Japan Society Presents the U.S. Debut of ARICA Performance Company’s KIOSK

For Immediate Release

KIOSK

Thursday- Saturday, September 18-20, 2008, at 7:30 pm

ARICA公演　『KIOSK』

New York, NY -- Japan Society kicks off its 2008-09 Performing Arts Season with the U.S. debut of ARICA Performance Company’s one-woman show with live music, KIOSK. This production marks the first installment in Japan Society’s season theme, Beyond Boundaries: Genre-Bending Mavericks, which expands the borders of conventional performing arts whether melding new technologies with age-old performance techniques, marrying the classical with the ultra-modern, weaving text into dance and the fabric of space itself, or lacing stunning visual effects of light, video and innovative design into live performance. KIOSK plays at Japan Society Thursday, September 18 – Saturday, September 20 at 7:30 PM.

Known for its Beckettian absurdity and stark aesthetic, ARICA Performance Company presents its critically acclaimed work KIOSK. In this highly conceptual and visually arresting one-woman show, the movement-based narrative follows a day in the life of a woman working in a humble train station kiosk. Perched in her rolling chair, the woman sells newspapers and water. This simple premise is explored through fierce physical repetition, poetry and live electronic music, revealing the complexity of the human body’s relation to physical labor in a surreal landscape. ARICA Performance Company was awarded Best Solo Performance at the 2005 Cairo International Experimental Theatre Festival for another one-woman show, Parachute Woman.

ARICA Performance Company is a collective of artists from a variety of disciplines founded in 2001 by designer/director Yasuki Fujita with actress Tomoko Ando, musician Osamu Saruyama, poet Shino Kuraishi and producer Keizo Maeda. In 2001, Yasuki Fujita created and directed She was there Again – Move On Beckett from the texts of Samuel Beckett, starring Tomoko Ando, who had already established herself as one of the leading actresses in the underground theater community in Japan. An experiment in innovative uses of the human body and voice, this production inspired the artists to join forces to form the company. In November of 2001, the ARICA premiered its first work Homesickness, and since then, has created numerous projects in collaboration with a variety of visual artists, film/video artists, textiles designers, architects, dancers and performers. The company is now recognized for its unique approach to theatrical experimentation weaving together the body, text, sound, and objects. The company has performed in theaters as well as unconventional performance spaces for site-specific works such as art galleries, clubs, abandoned factories and banks. The company’s work focuses on objects and movement in space and its creative process is similar to that of art installations in which space, spatial relationships, and physical movement are intricately integrated to create new possibilities in artistic expression.

KIOSK features direction and production design by ARICA founding member Yasuki Fujita, text and concept by Shino Kuraishi, performance by Tomoko Ando, musical composition and performance by Osamu Saruyama and Eijiro Takahashi, and mechanical installation by Eijiro Takahashi.

Yasuki Fujita (Director / Production Designer) was born in Tokyo in 1962 and studied modern art at Tamagawa Art University and French at Tokyo City University. In 1999, he began working with Tomoko Ando (who at the time was the central performer in Tenkei Theater Company) on physical performance and improvisation. Since forming ARICA, he has directed all of the company’s works.

Tomoko Ando (Performer) joined the theater company Tenkei Gekijyou led by Shogo Ota in 1977 and was a member until the company disbanded in 1988. She performed in many of Ota’s highly experimental works. Some of her notable performances are Mizu no Eki (Water Station), Suna no Eki (Sand Station), and Yajirushi- Sasowarete (Invited by Arrow), all directed by Shogo Ota, including some overseas performances. In 1988, she played the role of A Girl in Mizu no Eki (Water Station) that was presented at Japan Society. Now with ARICA at the center of her activities, she continues to search for new body expression that transcends the boundaries of theater.

KIOSK appears as part of Japan Society’s 2008-09 season theme Beyond Boundaries: Genre-Bending Mavericks, which celebrates Japanese artists whose work reaches beyond conventional categorizations to define parameters on their own terms, offering unparalleled surprise and artistry. Upcoming presentations include the world premiere commissioned compositions for ancient Japanese gagaku (medieval bamboo in¬struments) from trailblazing contemporary American composers Ken Ueno, Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez and Gene Coleman; the spectacular collision of dance and light technology in true (created by Takayuki Fujimoto and Takao Kawaguchi of dumb type); the fourth installment of the Tzadik Label Music Series curated by John Zorn; the 12th Annual Contemporary Dance Showcase; the hyper-colloquial language and exaggerated gesture choreography of chelfitsch; the New York return of Awaji Puppet Theater; a play reading series of Toshiki Okada’s Enjoy; and Hiroaki Umeda’s extraordinary butoh/street dance-inspired choreography. In addition to these performances, Japan Society will offer two special lectures: Inside the Mind of Basil Twist, an intimate conversation with award-winning puppet artist Basil Twist and An Evening with Conductor Alan Gilbert, a look into the renowned conductor’s opera Dr.Atomic.

About Japan Society’s Performing Arts Program
Since the inception of the Performing Arts Program in 1953, Japan Society has introduced more than 500 of Japan’s finest performing arts to an extensive American audience. Programs range from the traditional arts of noh, kyogen, bunraku and kabuki to cutting-edge theater, dance and music. The Program also commissions new works, produces national tours, organizes residency programs for American and Japanese artists, and develops and distributes educational programs. "At once diverse and daring, the program stands toe to toe with some of the most comprehensive cultural exchange endeavors today" (Back Stage).

About Japan Society
Founded in 1907 by prominent New York City business people and philanthropists, Japan Society has evolved over 100 years into an internationally recognized nonprofit organization presenting a full range of programs in arts, business, education and public policy. Through over 100 events annually, the Society creates rich encounters and exchanges that offer opportunities to experience Japanese culture, foster sustained and open dialogue on issues important to the U.S., Japan, and East Asia, and improve access to information on Japan. On the occasion of Japan Society's 2007 centennial celebration, American Theatre noted: "For a hundred years now, the Japan Society of New York has been a think tank for policy works, entrepreneurs, diplomats and Japanophiles. But the jewel in its crown has always been the performing arts program."

Tickets & Information
KIOSK plays Thursday, September 18, Friday, September 19, and Saturday and September 20 at 7:30 pm. Japan Society is located at 333 East 47th Street, between First and Second Avenues (accessible by the 4/5/6 at 42nd Street-Grand Central Station or the E and V at Lexington Avenue and 53rd St.) Tickets are $28/$23 Japan Society members and can be purchased by calling the Box Office at 212- 715-1258 or in person at Japan Society (M-F, 11 am-6 pm and Saturday and Sunday 11 am-5 pm). For more information call 212-832-1155 or visit www.japansociety.org.

ARICA Performance Company’s performances of KIOSK are supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan in the fiscal 2008. Major Support for Japan Society 2008-2009 Performing Arts Programs is provided by the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund, The Starr Foundation, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and the Endowment for the Performing Arts. Additional support is provided by The Globus Family, Dr. John Gillespie, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc., The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency. Transportation assistance provided by ANA, All Nippon Airways. Plasma display provided by Pioneer.

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For further information, images and interview requests, please refer to:

Bridget Klapinski/Meg Owen
The Karpel Group
P: (212) 505-2900
F: (212) 505-2950
E: mowen@thekarpelgroup.com

Aya Akeura
Japan Society
T: 212-715-1292
F: (212) 715-1262
E: aakeura@japansociety.org