Let's Dream and Laugh Until Morning [Shima-san's Reading Radio]

Good evening. Before I knew it, it had been a month since my last radio broadcast.

Since a month ago, I've started rehearsals for a musical performing in Tokyo, and I've been spending my days commuting, dancing, singing, dancing again, building my character, drinking (in the end), and then singing again...

A musical? You're in it? Huh?

Yes.

I don't usually sing or dance (especially not dance), but I took on the challenge because I at least have confidence in my singing. (I'll probably write about the details later.)

The songs used in this play (by the way, the title is "A COMMON BEAT," which I feel is often written in katakana) are often performed and sung by a large group of 80 people or 20 to 60 people together.

On the other hand, there are also parts where you sing solo, dance solo, or act solo, and only those who are truly chosen perform them.

There are auditions, and there are auditions that are meant to "select" rather than "eliminate", and other roles are decided as well.

By the way, I don't have any of those "solo" roles. At least not yet.

Actually, the other day, a "solo" opportunity suddenly came to me, and it moved my heart, so I wanted to write about it.

I was "bewildered" by the opportunity that came my way.

Every single time before practice, there is a warm-up time.

If you suddenly start dancing or singing, you might get injured or hurt yourself. So, we do proper warm-up exercises. We also do vocal warm-ups.

That includes simple vocal exercises (like humming or finding pitch), but we also actually sing.

This time, the song we sang is the subject. It is...

Yuzu's "Tomodachi no Uta" (Friend's Song).

As I have already publicly declared?, I am a Yuzu fan (or more accurately, a Yuzukko).

I have previously used Yuzu's "Ame Nochi Hare-Ryu" as a subject.

I thought that, so I looked for more, but there weren't any. I should write more. lol

Setting aside my own story, let's talk about "Tomodachi no Uta".

If there were a video called "Tomodachi no Uta for people with no time," this is probably what the commentary would be like.

Rather than a song about the goodness of friends, it feels more like the joy of "This is how you feel when you're with friends!" turned into a song.

I chose this song for a warm-up because the person who won the solo in the play is also a freelance singer.

After he finished his vocal warm-ups, he said, "Okay, I'll hand out the lyric sheets," and this was the song he handed out.

He introduced the song and taught the melody part (the one Yujin Kitagawa sings) by having those who knew the song sing it first. I happened to know it, so I sang it while recalling the melody.

Now, next is the harmony part (the one Koji Iwasawa sings). I intended to sing that one. A beautiful long tone. I was confident in that.

Just as I thought that, he suddenly said:

After being told that,

"Huh? Is it okay for me to take the solo?"

That's what I thought.

And before I knew it,I was singing Yujin Kitagawa's part (the melody line) by myself,and the practice for the surrounding harmony parts (= female voices) had begun.

I was bewildered by the passing time, and I thought about taking a break.

This day was the climax of the first half of musical practice.

A month passed in the blink of an eye, practicing almost every week, and almost every day sending some message, receiving a message, and replying.

I was bewildered by how incredibly fast it was going, and I thought,“Maybe I should take a break.”Above all, the reason I moved here was because I couldn't handle the world in Tokyo that spins at such a furious speed.

That was how I felt. In reality,the thought that once the first half was over, I could take a breather... (of course, I was doing it properly, though).

That was when I was asked,“Why don't you try singing it solo?”.

Before I knew it, I might have come here with the feeling of just wanting to “get through it” without being able to be positive about the practice up to this point. In fact, the dancing is tough. And I'm not good at it.

Let's take a look at our feet for a moment

But, but.

At the very least, I'm enjoying singing to the fullest. So, I'm going to enjoy this to the fullest.

Thinking that, I started to sing.

Singing a Yuzu song for the first time in a while, I realized the key is indeed high. But I sang with all my might. Miraculously, I was able to sing it.

The first time (since there were voices teaching the harmony), I sang a bit reservedly, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

The next time, I found myself feeling like I was singing in a packed live venue, and I sang with everything released. I released so much that a friend listening nearby was taken aback, saying,"Even with about 60 people singing harmony, Shima's voice is overpowering...".

When I realized it, I felt the eyes of those around me.
Oh, oops, maybe I went too far.

But everyone around me was singing with all their might (or so it seemed).

So, I felt it was strange for me alone to stand out. After all, this is"everyone's warm-up".

But, but.

The feeling of being able to sing louder than anyone else, something you can't experience in a choir, is right here now.
Well then, let's just keep doing this!

And so, I ended up continuing to sing at that same high volume until the final moment when everyone sang together.

After the lyrics I wrote earlier, "Tomodachi no Uta" continues like this:

In the midst of days that pass by busily, in the blink of an eye,I felt like I had lost the opportunity to look at my own feet before I knew it.

As mentioned earlier, the number of people singing solo was limited, and everything else was basically a chorus.

I,couldn't hear my own singing voice and was so anxious about whether it was reaching anyone that my voice became strained, and I would ruin my throat every time practice ended.A friend who had been doing chorus for a long time even told me,"It won't last until the end! Hey!" (I'm sorry).

Yes,it seems that before I knew it, even "singing" had become painful.I hadn't realized it until this moment.

Just like the lyrics say,

It made me realize things like that. Singing is amazing.

Because I feel like I can understand that being alive is more wonderful than anything else.

Why did I decide to appear in this musical?

Because there were "friends," and because I was among them, I was able to survive the gloomy period of COVID, and the time when I asked myself every day, "Why do I have to live?"

Therefore, I want to give something back to everyone who became those "friends."I want to repay the friends I met through the musical with a musical.

That is the feeling I have.

Yes, when I look back, that period was one where everything was "changing," and forcefully so. Regardless of my own life stage.
In the sense that it took many lives as well"everything had changed".

But even in the midst of that,"nothing changes"might actually bethe companions who have been with me this far.Even if we might not be able to call each other "companions" just yet.

So, let's sing.

Put your heart into the final phrase (but don't strain yourself).

The difficulties in the process of creating a musical seem manageable if you have companions. "Put away all the sorrows of yesterday and the anxieties of tomorrow," and aiming for the moment of completion, "let's dream and laugh."

Because there are worries and conflicts, "I feel like I understand that being alive is more wonderful than anything else, so let's laugh until morning."

It was truly the best to be able to sing this song solo at this timing.

So, wanting to share this emotion with everyone, I opened my computer, and before I knew it, I had written over 3,000 characters.

Of course, this is not the end at all, butbefore the actual performances on August 19th and 20th,I wanted to convey this moment where I was able to remember something I had almost forgotten—a feeling, and above all, a sentiment.

Back then,thank you for nominating me.
Above all, to everyone around me who watched me singing andfollowed along with harmonies,,thank you.

Having a place that makes you feel that way is what this musical environment is all about.

Once again, from such a place, I would like to deliver these thoughts to everyone on stage.

▼ Performances on the evening of August 19th and the afternoon/evening of the 20th!
▼ Tickets are also on sale! It's in Tokyo!

▼ Click here for all lyrics

▼ Click here for back issues of "Reading Radio"