Sakuya Sakuma/Literary Impasse

Role Study 【Tomohisa Oe】

Backstage Stories

Part 1

Izumi	Great job with rehearsal!
Masumi	Good work.
Tsuzuru	Good job.
Sakuya	Um, could I have a second?
	I actually have something I’d like Spring troupe to do together.
Chikage	Something you want to do? What is it?
Sakuya	I’m not sure if this will help us prepare for our roles, but the story in our upcoming show has a literary master theme…
	So what do you say to reading the works of literary masters and writing a book report?
Itaru	Book reports sure take me back.
Citron	Sounds good! I saw Kumon and the others doing them for their homework over summer break, so I wanted try writing one too!
Tsuzuru	Yeah, that might be nice for role study.
Itaru	‘Cept senpai and I edit, so we don’t have to do this, right?
Tsuzuru	No, wouldn’t it be better for the editors to do this too?
Izumi	I agree. All of the characters read lots of novels, after all.
Citron	Yes! Let’s all do it together!
Chikage	Alright, then we’ll read various different works and then write down our impressions.
Sakuya	Great, thank you very much!
Itaru	Well, I am an expert at reading and playing works and then talking about my impressions of them.
Tsuzuru	Sometimes Itaru-san rapid talks about his impressions of the games and light novels he’s into…
Masumi	…The reading part is fine, but writing our impressions is a pain.
Chikage	Now, don’t say that. Give it a try, Masumi.
Izumi	Instead of just reading it, I think you’ll reflect deeper on the work by writing out your thoughts. Plus, it’ll be a great way to build up your role as a novelist.
Masumi	I got it. If you say so.
Itaru	Have you decided what you’ll read already, Sakuya?
Sakuya	No, I haven’t thought that far yet…
	Tsuzuru-kun, do you have any recommended works by literary masters?
Tsuzuru	Yeah. I can only think of a few on the spot, so I’ll send you a LIME later.
Sakuya	Wow, thank you very much!
Citron	I’d like you to think of recommendations for me too!
	Please do, Tsuzuru!
Tsuzuru	No problem. Alright, I’ll send some to everyone.
Itaru	That’s Tsuzuru for you. Ever so dependable.
Chikage	By the way, what are we going to do after we’ve written our impressions?
Tsuzuru	Ahh, right, after they’re written…
Sakuya	I’m sorry. I didn’t think that far.
Izumi	(Everyone’s book reports, huh…)
	If you don’t mind, then won’t you leave that to me?
Masumi	I got it.
	We’ll leave it in your hands.
Sakuya	Okay then. Please take care of it, Director!
Chikage	How about we read a book and write our book report within a week, and then submit it to Director-san?
Itaru	Okay.
Izumi	(I can’t wait to see what kind of books they’ll read and what kind of impressions they’ll write.)
	*notification sound*
Sakuya	Ah, it’s a LIME from Tsuzuru-kun!
Tsuzuru I’m sending the lineup of books I recommend for Sakuya
Sakuya	Wow, there’s so many listed here!
	I’m curious about them all.
	…Ah, “Night on the Galactic Railroad” by Kenji Miyazawa is included too.
	(I’ve flipped through the picture book in the past, but I’ve never properly read the original before.)
	Alright, I’ll go with this one then…!
	(I’ve borrowed “Night on the Galactic Railroad” from the library…)
	*flips page*
	The contents are basically the same as the picture book I read before, but the presentation is different and fresh.
	(I’ve been reading it little by little, but the story is already reaching the end.)
	(The best friend Campanella who was travelling by train together with the protagonist Giovanni…)
	…
	(It’s so sad and heart wrenching…)
	(I want to write my impressions with these feelings from finishing the story fresh in my mind.
	I’ll start writing right now!)
	“Once again, I thought it was truly amazing to be able to write a work that stirs people’s emotions.”
	“I want to be able to act so I can last in someone’s heart as well.”
	…And finished.
	I’ll bring it over to Director later.
Izumi	Great job with rehearsal, everyone.
	Also, I have something I want to give you all today.
	Here you go.
	I tried making an anthology by compiling all your impressions together!
Sakuya	Eh, you made this for us?
	That’s amazing. Thank you!
Itaru	I’m curious about the reports, so let’s give it a read.
Citron	I read Sakuya’s impressions!
	I was so moved…!
Masumi	Well, I’m a bit interested in this book.
Tsuzuru	I like how Sakuya’s feelings were written honestly.
Chikage	I think you can already act in a way that leaves a lasting impression.
Sakuya	I-I really appreciate it…!
	Reading the book and writing the report made me think and reflect on many things.
	I’ll do my best to act so I can leave an impression on even more people’s hearts!

Anna