Special feature] The charm and acting ability of the five new voice actors exploded! Akane Kumada, Marina Horiuchi and other "Seiyu no Tamago" (voice actors' eggs) challenged themselves in the Boitama Project reading play vol.2 "white Swan+"!

The Voitama Project, a project in which new voice actors take on various challenges with the aim of becoming world-class voice artists, held the reading play vol. 2 "white Swan+" on November 2 and 3, 2019.

Boitama Project Reading Theater vol. 2 "white Swan+" is a re-staging of the reading theater event "white Swan" held on March 27, 2019 at Ebisu Tenmado.switch, with two versions: "Ver. Denev" with the same cast as last time and "Ver. Albireo" with a shuffled cast. Albireo" in which the cast was shuffled.

The five new female voice actors performing in the show are Ruri Arai, Akane Kumada, Moeba Gomoto, Marina Horiuchi, and Chisato Yoshitake. The reading play, in which the girls, who are striving daily toward their dreams despite the obstacles they face, play the same new voice actresses as themselves, is packed with entertainment elements, including acting and singing.

Akiba Research Institute covered the November 3 performance, which featured "Ver. Denev" in the daytime and "Ver. Albireo" in the evening. We would like to report on the reading plays with different casts.

The venue, Amuse Cafe Theater, is a cafe and theater on the 7th floor of the Don Quijote Asakusa store in Asakusa Roku-ku. In the center of the store is an island-style counter, and across from it is a stage. The audience seats are located between the island and the stage, allowing the audience to enjoy the stage from a very close distance.

This means that the audience can enjoy the passionate performances of the voice actors right in front of them.

As mentioned above, "white Swan+" is a repeat of "white Swan," which was performed in March. As the "+" in the title indicates, this time new scenes and staging have been added, and the cast has been shuffled to create a different version of the show, so even those who saw the previous production can enjoy the show with a fresh perspective. Perhaps because of this advance information, the seats were full every time. The stage was filled with high expectations.

The story of "white Swan+" is as follows.

The story of "white Swan+" is as follows: "Boitama Project" is a new project of a famous entertainment agency. It is a project in which "voice eggs" - rookies who aspire to become voice actors - grow through various experiences.

As a part of this project, they decided to take on a new project to lead a successful performance of the recitation play "The Hard-to-Read Duckling". The five rookie voice actors gathered for the project are each responsible for their own feelings as they rehearse, sometimes supporting each other, sometimes clashing with each other, but all the while facing the performance. The story is as follows.

As you can see, it is a very interesting reading play with a structure that is quite in sync with the voice actors themselves.

The actors have already expressed their thoughts and enthusiasm in interviews, but what form will they take on stage?

Ver. Denev" is now more powerful with deeper acting and new direction.

Then, "Ver. Deneve" finally started. The five performers took the stage to the vivid accompaniment of piano player Asamitsu Fumoto.

This time, the cast was the same as last time, with Ms. Horiuchi as the oldest leader, "Rui. Ms. Arai plays the energetic and athletic "Yuki. Ms. Yoshitake plays "Himari," a mascot with a pure personality. Ms. Gomoto plays the role of "Chihiro," who has the greatest talent but tends to be nervous and withdrawn. Ms. Kumada plays "Sayaka," a modern girl who aspires to be a voice actress idol but knows nothing about voice acting. Since they had already performed together once on stage, it seemed as if the characters and the cast were in perfect synchronization, both in their performances and their mannerisms. It was as if the characters were really there. More than once, I felt as if the five of them were really practicing for the performance.

The "white swan+" is characterized by the performance of original songs that enhance the story in the intervals of the play. At the opening of the story, an up-tempo song like the opening theme of an anime is performed, and an emotional slow number is performed during the scenes that require emotional acting.

The accompaniment to the film is a live piano performance by the aforementioned pianist Asamitsu Fumoto. The live performance of the music, which develops moment by moment according to the development of the story and the timing of the performers, is very fresh.

This may be due in part to the fact that Michiru Amama, who wrote and directed the production, is a former Takarazienne. The story, emotions, and musical direction are exquisitely crossover, and the stage develops into a spectacular spectacle.

