Roaming Shopping Street Festival: Phantom Edition

Itaru Sugiyama (stage designer)

A member of the theatre group Seinendan since his days as a student at International Christian University, Itaru Sugiyama went to Italy as part of the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Overseas Study Program for Artists in 2001. His wide-ranging output encompasses set design for theatre, dance, musicals, and opera as well as running stage design workshops and overseeing theatre venue renovation projects. His accolades include Best Scenography Award at the Cairo International Festival for Contemporary and Experimental Theatre 2006 and the Yomiuri Theatre Prize for Best Production Team Member in 2014.

Ryo Sakamoto (stage designer)

Born in 1984 in Kanagawa Prefecture, Ryo Sakamoto graduated with a degree in aesthetics from Kokugakuin University. He started working in stage design with Rokushakudo, a theatre design research studio, from 2009. He has since handled stage design for a range of companies including mrs.fictions, Setagaya Silk, Gareki no Taiko, kyouei-mizugi, and syncrojesse. His work involved everything from the design to production of theatre stage sets for fringe productions in Tokyo as well as production design for film and also interior design. Since 2017, he has further served as set designer for the Ubumuntu Arts Festival, which is held in Rwanda, East Africa. In 2018, he designed the venue for a Kwita Izina gorilla naming ceremony.

Ayami Sasaki (stage designer)

Born in 1983 in Kagoshima Prefecture, Ayami Sasaki graduated with a degree in film and theatre studies from Tama Art University. She is a member of FAIFAI, serving as the group’s stage designer for its various theatre and dance productions, concerts, and exhibitions. She also does stage design for other groups’ productions. Her recent credits include FAIFAI’s “Gorilla: What is Human?” (F/T in the City Performance Series at F/T17), the 2018 AAF Drama Award production “City III” and FAIFAI’s “Louie Louie” in 2019. Recently unable to indulge in the home parties she so loves to hold, she has instead been secretly streaming a radio show with the FAIFAI actor Koji Yamazaki and video artist Shintaro Tamada.

Tomomi Nakamura (stage designer)

Born in Niigata Prefecture, Tomomi Nakamura graduated from J. F. Oberlin University with a degree in cultural studies. She started studying stage design while an undergraduate. She is now a freelance stage designer, working with such companies as HANCHU-YUEI, Q, Baoba, Bird Park, and AmayAdori. She is also a member of Kusunoki-so (by the Kamiike Mokuchin Bunka Network) and director for the nonprofit S.A.I. Previously at Festival/Tokyo, she has served as stage design coordinator for “Rashomon | Yabunonaka” (2014), Zombie Opera “Danse Macabre” (2015), “Toky Toki Saru” (2017), and “Palestine, Year Zero” (2017).

Comprising the stage designers Itaru Sugiyama, Ryo Sakamoto, Ayami Sasaki, and Tomomi Nakamura, this collective of scenographers was formed especially for the F/T19 Opening Program, the “Roaming Shopping Street Festival.” The group aims to work on projects involving the creation of scenes and scenery rooted in stage design, though without presupposing the need for text, actors, or directors. Its name derives from “scenography,” combined with a Japanese word meaning “group” or “school.”