The open auditions in October at Tokyo Comedy Bar didn’t feel like a “test”. It was a group of people who wanted to make each other laugh doing just that. The super supportive Pirates threw some of their biggest challenges at us and encouraged us to “Yes, and” and have fun. I left the audition laughing, and hoping the Pirates needed a pudgy middle-aged man in their group.
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Improv comedy is a unique and dynamic form of entertainment that requires quick thinking, creativity, and a supportive environment to thrive. That's why finding the right practice space is crucial for us. To keep up improv skills sharp, we need to practice regularly. If we aren’t performing in Tokyo or touring international, we are probably practicing. Luckily, there is one place in Tokyo that provides everything an improv performer needs to hone their craft and bring their comedic talents to life.
Marshmallows and improv. A perfect match 😂
Located in the heart of Shibuya in Tokyo, the Tokyo Comedy Bar is an amazing practice space and a hub of creative energy, where performers from all walks of life gather each week to perfect their craft. With its cozy stage and supportive atmosphere, this practice space provides the perfect environment for improvisers to experiment, collaborate, and most importantly, have fun. The craft beer at the bar after practice is great too!
One of the best things about this practice space is the sense of community it fosters. Improv is a collaborative art form, and the atmosphere at this space encourages performers to work together and support one another. Whether you’re a seasoned member of the Pirates or just starting out, everyone is welcoming and eager to share their skills and experience with each other.
In conclusion, the Tokyo Comedy Bar has been a great place for us to practice and be even more involved with the comedy community in Tokyo. If you are unable to make one of our monthly bilingual improv comedy shows in Ebisu, be sure to check out what is going on at the Tokyo Comedy Bar in Shibuya.
Get tickets to one of our shows: www.piratesoftokyobay.com/tickets
The Pirates of Tokyo Bay, a Tokyo comedy group, has been performing across Tokyo since 2010. The first year of shows the improv comedy group performed at the Pink Cow in Shibuya and at the Tokyo Impro Festival put on by our friends at ImproJapan. From that first year joining the bustling Tokyo comedy scene, the Pirates worked hard to put on bilingual (Japanese and English) improv comedy shows, something that was new to Tokyo.
July in Tokyo is all about festivals, rock concerts, sweaty salarymen, watermelon and summer fun and this month's Pirates of Tokyo Bay show had a little bit of all of those (and more)! Squaring off were two teams of Pirates, the Red team and the White team, both "fighting" for the audience laughs and votes casted in our app.
On the Red team was: Mike, Bob, Annika, Tomoko and Trey.
On the White team: Masa, Elliot, Roza, Rodger and Carlos.
The show opened with a bilingual music number inspired by summer in Japan. Taking suggestions from the audience ranging from sweat to cockroaches, the Pirates crafted a bilingual song backed by Ben Anderson on the piano. Points were given to the Red team for Tomoko's amazing singing.
Score: Red 7, White 1.
Next up was a mixed team game done in Japanese called "Ding" and then on to the Red v. White team games.
Red team started off with "1 Thing" which is a gibberish game. An every day activity was gotten from the audience and then common items associated with that activity were replaced with crazy alternatives. Mike was the guesser for the Red team and successfully guessed that he was "Making Breakfast". But the eggs were Pasmos, the pan was a car, the in-house chef was a starfish and the sponge to clean the pan was actually Cookie Monster. Crazy!
The White team followed up with their game, "Late for Work" where Roza had to guess why she was late to her job at a sushi restaurant. The suggestions she correctly guessed were that 1) she was late because her purse didn't match her dress, 2) she rode an elephant to get to work, 3) but on the way to work on the elephant, it went in to labor.
After that round of games, the audience voted.
Score: Red 9, White 7
Next up were the Japanese game, "Whose Line" where the scene dialogue was dictated by lines of dialogue given by the audience and written down on strips of paper for the Pirates to use. As seems to be a trend recently, the phrase "Make America Great Again" made an appearance.
Right before intermission, the Pirates played "Action Replay" and then "Speed Dating". Both were bilingual games and "Speed Dating" involved longtime Pirate Fan, Alan as the guest on stage to guess a series of celebrities* he was on a speed date with.
Score at intermission: Red 13, White 12
After the intermission and traditional selling of raffle tickets, the Pirates opened with a rarely played song-game, "In the Neighborhood". The highlight was Bob's debut as a singer! He won points for his Red team as the only singer in the game.
Score: Red 15, White 12
After a Japanese game of "Blind Dubbing", the Red and White teams squared off again for audience votes.
