Thoughts on my First Samurai Musical

Naka-san & Taka-san (myself) and Suke-san and Kaku-san:
In the show, we were comedic pairs and represented a lot of the show's comic relief. 

Just wrapped on the Samurai theatre show I was doing, Tange Sazen. It took me to the final show to feel like I finally nailed all the dialog, dancing, blocking, timing and humor, but I got it. What a fantastic experience. No doubt it was hard... but anything worth doing always is. When I first got the call for this, I had thought I was simply going to be a masked background ninja or something. I was shocked the first time I was saw the script and saw how prominent of a character I was playing; but after I understood the nature of the show, I got it. A lot of the humor was slapstick, and what could be funnier than an American black dude playing a Japanese person from 200 years ago. It would be like if someone in the states decided to make a comedy version of Shaft and then cast a Japanese guy who didn't speak English to play a pimp from the hood named "Honey Dip" or something. It was a pretty risky move for the director/producer, but it seemed to work well, and people absolutely loved it; and truth be told, so did I. 

I found out that one of the people I was acting alongside of was Ryosuke Sakamoto; the original Japanese "Red One" power ranger. Super honored. 

As strange as it may seem, the thing that I’m the most thankful for is the fact that I wasn’t treated any differently than any other cast or crew member. Generally, as a foreigner working here in Japan, you get used to always having additional assistance. There is always someone translating for you, or going the extra mile to help you to understand. Since 99% of us are working with a language barrier, I do think that attitude is actually a good thing- because quite frankly you do miss a lot. At the same time however, in this case, it was really refreshing that the director and cast just generally took the attitude “Meh, Chuck is fine. He’ll figure it out.” For myself that shows a large degree of trust, and it made me determined not to disappoint.

Among other things like caring for my wig and Kimono costume pieces, another challenge was having to learn how to wear a fundoshi. (Traditional Japanese men's underwear). This was easily the hardest thing to ask for help with, haha. 

There were times were I had to ask for extra help; needed extra repetitions, or had extra explanations, but more often than not, I was left to just figure it out...and I usually did. 

I’m not sure if this kind of work will continue beyond this... but I hope so. As an actor, it was an intense experience, but also a massive opportunity for personal and professional growth. In addition to having to learn the script, I also had to learn how to wear all the costumes, (which seriously upped my Kimono game), learn a ton about Japanese history and also learn a lot about how theatre in Japan works. 

Beyond that, I honestly could not have asked for a more wonderful, honest and hardworking cast and crew to do this with. I feel like I made a lot of good friendships that will last a long time. My only regret of the whole thing is that there’s no video of any of it, so the only people who got to see it are those that took the time to come. This show happens yearly however, so hopefully this or other opportunities like it will come around. Even if film and television pay better, I have always believed that the actor’s truest training ground is theatre, and this show certainly was just that.

The entire cast of 45 wonderful, talented and super-hardworking people.
Didn't get to know everyone, but I will miss them all.  

On the promo tour with Erth

Yutaka and I with the Triceratops Rig.

Just arrived in Hiroshima, our first stop on the Erth Dinosaur Zoo promo tour with Yutaka, who will be operating the back legs of the triceratops rig I'll be driving for the full Japan tour in a few months. The last show/presentation we did was in the Australian Embassy in Tokyo, and this one will be in Hiroshima airport. In general, I love Tokyo, but it's always nice to be able to get out of the city sometimes and see other areas of Japan. Especially if my official excuse is driving a robotic dinosaur, lol.

For only having a few hours of rehearsal with the rig before our first show, Yutaka has done an awesome job. As the full rig weighs about 70kg (the operators wear it like a tandem backpack) I was a bit concerned that our height difference would mean I would be bearing a disproportionate amount of the weight, but thanks to his keen scene of movement and his body, it wasn't an issue in the least.   I'm really glad to be able to bring him with me on this one. Looking forward to the show tomorrow!

On our way to Hiroshima.

Our producer/director, Scott, showing my son the Triceratops rig. I still don't think he knows that his Dad is inside, lol. 

Returning to the Stage in Orpheus Descending

Trying on my costume as "The Conjure Man"
for the first time. 

So recently, I was blessed enough to be cast in the biggest Theatre show in Japan of this year. A re-telling of Tennessee Williams’ (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof)  story, Orpheus Descending. 

The producer/director (Phillip Breen) came in for the production from the UK, and while this isn’t my first time performing in theatre (it’s my third), this show has offered me my first opportunity to work closely with an English speaking director. In the states I had the opportunity to work a range of productions as well, (Detroit 187, Batman vs. Superman, SeTup, etc), but I was certainly never one of the main cast, and as such, I had never had the opportunity to see what it was like to be directed by someone who spoke my own language before. 

