Introduction of La Strada Company
▪️About our company
La Strada Company consists of two clowns, Chang and LONTO.
Chang has been performing since 1996, and LONTO since 1999.
After leaving past clown team, Chang and LONTO established Las Strada Company seeking their own style of staging.
Their creations are selected as one of the productions performed at ASSITEJ World Congress.
Also, their stages have been appointed as Welfare and Culture Property for Children by Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan. Furthermore, one of them has received an award from the Ministry which is given to the most excellent work of the year. In addition to these achievements they have received numbers of other awards nationally and internationally.
Their performance style is nonverbal, yet many people call it is poetic and imagination kindling. Their creation includes indoor/outdoor stages, outdoor performance and more. Recently they have performed with traditional Japanese puppet shows, the play of Shakespeare, dance stages, and collaboration with an orchestra.
They also hold workshops which have quite a reputation. With the support of Agency for Cultural Affairs, they have worked on a Culture and Art project and a development project for human resourcing for performing arts. Their workshops are widely targeting such children, theater staffs, theater company, performers, childcare workers, company workers, etc.
▪️Performed at
National Circus of Mongolia (Mongolia), World Expo of Shanghai (China), World Expo of Milan (Italy), Disabled Children’s Festival (Korea), Chuncheon International Mime Festival (Korea), Bangkok Street Festival (Thailand), Edinburgh Festival (Scotland), and more!
Our Work
The Circus lights
- Nonverbal -
Writers/Actors : Chang and LONTO
Director : LONTO
Lighting : Shoko Mihara
Music : Xymox
Production : La Strada Company
Supported by : Yuko Shiroma
Puppet creator : Musubiza
Performance time：60min
- Appointed as Welfare and Culture Property for Children by Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan
- Production selected for ASSITEJ World Congress
Many tiny happenings inside a tiny circus. One rain drop becomes an enormous ocean, hide and seek in a big piece of paper, oopsy tipsy on some tubes, and a paper doll starts moving in life…
One day, a train arrives with a circus. Here we see a big white tent! But wait, a star falls down and what happens now?
A circus appears out of nowhere and once we know it, there it goes… just like nothing happened. So is everything going somewhere, someday?
“The Circus Lights” is a stage that two clowns play without
verbal expression in a white tent made with Japanese Washi paper.
It feels like a fairy tale and brings a lot of imagination.
Two talented clowns created this production
towards not only kids but also adults.
STORY
The main prop “circus tent” is made with Washi paper, the traditional Japanese paper. When Washi is handmade with traditional method by craftsmen it is very valuable. The material is used in Japanese bill, and for its prolongation property that is said as long as 1000 year endurance, it is globally used for reparation of numbers of cultural assets. Washi was traditionally used in Japanese houses and its durability, flexibility and irregular translucency that brings the natural sunlight and shadow was cherished for its warmth of life. The nostalgia and relief that Washi gives could come from the humanity aspect of the material. On the stage, you will see many different type and color of props made with Washi, and you will feel the humane warmness through Washi paper.
Highlights of the stage
Message to our audience
In this play, we don’t use words. So often children give us help.
“He is sad to be apart from each other!”
“She is lost her way to go home!”
Children receive the feelings in a well manner and try to tell their family.
Reading what others would like to say and try to pass the messages… that takes compassions.
Nonverbal expression can stimulate one’s imagination and creativity.
Why we chose a nonverbal setting in this play… Well, maybe we like to live in nonverbal world.
Telling others what we want to say with clear words and expression is not an easy task.
But wishing if we could catch a subtle signal, or if children could develop the ability of reading fragile messages, we created this story.
One day after the stage, we heard one girl saying, “There was a circus right here!”
We hope this story will become the one that warms your heart like your favorite picture book that you always remember.
From the producer
One evening.
There was something big, deep and shiny. It was subtle but shiny.
When I tried looking very hard, suddenly I found there were numerous stars twinkling in the sky and shining on me.
Sometimes you remember memories that once you lost out of nowhere.
“Mom used to take me there…”
“Grandpa once said that I should look into it…”
Quite recently I realized that memories always surround us and they help us and empower our lives without noticing. Variety of thing had passed me by and it appears like they are all gone, but actually, they are lightening my path, like stars.
