ELICA MIWA

Author: ELICAMIWA

  • Secret Floating Bridge

    Secret Floating Bridge

    At the deep end of Tokyo, there is a huge reservoir lake called OkTama (Okutama). And farther deep to the west of the lake, there is a floating bridge.

    Once, there were small villages on both sides of the mountains. But about 70 years ago, the area was drowned to make a huge reservoir lake to provide drinking water for Tokyo people.

    The two villages, though fortunately saved from being drown, lost contacts with each other. The mountains west of Tokyo are unbelievably steep, if not so high, and without bridges it is almost impossible to reach the village on the other side.

    So, when the dam divided those villages, the authority made a temporal bridge by joining many rafts and keep them afloat with oil cans.

    Since then, the floating bridge exists as it is, though the oil cans were replaced by plastic.

    I made a nice soothing video. Enjoy!

  • TEMPEST the Movie

    TEMPEST the Movie

    Hello, friends, globalians, and countrypeople, lend me your ears.

    Here is something I can offer you the English speakers at last!

    Are you a some kind of a Shakespeare fan?
    But sometimes you feel there’s much more to know if you want to fully enjoy the plays?

    Then, this is what you really enjoy.

    The Tempest the movie.

    Done by only 7 actors and 3 dancers.

    You enjoy wonderful actors’ performance, great movie effects, and know tips that give you more knowledge to help you understand the play, and thus, more enjoyment!

    Everything was done by zoom, and yet the acting is really great, incredibly interacted. You will be surprised.

    In between the scenes, I myself appear as the narrator like a movie subtitle narrations, (and as Ariel).

    Why did I make this?

    Well:
    Every Summer, I produce How To Enjoy Shakespeare Series.  Last year (2020) I was planning to do The Tempest. As we all know that was impossible because of COVID-19.

    So I totally changed the plan and decided to make it absolutely online.

    The purpose of this project is to let the Japanese people know how to enjoy the usually-thought-to-be-difficult-to-understand Shakespeare, by showing the scenes and giving the key points and great phrases.

    Our culture now is quite far away from the Shakespearean common sense and daily routines. 

    It is not only for the Japanese people, but also for the very English people, too.  When I was living in England, I saw many members of the audience from young to elderly, in the auditorium or in the foyer of the theatre, murmuring, “So that character is doing what?” or “And who is connected to who?” and “I didn’t quite get the meaning of the word, what was that?”.

    In my project, How To Enjoy Shakespeare, gives such as: 

    • the map of the places which appear in the play and the meaning of it,
    • the map of the characters in the play and their love-hate-family relations,
    • the key words of the play, the meaning of marriage in Renaissance time, and
    • the other features of which the modern audience who don’t read books as much as the generations before and don’t quite get the meanings.

    This project have attracted so many Japanese people in the last 10 years. 

    And I’ve always been wanting to let the world enjoy this project. 
    But it was done on stage in Tokyo and was impossible if one did not live in the area.

    However, finally, because of this unfortunate situations which forced me to make this into movie project, it comes to my mind, “how about put English subtitles on?”

    And I have done it!

    How To Enjoy The Tempest with English Subtitles!

    If you are interested in it, please contact me at 2021tempest@gmail.com

    I am also going to make short video clips which would give you more idea of what it is like.
    Cheers!

  • Beautiful Autumn Ueno Park

    Beautiful Autumn Ueno Park

    In this COVID-pandemic era, traveling around the world is still very difficult. So let me share a beautiful autumn scene from Tokyo .

    This is a view of Ueno Park near Asakusa, Tokyo, facing National Museum, over a beautiful pond.

    There used to be two ponds with beautiful elcetrified fountains.

    But, with no reason, one of the fountain-pond was demolished and now we only have a vast empty concrete-blocked space. The space is used as an open space event venue and regional-fair shop stolls.

    Still, we have this view which reminds me of Belvedere in Vienna.

