About the Keynote Speech
The keynote speech will be delivered by director Ailin Conant who has a passion for daring new works of theatre that engage audiences with untold and under-told stories. Ailin will be speaking about her latest work Amaterasu – Out of the Cave, a contemporary folktale inspired by the Shinto myth of the Japanese Sun Goddess and the God of Sea and Disease.
About Ailin
Ailin Conant is a Japanese-American theatre director who is currently based in London. She is the artistic director of Theatre Témoin, a company dedicated to international collaborations in the creation of new works of socially engaged physical theatre. Ailin has worked freelance for various companies including The RSC, The Bush Theatre, Yellow Earth, and have produced work through Témoin in Rwanda, Israel, Kashmir, Lebanon, France, and the USA. She has worked extensively with vulnerable adults and young people in contexts of conflict, and is twice-recipient of the Wellcome Trust People Award with a rigorous approach to community engagement and research. She cares deeply about working for greater equality and integrity in her industry, and is a board member of Stage Directors UK, the Directors’ Charitable Foundation, and Inc. Arts; a delegate member of Artistic Directors of the Future; and a core member of Migrants in Theatre.
www.ailinconant.com | www.theatretemoin.com
About the Workshops
Design a Kokeshi with Aya Burbanks
Kokeshi are traditional handcrafted wooden dolls characterised by their lack of arms or legs. They originated in the Tohoku region in northern Japan and have been crafted by woodworkers as toys since the 19th century. Nowadays, they are mostly used as ornaments or decorations and displays. In this workshop, Aya will walk you through a brief history of kokeshi and show you a selection of her original handmade designs, some inspired by popular anime characters, before teaching you how to decorate a kokeshi with your very own design!
About Aya
Aya grew up in Japan on the island of Sakurajima in Kagoshima, which has one of the world’s most active volcanoes. She enjoys all kinds of painting with specialities in Sumi-e ink painting and Japanese calligraphy in which she holds master licenses. Her favourite Japanese artists are Hokusai and Hiroshige. She has been actively involved with promotion of Japanese traditional culture in the U.K. through her calligraphy and artworks as well as teaching.
Make a Personal Hanko with Nao Fukumoto
A hanko is a small stamp with a personal seal used for signing important documents or contracts in Japan. Originally used only by the Emperor, it came into use by the general public since the early Meiji period and still remains an important part of life in modern day Japan. In this workshop, Nao will walk you through a brief history of seals in Japan and show you examples of different types of seals before teaching you how to carve your own katakana hanko from rubber to take home!
About Nao
Nao’s background is in textiles and she teaches other Japanese craft workshops both in the UK and Japan. She studied a BA and Masters in woven textiles at Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts, mainly using traditional Japanese cloth to design and weave Kimono. Nao was awarded a scholarship to study for a year at UCA Farnham (formally SIAD) and she received numerous prizes all over the world for her work during this period. Nao’s studio is at the Farnham Maltings and you can catch her on instagram @naofukumoto_textile or www.naofukumoto.com.
The Soroban and Flash Anzan with Tomoko Hoult and Eriko Miyamoto
Soroban is a Japanese abacus which can be used to perform both simple and complex calculations by moving the beads. It has been used in Japan for hundreds of years by merchants and accountants, but nowadays the soroban is taught in Japan to improve numeracy and as a way to visualise sums. With practice, soroban users no longer need the physical soroban and can do mental calculations in their heads! In this workshop, soroban teacher Tomoko Hoult and former soroban champion Eriko Miyamoto will teach you how to use the soroban and demonstrate how it can beat a calculator using flash anzan!
About Tomoko & Eriko
Tomoko Hoult is a soroban teacher and a passionate advocate for the benefits of using soroban. She is originally from Tokyo where her family have run several soroban schools for over 50 years. She has been living in the UK since 2006 and has a professional background in banking, finance and technology. She founded the Wakamatsu Soroban club in 2017 and currently runs lunchtime soroban clubs at schools, in addition to private lessons for children and adults.
Eriko Miyamoto started using the soroban at age 3 is a former Japanese soroban champion. She holds the highest grade (10th Dan) in both using soroban and performing mental calculations, which are known as anzan. She was the Japanese champion of Yomiage Anzan in 2009, mentally calculating sums of 11-digit numbers to questions which are read aloud. She was also champion in Yomiagezan in both 2012 and 2015, using the soroban to answer questions involving 16-digit numbers. She lives in Tokyo where she teaches at her family-run soroban school.