ABOUT

A new collective space, a new “commons,” in the city: welcome to Theater Commons Tokyo. This sixth edition of Theater Commons Tokyo will be presented under the theme “Unsynchronized Voices.” Over the course of nine days, we will mount a packed program of in-person and online events including theater, lecture performances, experiential art, workshops, and more!

Theater Commons Tokyo is a project to create a collective space for society that harnesses the collective wisdom of theater. By using theater – that is, by applying theatrical ideas – in the context of everyday life and the urban space, it aims to propose a model for theater(s) to come. Theater Commons Tokyo and its artists use the imagination of theater to create experiences in which diverging elements and time periods intersect, and the ordinary is defamiliarized through dialogue and discovery.

Theater Commons Tokyo is held in venues across Minato ward as part of Minato City and Minato Cooperation Project for Cultural Program. The executive committee is composed of Arts Commons Tokyo and the following international cultural institutions based in the ward: Taiwan Cultural Center (Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan), Goethe-Institut Tokyo, Embassy of France in Japan / Institut français du Japon, and Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Curatorial Concept

Unsynchronized Voices
Chiaki Soma

Fast entering year three, the pandemic continues to forcibly synchronize the world. Lockdowns, limited mobility, restricted gathering, and closed borders repeatedly follow the emergence of an unidentified variant. Nation-states compete over newly developed vaccines, their supply and distribution speed. Economic disparities and inequality are further compounded. We waver between hope and anxiety, muddled in confusion. Submerging the entire world, the pandemic’s endless waves are akin to an omnipotent choreographer with the power to instantly overwrite our behaviors and gestures.

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  • Theater Commons Tokyo ’22
  • Date: February 19th - 27th, 2022
  • Venues: Various places in Minato ward, Tokyo
  • Organized by Theater Commons Tokyo Executive Committee
  • Taiwan Cultural Center, Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan
  • Goethe-Institut Tokyo
  • Embassy of France in Japan / Institut français du Japon
  • Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
  • Arts Commons Tokyo
  • Co-organized by Minato City and Minato Cooperation Project for Cultural Program
  • In partnership with SHIBAURA HOUSE
  • Supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs Government of Japan in the fiscal 2021, The Saison Foundation, Arts Council Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture
  • Theater Commons Tokyo Executive Committee
  • Chairperson | Chiaki Soma (Representative Director, Arts Commons Tokyo)
  • Vice-chairman | WANG Shu-Fang (Director, Taiwan Cultural Center, Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan)
  • Member | Peter Anders (Director, Goethe-Institut Tokyo)
  • Member | Samson Sylvain (Attaché culturel, Embassy of France in Japan / Institut français du Japon)
  • Member | Bas Valckx (Deputy Head Public Diplomacy, Political, Cultural Affairs, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
  • Member | Natsuko Odate (Board Director, Arts Commons Tokyo)
  • Auditor | Yohei Suda (Lawyer)
  • Theater Commons Tokyo Staff
  • Executive Director | Chiaki Soma (Arts Commons Tokyo)
  • Production Manager and Coordinator | Satomi Shimizu (Arts Commons Tokyo)
  • Project Coordinator | Makiko Yamazato, Haruka Shibata, Yuko Taniguchi, Sachi Abe (Arts Commons Tokyo)
  • Production Adviser | Fumiko Toda (Arts Commons Tokyo)
  • Project Advisor | Kyoko Iwaki, Natsuko Odate (Arts Commons Tokyo)
  • Editor | Satoko Shibahara, Mai Hashiba
  • Editor (Report) | Rieko Suzuki (Arts Commons Tokyo)
  • PR | Sayaka Iwamoto
  • PR Advisor | Naoko Wakabayashi
  • Translation | Lillian Canright, Hibiki Mizuno, Monika Uchiyama, Kyle Yamada, Yuki Harukawa (Art Translators Collective)
  • Art Direction / Design | Kensaku Kato (LABORATORIES)
  • Web Design | Kensaku Kato, Hiroki Ito (LABORATORIES)
  • Ticket | Kyoko Kinoshita
  • Intern | Kiyoka Kobashi, Ayumi Seki, Ushin Tei, Alena Prusakova, Amy Tiffany Loo, Mariana Kameta, Miran Hashiba, Nagisa Mizuno
  • Legal Adviser | Yohei Suda (Lawyer / Arts Commons Tokyo)
  • Theater Commons Tokyo '22 Technical Staff
  • Stage Manager | Lang Craighill
  • Lighting | Megumi Yamashita, Aria Hoashi (RYU Inc.)
  • Sound | Takeshi Inarimori, Hayato Ichimura
  • Movie | Yuki Sato (Edith Grove)
  • Documentation Video and Photography | Shun Sato