How to write to your favourite actor

This blog was originally posted a few years ago after many people began talking about appropriate and inappropriate ways to interact with actors on social media. A lot of people found it helpful at the time, so three years later I’m re-posting it again in the hope that it can help more people.

I interact with a lot of actors on social media, but I also write a lot of fan letters. Every time I see actors report that they have received a stack of letters, they always say how grateful they are and how much they enjoyed reading them. Actors do read the letters they receive from fans, and that’s why it’s a great thing to do, but also why you have to be careful. I feel like I’ve written enough of them to have a good idea of how and what to write, so here is my advice for sending fan letters to your favourite actors.

S.Q.S Episode 5 ~The Case of the disappearance of Takamura Shiki~

Episode 5 of the S.Q. (Solids & QUELL) Stage ran from February 20th March 1st 2020 in Tokyo’s Hulic Hall, a theatre with a capacity of around 900 people. The cast from the first four episodes reprised their roles again for this show, minus Higano Sho who appeared only through videos due to his current commitment to the Engeki Haikyuu Stage. The regular cast were joined by Tanaka Kyohei, Hagiwara Naruya and Oobayashi Motoko, who played other characters.

As Higano Sho’s character Takamura Shiki could not appear in this stage, the story centred around his disappearance. The members of SolidS and QUELL find a letter on the table one morning from Shiki. It states that he’s in a slump at work and is going on a journey and that if they are interested they can follow along. As they are taking in this news, Shiki’s brother Keito visits by chance, and they decide together to follow the clues revealed in the letters. With each clue, they go to new places, meet unique people and learn more about Shiki and themselves.

Tenimyu x Animate Cafe

The Prince of Tennis Musical is currently running a collaboration with Animate Cafe to celebrate the end of the 3rd Season. The collaboration includes food and drink based on all the different teams that featured in the musical, bonus coasters for each item ordered, and special limited goods only available at the cafe.

For fans of Tenimyu, this is an amazing place to spend some time. You can sit and eat while surrounded by posters and stage images from the shows, and listen to familiar songs from the musicals playing over the speakers. With the place full of other Tenimyu fans, it’s the closest you can get to the Tenimyu experience without actually going to watch the show.

I was lucky enough to be able to go to the cafe on March 1st. Although my experience was a little tinged with sadness because my time slot fell at the time I was supposed to be in Kawasaki watching Tenimyu’s Thank You Festival with Shitenhoji (if I had managed to hit for a ticket), it was the best alternative I could have chosen.

TFG: Who are they and why should 2.5d Stage fans be interested?

Next week, the Japanese group TFG, who are made up of 7 stage actors and debuted on July 17th 2019 with their party tune single My Dear Summer, release their first album titled celebraTion.

But who are TFG, and as a fan of 2.5d theater, why should you be interested in them? As a fan myself, I decided to look deeper into the group, why they were formed and discover more about its seven members. TFG were formed in 2019 and released their debut single in the summer. On the surface, they look and sound just like any other music group in Japan but if you look a little closer, you’ll find that all of these faces are familiar to fans of Japan’s 2.5d industry.

10 Tips on Buying Goods at Stages

I spend a lot of my time when I go to see shows standing in goods lines, and even more time than that planning in advance what I need and what time I should arrive in order to ensure I can get everything on my list. While you may think it’s as easy as just walking into the theatre and getting hold of those trading bromides or penlights that you want, there are many things you should consider in advance or you may find yourself disappointed and going home with nothing.

Here are my top ten tips for buying goods at stage shows. If you need help with a specific show, my contact box is always open to messages.

The Oshi Interviews: Ota Motohiro

Welcome to my regular blog segment, The Oshi Interviews. Here I will be finding out more about different actors by asking those who know them best, their fans!

Today’s interview is with Kira who I interviewed about her oshi Ota Motohiro (太田基裕). you can find Kira on Twitter @yukiradaruma.

“Ota Motohiro aka Mokkun had his stage debut during the first season of Tenimyu as a pinch-hitter for the role of Ibu Shinji from Fudomine because the original actor could not reprise the role for the run. Mokkun is left-handed but he does some task with his right hand, including playing the guitar because back when he started playing it he was unable to afford a guitar for lefties and thus taught himself how to play with his right instead. The guiding principle behind Mokkun’s approach to his roles in 2.5D in particular is to add his own personal spin to them but to keep things within the boundaries of the original material in order to give fans a unique experience when watching a stage as compared to reading the manga or watching the anime or playing the game.”

The Oshi Interviews: Kosaka Ryoutarou

Welcome to my regular blog segment, The Oshi Interviews. Here I will be finding out more about different actors by asking those who know them best, their fans!

Today’s interview is with Ri who I interviewed about Haisute actor Kosaka Ryoutarou (小坂涼太郎). Ri runs a Tumblr dedicated to him, which you can find here.

Here’s what she had to say about him.

“Kosaka Ryoutarou is mostly known as Tsukishima Kei from Haisute and probably only as such in general. He doesn’t have a lot of 2.5D shows under his belt, but he did appear in quite a lot of stage plays already. Despite looking stylish and model-type (due to his long physique), he’s actually a pretty good actor who can pull off different kinds of roles you wouldn’t expect from him.”

The Oshi Interviews: Futaba Yuu

Welcome to my new regular blog segment, The Oshi Interviews. Here I will be finding out more about different actors by asking those who know them best, their fans!

Today’s interview is with Jae who I interviewed about one half of the duo Twin Paradox, Futaba Yuu 二葉勇 (@2BA_yuu)! You can find Jae on Twitter @nightimefjaeril or read her blog dedicated to Saiyuki Ibun (which Yuu will be acting in soon) here.

Here’s what she had to say about him.

“He may be one half of a unit, but his hotness makes for two! He has sexy lips, a jawline so sharp it can cut through diamonds and whenever he’s not busy performing on stage, making music or shooting videos with his younger brother… he’s probably doing something to his hair. He’s Futaba Yuu, the airhead twin!”

Love Kome: The Rice behind the stage

Before I watched Rice on Stage, I honestly didn’t know there was so many different kinds of rice. After I watched the stage I was interested to know if they all really did exist and if their types had any impact on their looks and personality in the stage. I looked into this and did a little research, and I’m posting the results of that research here.

If reading this post makes you want to see more, the first stage is currently available for streaming on various sites online and the DVD for the second will be released soon. Please support this production because it’s fun and amazing and I want them to be able to do more stages.