Red team went with "Marionettes" and invited a special fan, from Aoba International School in Japan where the Pirates workshopped with the kids earlier in the month.
White team went with Sound FX where two audience participants provided all the sounds effects for the scene. Almost to an impressive realism!
Score: Red 17, White 12
The final game was audience favorite, "Rap Tinder" where the Pirates, backed by a custom-made rap beat, create verses based on audience submitted selfies that are projected above the stage. Masa won the battle and got "swiped right" to win.
FINAL Score: Red 18, White 32
Need tickets to our August 27th show? Get them here.
* Celebrities were played by Pirates. ;)
即興パイオニア「パイレーツ・オブ・東京湾」による記念公演
「海賊」と聞けば、武力を用いアイパッチをした組織が思い浮かぶが、「パイレーツ・オブ・東京湾」のメンバーはそんな危ない集団ではない。実際彼らは、言語に限らず誰でも笑わすことを武器としている。
アメリカ人のマイク・スタッファー氏により2010年に立ち上げられ、欧米流の即興を日本に持ち込むことを目標としたこのグループは、東京で唯一のバイリンガルコメディグループとして文化の橋渡しをしている。
日本人と外国人メンバーにより構成された同グループは観客から与えられたテーマをもとにユニークな即興コントを披露している。イギリスやアメリカで有名なテレビ番組「Whose Line Is it Anyway?」のように、彼らは即興でコントや歌を歌っている。
では、漫才が主流となっている日本であえて東京で即興という新境地を開拓することになったのはなぜだろうか。
「皆さんが思っていることを躊躇なくシェアできる環境を作りたいんです。」とスタッファー氏（34）は言う。「即興ではお客様がフィードバックをしなければならないため、日本のスタイルにはあまり向いていないかもしれません。ですが最終的にはこのスタイルは皆さんが徐々になじんでくるんじゃないかと思います。」
日本の他の即興グループと違うところは、「パイレーツ」は公演中に言語を変えることで観客の母国語（日本語・英語）を必ず取り入れているところだ。
「僕たちがやっている即興はショートコントなので、それぞれ3~5分間です。」と説明する。「日本語のみのコントを3分間やったあとは次のコントでは英語のみにすることでバランスを取っています。そのほかにはパントマイムやデタラメ語といったどの母国語にも当てはまらないゲームもします。これらも言語を使わずに、お客様とコミュニケーションを取っている一つの方法です。」
「あと歌のゲームも似たようなことが言えますね。」と語るのは4年前にグループに入った日本人メンバーの川畑誠仁氏（30）。「歌詞はわからなくても、音楽やビートは楽しむことができます。」
コメディを同時通訳すれば、進行も遅くなり、その分笑いもなくなってしまう、とスタッファー氏は考える。「お客様の鼓動を感じるようにしています。」と言う。
「パイレーツ」はすでにアジア各国の都市で公演している。メンバーは海外のお客様とも繋がるために、公演前には現地の文化を学び、コントの内容をローカライズしている、とスタッファー氏は言う。
現在メンバーの3分の1が日本人だが、スタッファー氏はもっとたくさんの日本人に即興に挑戦してもらい、最終的には人数を外国人メンバーと同等にしたいという。
「半分ぐらいがいいですね。」と彼は述べた。「そうすれば、日本で長く活動できると思いますから。」
「パイレーツ」は即興でただ人を笑わすだけではなく、この技術で重要な役割も果たすことができるという。
「日本企業に向けて社員教育も兼ねた企業研修も始めています。」とスタッファ氏は言う。「即興をするなら、相手を信頼すること、瞬発力を鍛えること、臨機応変さが欠かせません。ですので、ただ舞台でおもしろいことをやっているパフォーマーとしてだけではなく、即興の技術をビジネスに取り入れるフィールドにも進出していきたいんです。」
スタッファー氏は「パイレーツ」を日本を代表とする即興グループとして確立させたいそうだ。
「欧米のコメディグループが日本に来たとき、最初のコンタクト先に僕たちがいるような状態になりたいです。」と言う。「即興に特化したグループとしてパイレーツの認知度を高めていきたいですね。五年後には日本の即興グループとして知ってもらうことが僕の目標です。」
次回公演は「パイレーツ・オブ・東京湾」の五周年記念公演と今までで最大となる。この日の夜は、特別動画ゲストとして日本とアメリカからユーチューバーが参加し、メンバーたちに即興チャレンジと題したゲームを与える。五周年記念公演は11月29日（日曜日）に六本木（東京）のスーパー・デラックスで開催される。
Webサイト：www.piratesoftokyobay.com