although I can't for the life of me picture what training must be like -- improv classes coupled with impromptu dramaturgy plus a fortifying shot of a fun beverage?
Someone from the audience asked this in the Q&A afterward—Kataoka-san is identified as a student of Midori Sawato, herself a student of the legendary Shunsui Matsuda, who very nearly single-handedly preserved the tradition (as well as much of Japan's early film history) after the war, but it sounded from his answer in translation as though there was very little in the way of formal training. Most benshi come out of other performing arts, he said. You start with silent shorts and work your way up to full-length movies. You have to be able to write your own scripts. He didn't mention beverages, but that sounds like a yes to everything else you asked?
She adored the Bond flick, for what it's worth; probably you should see it, but with earplugs. (I didn't go. Oh, look surprised.)
no subject
Someone from the audience asked this in the Q&A afterward—Kataoka-san is identified as a student of Midori Sawato, herself a student of the legendary Shunsui Matsuda, who very nearly single-handedly preserved the tradition (as well as much of Japan's early film history) after the war, but it sounded from his answer in translation as though there was very little in the way of formal training. Most benshi come out of other performing arts, he said. You start with silent shorts and work your way up to full-length movies. You have to be able to write your own scripts. He didn't mention beverages, but that sounds like a yes to everything else you asked?
She adored the Bond flick, for what it's worth; probably you should see it, but with earplugs. (I didn't go. Oh, look surprised.)