Malaysian Folktale #6 “Dewa Muda”
This time, we will introduce an episode of “Magic Kite” from the story “Dewa Muda”, of which is a traditional...
Noh, Can Lah! was launched in September 2021 by Hayashi Nohgakai and a group of Japanese and Malaysian performance artists who love Noh. The project aims to promote mutual cultural exchange and understanding between the two countries through Noh theatre by introducing new Noh productions based on Malaysian folklore.
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Born in 1979, Soichiro is designated to become the next and 14th Noh Master of the Hayashi family, which belongs to Kyo Kanze Gokenya (The Five Kanze Families of Kyoto). He studied under his father, the 13th Noh Master Hayashi Kiemon and Kanze Kiyokazu, the 26th grandmaster of the Kanze School. Making his stage debut at the age of three, he has performed in Midare, Shakkyō, Dōjō-ji,Okina,Mochizuki and Ataka. While touring around the country to teach Noh chanting and dance at studios in Kyoto, Tokyo, Okayama, and Tottori, in 2017 he appeared in the performance Funa-Benkei commemorating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Malaysia in 2017, and Rikyu Enoura commemorating the 110th anniversary of the establishment of Japan Society, New York. Soichiro is also aiming to convey the charm of Japanese classical entertainment to the world.
*Shite: Principal actor
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Born in Kyoto, 1974, he studied under his grandfather, the late Matsuno Yoshiteru, and has been a Noh actor of the Kanze School since childhood, making his stage debut with Kappo in 1979. From 1994 he was an apprentice under the 13th Noh master Hayashi Kiemon, before starting off on his own. Since then he has performed in Shakkyō, Midare, Sendai and Dōjō-ji. He has participated in numerous overseas performances including within China, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, France, Korea, and Malaysia, and maintains studios in Kyoto, Yokohama, and Taiwan for teaching Noh to the public, while also being head of Ginyosha troupe based in Kyoto. Hiroyuki is known for his unique activities such as presiding over “Takibi (bonfire) Noh” which combines camping and Noh and performing “Matsu-noh on time” as a Noh actor online via YouTube.
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Born in Kyoto, 1987, he made his stage debut at the early age of six. Since 2011, he studied under the 13th Noh master Hayashi Kiemon, and became an apprentice to the Hayashi family, then graduating from Shosei in January 2017. In 2019, he was certified as a Jun-Shokubun (quasi-occupational branch) by the Head of the Kanze school. Currently, he has appeared in many stage performances centered on Hayashi Teiki-Noh, and has participated in overseas performances within Canada, France, Switzerland, Austria, Malaysia and the United States. While also presiding over the troupe “Senkyokai” in Kyoto.
Born in Kyoto, 1963, he studied under Morita Junto and is a general holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property.
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Born in 1982, he studied under the late Sowa Hiroshi, Sowa Kodo, and Hayashi Yoshibei, the 13th, and maintains studios in Kyoto, Osaka, Shiga, Hyogo, Okayama and Shizuoka.
*Small hand drum
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Born in 1955, he studied under Kodera Shunzo and Kanze Motonobu, the 16th head, and is a general holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property.
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Born in Tokyo, 1982, after enrolling in the Faculty of Letters at Kyoto University, he became apprentice and supporting actor to Tanida Soujiro, Waki-kata Noh in 2007. In the same year, he made his stage debut with Saigyō-zakura as Wakitsure. Since Master Tanida’s passing, he has studied under Master Iitomi Tadasuke, and has performed master pieces such as Shōjō-Midare, Dōjō-ji, and Chō Ryō (Zhang Liang). He has also participated in overseas performances across America and France, Russia, Malaysia, Bulgaria, Slovakia and South Korea. During university lectures, he aims to convey the charm of the classics such as Nohgaku and Waka poetry and strives to maintain that Noh is a performing art that lives on and is still relevant to the present age.
*Supporting actor
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He is the second son of Shigeyama ShimeⅡ, the Okura-style Kyogen master, studying under his father and grandfather Shigeyama Sensaku Ⅳ and his great-grandfather Shigeyama SensakuⅢ. He made his stage debut in 1983 with Narihira-Mochi with the role of warabe (child), and went on to perform Senzai in 1994 and Sanbasō in 2001. He is active in a wide range of genres such as television, movies, and publishing. His book Let’s go to Kyogen with Shigeyama Motohiko and Shigeyama Ippei is published by Shunposha.
She is an event producer who plans events that transcend genres, often including experts and artists to reflect on themes of religion, traditional medicine, and physical culture, while also being a representative of “Meet People, Feel the Culture”. Based in Kobe, she holds tours for people to experience and encounter various cultures within Japan such as an Islamic cultural experience tour, with the guiding aim to make people’s lives more culturally aware by knowing about new and different cultural perspectives. From 2018 to 2020, she worked at the Japan Foundation’s Kuala Lumpur office, planning and organising numerous projects such as the Noh Masterclass with Mr. Hayashi and Matsuno as instructors.
Based in Kyoto, Tomoko specializes in English/Japanese translation and interpretation. After graduating from the University of Tsukuba, she pursued her masters degree in Literary Translation from East Anglia University in England and earned her second masters degree from Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey in the United States. Her published translation works include American Hardcore by Steven Blush and Good Reasons For Bad Feelings by Randolph M. Nesse.