    Ueno Park is just so beautiful at any season of the year.
    In autumn, red cherry trees and yellow ginko trees, with evergreen pine trees.
    In winter, the fine sharp twigs and bare shaped trees give us nostalgic atmosphere.
    In spring, the most famous cherry blossoms blooming.
    And in summer, thick green shades serve us coolness.

    Hoping to see you here in the near future!
    LOVE, From ELICA MIWA

  • Lake OkuTama, Tokyo

    In Tokyo, somehow, miravulously, the numbers of patients of COVID-19 are dramatically fallen. However, we are still living in the world where travelling abroad is strictly forbidden. So, I thought it might be a little fun for you to see some beautiful nature of Tokyo now.

    I have made a short video, showing you around Lake OkuTama, 1 hour train ride from Shinjuku. You also have to walk another 1 hour or so, and I recommend you to rent a car.
    Because the place is near nowhere, the lake itself is very quiet and clean.

    Here is the Youtube link.

    https://youtu.be/M76oYgGbU2s


    If you like to see more of this kind, please subscribe ELICA Channel.

  • Yes, There is the Vision of the Future of Theatre

    From 16th to 19th September 2021, a theatre festival was held in Tokyo.

    The Japanese Centre for International Theatre Institute (ITIJ) participated in to present “Plays 4 COVID”.

    ITIJ searched new plays written under the curse of COVID-19, and picked up short plays from USA, China, Germany, and Ireland.

    I, as the board member of ITIJ, was appointed to direct and perform the German play, written by Dea Loher.

    Dea Loher

    The piece I put it as a play was originally a speech Ms Loher wrote for the opening ceremony of a theatre festival held in Berlin in October, 2020. Yes, it was when the European world just came out of 6 months of strict and tragical lockdown.

    When I first read the text, what came up to my mind how to direct it as a play was that I was to put it as kind of TED speech to present an academic research, using alide shows, and the speaker-character as a doctor.

    But as I kept reading it, different ideas appeared.

    A goddess of theatre, who couldn’t reach us because the theatres were closed.
    The goddess found a box filled with secret scrolls.
    And she starts to talk to the audience.

    Well, I was not sure if my interpretation and direction was right, but I was sure that I chose an honest decision.

    The performance on stage was distibuted live-online, and I heard Ms Dea Loher saw it and liked it. Thank youxxx

    You can see the photos of my performance (I directed it and performed as the character, too) and may get some ideas.

    All photos: Kaku Watanabe

  • Move the Heart of the Audience

    Move the Heart of the Audience

    How do you get the audience’s WOW! ?

    Yes, you need a good story.
    Yes, you need a good script.
    Yes, you need good actors.

    But there is more important thing.

    Even when you have a great story, great script, if the actor or the speaker do not understad the secret of moving audience’s emotion, there would be no result.

    What is the secret?
    In Zen, it is to wait.

    Wait just a slight breath of time, the suspension does a trick.
    So, don’t rush.

    Don’t go for the result quickly.
    Wait.
    Just a moment of breath.

    Well, the timing is the most difficult one, though.
    So practice!

    {Zen Acting}
    A moment of breath.

  • IMPRO by Keith Johnstone

    IMPRO by Keith Johnstone

    Last week, I held, for the first time, the IMPRO workshop, using Keith Johnstone’s Great book “impro”.

    I met this book in 1989 in London while I was writing my MA thesis.

    I was so impressed by the content and always wanted to introduce them to Japanese people.

    Luckily my publisher liked this book so much and let me translate the book and safely published in 2012.

    I could have started impro workshop since then, but that time was when I started to build my reputation as a Shakespearean director and actor, and I rather focused on that theme.

    But during this coronavirus time goes on, I have more time to do more things rather than focusing on just one thing.
    That’s how I decided to do this IMPRO workshop online.

    What I wanted to do was not just enjoying exercises, but also to appreciate the foundation Keith had when he started IMPRO.

