Chapter 3 The Performance at Taikang Theater

  If Zhou Xiao could perform in the theater every day, it would be perfect, but this is impossible.

  Tokyo is a huge and intimidating city, but at the same time, it's also a crowded and intimidating city. Don't look at this small theater that can only hold dozens of people, but there are many users.

  Comedian performances, various consolation performances organized by local communities, small-time singers, idols, impersonators, rakugo performers, kabuki... all sorts of performances filled almost all the open hours of this theater. The time left for comedian performances each week was only three working afternoons on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, with two hours per day.

  It's also good if I can attend theater performances three times a week.

  There must be people who think so, but even three days a week is impossible for Zhou Xiao now.

  Why? Zhou Xiao is just a small-time comedian who has only been in the business for half a year, and can barely be considered a ninth-rate performer. Being able to perform on stage is already quite an achievement! For most comedians who have only been doing this for half a year, where do they usually perform? In the park square! And who are their usual audience? Two or three people walking their dogs or playing with their kids, who aren't even paying attention to them! That's just how it is. These comedians will come to the square to perform, rain or shine, and it's almost always the same routine.

  Those who can appear on TV are indeed glorious, but behind such artists stand an enormous group of unsung heroes. It is these unsung heroes that make up the lowest level of social ecology in this city. Although small theaters can only hold 60 or 70 audience members per show, for Zhou Xiao now, being able to perform at a small theater and being able to appear on TV are almost equally wonderful jobs.

  So even if the current self is already different from before, and one's aspirations are not as simple as being a comedian, Zhou Xiao still has to go, for no other reason than to avoid starving oneself!

  After searching for half a day, Zhou Xiao finally found a comb that could barely be used to style her hair. As a young Japanese person in the year 2000, her clothing and hairstyle were somewhat unconventional, unlike the natural makeup look of several years later. At this time, on the streets of Tokyo, regardless of gender, everyone's appearance was quite exaggerated.

  However, Zhou Xiao is a relatively introverted otaku from more than a decade later, and he naturally cannot dress himself up like that.

  Looking at his reflection in the mirror, Zhou Xiao was very satisfied. Although most comedians are ugly men, this Japanese body that Zhou Xiao had been given wasn't bad at all. He combed his hair and tried to style it as naturally as possible. Zhou Xiao nodded in satisfaction. If he didn't look like he hadn't eaten for a long time with a pale complexion, his current appearance would be quite similar to that of a posthumous genius idol. This image wouldn't be a problem even if he were just an extra on TV or a male flower vase.

  Fixing up her appearance, Zhou Xiao opened the door to her house. Based on the incomplete impression in her mind, the Dahe Theater was about three or four blocks away from where she lived. It wasn't far, but it also wasn't close. Normally, she could take public transportation like buses and subways to get to the theater, but with only 30 yuan left in her pocket, Zhou Xiao naturally couldn't choose those options now. What to do? Take the No. 11 bus.

  He put on his shoes and closed the door, but just took two steps before stopping. He thought for a moment, then turned around and went back into the room. After finding that pure white lace underwear in the house, he turned around and left again.

  There was a small inner wear in the pocket, Zhou Xiao first ran upstairs and knocked on three doors, but didn't open any of them. Thinking carefully, this is also inevitable. At this time, it's over 10 am, which is working hours. Most people living in such small rooms are busy making a living, so at this time, they are either at work or looking for work, and the probability of opening the door at this time is indeed very low.

  There was no choice, Zhou Xiao could only continue running towards the theater with her little secret.

  This road took about twenty minutes to walk, and Zhou Xiao didn't idle on this road. His mind kept thinking about the paragraphs he had written before. These paragraphs... In his opinion, they were mediocre, and even a few of them were related to language and the environment of Tokyo, Japan. Although Zhou Xiao inherited most of the memories of Japanese Zhou Xiao, such paragraphs still made him difficult to understand.

