Come train with real masters in Kyoto this summer!

This summer marks the 33nd annual Traditional Theater Training (T.T.T.), held at the Kyoto Art Center. We would like to share a little more about the program as we will be accepting applications until 30 April 2017.

T.T.T. is the oldest and largest program of its kind. Participants are offered intensive performance training courses unparalled in breadth and depth, a variety of optional workshops and theater-related excursions, and opportunities to give talks/workshops on their own areas of expertise. As hundreds of students, performing artists, researchers and others (including program staff) can attest, T.T.T. also offers lifelong memories. Some partipants have returned nearly ten times, and one has even become a noh theater professional (and returns to teach at T.T.T.)!

T.T.T. is a three-week summer intensive training program that introduces the traditional arts of noh, kyogen, and Nihonbuyo. There is also an optional kotsuzumi (noh shoulder drum) course open to those interested. The program is based on the practice-recital approach and aims to allow participants from all over the world to learn the skills and spirit of traditional performing arts. In 2016, we welcomed 25 students, professional performing artists, and academics from fifteen countries. We warmly welcome applications from people of all ages, backgrounds, genders, nationalities, and religions.

This year’s program will begin with a course orientation on 18 July, which will be followed by intensive training with masters from 19 July to 7 August, then a formal recital on Japan’s oldest commercial family theater noh stage on 8 August. The instructors are Katayama Shingo, Tamoi Hiromichi, and Oe Nobuyuki (Kanze School noh); Shigeyama Akira, Maruishi Yasushi, and Shigeyama Doji (Okura School kyogen); Wakayagi Yayoi and pupils (Wakayagi School Nihonbuyo); and Hisada Yasuko and Takahashi Naoko (Okura School kotsuzumi). Fluency in Japanese is not required of participants, though lessons will typically be given in the language (with simultaneous interpretation).

Tuition for general participants is 90,000 yen, and 85,000 yen for students. Tuition for the special course in kotsuzumi is an additional 15,000 yen. Those wishing to apply can find a downloadable applicaton form at http://www.kac.or.jp/eng/news/20476/. For those requiring a letter of invitation to help secure funding from their institutions, etc., I would be happy to help with this.

For more information about the program, please contact the Kyoto Art Center (in Japanese or English) at t.t.t@kac.or.jp, or contact me directly. You may also call +81(0)75-213-1000, visit the KAC website at http://www.kac.or.jp, or stop by the Center if you happen to be in town. There is more information – including a bit about what it might cost to live in Kyoto for three weeks – on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pg/TTTKyoto/about/ – please LIKE us while you’re there!).

We hope to see many of you (and your students) in Kyoto this summer!