Monday, April 27, 2009
JAPANESE ANIME meets MIT DANCE - May 2009
How can Massachusetts Institute of Technology students bring to life the excitement and eccentricities of anime? The MIT Dance Theater Ensemble will demonstrate the possibilities with its performance Live Action Anime 2009: Madness at Mokuba at the convention Anime Boston on May 22, 2009 (Fri.) in the Hynes Convention Center. The troupe will then take the show to Japan, where they will collaborate with Japanese students to perform the play at Tokyo University of the Arts on May 29-30, 2009.
This project highlights the diverse paths of globalization by drawing inspiration from fan activities around Japanese popular culture. Globalization is not driven only by large corporations and national governments, but also through the less understood but increasingly important channels of grassroots fan activities and digital media—a kind of globalization from below. Anime (Japanese animated films and TV shows) is a popular culture form that is driving American interest in Japan, especially among young people. Live Action Anime 2009: Madness at Mokuba aims to bring some of that energy back to Japan, while also underscoring the on-going importance of Boston as a center for US-Japan cultural exchange.
Who else but MIT students and faculty could invent “live action anime”? Part homage to anime history, part commentary on the plight of undocumented workers in the US, and over-the-top tribute to anime creators and fans worldwide, this original theatrical production features giant robots, a Japanese schoolgirl, a lovelorn fanboy, a masterless samurai, a gamer woman, evil media magnates, and a vengeful deathgod who all battle for truth, justice, and the anime way.
SYNOPSIS: The stage is set for the finals of the giant robot battle contest at the Mokuba Institute of Technology. But as the two teams prepare for battle, a strange disease called VIRTIGO is sweeping the school, causing unpredictable reality slippages. And it's getting worse. Does it have something to do the suspicious arrest of undocumented Japanese gamers at Infinite Channel Network? Can our heroes solve the mystery of VIRTIGO, help the workers, and find love?
Directed by Prof. Thomas F. DeFrantz (Music and Theater Arts, MIT) with original script by Prof. Ian Condry (Foreign Languages and Literatures, MIT), the play features a cast of MIT students and community members as they attempt to do the impossible: create live action anime. Through dance, words, music, and anime-inspired backdrops, the show explores the joys and peculiarities of Japanese animation. It is appropriate for audience members age seven to seventy and lasts about one hour.
This project highlights the diverse paths of globalization by drawing inspiration from fan activities around Japanese popular culture. Globalization is not driven only by large corporations and national governments, but also through the less understood but increasingly important channels of grassroots fan activities and digital media—a kind of globalization from below. Anime (Japanese animated films and TV shows) is a popular culture form that is driving American interest in Japan, especially among young people. Live Action Anime 2009: Madness at Mokuba aims to bring some of that energy back to Japan, while also underscoring the on-going importance of Boston as a center for US-Japan cultural exchange.
Who else but MIT students and faculty could invent “live action anime”? Part homage to anime history, part commentary on the plight of undocumented workers in the US, and over-the-top tribute to anime creators and fans worldwide, this original theatrical production features giant robots, a Japanese schoolgirl, a lovelorn fanboy, a masterless samurai, a gamer woman, evil media magnates, and a vengeful deathgod who all battle for truth, justice, and the anime way.
SYNOPSIS: The stage is set for the finals of the giant robot battle contest at the Mokuba Institute of Technology. But as the two teams prepare for battle, a strange disease called VIRTIGO is sweeping the school, causing unpredictable reality slippages. And it's getting worse. Does it have something to do the suspicious arrest of undocumented Japanese gamers at Infinite Channel Network? Can our heroes solve the mystery of VIRTIGO, help the workers, and find love?
Directed by Prof. Thomas F. DeFrantz (Music and Theater Arts, MIT) with original script by Prof. Ian Condry (Foreign Languages and Literatures, MIT), the play features a cast of MIT students and community members as they attempt to do the impossible: create live action anime. Through dance, words, music, and anime-inspired backdrops, the show explores the joys and peculiarities of Japanese animation. It is appropriate for audience members age seven to seventy and lasts about one hour.
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