    As a translator of his book I feel that his main ideas were in this Impro book when he first wrote. Of course people grow, the ideas grow, and the exercises grow wider and deeper. But still, it’s good to know what was the main fundamental idea when one started anything. That’s why I really wanted Japanese readers to appreciate the book itself rather than just the exercises of IMPRO.

    Fortunately, the participants were all some kind of teachers, coaches, leaders in some teams, and they really enjoyed the deep reading of the book.

    In this first time workshop I covered generally the whole book. But the main focus was on the first chapter how Anthony Sterling taught Keith Johnston about not to teach to grow creativity. When you fully understand not to teach and erase the fear of being criticized and that will make one to be really creative and imaginative, you will understand the book and appreciate the content much much fuller and easier.

    I’m going to put on the next workshop in July (in Japanese)!

    [ZEN ACTING]
    Focus on the foundation, of the idea and of your body.

  • Appreciation and Protein

    Appreciation and Protein

    Protein is really good for muscle training.

    These days I am driving myself into muscle training by using #NintendoSwitch

    My favorite training pattern is to start with #FinCHomeFit which is kick-boxing-ish cardio training, for about 20 minutes. Then everybody’s favorite #RingFitAdventure which is muscle training for about 1 hour.

    I do this pattern 4 times a week after supper.

    Last night I felt myself really exhausted.

    Why?

    I haven’t taken enough protein!

    Then I took protein powder with water and honey.
    That tasted sooooooo good!
    I hated it (the same drink) when I took without doing any exercises.
    But look!
    After this hard training, the drink tasted good.

    Isn’t it interesting?
    If there are any negative comments on protein drinks in amazon, maybe the reviewer didn’t exercise enough before taking it.

    This can be applied to anything.
    If you don’t feel right or good on anything, maybe you are not ready to appreciate it.

    [Live Interaction]
    Appreciation comes when you are ready to accept.

    By the way, my TEMPEST the movie is on in Japanese, and I am now putting English subtitles to it. Wait for another week or so and I will show you the bit.

  • New Moon

    New Moon

    Do you know what day it is?
    It is a new moon!

    The new moon night is the right word, and I should have asked “do you know what night it is?”

    Bur, never mind!
    It is a new moon night, folks!

    As in Europe, or in many mythologies, the new moon has been strongly connected to super-power.

    The magic flute was made in the new moon night, and the magic bullets were made in the new moon night, and Oberon and Titania dance for marriages on the new moon night.

    In Japan, we love the moon!

    There are thousand different names for the moon.
    The moon of midnight, the moon of early evening, the moon coming out after sunset, and so on. (Some may find it interesting to know the names and the reasons of the moon names in Japanese.)

    We talk to the moon.
    The moon has long been great friends to us.

    And the moon give us back what we share.
    So, make some wishes to the new moon.
    Something you want to achieve by the next new moon which is 28 days later.

    My new moon wishes are:

    I want to finish putting English subtitles onto my Tempest the Movie, so that English users can enjoy the most wonderful little movie I have just made.
    I want to wake up at sun-rise every morning and make it my habit.
    I want to start my day with morning IKI yoga.A
    nd so on.

    What are yours?


    【Live Interaction】
    Feel the moon power tonight.

  • TEMPEST the Movie is Coming!

    TEMPEST the Movie is Coming!

    Hi!
    I have been working on my new production of The Tempest.
    Yes, Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

    It was supposed to be stage last June (2020).
    But, as the world is facing the pandemic, my stage-production was postponed to last March (2021).
    Then, as Tokyo situation became unstable and seemingly becoming worse, I decided to film the production, instead of putting onto stage against all odds.

    And now, ladies and gentlemen and folks, hereby I announce the opening of The Tempest MOVIE!

    The film, in Japanese, has been already selling worldwidely.
    And I am going to put English subtitle to it!

    I will also provide English Website page, English web-visual, and a shopping cart in English.
    Wait for the moment!