  Zhou Xiao also wanted to come up with some popular jokes in China, but walking for 20 minutes or so, Zhou Xiao really couldn't think of anything nutritious.

  Before long, Zhou Xiao arrived outside the theater.

  The Ogawa theater is located on the fourth floor of a red building. Yes, that's right, Tokyo is expensive, and a small theater can't afford to have its own building.

  Although the theater is small, it's basically complete with all the necessary facilities. Even when Zhou Xiao entered the theater, he walked through the entrance used by staff members. After entering the theater, Zhou Xiao first went to the artist's lounge because the official performance time was in the afternoon and it wasn't yet 11 o'clock. Since Zhou Xiao arrived at the theater so early, he had to wait for several hours before starting his own performance. It's understandable that he came so early; after all, he didn't have anything else to do, so he might as well come here first, which also shows how much he values the performance.

  The theater was not idle at the moment, an old man in traditional cheongsam was performing rakugo. Rakugo is actually similar to stand-up comedy, if there's a difference, it's probably just the difference between classical and modern. With the mindset of learning from others even if nothing can be learned, Zhou Xiao stood at the edge of the backstage and watched the old man's rakugo performance.

  The old man's rakugo content, Zhou Xiao listened for half a day and found that it was even more nostalgic than his own jokes. However, the atmosphere on site was not bad, with laughter erupting from time to time. Zhou Xiao took a sneak peek and, as expected, discovered that most of the audience were elderly people. Zhou Xiao knew that if he were to move the same jokes to the afternoon's comedy venue, they would never have achieved such an effect. Although this old fellow's rakugo was somewhat outdated, each one had great depth, and his gestures and tone were quite elegant, making it a program with considerable substance.

  Zhou Xiao stood at the edge and watched for about seven or eight minutes. The old man's falling words finally came to an end, got up and left the stage, but the performance was clearly not over yet. The old man who fell down was obviously just taking a break and would be on stage again later.

  This made Zhou Xiao extremely envious, the small theater's appearance fee is directly related to your performance time. This old man looks like he can perform a big show, his 20 minutes can earn 5,000 yuan, and the old man's one or two hours is 15,000 to 30,000 yuan. Moreover, being able to perform in such a venue, elsewhere it's impossible to have no audience, this old man can really earn a lot in a month.

  Don't forget that this old man is definitely over 70 years old and won't take less pension every month.

  The old man walked down with a quiver, and Zhou Xiao hurried up to bow and greet him. In the Japanese entertainment circle, there are three words that must be remembered forever: "greeting". Although the entertainment circle is the most modern and trendy industry, Japan's entertainment circle is the most conservative and strict. The relationship between superiors and inferiors, predecessors and successors is extremely strict, especially for those who engage in rakugo, kabuki and other traditional arts. If you don't go to greet them, the old man may not say anything at the time, but this doesn't mean that he won't remember it. Maybe he'll occasionally say a word or two, and unintentionally block your path to success. Don't think that the old men are just talking nonsense, traditional performing arts hold a high position in Japan.

  The old man's name is "Katsura Bunsuke", which is obviously a stage name, Rakugo storytellers often inherit their names from their masters, commonly used surnames include "Katsura", "Sanshotei", "Haru no Suke" and "Shofukutei".

  "Good afternoon, Mr. Bunshun. I'm Zhou Xiao, who will be performing this afternoon. Please give me your guidance."

  "Ah, Zhou Xiao, this name, you are..."

  "I am a Chinese-Japanese, but I have been very interested in being an artist since childhood, so I chose this career." Zhou Xiao said.

  "Really? Your current firm is......"

  "Because I just entered this circle for half a year, so there is no firm yet."

  "Really? It's better to add a law firm, so it's more convenient to find a job and practice. Don't look down on those firms without fixed income."

  "Yes, yes..."

  Although Zhou Xiao agreed, in fact he wouldn't mind this point at all. Being a comedian is not his ultimate goal. If it were the old Zhou Xiao, joining an agency might be a good suggestion, but now he absolutely wouldn't think that way.