Theatrical company's crisis Performance canceled Canceled due to lack of funds
Due to the spread of the new coronavirus, theaters and performances such as music have been discontinued and postponed one after another throughout the country, and some troupes have lost funds and have become unable to continue their activities. The children's theater company, a professional theater company specializing in children's theater, joins the children's theater association, which is receiving consultations from theater companies across the country that have been canceled or postponed.
According to the group, many performances were planned in February and March, the graduation and graduation season, but as of the 10th of this month, 579 performances have been canceled or postponed throughout the country, and losses have been decided. The amount is up to 145 million yen.
Most of the children's theater companies are small, and most of them continue their activities by allocating the proceeds from the performance to the preparation for the next performance. I want to abandon the continuation. "
"The people who have long supported the arts and culture for children have been forced to continue even if they want to," said Toru Suzuki, the managing director of the organization.
Successive performances canceled Theatrical company members said, "The road is closed and uneasy"
The Tokyo theater company "Toshou" has been active for more than 70 years, specializing in children's theater musicals with motifs such as fairy tales, but due to the spread of the new coronavirus, several performances have already been canceled Or has been postponed.
Theatrical companies cover the cost of the performance, such as the cost of the stage equipment, costumes, and places for practice, by selling tickets, and if the performance is canceled, it will be a big loss.
From 25th of this month, performances planned in Tokyo are currently taking measures to prevent infection, such as reducing the number of seats and disinfecting, but still a loss of nearly 5 million yen is already expected. I am.
If this situation continues for another one or two months, it means that the company has fallen into a serious business situation so that it has to consider the dissolution of the theater company.
Director Genki said, “Every day, I get the performance income and proceed to the next production, so stopping one performance is a matter of life and death. Courage, love and justice, but the members of the troupe continue to practice while struggling with concerns about how long the current situation will last. "
Also, Minami Kamino (54), who joined the theater company at the age of 16 and has been 38 years since then, may not be able to continue his work in theater if his current situation is prolonged. I feel anxious about it.
Mr. Jinno said that he was proud of the work that could impress the children and encouraged the messages from the children who watched the play, `` It is only work with the workplace, if the theater company disappears, the road will be closed. Of course, if I can't work, I'm worried how to live if I can't work. That's it. "
Toshiyuki Nishida of the Actors Union
In this situation, prominent actors and playwrights are calling for understanding and support. Actor Toshiyuki Nishida, chairman of the Japan Actors Union, issued an "urgent request" for assistance from the government this month.
Later, Nishida told NHK, "The performances were discontinued throughout the building, and this had an immediate effect on my daily life. The situation has never been before: having no idea when it will converge means that actors may be losing their income all the time and have a terrible sense of danger. I hope we can cooperate and calm down the situation as soon as possible and continue to enjoy performing arts and cultural activities as before. "
Hirata Oriza "In such a case, art is needed"
In a interview with NHK, playwright Oriza Hirata described the current situation of performing arts such as troupes as "a loss for the entire Japanese art world or society in 10 or 20 years." And called for the need for support.
Mr. Hirata noted that many theatrical companies have stopped performing and that there is no income, saying, "It is extremely difficult in economic terms, and some young troupes may disband. I think that small theater companies have poor financial power, and it is possible that people in their late 20s will be owed debts of 2 million yen to 5 million yen by the cancellation of this performance. In the meantime, theater will not be possible, and it's not just their problem: the talent that was supposed to grow hasn't grown, 10 or 20 years later, the whole Japanese art world, or the whole society. "Tomorrow, Mr. Koki Mitani" and "Mr. Hideki Noda" may be gone because of this. "
He said he needed to consider supporting those who had to cancel the performance this time, and said, "This is not just about 'economy'. Have lost their place of expression, and I think there is a remedy to create a place for performances for those who couldn't do when the situation got better. "
Regarding long-term support measures, "Japan's cultural budget is about one-quarter of the average in developed countries, and is said to be at least the lowest in developed countries. Since the private sector is a very strong country, work hard there. It still has a very high cultural standard, but it takes time to recover if the private sector is destroyed, and the weakness of Japanese cultural policy has hit the problem of the new corona very quickly. It's a tough situation, like in Germany where sound and lighting personnel are hired in theaters and civil servants, but Japan is almost freelance, and Japan has a long-term I think it must be an opportunity to think about the system. "
As for the future, he said, "I do not know when it can be resumed, and it is an 'invisible enemy', so my heart is very devastated. In such a case, we believe that art is necessary" Was.