What’s the deal with being an actor in Tokyo?
By Benjamin Johnson
• In Tokyo, acting and modeling are basically considered the same thing.
• Anyone coming to town with some kind of work visa can get an agent, most foreigners have more than one agent, and I’ve heard of people signing up with over twenty different agencies, however Japanese citizens can only have one.
• Once you have an agent, you’ll get emails on your cell-phone with an exact amount the job pays and asking you if you’re available for auditions on certain dates.
• Once you confirm your availability they send your headshot in to the casting agent for “picture selection”.
• If you make it past picture selection you go to the audition, usually with a manager from the agency who acts as your translator and who also works out the details for you.
• Then if you get the job, you show up on the day.
Theatre in Tokyo is similar to that in many other major cities. Japan has it’s own casts of Lion King, Cats and a host of musicals running endlessly. There are major houses doing translations of Ibsen and Shakespeare, traditional Japanese Kabuki and Noh plays, but as far as I can tell there’s not a single theatre job to be had for an English speaker in this town of 30 million people. The only agency that mentioned covering English speakers for theatre was a note on a list that said, “ask about theatre” next to the agency name.
There are of course, international touring companies, which perform in English, or without language, such as the new Cirque de Soleil show “Zed”. But for the most part, people are busy, life is expensive, and renting a space, rehearsing (i.e. not working a regular job), and producing a show is an expensive undertaking when your audience may not understand your carefully worded award-winning masterpiece that is basically all dialogue. Movement theatre would be the best way to go, and the Japanese already have the singular Butoh.
Benjamin Johnson is a screenwriter and graduate of Canada’s National Theatre School, currently living and working in Tokyo.
Benjamin, I don’t know how close Yokohama is to where you are, but Andrew Woolner moved there to married a Japanese woman and is currently artistic director of an English-language theatre company, the Yokohama Theatre Group. You might want to get in touch.
Also found this: Tokyo International Players.
This piece cracks me up.
I’m remembering the photo shoot scene from Lost in translation.
There are a few casting calls for some arty type films shooting in Tokyo.
http://www.alttokyo.com/groups/film-making-acting-extras/
Theres also a paying tv commercial, they need colorful types who can skate.
Seems like a few interesting projects pop up every summer in Japan that are relatively easy to get in on.