See you later, Alligator!
MSTERIO 2011 Day 8:
アッと言う間の８日間。今日はミステリオサマーキャンプの最終日。
朝からパッキングで大忙し。今まで、食事をしていたダイニングルームは昨晩のうちにお別れ会用に大変身。
朝食後のお掃除も、最後となると一層気合いも入ります。
11時半、続々とキャンパーのご家族が到着。
いよいよFarewell Party = お別れ会のスタートです。
オープニングを飾ったのは、Aika&Kotaroのコラボレーションによるパーフォマンス『わっしょいMSTERIO』元気いっぱいのキャンパーたちが舞台上に勢揃い。うちわを片手に、音楽に合わせて踊ります。そして舞台下では、代わる代わるにキャンパーたちが同じ音楽を聞きながら、太〜〜〜い筆を使って、自由にそれぞれがイメージした文字を１文字、大きな半紙いっぱいに書き続けます。その時に、パッと浮かんだ漢字を１文字、まさに音楽に合わせた最強の即興のコラボ。
できあがった作品はどれもが自然＝Natureに関する文字ばかり。
Kiwaの空、
Daiyaの風、Keisuke の木、
Satomiの
花、
Shokoの森、
Lunaの夏、
Tomoyaの自、
Kenの然、
Mariyaの生、
Riouの雨、
Yuukaの植、
Meriの山、
Shigeの地。どれもこれも力強い感動的な作品。
舞台上の壁には、キャンプ中、キャンパーたちが書いた”風”シリーズの作品も飾られました。これぞ日本、調和の”輪”そして”絆”を感じたパフォーマンスでした。
その後、ウッデイーもっくさんが心をこめて作ってくださった、おいしいおいしいおにぎりランチ。
さあ〜ランチの後は、第２部のスタートです。
Takakoさんの率いるミステリオダンシングチームによるパフォーマンス・ミュージカルアニーより、『It's hard knock life』。メンバーはAkari, Kiwa, Mao, Tomomi, Megumi, Meri, Ami, Erina, Mari, Miki, Mariya, Wakana, Shoko, Yoko, Rio, Moe, Taku, Airi, Max。
歌ありセリフあり、本当にたったの１週間で仕上げたのかしら、と思うほどの出来映えに、観客もびっくり。
最後の出し物は、毎年恒例のSenior Camper and CIT (counselor in training) 中高生によるオリジナル劇、今年も演劇指導はSeikoさん。
舞台は雨模様の回想シーンからスタート、傘をさして帰宅する中学生のメグ。そのメグをめぐって、８人のミステリオ中高生たちが繰り広げる”きみ＋きみ”。
実際に雨のシーンが始まると、まるで神様が彼らの声を聞いたかのように、本当に雨が降り始めました。今回、この演劇の中で長い縄跳びにチャレンジした８名たち。練習の時は、20回続けて6名がそろって飛ぶことはなかなか難しいことでした、でも本番はみんなの驚くべき集中力で、20回連続飛ぶ事ができたのです！
今年は８名という少ない人数で演じた30分。それだけに一人一人のセリフも多く、演技力も問われるこの作品。友情とは、、、、、多感期な中学生の心の中まで充分理解して、それぞれの演技力は感動もの。
Hitomi, Daniel, Miki, Wakana, Maya, Mao, Maki, Yoko の８人と、裏方役のNobu, Mariko, Shutaro, Akaneもありがとう。素晴らしいミステリオの最後を飾ってくれたね。
お別れ会もそろそろおしまいに近づくと、お待たせしましたっ！こちらも恒例の高校３年生のキャンパーYoko&Makiの卒業式の時間がやってきました。
今年はホイップクリームをたっぷりのせた紙皿を後ろに隠して、Mao&Mayaが登場。Yoko&Makiの顔めがけて投げつけます。このセレモニーがなければ、ミステリオの最後は語れない、というくらい、大事な行事の1つです。
キャンパーの１人Mariyaから、ウッデイーもっくさんにと、彼女が作ったアートの作品と一緒にミステリオコインをプレゼント。
そして最後はみんなで輪になってミステリオソングを歌い、お別れ会も幕を閉じました。
怪我するキャンパーも、病気になるキャンパーもなく、８日間元気に最後まで過ごすことができた今年のミステリオ。Be Bold & Do Somethingをテーマに、勇気をもってとにかく何でもやってみよう、とたくさんの笑顔と思い出を作ることができた2011の夏。
参加してくれたキャンパーのみんな、スペシャルゲストのみなさん、スタッフのみんな、おいしいお食事を作ってくださったウッデイーもっくのみなさん、そしてなによりも、いろいろと不安もあったでしょうこの時期に、大切なお子さんたちを出してくださったすべての親御さんたちに心からの感謝の気持をこめて、、、、最高の夏となりました、ありがとうございました！！！
期間中に撮った写真の数々はただいま整理中。みなさんに御覧いただけるようにアルバムにまとめています、もう少々お待ちください。
MSTERIO 2011 Day 8:
8 days went by in a flash...Today is the last day of MSTERIO SUMMER CAMP.
