A group of people stand on a stage filled with scattered props, yellow tennis balls, and various objects, creating a chaotic, experimental scene with performance art elements.

Prep School: The Trial

After Japan’s great earthquake of 2011, a tsunami almost entirely demolished the region around the city of Rikuzentakata and thousands died. The city is now undergoing immense reconstruction to elevate the area as a countermeasure against future tsunami waves. Using local rocks to raise the land, however, has led to severe damage to surrounding mountains.

In Eraser Mountain, Japanese director Toshiki Okada and visual artist Teppei Kaneuji question this human-centric approach to the problem and ask us to reimagine the relationships between people, objects, and the world:’

Is it possible to create theater not only for the people watching at one moment in time? Can we use theater to present a world in which people and objects are completely equal, rather than trapped in their usual subservient relationship?

Learn more about Toshiki Okada and chelfitsch. Learn more about Teppei Kaneuji.

indefinite article

Karen Shimakawa on Toshiki Okada

Okada explores transhistorical, transnational anomie brought on by contemporary globalization.

A stage with assorted objects, geometric shapes, and props scattered across the floor; a screen above displays bilingual text: “and the screen blacked out.” The backdrop is lit and minimal, with a single hanging bulb.

OFFICE HOURS

Toshiki Okada & Tadashi Uchino in conversation about Eraser Mountain.

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Snapshot | Toshiki Okada

“I’ve changed the way I have written and who I write for. I used to live in Tokyo and write for that audience. Now, I really stretch my imagination to think how my work will be perceived by those who don’t share my language or culture. It’s a big change.”

Jason Zinoman for the New York Times | May 21, 2014(opens in a new tab)

An Interview With chelfitsch’s Toshiki Okada

“I believe spoken language in theatre is important, but at the same time it is only part of theatre. And I think also language must affect the body that speaks it. Language affects not only speech but also the whole performance.”

Jeremy M. Barker for Culturebot | Dec 27, 2011(opens in a new tab)

Interview: Teppei Kaneuji

When I make an artwork I prioritize process and method, so that the object itself is simply something born from the process. Thus, in a sense, the work is itself the tool. The tools, materials, and artwork are interchangeable.

The Brooklyn Rail | March 2015(opens in a new tab)

Interview with Japanese Artist Teppei Kaneuji

“Even though we are looking at the same piece of art or object, how we interpret it differs according to one’s experience or cultural background. The things you know and the things you don’t also differ and that is beyond our control.”

The Artling | Sept 18, 2014(opens in a new tab)
EXTRA CREDIT

The End of the Moment We Had by Toshiki Okada

We’ve picked a book to complement each show in our season. We’ve got novels, short stories, essays, poetry, and memoir.

Why this book? Two brilliant, multi-layered stories, demonstrating the fluidity and richness of this extraordinarily gifted writer’s language and ideas.

Book cover with yellow text reading “THE END OF THE MOMENT WE HAD” by Toshiki Okada, surrounded by pink and yellow flip phones on a dark blue background.