History

As the region's premiere English-language theatre company, the Nagoya Players have been bringing a wide variety of theater to the Nagoya area for over 25 years. From our humble beginnings in English professor Michael Horne's back garden in 1975, we have grown both in size and prominence. Currently the group has more than 50 members, who represent a mix of natives of the Nagoya area and the local foreign community. The Players have been featured in print, both locally and nationally, and on radio and television. Hundreds of people come to see each of our yearly spring and autumn productions.

The Nagoya Players have put on comedies, dramas and even a musical. Past performances include plays by everyone from Shakespeare to Simon, Tennessee Williams to Wendy Wasserstein. Others include shows by renowned writers such as Chekhov, Wilde, Ibsen, Ionesco, Beckett and Aristophanes. Newer playwrights' works from Australia, Ireland, the UK and the US have also been well received by audiences. Our lavish June 2000 production of "The Importance of Being Earnest", celebrating the group's 25th anniversary, drew almost 1,000 people to the four sold out performances.

Looking back, the Players' first production, Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party, brought the excitement of live drama to Nagoya University students.Today, people of all ages and backgrounds enjoy the group's spring and autumn performances at the Aichi Prefectural Art Theater, located within the well-known Aichi Arts Center.

The Players continue to put on smaller performances at local universities, and other venues in the greater Nagoya area. The productions at universities are all a part of the Nagoya Players' commitment to serving the community and providing opportunities for local students of English to experience English-language theater firsthand. To arrange for the Nagoya Players to perform at your school or event, contact nagoyaplayers@gol.com.

These performances, which generally run for about 30 minutes, are often followed by a discussion session so the audience can talk about the play with the actors, director and crew. In addition, we have recently begun offering class discounts and providing teaching materials to make it easier for teachers to bring classes to our main stage productions. For more information about class discounts and teaching materials, contact nptickets@yahoo.co.jp.

Support from the community and active participation of its members are the lifeblood of this non-profit theater company. Ticket sales and membership dues help cover such overhead costs as performance and rehearsal hall rentals, costumes, props, sets, lights, royalties, publicity, mailings, and storage facilities. In spite of these expenses, ticket prices have been kept at a low rate--¥2000 for adults (¥2500 at the door) and ¥1800 for students (¥2000 at the door)-- for a number of years. In addition, the group relies on the hard work and dedication of its members who volunteer to sell tickets, run lights, assemble props, put up sets, make programs, do publicity, direct and manage productions, and--oh, yes--act.

Articles, photographs and announcements about the Nagoya Players have appeared in the Japan Times, the Asahi Evening News, the Daily Yomiuri, the Asahi Shinbun, the Chunichi Shinbun, the Yomiuri Shinbun, the Mainichi Shinbun and Nihon Keizai Shinbun. We also receive regular mention in the Nagoya Calendar, Japan'zine (formerly the Alien), Avenues, Eyes, and the Chubu Weekly. Local radio and television stations have carried information and stories about the group. Notable are Chukyo TV coverage of The Shadow Box-which was filmed and broadcast in 1988-Spoon River Anthology in 1993, and La Ronde-which was featured in a documentary about the Players in 1997. The Nagoya Players are very proud of the recent international coverage of the group's production of Lysistrata on NHK BS-1 Japan This Week in June 1999.

The Nagoya Players invites anyone, regardless of theater experience, to become a member. The group's meetings, auditions and other events and activities are usually announced in local English-language publications.

英語劇団　ナゴヤ・プレーヤーズ の歴史

名古屋初の英語劇団として、約２５年に渡り名古屋を中心に活動しています。当劇団は英文科教授であったマイケル・ホーン宅の裏庭で誕生しました。今では、団員数も５０人以上となり、劇団の存在も広く知られるようになりました。そして名古屋プレーヤーズの活動は地方だけではなく、全国ネットでマスコミに紹介されています。

名古屋プレーヤーズでの演劇はコメディ、ドラマ、ミュージカルと幅広く行っています。これらの作品はシェイクスピア、チェーホフ、バーナード・ショウ、テネシー・ウィリアムズ、ノエル・カワード、アリストファネス、オスカー・ワイルド、イブセン、ベケット等、世に名を知られている人達ばかりのものです。又、最近ではアメリカ、オーストラリア、イギリス、アイルランドの新進作家にも意欲的に取り組んでいます。私共の創立２５周年と記念すべき年となった前回の作品「まじめが肝心」では、４回の公演で１０００人もの観客動員しました。

名古屋プレーヤーズの初演であるハロルド・ピンター作「バースデー・パーティー」は地元大学生の絶賛を称しました。今日では、年齢にとらわれず様々な背景をもつスタッフと共に毎年春、秋の年２回愛知芸術文化センター・小ホールにて公演しています。時には小規模な団員で名古屋周辺の大学、コミュニティーセンター等への出張公演も行っています。

最近では、学校用に物語の概要等を含めた教材も提供させて頂いてます。非営利劇団である名古屋プレーヤーズは、地元の熱意あるボランティアの努力と才能に支えられいます。チケットの売上げや会員費は、公演会場費、リハーサル、大道具、小道具、照明、著作権料、通信費等に使われています。これらの諸費用にもかかわらず何年もの間、舞台が身近に感じられる価格で提供させて頂いております。

これまでに名古屋プレーヤーズに関する記事、写真、公演案内は ジャパンタイムズ、 アサヒイブニングニュース、 中日新聞,、 朝日新聞、 読売新聞、 毎日新聞、 日本経済新聞 ジャパンジン、 アベニューズ、 中部ウィークリー 等に取り上げられました。ラジオ、テレビでも紹介されており代表的な例として１９９３年に「スプーン・リバー・アンソロジー」を、１９９８年に「シャドーボックス」、があげられます。１９９９年６月にＮＨＫ_ＢＳ１で紹介された「女の平和」は忘れられない公演となりました。