Blue Exorcist Stage Play Cast Share Thoughts on Training and More!

EVENT
Sep. 13, 2017 21:00 PDT

In Oct., the continuation of Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Sata will dazzle fans in the form of a stage play! Titled the “Shimane Illuminati Saga,” it’ll be performed in Tokyo and Kobe from Oct. to Nov.

While the audience might not give it much thought, pulling off a perfect performance includes hundreds of hours of practice with the entire cast. This is definitely the case for “Shimane Illuminati Saga,” as it’s filled to the brim with delicious action scenes, making it a difficult episode to pull off. This arc includes multiple people participating in sword and gun battles!

This particular practice session was attended not only by cast members like Kitamura Ryou (Okumura Rin), Miyazaki Shuuto (Okumura Yukio), Saikawa Koji (Shima Renzou), Higushi Yuuta (Takara Nemu), and Ookubo Satomi (Kamiki Izumo), but also screenwriter Nishida Daisuke.

The beginning is always somewhat slow, as it requires performers to repeatedly go through the motions of new battle scenes. Once they begin to memorize it, their movements become quicker, and little by little the scene starts taking shape. Nishida adjusted their actions here and there, switching from actor to actor, and eventually they transformed the battles into seamless scenes.

Working in a pleasant but motivating atmosphere, the actors were also presented a chance to practice the delivery of their lines with direction. They had several short breaks to catch their breaths and chat, but to ensure the highest quality performances, the cast will have had practice sessions several hundred more times before opening night.

At the end of a fun but lengthy session, the cast and director were asked a few questions.

What are your thoughts on today?

Kitamura: With Koji, Shuuta, and the two new members, it was a very busy and hectic pre-practice session. Very enjoyable though!

Miyazaki: First off, I was really happy to be working with Nishida-san again… It’s been quite a while since I’ve had to do some dual pistol action, so it was hard not to feel pressure and expectation!

How do you feel about your peers?

Saikawa: Well, since I was classmates with Higushi back in high school, I already knew what to expect… I’m glad I can be open and frank with Satomi-chan too! I had fun.

Ookubo: Seeing those sword battles finally come together was so moving… They’ve learned to work together and trust each other’s movements, which filled me with motivation!

(Apparently, Miyazaki and Higushi used to play games online together and finally got the chance to meet! They’re happy to be working with each other.)

Excited about the upcoming performances?

Higushi: Even though we had some new cast members, even they worked hard. And because Nishida-san was firm but focused, I felt myself wanting to be in the scenes between Kitamura and Miyazaki! I actually really enjoy the original manga… After this, I’ll be practicing as hard as I can, so I won’t disappoint all the Nemu fans out there~

Nishida: When I first started reading this new arc, I was trembling… It’s an arc you’ll shed tears over. I’m very pleased we had the chance to turn it into a stage play. My hope is that, when fans are watching, they’ll be completely engrossed and forget everything else. Please enjoy it!