Thus far, it has been an amazing experience. In the story I play a “conjure man”, a toothless, mumbling character who in the end, proves that he is smarter than everyone thinks he is. We had a solid month of rehearsals leading up to the opening night, and while that was hard to handle with the responsibilities of becoming a new father and doing the pre-production and principle photography for Fists of Absinthe at the same time, it was an amazing experience. 

 Phillip’s depth of character exploration, history, and philosophy of the play has been staggering, and in working with him I really came to realize at heart something that I knew in my head for a long time- when an actor gives an amazing performance, the credit is not just his or hers alone; it belongs to the director as well. An amazing actor can make a decent director look pretty good… and a great director can make an okay actor perform well… but when you have an amazing actor working with an amazing director, that is when you really truly see magic happen. The main actress in the play, Shinobu Otake is an excellent actress in her own right, (she does the Japanese voices for Disney movies among other things) but seeing how she performs under Phillip's direction has been breath-taking. 

In my own experience as well, I don’t think I could have understood and personified this character half as well if it had not been for the insights into his meaning that Phillip shared and helped me to develop. That goes without saying for the rest of the cast as well, and the fact that we have received a standing ovation for virtually every show so far is a testament to that. 

Just about the only downside of the whole experience is the fact that I got my first ever vocal injury in rehearsals (due to the fact that my character screams at the top of his lungs a lot). At the same time however, that injury prompted me to take my first steps towards proper vocal training (knowing how to warm up and strengthen your vocal cords with daily exercises, produce sound from the diaphragm to lessen stress, etc.) so at the end of the day, I see the injury as a positive learning experience. Live and learn.  

I’ve also started to get greeted by fans after the show and asked for my autograph. Not the first time I have ever signed autographs, but it certainly is the first time people have lined up to ask me for them. Crazy feeling. Looking forward to seeing how things develop for the rest of the show’s run. 

10 (more) Ways that Life in Japan Kicks Ass.

A recent shot I took of Tokyo from the newly-constructed
Skytree, overlooking Shinjuku with Mt. Fuji in the distance. 

So, recently, I read an article on Collegehumor.com called 10 ways that Japan is Beating Everyone Else. And while the article was cute, and funny I thought, it didn't actually go into all of the main reasons that so many people who come here simply never leave. (Myself included- I only planned on staying here a year, and now here I am writing this 12 years later). Of course as an American, I still love my country (and ooooh do I miss the pizza and supreme nachos at times- thank goodness Japan has Costco!!) but there are a range of reasons while I took up residency here... And these are my top ten. 

1) Health Insurance
While Brits or Europeans (who have free universal health care everywhere) may not agree with me on this one, for Americans this one is huge. General health insurance is universally free for kids under 15, and quite affordable for everyone else. A good example of this was the cost of my knee rehab; I was going to the same high level clinic that Circ de Sole performers go to for their needs, and with insurance, paying only $7.00 a session. Even without insurance however, medical care is still subsidized, so I would only be paying $21.00. With that, I could easily afford to get the healthcare I needed to get back on my feet and back to work; while had I been in the states, the same injury might have been career-ending.

This drew a stark contrast to the last time I had an injury in the states. The doctor I saw at a clinic unofficially told me to pretend that we hadn't met, because if we had, he would have to put me in an ambulance, and that ambulance ride would have cost me $5000. (Whereas here, like pretty much everywhere else in the 1st world- they are totally free). Despite having a serious neck injury, he told me my best bet was to take a chance and drive myself to the hospital trying as best I could not to move my neck...which I did. And even so, just getting the MRI cost $1000... Which took nearly a year of ongoing negotiation with my employee (where the injury occurred) to get back. 

While Canadians also get free universal health care, I have heard complaints from well-to-do people that even when they are willing to pay for superior service, they still have to get the same care as everyone else...and deal with the impossibly long waits. Whereas here, basic healthcare costs are doable for everyone, but there are options for much better care for those who are willing to pay for it. 

FYI, Japan also became ranked as having the lowest infant mortality rate of anywhere in the world. Contrasting that with the states, last I checked, we are #34.

2) Credit Cards work like they are supposed to
Only people who have proven financial responsibility in the first place are allowed to have them. There is no predatory lending, like they do on college campuses on the states. and balances are expected to be paid off monthly. In the case that they can, a 2-3 month payment plan can be set for that balance, and that's all. Furthermore, the kind of interest rates that American credit cards have is actually illegal. (Out here 14% is considered insanely high- and the 29% that many US cards charge these days is actually more along the lines of what loan sharks and the Yakuza takes. 