Everyone was running around, packing and setting up the dining hall for the Farewell Party.
At 11:30, the family members of the campers started to arrive. Let the Farewell Party begin!
The opening performance was a collaboration between Music and Calligraphy, directed by the two activity directors, Aika & Kotaro. On the stage, the campers danced
with paper fans in their hands
to "WASSHOI MSTERIO", an original song by Aika. In front of the stage, the other campers dipped their large calligraphy brushes into buckets of ink and let it dance to the music on the white calligraphy paper spread across the floor. What did they write? Anything that came to mind. They let the music inspire them. This was truly the most powerful improvisational collaboration ever!
All of the kanjis written on the calligraphy paper represented nature: "Sky" by Kiwa, "Wind" by Daiya, "Tree" by Keisuke, "Flower" by Satomi, "Forest" by Shoko, "Summer" by Luna, "Self" by Tomoya, "zen(in combination with Tomoya's kanji, means Nature)" by Ken, "Live" by Mariya, "Rain" by Riou, "Plant" by Yuuka, "Mountain" by Meri, and "Earth" by Shige. Every stroke, every brush, full of energy and strength, the children had created masterpieces.
Surrounding the stage were "WINDS" written by the other campers during classes. This performance shed light on some of the core Japanese values such as "harmony", "link", and "bond".
After the show, we all enjoyed the wonderful rice ball lunch box made by our WoodyMock staff members.
When the brief intermission was over, we were all ready for part II of the performance!
Now it was time for a musical performance of "It's a Hard Knock Life" by the MSTERIO Dancing Crew, lead by TAKAKO. The members were
Akari, Kiwa, Mao, Tomomi, Megumi, Meri, Ami, Erina, Mari, Miki, Mariya, Wakana, Shoko, Yoko, Rio, Moe, Taku, Airi, Max. They sang and danced so beautifully, we found it hard to believe they only had a week to perfect it!
The finale was of course, the annual play by the Senior Campers and CITs(Counselor In Training). This year, they did an original play, written and directed by the activity director, Seiko.
The play starts with a flashback scene of Megu, a middle school girl, walking in the rain with an umbrella. The story "You+You" played by the 8 MSTERIO campers revolves around the protagonist.
Surprisingly, as soon as the rainy scene began, it started to thunder and rain outside as if it had been cued to do so. During this scene, the actors faced the challenge of jumping one single jump rope together. At practice, it was difficult for the 6 of them to do 20 continuous jumps with out messing up. However on stage, with unbelievable determination and focus, they successfully completed 20 jumps consecutively!!
This year the half-an-hour play was put on by 8 actors, much fewer compared to last year, which meant more lines and acting skills were required from each of the actors. What does "Friendship" mean? The actors' comprehension of the complex emotions of the sensitive teenagers made the play real and heart-gripping.
Thank you to the 8 actors, Hitomi, Daniel, Miki, Wakana, Maya, Mao, Maki, Yoko and the backstage staff members, Nobu, Mariko, Shutaro, and Akane. You've truly created a wonderful ending to this year's MSTERIO.
As the end of the performance neared, it was finally time for the graduation ceremony of our CIT campers, Yoko and Maki. This year, Mao and Maya appeared from the crowd onto the stage where Yoko and Maki stood. No one saw the two plates full of whip cream behind them. "SPLAT!" With a loud sound, the plates met Yoko and Maki's faces and they were covered in thick white whip cream. We can't end MSTERIO without this tradition of pieing the graduates!
After one of the campers, Mariya, presented her artwork and MSTERIO coin as a gift to the WoodyMock staff members, we all sang the MSTERIO song in unison as a closure to the 8 days we spent together at MSTERIO.
This year, we didn't have a single broken bone nor a single trip to the hospital. We were able to make many new discoveries together by carrying out this year's slogan,
Be Bold & Do Something and challenging ourselves to step out to try something new.
Thank you to all the campers, the special guests, the staff members, the WoodyMock staffs who made us delicious meals everyday, and most of all, to the parents who entrusted MSTERIO to take care of their precious children during this difficult time in Japan. THANK YOU FOR THE BEST SUMMER EVER!
We took lots of amazing photographs during the 8 days of camp. Please be patient while we organize them for the MSTERIO albums on the web!
See you later, Alligator!
