Pacific opening, audition of EAS 4th grade musical students

"Obertura Pacífica", musical audition for the 4th grade students directed by David Pintó at the Eòlia Theater

PACIFIC OPENING

From the musical PACIFIC OVERTURES by Stephen Sondheim.

SYNOPSIS

One July 1853, four American warships appeared in the port of Okinawa. No one knew what General Calbraith Perry's intentions were, but the sacred laws of Japan forbade any foreigner to set foot on Japanese soil.

Those black dragons would open the gate of the floating realm and shake the beliefs of all its inhabitants.

An altarpiece of stories and tales that will make us understand what happened in the diplomatic pavilion where the foundations were laid that would define the current Japanese reality.

DIRECTOR'S NOTE

The material I have chosen to work with this year is impossible to solve. To begin with, it is a comedy (all teachers recommend avoiding this genre when doing a workshop because it usually brings a lot of problems). It is a puzzle of many pieces that, with a certain Brechtian aftertaste, explains how the West conquered Japan. Venturing into this material so far from us (Japanese culture and its traditions, way of doing things, clothing) has meant that we had to make an even greater commitment. As if all this weren't enough, the musical part is fiendishly complicated and the scenes outrageous. This difficulty has made us fall into the story and connected us as a group (a mixed group of musical and text theater students). The ways of creation are inscrutable. It makes me very happy to unwrap this musical from the great Sondheim and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did in this creation process. Welcome to Nippon, the floating kingdom.

David Painted Quedinasaltas