3) Theft is virtually nonexistent
 Out of the 34 countries that I have been do, I can honestly say, Japan is the only one where you can drop a $100 on the ground and then just go to the Police station to pick it up... Because someone always turns it in. The same goes with wallets full of cash and credit cards, expensive cameras, etc. While white collar theft does transpire, cases of personal theft or loss of personal items are quite rare and few and far between.

4) Political mudslinging doesn't really exist
While it isn't illegal, in Japanese politics attacking a politician based on their personal life is considered immortal, and is seriously frowned upon. Political candidates do attack each other, but it is always focused purely on the basis of their campaign, what they plan to do in office, or how they are doing their job. This is about as far removed from the states as you can get.

5) Virtually everywhere is clean, and virtually everywhere is safe
One of the most striking things about Tokyo for most visitors is that contrasting with most other big cities  or countries (that have some nice areas, and some dirty, bad or dangerous areas) In general, virtually everywhere is perfectly clean, and safe. And this goes for pretty much everywhere in the country. 

Even in a place like Tokyo (that has 10 of the world's busiest train stations), everyone is generally concerned about the health and cleanliness of their city. No one ever litters (even when garbage cans are hard to find), rusted or leaky cars are non-existant, and sick people usually wear a mask to stop other strangers from getting sick. Many people wear masks just to prevent themselves from getting sick anyway, which also adds to the general health of the city. 

7) Shootings are nonexistent
 As the only people who are allowed to own guns are hunters, and police, public shootings are more or less non-existant here. The last time a person snapped and tried to go on a killing spree here was in my wife's hometown of Toyocho. The guy tried to go on a stabbing spree with a knife put another person hit with a flagpole and then two more guys tackled him to the ground. A few people were injured, no one was killed. This draws another stark contrast to the states. Even incidents of police actually using firearms are rare and few and far between.

8) Murder is also rare
So rare in fact, that when it happens, it's national headlines. 

9) Excellent public transportation
 One of the things that keeps the air in Tokyo so clean is that the regulations on cars are extremely strict. So strict in fact that most Tokyoites can't be bothered to have one, and as such Tokyo has evolved one of the most impressively comprehensive public transportation systems imaginable. Contrasting with other big cities that might have 5-15 train lines, Tokyo has over 50. Everywhere is within a 10 minute walk to a train station, and all of the public transportation is also perfectly clean, and punctual to the minute... Even all of the buses. (How they manage that is still beyond me). 

10) Food quality (of all sorts) is incredible, and food contamination/disease is rare
Having had hundreds of years to figure out the ins and outs of eating fish and otmeats raw, the Japanese have incredibly high standards of food quality and safety. While this does make things more expensive (and most likely contribute to the fact that portions are smaller), it also makes for amazing eating. Most visitors even say that the McDonald's here is excellent.

And just for the heck of it, here are three more... 

11)Awesome Tax Deductions
Japan is a great place to be a business owner, and tax deductions here kick ass. For as long as I have lived here, I have never met an American business owner here who complains about this place being hard to run a business in, and conversely virtually everyone has told me that tax deductions for businesses are way better and more diverse out here.

I've also found that to be the case as an entertainer. (As an example, virtually all of the clothes I buy are tax deductible because they constitute part of my image as a public figure). 

12) Virtually the entire country is middle class
Of course Japan has it's ultra-wealthy and it's poor people, but in general, the whole country is more or less middle-class, and the average household savings are right around $100,000 dollars. For those who have less, there is also strong social welfare structures; (single mother support, healthcare, high literacy in public schools). In effect, they made democracy work the way it's supposed to.

13) No terrorism, no Ebola
Ever since the atomic bomb was dropped, Japan has an had a peace-oriented constitution, and has also been active in building up and developing the third world. While to be sure, there are other reasons as well, at present, there has been no terrorism here. Also, given the extremely high regard for public safely, there has also been no cases of Ebola either. (Knock on wood!) 

So, in preparing this list, I'm certainly not out to prove that Japan is the best place on earth to live. It has it's issues as well. Like anywhere else, domestic abuse, bullying, suicides, and most other social ills are issues here as well. Also, while outward police brutality is rare, basic human rights abuse in prisons or detention (particularly of foreigners) is also a serious issue. 

