Month: March 2021

Free Rakugo Workshops! RSVP by Mon 5 April 2021!

On By Kanariya EishiIn Notice, UpdatesLeave a comment

Hi all,

Hope everything is well with you and your loved ones!

Our Aoteya Rakugo Club is back in full swing 😃

I’m letting you know that I am considering running two free rakugo workshops for those who are thinking of joining the club.

If you have been wondering if rakugo is for you, this is a great opportunity to learn the basic of this Japanese traditional art of comic storytelling.

Having said that, this workshop will only go ahead IF we have at least 5 people interested.

Because I will use our usual rakugo club time and venue, I need to make sure that there is enough interest to justify this event as our regular members will miss out on our usual activities for 2 sessions.

I hope I was clear enough with bold fonts and underlines! 😁

If you are interested in joining us, please RSVP by Mon 5 April 2021, which is next Monday so that I have enough time to prepare for the sessions.

I haven’t run open workshops since 2019 and have no idea when I will run them next, so please take this opportunity if you are interested!

Venue: Onehunga Community Centre

Time: 2:00-4:00PM, 10 April AND 17 April 2021

More details to be provided to people who have RSVP-ed 😃

Rakugo History in the Making

On By Kanariya EishiIn UpdatesLeave a comment

Correct me if I’m wrong, but…

our Aoteya Rakugo Club is probably the oldest English rakugo club outside of Japan.

I am aware that there have been a few groups of self-taught performers overseas, but our club has a strong connection to Japan though me. So it’s perhaps more like the oldest authentic-ish club of its kind (it will never be authentic because I am a bit too unconventional… sorry!).

For your information, the club was established on Sun 6 Oct 2019.

Please do let me know if your club is older than ours as we are really curious!

Last Saturday (20 March 2021), after 1 1/2 years since its conception, we finally had our first performance, which had originally been planned in March 2020.

Again, I, Eishi, claim it to be the first English rakugo performance produced by an overseas-based English rakugo club (until corrected)!

It was a small performance but a meaningful first step for us especially after going through the four strict lockdowns here in Auckland.

I am just so thankful that the members did not abandon rakugo after so many interruptions.

Thank you all those who have helped us reach this milestone!

We are looking forward to having more public performances together!