March South-East Asia tours!

＊日本語での案内は英語の下です
The Pirates of Tokyo Bay are excited to announce our 2017 South-East Asia tour. This March we will return to Singapore, Manila and Kuala Lumpur for a series of shows. It will be our first time visiting all three countries in one month!

First stop will bring us to Singapore where we will provide workshops for the Improv Company and for students at UWCSEA. After working with the students, we will be joining them for two nights of shows on the high school campus.

Then we are off to the Philippines for the 5th annual Manila Improv Festival. This will be our third trip to Manila where have been lucky enough to build a following of fans in Manila. We will be closing two nights of shows, on the 23rd and 25th of March at the beautiful PETA Theater. The festival is run by our friends and amazing improvisors in SPIT.

To end the month, we will return to Kuala Lumpur! Last year was our first trip there and we are honored to be invited back by LOL Events to perform at the hip venue the Live House in the TREC entertainment area of the city. The shows on March 31 and April 1st will see the Pirates “compete” against the local improv group AIIA. This is sure to be a comedy throw-down of hilarious proportions.

If you are in any of these cities, or have friends there, please tell them to check out the show!

パイレーツ・オブ・東京湾：東南アジアツアー2017がまもなくやってきます。今年３月はシンガポール、マニラ、クアラルンプールで海外公演、そして今回初となる、ひと月で３都市を訪れることに僕らもワクワクしています！

海外ツアー最初の都市となるシンガポールでは、Ｉｍｐｒｏｖ Ｃｏｍｐａｎｙ様とＵＷＣＳＥＡ高校の学生さんたちに向けてワークショップを行います。その後、高校のキャンパスで２日間に渡る即興ライブを学生さんたちに交じって披露します。

次に僕たちはフィリピンに向かい、第５回マニラ即興フェスティバルに参戦してきます。パイレーツにとって今回で３回目の参加となるこのフェスティバルでは、既にマニラのファンから熱い声援を頂いており、とても感謝しています。僕らの出番は３月２３日と２５日、両日とも僕らが大トリを務めることになりました。会場はいつものＰＥＴＡ Ｔｈｅａｔｅｒ、そして主催は僕らもお世話になっているマニラの＃１即興グループであるＳＰＩＴ様です。

そしてツアーを締める最後の都市はクアラルンプール！僕らにとっては去年が初の公演となり、今年もありがたいことにＬＯＬ Ｅｖｅｎｔｓ様に再び招待されました。場所はエンターテイメント施設で新しい観光スポットとなっているＴＲＥＣエリアのＬｉｖｅ Ｈｏｕｓｅです。そして今年はこれまた初の試みとなるクアラルンプールの即興グループ、ＡＩＩＡ様と即興バトルという形で公演します。この機会を見逃したくないという方はぜひ、３月３１日と４月１日に会場へお越しください！

友人や知り合いが現地にいるという方は、僕らが向かうことをぜひ教えていただければと思います！

『 あしたラジオ！』（ラジオ日本）に出演しました！／Pirates on "Ashita Radio" (Radio Nippon)!

ラジオ日本（AM1422kHz）のSABON Japan presents 『 あしたラジオ！』にパイレーツが出演しました！グループのことや六周年記念公演のことをインタビューしていただきました！
聞き逃してしまったという方、以下のリンクから再度チェックできますので、ぜひどうぞ！
パーソナリティの黒石さま（@sabon_japan）と加藤さま（http://ameblo.jp/mio-ka10/）、私たちの活動にご注目いただき誠にありがとうございます！

The Pirates had an opportunity to talk about the group and the recent sixth anniversary show on "Ashita Radio" on Radio Nippon!
For those of you who missed it, here's the whole interview from the radio show!
Thank you to Mr. Kazuhiro Kuroishi from (@sabon_japan) and Ms. Mio Kato (http://ameblo.jp/mio-ka10/) for a wonderful time!

TRY OUT THE FREE PIRATES APP! パイレーツアプリを試してみて！

The Pirates of Tokyo Bay (POTB) is Japan's premier bilingual comedy group and this is our app!

If you've ever wondered what happens when you put a group of improv performers on a stage with no script who use the audience's suggestions to make the scenes, there's an app for that!

All things POTB are here! Find out how to see all this ROTFL action with our schedule in Japan and internationally.

Wanna join in the fun? Vote for your favorite Pirates while at the show and see the results in real time!

Don't miss out! Check out the program page for each show if you missed anything on stage while flirting shamelessly at the bar, I mean, grabbing another drink with your friends.

パイレーツ・オブ・東京湾（POTB）は日本で初のバイリンガルコメディグループ、そしてこれがそのアプリ(iOS用)！

お客様から与えられたお題だけで即興で芝居をするパフォーマーたちを舞台に立たせるとどうなるか．．．その答えとなるアプリがこれだ！

POTBのすべてが詰まったこのアプリ。ライブを見に行きたいときは、スケジュールで東京や海外での公演日程をチェック！

一緒に楽しみたいときは、好きなパイレーツチームに投票してリアルタイムで結果発表！

公演プログラムも要チェック！これで今何をやっているのかその場で確認できちゃいます！あ、あと、限りある自然を大切にしたかったんです！

LIVE - Head here to participate during our live shows.
ライブ - 公演を見に来てるならココをチェック！

NEWS - everything you need to know about upcoming shows and events with links, maps and more.
ニュース - 次回公演、イベント、リンクとマップを添えてお届け。そして最新情報も。

SCHEDULE - plan your life around us and shower us with your steadfast presence at shows in Japan and abroad.
スケジュール - 国内外での公演日程はここで確認できるので、自分のスケジュールも組みやすくなっちゃう！「まぁ、なんて便利なの！」

SOCIAL - did you think we weren't a bunch of needy millennials? HAHA. The jokes have already begun. FOLLOW US THOUGH.
SNS - いいね！・フォロー・シェアはここで。「気になる存在って思われたいの。」

LINE - because it's line and you just can't not.
ライン - 日本語はスタンプ、英語はステッカーって、「ス」しか合うてへん。

POTB - No Script. No Problem. でも、アプリがなきゃ何もはじまんない。
POTB - No script? No problem. No app? 1992 called. It's for you.