“I would like someone to have the same day, same theater experience one day, someday, just like my mom and dad did to me”
Wishing our kid audience feel it and keep the memory shining in the sky until the day it happens.
From the producer
◾️Casts: 2 Staff: 2 – 4
◾️Nonverbal
◾️Ideal for indoor ◎ (no outdoor setting)
《Stage setting》
With Indoor setting:Required stage size W9m x D7m x H4m
Dimming units needed
Lighting equipment, audio equipment and electric piano are self-provided
Lighting and Sound system need to be provided at the venue
Please prepare mic
RAG’S TIME
- Nonverbal -
CAST ：Chang LONTO
Stage producer: ：LONTO
Art director :LONTO
Performance time：30-50min
Production ：La strada company
Our long-running production. This is a wonderfully amusing stage by clowns for generations!
Chang, the big one with loose red pants and LONTO, the little one in black tuxedo are buddies traveling together with one old bag.
One day the two lose their way in an old ally.
“Wait, where is my buddy? Yahoooo!” Once a buddy appears, the other gets missing, and the other goes… It becomes a non-stop chasing loop, with a bag missing, coat dancing…
I know! Those happenings and flops can be something fun!
“There he goes!”
“You stay right there!”
The kid audience cannot help them calling out to help the clowns, and at the end of the stage everyone in the room feels some kind of unity.
This stage is like a picture book that excites you to turn the next page and to know what comes after. The audience naturally find themselves laughing, cheering, and clapping.
This production is also nonverbal yet quite imagination driving.
Story
Two clowns in this play are very emotional, they cry, laugh, and sometimes get mad. It is surely humorous to see them trying so hard but failing so hard.
But you may find something in them that resemble to you, and start feeling some sense of intimacy. So often we hear cheering like “Is he okay?” “You can do it!” “How come?” or “Oh my god!”
Clowns are genius to turn any mistakes and hardships to something funny.
We are hoping that this stage gives children an opportunity to learn the joy of expressing your honest feelings and the power of comedy that can change mistakes and inferiority complex to laugh, through their experience of watching.
Message
◾️Casts: 2 Staff: 1 – 3
◾️Nonverbal
◾️Ideal for indoor ◎ / outdoor ○
《Stage setting》
With Indoor setting:Required stage size W7m x D5m x H3m
Dimming units needed
Lighting equipment, audio equipment and electric piano are self-provided
Lighting and Sound system need to be provided at the venue
Please prepare mic
La Feuille Les Feuilles
- Nonverbal -
Title ：la feuille les feuilles
CAST ：Xymox Chang LONTO
Stage producer: ：LONTO
MUSIC director :Xymox
Art director :LONTO
Light designer ：Shoko Mihara
Performance time：60min
Production ：La strada company
x-jam
STAFF. :2〜
A new stage that Las Strada Company worked with a musician Xymox.
Here comes a musician. And clowns, too.
Why oh why, the three are not
harmonizing quite
well but somehow, there is something
exciting about them.
And with the music and movements,
it becomes such a fun
and beautiful story.
Story
One day I found a fallen leaf on the street. Through it I saw a beautiful world.
And that beauty was as if telling me to look at the past days that I should be proud of.
And when I looked around, there were more leaves. And none of them was unimportant. They all have different unique color.
So is your path. When you look back the way you’ve come, you will see numerous colors, and each color is one and only. The color of me, or you, or someone else.
This story started with this one leaf that I picked up.
Message
The fallen leaves that have lived their lives up to their colors appear to be telling us that it is okay to live like this.
When we look back there are numerous colors that one is not resemble to another. Some look fun color, some unpleasant, and maybe some you don’t fond of…
But every color is unique and interesting.
And people can be as well unique and interesting, I think.
Each color is one and only that no one else can imitate.
If you could see yourself and others in this way, you will find your surroundings very colorful.
When I was a child, I would pick a leaf up and hold it up to the sky seeing
the sky through it as I take a step and another.
In this stage, we face the same exciting feeling just like that time we once enjoyed the colorful world.
