{"id":24769,"date":"2024-07-09T02:44:33","date_gmt":"2024-07-09T06:44:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=24769"},"modified":"2024-07-09T11:24:26","modified_gmt":"2024-07-09T15:24:26","slug":"momo-akashis-voice-a-thoughtful-parable-in-the-theatre-of-engagement-tradition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=24769","title":{"rendered":"Momo Akashi’s ‘VOICE’: A Thoughtful Parable in the ‘Theatre of Engagement’ Tradition"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

\u00a9Captured and Edited by Miku Hirayama with iPhoto<\/p>\r\n

Written by Momo Akashi<\/a> and directed by Kevin Cheng<\/a>, VOICE<\/strong> <\/em>had its global premiere on July 6 as part of the Time Capsule project at the Chain Theatre in New York City. As the brainchild of producer and artistic director Ai Toyoshima<\/a>, the Time Capsule project is designed, she says, \u201cto empower our participating artists to become the next generation of creative leaders in the theatrical industry both in New York and Japan.\u201d

A minimalist one-act play with only three actors on an almost-bare stage, VOICE<\/strong> <\/em>provides a raw and insightful glimpse into human frailty as well as endurance. This is ur-theater at its very best, relying primarily on well-written dialogue unembellished with whizbang special effects or elaborate musical accompaniment. It is a superb pleasure to watch its multicultural trio of actors (Mai Ozeki, Sudip Ulak, and Raymond Xavier) strut and fret their hour on the stage as they convey the sound and fury of their inner turmoil.

The official synopsis of VOICE<\/strong> <\/em>describes the play as one with \u201cjustice\u201d at its theme. In this context, Momo Akashi\u2019s drama is heir to the dramatic legacy of mid-twentieth-century dramatists like Edward Albee, Samuel Beckett, and Tennessee Williams, all of whom were ardent advocates of the \u201ctheater of engagement\u201d that sought to challenge conventional mores. The poster for VOICE<\/strong> <\/em>includes an image of an empty park bench, which brings to mind Edward Albee\u2019s Zoo Story<\/em>, in which two strangers meet on such a bench to share their existential angst.<\/p>\r\n

\"Voice<\/p>\r\n

\u00a9Captured and Edited by Miku Hirayama with iPhoto<\/p>\r\n


And there is plenty of angst to share here. VOICE<\/strong> <\/em>unfolds in a hospital setting, as a young man named Seth (Raymond Xavier) meets Lina (Mai Ozeki), twentysomethings who are each suffering from life-threatening maladies. Seth has been battling cancer for years, while Lina has recently been wounded by an unknown assailant who brutally slashed her throat. Both are awaiting surgery in a few days from a skilled doctor known as the \u201cGod Hand\u201d (Sudip Ulak).

When Seth learns that Lina\u2019s surgery will result in the loss of her vocal chords, he becomes incensed that the doctor is not being honest with her about her prognosis. Together, the two embark on an inner journey that exposes their vulnerability. Both are empathetic souls by nature, and the two characters readily bond in what might be described as a heartwarming,quasi-romantic relationship.<\/p>\r\n

<\/ins>\u00a0

Ultimately, their probing lead them to the harrowing conclusion that the culprit who slashed Lina\u2019s neck was none other than Doctor God Hand himself. The emotional and psychological crisis that accompanies this shocking discovery propels all three of them into a spirited discussion about mortality and morality.<\/p>\r\n


\"Voice<\/p>\r\n

\u00a9Captured and Edited by Miku Hirayama with iPhoto<\/p>\r\n

Despite its heavy themes, VOICE<\/strong> <\/em>is a thoughtful, well-wrought parable that is rescued from gloominess by the deft acting abilities of its characters, all three of whom are authentic in the pursuit of their own truth, even when it involves dealing with painful realities.<\/p>\r\n

Playwright Momo Akashi wrote in her director\u2019s statement: \u201cEven living in a vibrant city like New York, it\u2019s not easy to live true to what we want to do. That\u2019s why I wrote a story about characters who are honest about what they want. It doesn\u2019t mean that following hearts is the greatest thing in life, but I hope that the audience will enjoy meeting characters who are very pure, innocent and true to what they want.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Along with the other productions in the Time Capsule Project, VOICE<\/strong> <\/em>is an auspicious beginning in this new creative space that fulfills Ai Tomoshima’s dream of both inspiring and entertaining its audiences.<\/p>\r\n

\"Voice<\/p>\r\n

\u00a9Captured and Edited by Miku Hirayama with iPhoto<\/p>\r\n

Rating: A<\/p>\r\n

If you like the article, share your thoughts below!<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Check out more of Edward Moran’s articles.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\r\n


<\/ins><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a9Captured and Edited by Miku Hirayama with iPhoto Written by Momo Akashi and directed by Kevin Cheng, VOICE had its global premiere on July 6 as part of the Time Capsule project at the Chain Theatre in New York City. As the brainchild of producer and artistic director Ai Toyoshima, the Time Capsule project is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":24809,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20471,19],"tags":[16127,22950,22949,16128,22951,22952,23179,22948],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMomo Akashi's VOICE at the Time Capsule Project<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Voice : Mai Ozeki and Momo Akashi are pleased to announce that their original 60-minute play VOICE, directed by Kevin Cheng.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=24769\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Momo Akashi's VOICE at the Time 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He served as literary advisor to her film Hyam Plutzik: American Poet, which was the keynote film in the American Perspectives series at the 2007 Zebra Poetry Film Festival in Berlin.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.cinemadailyus.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?author=3\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Momo Akashi's VOICE at the Time Capsule Project","description":"Voice : Mai Ozeki and Momo Akashi are pleased to announce that their original 60-minute play VOICE, directed by Kevin Cheng.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=24769","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Momo Akashi's VOICE at the Time Capsule Project","og_description":"Voice : Mai Ozeki and Momo Akashi are pleased to announce that their original 60-minute play VOICE, directed by Kevin Cheng.","og_url":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=24769","og_site_name":"Cinema Daily US","article_published_time":"2024-07-09T06:44:33+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-07-09T15:24:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":427,"url":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Voice1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Edward Moran","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Edward Moran","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=24769","url":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=24769","name":"Momo Akashi's VOICE at the Time Capsule Project","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=24769#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=24769#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Voice1.jpg","datePublished":"2024-07-09T06:44:33+00:00","dateModified":"2024-07-09T15:24:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8bf0a19223aa026749c276918426a5bc"},"description":"Voice : Mai Ozeki and Momo Akashi are pleased to announce that their original 60-minute play VOICE, directed by Kevin Cheng.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=24769#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=24769"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=24769#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Voice1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Voice1.jpg","width":640,"height":427},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=24769#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Momo Akashi’s ‘VOICE’: A Thoughtful Parable in the ‘Theatre of Engagement’ Tradition"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/","name":"Cinema Daily US","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8bf0a19223aa026749c276918426a5bc","name":"Edward Moran","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Edward-Moran-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Edward-Moran-150x150.jpg","caption":"Edward Moran"},"description":"Edward Moran began his journalistic career many decades ago as a theater and cinema reviewer for Show Business and the New York Theater Review. 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