Yokohama Theatre Group
Encyclopedia
The Yokohama Theatre Group is an English-language Theatre Group operating out of Yokohama
in Kanagawa Prefecture
, Japan
.
Founded in 1900 as the Amateur Dramatics Club (later the Yokohama Amateur Dramatics Club) and renamed in 1983 to the Yokohama Theatre Group, the group survived two World Wars and a major earthquake, and has continued producing Theatre to the present day.
) on November 12 of the same year.
The word Yokohama was eventually prefixed to name of the group, and from 1916 on was used in most of the group's internal paperwork. In late 1982, the Committee (the Board of Directors) began using the name "The Yokohama Theatre Group" in reference to the group, and at the 1983 Annual General Meeting the new name was officially voted in.
From 1900 to 1923, nearly all the Yokohama-based performances of the group took place in the Public Hall, later renamed the Bluff Gaiety Theatre, a building which was partially owned by the club but was unfortunately destroyed during the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. Since that time, the group has had no permanent home, and has performed its shows on stages in hotels, local schools and colleges, and, especially since 1981, the Yokohama Country and Athletic Club.
The group's activities picked up again after the earthquake and continued until October 1940 when the production of Where Do We Go From Here? became the last show before the hostilities of World War II made further shows impossible. In December of that year, Nils Kallin, a Swede, was elected as chairman because it was thought that having a national of a neutral country in charge would better safeguard the group's finances until the war's end.
After the end of the Pacific War, it took nearly seven years (until 1952) for shows to start being produced again. The first post-war production was Blithe Spirit
.
, comic operas
, and other light, comedic entertainment. In the post-war period, the tendency to light entertainment remained (including the tradition of an annual pantomime
or family musical around the Christmas season starting in 1971), although the occasional dramatic or more difficult comedy (e.g. Lysistrata
, After the Fall
) was produced. In addition, YTG had a strong tradition of music revues, play readings, recitals and other non-Theatrical entertainments.
In the last two years, the company has placed a greater emphasis on co-productions and tours, including YTG's first co-production in 108 years with its counterpart group in Tokyo (The Tokyo International Players
).
In the summer of 2010, the group toured a one-man show to Canada; its first international tour.
The membership was initially very British, and it wasn't until after the Second World War and the American occupation of Japan that American members became predominant.
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
in Kanagawa Prefecture
Kanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Founded in 1900 as the Amateur Dramatics Club (later the Yokohama Amateur Dramatics Club) and renamed in 1983 to the Yokohama Theatre Group, the group survived two World Wars and a major earthquake, and has continued producing Theatre to the present day.
History
Originally named the Amateur Dramatic Club, the group held its first official meeting on Thursday, September 6, 1900, and produced its first show (The Schoolmistress by Arthur Wing PineroArthur Wing Pinero
Sir Arthur Wing Pinero was an English actor and later an important dramatist and stage director.-Biography:...
) on November 12 of the same year.
The word Yokohama was eventually prefixed to name of the group, and from 1916 on was used in most of the group's internal paperwork. In late 1982, the Committee (the Board of Directors) began using the name "The Yokohama Theatre Group" in reference to the group, and at the 1983 Annual General Meeting the new name was officially voted in.
From 1900 to 1923, nearly all the Yokohama-based performances of the group took place in the Public Hall, later renamed the Bluff Gaiety Theatre, a building which was partially owned by the club but was unfortunately destroyed during the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. Since that time, the group has had no permanent home, and has performed its shows on stages in hotels, local schools and colleges, and, especially since 1981, the Yokohama Country and Athletic Club.
The group's activities picked up again after the earthquake and continued until October 1940 when the production of Where Do We Go From Here? became the last show before the hostilities of World War II made further shows impossible. In December of that year, Nils Kallin, a Swede, was elected as chairman because it was thought that having a national of a neutral country in charge would better safeguard the group's finances until the war's end.
After the end of the Pacific War, it took nearly seven years (until 1952) for shows to start being produced again. The first post-war production was Blithe Spirit
Blithe Spirit
Blithe Spirit is a comic play written by Noël Coward which takes its title from Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "To a Skylark" . The play concerns socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric medium and clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to...
.
Productions
The original (Yokohama) Amateur Dramatics Group was known for producing popular "crowd pleasing" plays of the time, mainly farcesFarce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
, comic operas
Comic opera
Comic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
, and other light, comedic entertainment. In the post-war period, the tendency to light entertainment remained (including the tradition of an annual pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
or family musical around the Christmas season starting in 1971), although the occasional dramatic or more difficult comedy (e.g. Lysistrata
Lysistrata
Lysistrata is one of eleven surviving plays written by Aristophanes. Originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC, it is a comic account of one woman's extraordinary mission to end The Peloponnesian War...
, After the Fall
After the Fall (play)
After the Fall is a play by American dramatist Arthur Miller. The original performance opened in New York City on January 23, 1964, directed by Elia Kazan and starring Barbara Loden and Jason Robards Jr., with an early appearance by Faye Dunaway. Kazan also collaborated with Miller on the script...
) was produced. In addition, YTG had a strong tradition of music revues, play readings, recitals and other non-Theatrical entertainments.
In the last two years, the company has placed a greater emphasis on co-productions and tours, including YTG's first co-production in 108 years with its counterpart group in Tokyo (The Tokyo International Players
Tokyo International Players
Tokyo International Players, also known as "TIP," is an English-language theatre troupe based in Tokyo, Japan. TIP productions range from classics to musicals to contemporary and original pieces, in venues including Theater Sun-mall Shinjuku, Ebisu Echo Theater, and Our Space of Hatagaya...
).
In the summer of 2010, the group toured a one-man show to Canada; its first international tour.
Membership
The group was structured very much like a club in its early years and had very formal rules and regulations regarding membership. Full membership was limited to men only until at least 1923, and members had to be nominated and seconded in a very formal manner. There was also a fee involved for much of the group's history, although current membership is obtained on a year-to-year basis by doing volunteer work for the group.The membership was initially very British, and it wasn't until after the Second World War and the American occupation of Japan that American members became predominant.