future.
The fateful "H12", "someday ~ one fine day" that I want to cherish in the future
Kiyoka Wada
――Looking back on the works you have performed so far, please tell us your favorite works.
First, a work called "H12" (2015, 2016). Hicopro's project was to collaborate in Okinawa and Tokyo to produce one work at the same time. Growing up in Okinawa, I felt fateful, saying, "This is a project for me!" Thankfully, I have appeared in both Tokyo and Okinawa. I'm not giving back to Okinawa in this way, but I was very happy to be able to bring the musical home. This work was directed by Takuya Nagano, who spoke to us at "Dramatic Chaya". After that, it was a work that inspired me to work with him often.
The other is a work called "Someday ~ one fine day" that premiered in 2019. It's the most painful, difficult, and very rewarding work I've ever done. The other day, when I saw the 2021 version of the replay, I was glad that I was involved in this work again. I think one of the attractions of this work is music. (Kuwabara) The tune created by Mako-chan makes me feel nostalgic just by tapping the key, and the scene spreads in her head. I thought, "Japanese musicals are also wonderful! Rather, let's make that a strength!" I think "Someday ~ one fine day" is a musical that is easy for people who are not good at overseas musicals to touch. It is a work that I want you to cherish forever.
Someday ~ one fine day: Music PV [Utsushiomi = current person]
――In this series, we ask the actors who are paying attention every time. Please tell us who is paying attention to Mr. Wada.
Gekidan Shinkansen, Kaori Mori, who often appears in various musical works. She co-starred with her in "Les Miserables" and her wavelengths match very well. She is a very nice person to use her body and is always upside down when she is up (laughs). She is a Kansai person of Kottekote, who has tremendous power whether she is on the stage or off the stage. If she meets, she will know, "Oh, I see." It's a person who is very lively, including the personal part, and energizes people.
――Mr. Wada jumped out of Okinawa saying, "I want to practice!", What do you envision in the future?
The desire to practice is still the same as that of Melamella. So, I don't think that touching theater will change for the rest of your life. Recently, I have been recording theme park shows and game music. I want to continue singing songs. I sometimes hear from actors that I would like to ask for voice training, so I hope I can do that kind of activity in the future. I hope that what I have done so far will help people. Since an actor is a job that reflects life as it is, I would like to raise the stage as an actor as well as the stage of my life.
Kiyoka Wada
Interview / text = Ran Matsumura Photographed by Yoshifumi Nakahara