From the producer
◾️Casts:3 Staff: 2 – 3
◾️Nonverbal
◾️Ideal for indoor ◎ / outdoor △(Negotiable)
《Stage setting》
With Indoor setting:Required stage size W12m x D7m x H4m
Dimming units needed
Lighting equipment, audio equipment and electric piano are self-provided
Lighting and Sound system need to be provided at the venue
Please prepare mic
Bon Voyage
- Nonverbal -
It’s a show time presented by a mighty bearded man and a tiny red hair clown!
They try to prepare for their show, but just can’t get it started. When one calls out for beginning, another freezes like a mannequin.
This mannequin act with pantomime becomes comical and acrobatic show time by two clowns. You see rola bola, and ballet dance for next moment. There is a nerve-wrecking moment then there is none…
You will see so much going on in this stage, a teatime, flute performance, a nerve-wrecking act, etc. And all of those are presented with our unique expression.
We hope you enjoy this theatrical world!
Story
◾️Casts:2 Staff: 0-2
◾️Nonverbal
◾️Ideal for indoor ◎ / outdoor ◎
《Stage setting》
With Indoor setting:Required stage size W5m x D4m x H3m
Dimming units needed
Lighting equipment, audio equipment and electric piano are self-provided
Lighting and Sound system need to be provided at the venue
Please prepare mic
Pierrot’s dream
- Nonverbal -
This is a story about a pierrot who longs to go outside of the drawing.
A fragile beautiful world will be shown with pantomime and live music by the accordion.
A pierrot stands quietly in the drawing. It starts longing to see the outside world. As the music by accordion begins the pierrot slowly begins moving, and after some effortful attempts it succeeds to go out of the drawing frame.
Everything in the outside world is new to the pierrot. The colour, the smell, the sound… everything.
Getting the independent hands and feet, it keeps going on the adventure.
Things that come across the way are all beautiful.
Time that is limited, life that is fragile, and the beauty of all…
Drawings never say a word, but when you take a very close look, they talk to you. Pantomime is the same. It doesn’t say a word, but it develops the world for the viewers and talks to them.
Story
Ryutantan
“Ryutantan” is a novel written by a Japanese novelist, Kyouka Izumi. In this play, “Ryutantan” is performed by 3 women using 3 unique elements “Tokiwazu (a Japanese traditional form of drama)”, “Ball-jointed Doll”, and “Pantomime”.
CAST ：TOKIWAZU THUNAHOU LONTO HUYUYAHARUKA
Performance time：75min
Production ：La strada company
Chisato, a girl who lost her mother in her early age, goes out to the mountain of Azareas, disobeying her sister’s commandment. In the mountain, she gets bit by a poisonous insect and her face swells so much that her sister can’t recognize. Then she meets a beautiful woman who resembles her past mother at a village where she strays into. The woman sings lullaby to Chisato…
Story
This story is told by Shamisen (a traditional Japanese musical instrument) players and performed by puppeteers. This form of storytelling is called “Joururi”, which is the origin of Japanese puppet show. This form has been passed on from generations to generations, and now it is performed in the world.
Nowadays, it is more common that the puppeteers say the lines along with the movements, while in this play, the story and lines are told by Shamisen players and the puppeteers takes only movement part.
However, we are not trying to restore the old form. What we are trying to do is create some unexpected intense moments by separating the storytelling part and movement part. Also, the sound of Shamisen and the voice along with it has something musical, chic, and stimulative that is different from voice lines. We hope you enjoy this gift of words.
In usual Joruri, the Shamisen player and the singer are separate, but with “Ryutantan”, singing, storytelling, Shamisen playing are all performed by one player. Also, pantomime is used to express different characters such as insects, Azarea flowers, a woman called Kodama. The main character Chisato is a “ball-jointed doll”. It doesn’t allow free movements as regular puppets for puppet shows, but we express the presence of inconvenience on purpose.
We hope you enjoy the beauty of intimacy that limited number of performers present!
Highlights
◾️Casts:3 Staff: 1-3
◾️Nonverbal
◾️Ideal for indoor ◎/outdoor △(Negotiable)
《Stage setting》
With Indoor setting:Required stage size W6m x D6m x H2.5m
Dimming units needed
Lighting equipment, audio equipment and electric piano are self-provided
Lighting and Sound system need to be provided at the venue
Please prepare mic
CONTACT
