Genki Finale

This past weekend, Genki came to a close. We had a long weekend of touring, spending many hours on a bus and wrangling cardboard props in rainy weather. We ate a lot of meals from convenience stores. It was a lot of fun but also very, very tiring. However, all of the shows went well and we raised a lot of money toward scholarships for Kochi students who want to study abroad. In total, we raised nearly $5000 dollars. Some of the show's expenses still have to be subtracted from that, but it should be enough to make two scholarships.

The highlight of the weekend was definitely the final show. Since it's held in Kochi City, it always has the largest audience and typically the nicest venue. We performed at the Prefectural Culture Hall, which has several large auditoriums. The dressing rooms were damn classy, as well; we each had a well-lit mirror and some counter space to ourselves, which is quite a luxury after you've gotten accustomed to trying to do your makeup on a moving bus. The stage was nice and wide, with plenty of room in the wings for all of the props. It was a great set up.

The show itself went amazingly; it was definitely our best performance, and the audience was so responsive. They laughed at the jokes, clapped along to some of the music, and cheered at the end of each act. There were about 280 people who came to see the final show. It felt wonderful. By this point we'd done the show so many times that it ran very smoothly, and everyone could really go for it and throw themselves into their performances.

Of course, I'd also been looking forward to the end of the performance, when we would all line up in the hallway to talk to friends and collect donations. Most of all, I wanted to see Tatsuya and find out what he thought of the show. In the end, his reaction was very much what I'd been expecting; he was thrilled. He kept telling me how funny it was, and how the dancing was so great. He reminded me a lot of a labrador retriever, the way they wiggle when they get really excited and happy. And not in a figurative sense; he was actually bouncing around from the excitement. He's so sweet. He even brought flowers for me. They're really beautiful. In the bunch, there are three red roses, two ruffly pinkish-orange roses, a white lily, some little orange roses, a branch of tiny yellow orchids, and baby's breath. The bouquet itself is bigger than my head. Since I don't have any vases, I stuck it in a Nalgene bottle that I bought for climbing Mt. Fuji.

I was also very happy to see my English teacher from TJHS (she brought me flowers, too!), my old supervisor from the BOE, my new supervisor, my Japanese teacher from the KIA, and many ALTs. Everyone had really nice things to say about the musical. It felt like a big accomplishment. Being exhausted and sweaty, it was a little awkward trying to hold intelligent conversations, but I couldn't stop smiling from the exhilaration of the show.

After we'd gotten all of the props moved back to the storeroom, we had a cast party at a small bar. I think it might only be open for private parties, because the place doesn't even have a sign on the door. We all drank and ate and talked, and it was nice, though I felt like I was going to fall asleep. The directors handed out awards to each of the cast member; the awards are basically personalized souvenir plaques. I received the "Willing to Eat Her Teddy Bear For Her Art" award. When that party ended, most of the cast went on to karaoke, but I decided to go home.

I took today off from work to rest and relax, and it has been a nice day. It's strange to think that Genki is finally over. I'll probably be sad for a while once the realization really sinks in. Still, we had a great run, and it'll be wonderful to have my weekends back. The girls are already planning some weekend trips and partying for the near future.