curtain comes down

for the past six months i have been JASON M in the musical 'four little wheels' touring japan with some of the most amazing and talented people i know. here are some highlights of the last show.
over the course of six moths, zippy turned 6 years old about 40 times!!
it was a birthday party to remember!!
i am going to miss those pants!! to my fellow cast-mates, a big ARIGATO for a great run!! to my friends and family who came and saw the show (some driving hours and hours to see the show, some saving money to pay for a train ticket, and some sitting through it FOUR times, just because i wanted them there). i am looking forward to more shows in the future and anticipate great things in 2009!!

fall day in kamakura

a few friends and i decided to enjoy the autumn colors a few weeks ago. we were amazed at the leaves in the mountains and in the temples we were visiting. the blue sky created a perfect canvas to the orange and yellow and red paintings. i wish we could get snow next!!

just so you know

here is another kev-ism...

folding shirts at younkers is better than shoveling horse shit.

random, i know, but...

after an awful audition, i was met by someone great and walked around the city for a bit. i like this picture because you can see a very old temple over-looked by the tokyo tower. very representative of tokyo as the future protects the past.
me and my ladies at darts on our off day. we were on our last weekend on the road, a day off between two show days, in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do. we found darts. it was a glorious day. ps- these two kicked my butt!!

i went to a hot-spring resort town recently. doraemon didnt mind me in his mouth. i dont think.

kev-ism

i dont know why i remembered this today... but once when i was teasing my brother (probably telling him he was adopted... etc.) my dad tried to comfort the crying zac by saying "he's just trying to get your goat..." where this came from, we may never know- but one thing is for sure- i dont think i will ever forget the look on zac's face as he said- "but dad- i dont have a goat!!" tears changed to smiles, and all was better. so zac- here is your goat.

ps- you were not adopted. believe it or not- we are from the same gene-pool!!

meet leila

this is one of my homegirls leila. she is the double-dutch, hula-hooping, inspirational supertar that i have been given the honor of working with on musical tour this year. love this thing. she has an amazing blog. please check her out. http://www.leilachan.blogspot.com/

while we dont work on the same tv show, the office for her 'tokyo eye' are just downstairs from my 'out and about' office at nhk. someday she is going to be hooping in a mika video. go leila!!

cheerleaders

here is the closing social of my cheerleaders. we had facials from lush. lots of fun!!

finishing the shoot

these handmade chests retail at $20,000.00.... ouch
making crafts with the local grandmas...
take 14 of the comments on the bike. i wanted the one that looked like pee-wee's, but nhk said no...

more yamagata pictures

this is the whole crew. assistant director, me, sound, director, camera man, and lighting... oh yeah, and two geisha we interviewed.
modern day geisha and their trainer. they smiled as i asked them about their strict training and said that is was all out of deep love and respect. after the 'mama-san' left and the camera crew was packing up, they told me that both had cried numerous times during their training and the road to success... wasnt paved.
try to 'blend' in a small japanese town with this following you everywhere you go. it makes for somewhat of a spectacle. if you can imagine.

on location in yamagata

this is a really fun family that i met in yamagata. they live on a farm that has been in their family for 13 generations. almost 600 years!! go sato family!!
here is the crew getting a shot of me walking through rice patties in yamagata. it was so beautiful. and for anyone who has a soft spot in their heart for rural japan, (hollie) this picture takes me back a few years.
at the candy store that we shot at, i tried to eat the display candy... i wasnt supposed to, but it still made for an interesting picture!! and everyone got a good laugh! :)
here i am as we enter into the candy shop. i actually HAD to choose what i wanted to eat. everything looked so good! and the smell!!... well.... you can imagine was awesome!!
as you can see this a very famous spot for movies, commercials, posters, etc. so i had to jump in and get some of the action. it was amazing!! this picture does not do it justice!!

on memory lane

i told my younger sister once, as we were looking through some old photos, that i was sure glad that she got out of her 'ugly duckling' stage. i meant to imply that she was now a beautiful swan. i may still have the bruise on my arm from the aftermath that conversation. i was reminded so kindly by my bro a couple of days ago that i too, was not exempt from the 'hottness' years. funny thing is- guaranteed the day this picture was taken- i put gel in my hair, brushed my braced teeth, put on that big t-shirt with tight green jeans, looked in the mirror and said to myself - "im a babe."

on the road again

time goes by so quickly. i was looking through some old photos and found this one on a shoot for a tv show from a year ago. i cant believe how fast time has passed.

one of my favorite things about this time of year is the changing leaves. i am looking forward to seeing all of the colors. at the time this picture was taken, we were shooting 'out and about' in akita. while we were shooting in the mountains the yellows and reds and oranges were beautiful. then, japanese rock legend (and co-host of this episode) mickey curtis started playing a song called 'autumn leaves' on his harmonica. i wonder how mickey is doing?? genki kaka??

on tv

the musical that i am currently doing includes this tv as one of the props. unfortunately, my character never makes his appearance on this tv. so... after the show my homegirl and i decided to debut ourselves!!

on location

for the tv show that i am currently one of the hosts for, i joined this theater company for a show. it was an amazing cast of very talented performers.
i was able to dress like a local from a distant past. the intense make-up and vintage costumes made being this character a lot of fun.
at the community center in the village i was able to meet some coal-miners and get a feel for what life is like in this part of japan. what an amazing shoot!!

on the cover

my amazing sister made these fierce magazine covers for me. i wish i actually were on the covers of these!! she created these from photos of a recent shoot and fooled even the people at the printing shop. she was asked to sign a release of copyright!

Lights, Cameras, Cue the Music, Curtains go up... 5-6-7-8!

it is official! i am the newest blogger on the block. in an age of virtual realities and cyber connections, i have chosen this medium as my weapon of choice. better than mass emails and long distance international calls, better than postage stamps and text messages, this superstar in the making has decided to 'connect' with everyone via my blog spot. enjoy!

here is the readers digest version of what is going on...

after being 'spotted' by a director from nhk and his casual "you should be on tv..." i arrived in tokyo with $6,000 i had saved, and a dream. no place to live, not a single connection, no idea where to start- my dream and i started pounding the pavement in hopes of being a superstar in the japanese industry. after six years in this amazing city, and plenty of ups and downs, i find myself closer to my dream and having the time of my life.

this blog, is a portrait. part journal of my experiences both past and present, and part celebration of the victories and tragedies i experience everyday.

after you have found a comfortable seat and read the bios in the program, listen as you can hear the orchestra tune up, the lights dim, in the small space under the curtain you can see the shadows of feet running to be in places. the music starts, the curtains go up... 5-6-7-8

here begins the virtual musical entitled "Inspiration Jason"