The thing that is so interesting for myself as an American however, is the fact that so many of the issues that we deal with in the states simply don't exist here, and for the most part, "the system" runs the way it is supposed to; not in an idealized way or in some abstract way that politicians use as "proof" that they are correct; but in a very real way that everyone can see and feel around them... 

Even if people here love to worry themselves to death over small things, I would say compared to the average person in the states, the average person here seems to be doing just fine. While it would be easy to say, "Well, that's just Japan, and the States is different." I have to think that if they can make it work here, we can sure as he'll resolve these issues on the home front as well. That is, if we can get past all of the gross political polarization that is making the government far less ineffective and inefficient than it should be. In the meantime however, I've got no complaints about where I am at. 

Helping the Tokyo Fire Department Prepare for the 2020 Olympics

An article about me assisting the Tokyo Fire Department in
their English training drills in the Mainichi Newspapers.

So a few days ago, I had a chance to continue my efforts at helping the Tokyo Fire Department prepare it's staff for the incoming flux of foreigners that will be arriving for the 2020 Olympics.

The program was held at the Rinkou Fire Station (where all of the City's Fire Boats are held and which services the whole of Tokyo Bay), and spent the day acting as an English-only patient for the Paramedics and firefighters. Basically, the idea was that instead of just having to continually practice on dummies or Japanese patients, this way, they could have a live English speaker that they have to actually interact with during their exercises. I started off "calling" 119, and from there, they questioned me on my medical history, country of origin, current condition, etc. Then they rushed to the scene and start their actual treatment on me. 

A small thank you gift the Rinkou Fire Station
gave me showing it's flagship vessel. 

All of the drills were taking place on an actual fireboat, and while I was there, while we were on lunch break, I got to drill them with questions on how they do their jobs and how everything in the station works. It was really interesting. I think this is especially good for Rinkou, as it is located square where Tokyo's Olympic village will be. After that there were TV and newspaper interviews (some I gave in English and others in Japanese) about their progress and efforts to set up bi-lingual paramedics teams before the Olmypics. 


The program ended with me giving an hour-long class to 40 Firefighters, Paramedics, and Rescue Technicians and then a speech about how best to progress their English skill on their own.

All in all, I was pretty impressed with how seriously they are taking this training (although I think the gov needs to put way more funding into it than they currently are), and happy to see that many of them are managing to retain what they learned from the previous classes I had with them. I hope the program continues on with the energy that it has had thus far and also that Tokyo generally continues it's efforts to make life more foreigner friendly here. A lot more escalators are being installed all over the city to give better handicap access, and from what I have heard, all of the subway/JR maps that are exclusively in Japanese will be replaced. (This is bad for me though, as that has always been good reading practice! ;) Anyway, if Tokyo keeps going like this, then I think all we need now is actual free WIFI around and things will be all around grand!

View from the top of the ship. It has a total of 6 water cannons like these that all together  can fire over 60,000 liters
of water per minute. The InfraRed Camera in the top right corner also costs about $300,000. This is also the first ship in the fleet that has the technology to automatically hold it's exact position regardless of what the rest of the ocean is doing around it. 

Shooting at the YouTube Space Tokyo in Roppongi

So, not too long ago, a friend of mine contacted to tell me that he had taken a tour of a new YouTube Studio that had just been build on the 29th floor of Roppongi Hills. He had said that he was able to get a press tour of it through the company he worked for, and that given the success of How to Defeat Dudes, I might be eligible to use it. Sure enough, I did a bit of homework and found out that such a studio did indeed exist... and it was only one of three in the world (with the other two being in London and LA).

 Basically, as YouTube continues to grow it is getting more and more of a share of people's leisure time viewing that traditionally only belonged to television, and cable. As such, they built these studios in key locations to allow their top partners access to better skills and equipment so that they could continue to create to local and international content that could compete in entertainment value with big budget or network TV.

Roppongi Hills: The Home of the YouTube Space Tokyo

With that, I looked into the requirements to film there, and while my channel is still relatively small for Youtube standards, (1/2 a million views), my regular monthly views were just enough for the minimum requirement of 15,000 per month (at that time I had 15,200) and my subscriber count was 6x higher. With that, I put in an application, and sure enough I was granted full access to the studio. I think I also lucked out in this regard because YouTube is still a lot smaller in Japan than it is in the states, so even though I was creating content largely for American / Western audiences, they were simply happy just to have me in to make use of the studio. As Youtube Japan & the studio continues to grow, who knows at a later date I may not have been able to get in to make use of it.