Now, as the five newcomers practice for the performance, the disquiet that has been in the air since the beginning explodes in the middle of the play! They hurl dissatisfactions and anxieties at each other, and even the holding of the reading performance is put in jeopardy, but once again they take each other's opinions to heart, and practice resumes.

Chihiro manages to make it to the performance, but her performance is again lackluster due to the trauma of her past failures on stage. However, Sayaka strongly supports her, and the performance is a great success.

The play is full of technical terms unique to the voice acting industry, and depicts the many worries and struggles of being on stage and acting. It is quite interesting to imagine that the voice actors, who usually seem to be enjoying their careers, must be thinking about many things behind the scenes.

The performances of the five new voice actors were also noteworthy in their own ways, with Horiuchi's truly receptive voice and the way she handled the pauses being exquisite, Arai's powerful performance and the atmosphere created by Yoshitake-san, who has an unmistakable sense of being a beloved character, and Kumada-san, whose "modern kid" style, where she can give her opinion without hesitation regardless of who is on the other side, is in full bloom. Ms. Kumada, for example, has a level of "I can't tell if she is acting or just being herself.

Personally, I was overwhelmed by Ms. Gomoto. I must confess that the switch from the mode of not being herself that lasted until the end of the performance to the awakening mode at the climax of the performance gave me goose bumps. I was surprised that he was only 17 years old. I wonder what kind of actor he will grow into in the future. What kind of actor will he grow up to be in the future?

The new direction added in this production also delved further into the psychology of each character. In the middle of the performance, Rui, played by Ms. Horiuchi, sings a solo song about her desire to make the reading play a success, even though the play is in jeopardy. This allows the audience to better understand the message of the song and the problems faced by the five members.

Thus, those who saw the show for the first time, as well as those who saw it last time, were able to enjoy it more thoroughly.

Ver. Albireo" shows a new charm with a different cast.

The other new version, "Ver. Albireo," featured Arai as "Rui" and Yoshitake as "Yuki. Yuki" by Yoshitake and "Himari" by Horiuchi. Himari" by Horiuchi Kumada for Chihiro. The cast was changed to Ms. Gomoto for "Sayaka. After seeing "Ver. Denev," in which the characters and cast members' personalities were perfectly matched, it was hard to imagine how the play would unfold, as some of the cast members had completely different images of the characters.

However, when I opened the door, I was surprised to find that the cast was completely different from the one I had imagined. was the only word I could use to describe it. Not only did they play different characters, but they also brought out different charms from each character than those presented in "Ver.

Ms. Arai's "Rui" showed a good sense of trying hard to bring together children of the same age, while Ms. Horiuchi's "Himari" emphasized a sense of mystery and gave the story a slightly different atmosphere. Ms. Yoshitake's "Yuki" had a cuteness that matched the energetic character.

As for "Sayaka" and "Chihiro," who stand at the center of the story, Ms. Kumada and Ms. Gomoto converted their roles. Ms. Kumada took the role of "Chihiro" and Ms. Gomoto took the role of "Sayaka.

Ms. Gomoto, who had been rather unassertive in "Ver. Denev," including her outfit and hairstyle, changed her look to a more active one this time with a gal-like outfit and her hair tied in two knots. In contrast, Ms. Kumada's long skirt and single-tied hairstyle gave her a mature, literary girl-like atmosphere. Of course, the acting was completely different, with Ms. Gomoto's "real gal-like" impression and Ms. Kumada's "confidence so low that it makes you feel sorry for her" - people who had seen "Ver.

I was surprised to see how much one's impression of a work can be changed just by changing the actors, and I am sure I was not the only one who wanted to see other casting patterns.

In conclusion, the two-day Boitama Project reading play vol. 2 "white Swan+" was a very impressive show that fully demonstrated the growth and overwhelming potential of the five female voice actors participating in the Boitama Project. The title "new voice actress" is no longer necessary for these women. It won't be long before they become the eye of the storm in the voice acting industry.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, the "Boitama Project" is a project that aims to create world-class voice-over artists by taking on a variety of challenges, so I wonder what kind of projects they will come up with in the future to entertain us. If this article has piqued your interest, we hope you will participate in the next project!