Aida Redza is an artist who takes on the role of the penjaga (guardian), with a mission to initiate creative projects that nurture, heal and transform, by bringing her works closer to people to highlight the stories and concerns about everyday life. Based in Penang, Malaysia, Aida is the founder of WindRiver Productions, artistic principal of Studio Pentas and a member of Ombak-Ombak ARTStudio. WindRiver Productions was founded to support her interest in collaborative works with multi-disciplinary artists and social activists to express and represent the issues that matter. Aida continues to evolve as a socially engaged artist committed to creating performances that are inclusive and collaborative, situated between art and the everyday, to raise awareness and advocate for the causes she believes in.
Soo Ming is a Malaysian actor, director and theatre educator based in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. He is the founder and artistic director of Pitapat Theatre. After graduating from ITI (Intercultural Theatre Institute, Singapore), he collaborated with acclaimed Taiwanese director, Stan Lai in his play, The Village (2008) and toured in the United States, China, Singapore, Taiwan for more than 250 shows. Soo Ming’s recent work is An Enemy of The People. At the Moment and KAKAK has also performed in several international arts festivals such as in Taiwan and India, where these two plays have won seven awards in KL’s 14th and 15th ADA Drama Awards including Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress. In 2021, Soo Ming released his first complete online theatre piece, The Room.
Carmen graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a BA in Dance and Music. Her pursuit in acting brought her to East West Players in Los Angeles where she debuted in “The Importance Of Being Earnest”. Back in Malaysia she works with B.Lab where she starred in Chekhov’s “A Marriage Proposal” as well as flexing her acting chops in short film “Gostan”. Her passion also extends to prop and set making for theatre. She also participated at the Noh masterclass in 2019.
A mime artist from artist collective called Projek Rabak, he is now completing a PhD in the Faculty of Integrated Arts and Science in Hiroshima University, working on the analysis of “Mak Yong” dance Mengadap Rebab using a motion capture technology. He is further conducting a comparative study of Noh and the Malaysian traditional performing arts Mak Yong. In 2019, he temporarily returned home to attend the Noh Masterclass held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He also has a passion to spread the charm of Noh in Malaysia into the future.
He is a Butoh artist, and founder/artistic director of Nyoba Kan Butoh Company and KL Butoh Fest. He started with contemporary dance and then explored Butoh, yoga, tai chi and qigong. He believes that his trans-disciplinary diversity in his creation and performance was nurtured by the multi-cultural country and culture of Malaysia. In recent years, he has been exploring masked performances. In regard to Noh, he especially loves many aspects such as its discipline, style, behaviour, chanting, and the beauty of Noh masks.
Ali Alasri is an artist-researcher who holds a Bachelor of Arts in Media and Communication from Deakin University, Australia. He is currently undergoing his master’s degree in arts at University Malaya, Faculty of Creative Arts. He has worked on diverse research and creative projects including performances, installations, exhibitions, and community projects. He was also commissioned as a researcher in the Hubs For Good research program, a collaborative project between the British Council, Yayasan Sime Darby and University Malaya, to map out creative hubs in Malaysia. He finds solace in fostering relationships in the arts and looks forward to new collaborations.
Lim Paik Yin (林碧云) is an independent visual anthropologist and interdisciplinary artist working with camera and site-specific performance. She considered learning Noh by the masters in a friendly manner to help her understand and appreciate the meaning behind the movements and aesthetics of the performance. For Lim, Noh is interesting because much like Asian traditional dance that have origins in rituals, the movements go with a sense of gravity to the earth. She is looking forward to participating in this project which allows her to share her reflections about her own culture as well as finding the similarities in different cultures, altogether helping to shape her worldview.
Foo studied Odissi under the tutelage of Ramli Ibrahim at Sutra Dance Theatre, Malaysia (2002–2012). His interest in Butoh propelled him in taking numerous workshops by local and international practitioners. Most notably with Butoh Master Yukio Waguri. Fascinated by the subtle beauty of Noh movements, Foo took the masterclass with Master Hiroyuki Matsuno and Master Soichiro Hayashi, held by JFKL in 2019. Foo had performed for Donna Miranda, Aida Redza, Dr Zulkifli Mohamad, Rithaudin Abdul Kadir, Nibroll Dance Company, Yukio Waguri, Nyoba Kan, Yumiko Yoshioka, Soubi Sha and KL Shakespeare Players. He has served as a dance judge since 2015 and as an executive judge for Kakiseni from 2017 to the present.
A dance graduate from University of Malaya, Rithaudin is a dancer, choreographer, performance artist, movement coach and also a theatre maker. He has work as a producer, curator and collaborator for many years especially in site-specific performances. As a Sabahan, Rithaudin uses his multi-ethnic imprints of culture and tradition in his own work of which have been performed from local to international scenes. For this special Noh project, he has brought the Legend of Hominodun story to be shared with the Japanese people. Rithaudin has a strong connection to Japanese culture because he uses the Butoh method and approach in his performances.
He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Geography with a Minor in Theatre Studies. Specializing in theatre and puppetry, he also believes in the power of theatre for young audiences, and has worked on numerous international productions. He is the Associate Director with 5 Stones Theatre (UK, Singapore), Associate Artist with Mascots & Puppets Specialists (Singapore), participant member of the Closed Community of Artists under The Paperboats Collective (Australia), and member of the UP Collective (Singapore). Bright’s next project involves the Melbourne Fringe 2022 and Papermoon Puppet Theatre for an installation that centers around the sensitivities of placemaking and safe spaces for children.