Kabuki!

The Shinmachi Kabuki Troupe is the often overlooked side of our Second Life group. It's probably because the oiran and tayuu side is the most obvious part; there's a well developed training program and opportunities for RP and performance on a daily basis. Plus, you're more likely to recognize a courtesan as she wanders the paths of Maruyama and Kurogawa Machi than an actor (whom is typically not wearing a full costume or the distinguishable kabuki makeup).

Our kabuki troupe has a less formalized training regiment and fewer performances. But, the kabuki and noh productions the directors develop far exceed the regular, bi-weekly shows for courtesans.

So what makes them so special? Our regular shows typically take two or three weeks to prepare. The kabuki and noh productions can take several months. There's a lot more detail to consider, beyond the regular requirements of a show. The combination of mood, music, dialogue, costume, stage design - all are given greater consideration. The script alone will take at least a month to perfect and it often changes during rehearsals.

That's right, rehearsals. As in more than one. Most of our courtesan performances have one run through, which tends to be rather informal. One of our kabuki will have multiple practice sessions, ranging from the initial informal to the final full dress rehearsal. And its a little hard to coordinate these with RL schedules, which slows down the production process. While the kabuki arm of Shinmachi may be quiet, they're typically hard at work behind the scenes bringing fantastic shows to SL.

You can see all of our kabuki and noh productions in our repertoire on our website and we currently have a brand new kabuki in production right now. We can't wait to bring it to you!