#sienne: tenju mitsuki

[zukalations]

TRIPLE 4 - Tenju Mitsuki

TRIPLE 4 is a Kageki feature where siennes list their top 3 favorites in 4 different Takarazuka-related categories. Tenju Mitsuki’s was published in the July 2016 issue.

Please note I haven’t seen all the shows she’s referring to here so I was going from her descriptions.

TRIPLE 4: Tenju Mitsuki

Favorite love scenes: 1. Ocean's 11 - When Benedict gives Tess the ring 2. A Second Fortuitous Meeting - When Durant kisses Sylvia 3. Arc de Triomphe - When Joan dies in Ravic's arms

In the scene where Benedict pushes Tess, who's hesitating, to take the ring and then leaves, there's a kiss scene that is somehow so mature and I really love it (laughs). I was given the opportunity to play Benedict in the shinjin kouen, so I would watch Kurenai-san and Nene-san (Yumesaki Nene) perform that scene every day. Also, I would practice every day until really late with Haruko (Otoha Minori), who played Tess in the shinjin kouen, so it's a love scene with a lot of memories for me. In A Second Fortuitous Meeting, there's a scene where Durant pins Sylvia against a wall and kisses her: I would watch that from the wings every day like 'Aah!' (laughs). That love scene went straight to the heart for me! I loved the scene in Arc de Triomphe where Ravic kisses Joan after she is shot. I thought 'it's just so beautiful'. When Ishi-san (Todoroki Yuu), who plays Ravic, strokes the hand Joan is holding out, her hands were soo beautiful...I watched that scene on the DVD over and over.

Favorite ensemble dances: 1. Dear DIAMOND!! - The black tailcoat bolero 2. Angel's Ladder - Finale dance number 3. Ocean's 11 - FATE CITY

In Dear DIAMOND!!, in the black tailcoats number, everyone came down the Grand Staircase in a reverse pyramid formation, but during the show's run it was filmed every day and we would review it afterwards. Therefore, it was a really exciting moment when we all formed up. We would get really caught up in it, like 'how's this!' (laughs). I think Star Troupe is good at group numbers, but especially there I felt like we were really displaying our strength as a troupe, so I loved that scene. The finale number for Angel's Ladder started with just a few otokoyaku, then turned into an ensemble number, and then the musumeyaku joined in...I really liked that arrangement.  The otokoyaku ensemble number was choreographed as a really Takarazuka-style tailcoat dance, which I found really thrilling, and then as everyone joined in it was a really emotional scene for me. In Ocean's 11, for 'FATE CITY' we were all wearing tuxedos, and it had a really Star Troupe attitude with lots of glitz, but it was also a really polished, smart otokoyaku dance number. It was the kind of number where as an otokoyaku you think 'I want to master this dance' as you're performing.

Dance numbers that had the deepest effect on me: 1. Love Potion II - 'Temptation of Love' number 2. Neo Dandyism! - 'Parting regrets' number 3. Drenched in the Amber-Hued Rain - Gigolo number

I feel that Choreographer Kita's* choreography has a unique masculine intensity, and in 'Temptation of Love' I was able to study that for myself. The ending, where all the otokoyaku line up at the front and blow kisses and wink at the audience, was so fun! I did wonder how it looked from the audience, but at the same time I really went over the top with it (laughs). I suppose that really had a big effect on me as an otokoyaku. 'Parting regrets' was all choreographed to illustrate the soundtrack, and the atmosphere was as if it was more than just a physical performance. In any case it was a number I put all my heart and soul into. In the gigolo scene of Drenched in the Amber-Hued Rain, I realized that the exaggerated choreography really brought out a manly, cool feeling. In the part where all the gigolos line up I would be thinking 'and who does madame fancy today?' as I was dancing (laughs).

Plays that made me cry the most: 1. Napoleon: The Man Who Never Sleeps 2. An Officer and a Gentleman 3. Afterglow of Eire

Since my role in Napoleon, Napoleon II, was more of a 'storyteller', when I wasn't on stage myself I would be watching everyone else performing. The part of the story from when Napoleon is overthrown to the death of Josephine made me cry a ton every time! Perhaps my emotions were stronger as Napoleon's 'son', but even as a third party observer it would definitely be really moving. I think during that performance I cried more than I ever have in my life. In An Officer and a Gentleman the scene where Sid decides to commit suicide would make me terribly sad as I watched from the wings. 'You've suffered so much,' I would think and cry every time. I've only seen Afterglow of Eire on video recordings, but I can't watch the end of it without tearing up. The scene where Amami (Yuuki)-san crosses the silver bridge holding Asano (Kayo)-san especially pulled me into the story and I really like it. It was always really moving, like 'in a story like this even performing naturally while holding her partner seems so cool!!'

