Coamix Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as our company) held a press conference in Kumamoto City on March 22nd.
The Kumamoto Opera Company ``096K'' (O'Clock), which has an all-female cast, was launched and produced ``Keiji Maeda'', a stage play based on the manga ``Keiji Maeda Kabuki Tabi'' (original work by Tetsuo Hara and Nobuhiko Horie, illustration by Masato Deguchi). We have announced the opening performance of "Kabuki Tabi - Higo no Tora Kiyomasa Kato".
This performance by the opera company is the highlight of the Kumamoto International Manga Festival, which we hold every fall. We will recruit members of the troupe through auditions, and we plan to follow their subsequent activities in a TV Kumamoto program.
Shoko Nakagawa, a celebrity who is a supporter of the program, and Nobuhiko Horie, our president, took to the stage on this day.
Ms. Nakagawa, who is known as a big fan of manga, mentioned how interesting it was to perform Tetsuo Hara's work, which has a chivalrous art style, only by women.
``The name of the theater company ``096K'' (O'clock) incorporates our desire to make Kumamoto a place where dreams are carved out,'' Horie said.
The audition judges include Shuhei Sasaki, a swordfighter who has also appeared in Kurosawa films, action actress Cynthia Luster, and former Nippon Television producer Kazuhiko Murakami.
The selected members of the troupe will take lessons at a facility to be built in Takamori Town, Kumamoto Prefecture, and then perform on stage for the first performance at the Sears Home Yume Hall in the Kumamoto Civic Center on November 1st.
Click here for theater recruitment auditions