If you have any questions please contact info@japancomedy.com
このアプリまたはパイレーツ・オブ・東京湾に関するお問い合わせはこちらまで。

This Japanese improv group is fast becoming recognized around the world as Japan’s top group.

The Pirates of Tokyo Bay (POTB), Tokyo’s only bilingual improv comedy group, which we’ve featured twice before, will mark their 6th anniversary with a special show on December 4th at SuperDeluxe in Roppongi.

Mike Staffa, the founder of POTB, tells you about their vast range of activities in Japan and abroad that they’ve done this year. Also he shares what you can see and experience at the upcoming Anniversary show.

*Past interviews with Mike;
1st (January 18, 2014)
2nd (November 10, 2015)  

日本語

Becoming world-famous as the improv group from Japan

We have toured 10 times to 6 countries (USA, Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippines, China, Malaysia). 2016 was a great year for us as it was our first time performing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We were invited to be the first improv group to perform at a beautiful new venue there called the Live House. The audience, the venue, the hosts, and food were all amazing. We can’t wait to get back to Kuala Lumpur.

Later in 2016, I was able to perform in Hawaii with On the Spot Hawaii in one of their shows. It was a surprise to see Pirate fans in the audience in Honolulu as these fans had seen the Pirates perform in Tokyo for a few years before they moved to Hawaii!

Next year we will be traveling to Germany in January of 2017 to take part in a 27-hour long improv show at the Harlekin Theater in Tübingen, Germany. The Pirates will also be making our annual tours to Singapore and Manila as well. In Singapore we will be conducting workshops at an international school. The UWCSEA (United World College of South East Asia) has hired us for the 4th year in a row to teach their students about improv comedy and to join the student groups in an improv festival in early March, 2017.

Towards the end of March we will return to Southeast Asia to perform in the Manila Improv Festival held by our friends at SPIT Manila, the improv theater in the Philippines. It will be our third time to Manila and the festival there is always something we look forward to performing in.

Due to our vast international traveling, we have become known in the improv community around the world as one of Japan’s top improv groups. Our monthly shows in Tokyo have regularly featured guests from the world’s elite improv groups such as: Second City in Chicago, Upright Citizens Brigade in NYC, Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis. We have also welcomed guest performers from groups from New Zealand, England, China, Philippines, USA and Canada and more.

Improv helps your business

To perform improv, we need to think quickly, adapt to changes in the scene and trust the people we are performing with. All of these skill points are applicable in the office setting too. Sales teams need to be flexible to the demands of their clients. Management needs to trust their team and think quickly to the changing markets. The Pirates have been using their skills to enhance companies’ business output through our customized training sessions. We have trained major Japanese companies from small start ups to major corporations. Each training session focuses on key topics selected by the clients. Areas like: Teamwork, Problem Solving, Trust Building and Communication. More details can be found here. The training sessions can be a one time class or for more concrete results, some clients have hired us multiple times so we can build on what we taught in the previous workshop.

Photo Credit: Michael Holmes Photo  

We have also worked with Embassies and their staff in Japan, Hong Kong and Malaysia to help bridge cultural communication gaps. It is a lot of fun, for us and for the business people we train, to see everyone open up and become more free thinking to enable them to approach work challenges with a fresh perspective!

Improv University launched!

We are also excited to share with MET readers about our newly formed “Improv University”. This is something new we are trying and a first (we believe) for the city of Tokyo.

Classes haven’t started yet as we are still filling up Level 1 and matching them with our teachers. The classes will be taught by Mike Staffa and David Heston. Our goal is to teach groups of students from Level 1 to Level 2 and finally Level 3. And upon graduating from the University, the group of students will have a graduation show and be fully prepared to be their own unique group, trained in the Pirates style.

No where else in Tokyo can students enter as novices, and within 10 weeks (Level 1 + Level 2) be guaranteed a performance in an amazing venue in Shibuya and be set free as their own unique group ready to put on regular shows themselves.

The University is new and growing slowly, but we fully believe once the first group graduates, they will be able to help grow the improv community in Japan alongside the Pirates and the other groups in town.

Happy 6th Anniversary, Pirates of Tokyo Bay!

POTB will turn 6 this year so we’ll hold our 6th anniversary show on December 4th at Roppongi SuperDeluxe. It will feature lots of surprises, many of them secret! We will have appearances from our sister group in Osaka, the Pirates of the Dotombori who recently celebrated their 10th anniversary preforming in Kansai, as well as a few YouTubers stopping by our show. We have new games planned, new songs and new members making their debut performance. It’s really going to be a special show in a special venue!

The 6th anniversary show isn’t just a celebration of our group’s success, but it is also a celebration of our fans and a way for us to thank them for our support. We will have a special photo booth for fans to take photos in by our professional photographer. We’d love to have MET readers get their photos taken and share the photo on the MET website!

Photo Credit: Michael Holmes Photo  

☆See piratesoftokyobay.com/schedule/2016/8/22/6th-anniversary-show-6 for the details of POTB 6th Anniversary show on December 4 in Roppongi.
☆Buy ︎Tickets: potb6.peatix.com/