At any rate, I can now use the studio space and equipment to shoot there for free, I get an agent/mentor, and a manager, and I can take classes on production ranging from top level editing software like Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Audition, to how to use green screens and effective lighting strategies. Furthermore I also get the chance to meet and work with other top earning Japanese partners as well.

The Green Screen Set

Audio Recording Booth

The last camera I got to shoot on- the Canon FX305.
(About a $6000 camera)

In a lot of ways getting access to a studio like this was something I had been yearning for for years. How to Defeat Dudes always has been the flagship of my channel, and where most of my views come from. While I have created a few other things on my own since then that have done really well, ultimately, in order to succeed I knew that I would need to 1) continue the show and 2) create more content that was of the same or better quality. Having access to this studio will allow me to do just that without it being the massive financial strain that producing the first 13 episodes on my own was. Now I can not only continue the show indefinitely on my own, but I can also start more high production value shows (as well as my first Japanese channel) all while learning from top-notch industry experts, and on top-notch equipment- experiences that will lend itself very well to following my dream of producing content that extends beyond YouTube and onto other forms of media.

The only challenge that working at the studio presents is the fact that it is more or less all in Japanese. (i.e. All of the forms I have to fill out, all the classes I am taking, etc)... And trust me, learning to use Premiere Pro is hard enough in English. Learning it in Japanese is exhausting at times to say the least.

At the same time though, I'm not taking this opportunity for granted in the least… I'm getting to learn all those things that successful film makers go to school for, and doing it for free. And it's pretty damn safe to say that Chuck is a happy camper at the moment.

Sushi Typhoon Quadruple Movie Premiere

This past saturday, I attended the Tokyo Premiere of 4 Sushi Typhoon films: Aliens vs. Ninja, Dead Ball, Yakuza Weapon, and Hell Driver. It was great to get out there as I had a chance to catch up the with the films' producer (who also produced Death Trance), as well as spend a bit of time with Yuji Shimomura, and Tak Sakaguchi. My good friends (Kentaro Shimazu- whom I squared off against for the sword action part of my demo reel) and Asami were also there, as well as Yassy, as well as an actress whom I used to do pronunciation coaching for Miho Ninagawa, Miho Ninagawa. It was my first time to see everyone together since returning to Japan, and that made the trip out to Ginza for the premiere worth it inandof itself.

As for the films itself, Yakuza Weapon was heralded as having the best martial arts action, but unfortunately as I had a rank test in Karate that day, I had to miss it. Aliens vs. Ninjas also looked like a lot of fun. The only film I was able to catch was Dead Ball, and it was absolutely hilarious. Shockingly so. Although I had an idea of the kind of stuff that Sushi Typhoon makes (just from the people involved, and their previous work), I had no idea they would pull it off as well as they did until I actually saw Dead Ball. Although it didn't have much in the way of martial arts action, it was quite simply a hilarious film. Shockingly so. Imagine a live action version of South Park (complete with all the blood, profanity, and intelligent purpose behind it) done in typical Japanese slapstick style humor, and you are starting to get the point. I was also surprised at the fact that the film actually had some really huge names in the Japanese entertainment industry as well such as ( )the guy who plays Will Smith, Keanu Reeves and most other major Hollywood male celebrities in Japanese voice overs), and ( ). It was simply awesome. I've already decided to buy a bunch of copies and give them away as christmas presents. Can't wait to see AVN, Hell Driver and Yakuza Weapon!!

Short Film with Mizuno Miki

Just completed filming on a comedic short film with veteran dramatic actress Miki Mizuno.

In addition to my own short film, I recently did a short film for a submission to a film festival with veteran drama actress Miki Mizuno. I have known Miki for sometime now, but it was my first time working alongside her, and she was really cool to work with. In so much as I know this was also her directorial debut, (perhaps inspired by the success of “Hurt Locker”’s director? ). Also got a chance to meet a lot of cool people on set as well.

The short is a comedy about two guys sitting in a café talking about her while she is actually sitting in the café herself, and I was playing a disgruntled bartender at the café. In so much as I know this was also Miki’s directorial debut, (perhaps inspired by the success of “Hurt Locker”’s director? ) but things went really smoothly, and everyone seemed to have have a great time, and was laughing and enjoying themselves off camera as well. Very “ii kanji” (good atmosphere). For myself, this was my first attempt at doing comedy in Japanese, (aside from my over-the-top character in Yassy) but Miki seemed really happy with the result, so my performance couldn’t have been too bad ;) I’m looking forward to seeing how it turns out. The short is in the process of being edited now, and hopefully will have a video of it to post sometime in the near future.