* Kita Hiroshi, who died 1999 (Tenju participated in a posthumous restage)

[zukalations]

TRIPLE 4 - Ootori Mayu

TRIPLE 4 is a Kageki feature where siennes list their top 3 favorites in 4 different Takarazuka-related categories. Ootori Mayu’s was published in the July 2016 issue, along with Tenju Mitsuki’s.

Again, a lot of these shows I haven’t seen so I have to go by her descriptions.

TRIPLE 4 - Ootori Mayu

Characters I've played who are most like me 1. Victorian Jazz, Arthur Conan Doyle 2. Phantom shinjin kouen, the Phantom 3. Me and My Girl, Cedric Parchester Althought Doyle was a real person, the way Director Tabuchi wrote him was quite close to my own personality...the way he gets carried away with things is totally me (laughs). I was also given a lot of liberty in the performance, so looking back I can almost say it was just me onstage. I really had a lot of freedom with that character (laughs). Eric (the Phantom) was a really hard role, and I recieved a lot of instruction from Ranju (Tomu)-san who had the real part, but I decided I should start out with the character by finding aspects that were similar to me. And there were a surprising amount of things we had in common...As I got deeper into character I felt 'he's really a lot like me'. On the other hand, with Parchester, I really struggled to get a grasp on the character, so I decided I might as well play it as myself for once. When I did that 'what would I do in this situation' part really took off, so I think he became more like me.

Shows that made me cry the most as an audience member 1. Arc de Triomphe 2. The Dancing Girl 3. For the People I saw Arc de Triomphe* while I was a student, and it made me cry more than I ever had in my life until then. Todoroki-san's lead role, Ravic, was a gorgeous study in otokoyaku aesthetics, amazingly cool! In the twilight before WWII, a surgeon dies a beautiful death...accompanied by the beautiful music it was so heart-wrenching and I cried so much. In The Dancing Girl, the heroine was played by my classmate Nono Sumika-chan, and I could feel the amount of passion the performers were putting into it, and the story was both sad and dramatic. I remember being really moved by it. I know I was actually in Lincoln, but looking at it from the outside, I was delighted to be in the same show with Todoroki-san from Arc de Triomphe - I couuldn't take my eyes off her in rehearsal for a single moment! It might be because of those incredible days that I would sometimes start crying on stage when I thought about Lincoln...

Favorite songs I've performed 1. Phantom shijin kouen, the Phantom's song 'My Mother Bore Me' 2. For the People, 'For the People' 3. Me and My Girl, Parchester's song 'The Family Solicitor' I love all the songs in Phantom, but in this one, I think the character's emotions in the moment are expressed the most clearly. Since the shinjin kouen only happens once, everything had to be settled on ahead of time, but I couldn't sing this song without having Misaki Rion-chan's performance as Christine to react to. That song taught me how to completely immerse myself in a character's emotions while singing. This song from Lincoln is a number where everyone gathers around Lincoln to sing about their hope for the future, so the feeling of unity was really strong - even the audience would get cuaght up on it and it was as if the whole theatre came together as one. I could practically feel it. It was unforgettable. In Parchester's song, even though everyone around is really proper they get swept up in it (laughs); it's really fun to watch them start to enjoy themselves, and I've always liked it. Being able to sing it myself made me like it even more!

Characters who most make me feel 'I want to be them!' 1. Elisabeth, Elisabeth 2. West Side Story, Tony 3. PUCK, Puck Elisabeth was a real person, but of course I first heard of her when I saw Takarazuka's Elisabeth. At first I feel in love with the show, and then as I researched the historical background, I became more interested in Elisabeth as a person. Of course there's depth to anyone's life, but to inspire such a fantastical musical...I yearn for a life with the kind of drama Elisabeth's had, I suppose. As for Tony, in the first place, I like the world of 1950s America that he lived in. So while basically I would like to timetravel back to that era, I also feel like I want to experience the life of such a passionate, energetic young man; in mere days he meets and falls in love with Maria, to the point of losing his life in the end. Puck is a fairy, so of course I am really interested in what it would be like to live as something other than human!

* this was before she entered TMS, so she means while she was in mainstream schooling.