才能は開花させるもの　センスは磨くもの

Kimura: I... thought about what was coming next a lot.

– "Foreshadowing."

Kimura: Right. I'd watch [Nekoma] thinking, I want to steal Kozume's plays to fight back against Oikawa in the next match, and I thought a lot about how I'd take my next positions. "If I say this line this way now, that could narrow the development next time. So then how should I..."

Worry: I see. Deep as usual, Tatsunari.

– Seijou was represented by two players.

Asuma: It was pretty rough… that fence.

Kohatsu: Totally.

Suga: Uh, no! You just carried it a little! It was not that big a deal.

Worry/Kimura/Asuma/Kohatsu: (laughter)

– You were a sympathetic presence for the audience, explaining what happened in the match.

Kohatsu: We didn't have a match of our own, so all through rehearsals I was paying attention, objectively, to "What does it mean to create a match from step one?" Like, watching Nekoma and Date Kougyou each band together, I wondered, "What color is Seijou?" There weren't exactly a lot of opportunities for us to sit back and look around and think through our issues deliberately, so I feel like I absorbed a lot by osmosis.

Asuma: Allen-kun came in for the rerun, but in "Karasuno, Revival" we were really able to carve out a lot of "ah-un no kokyuu" time and improve our communication. Allen-kun took the lead in a lot of task, so our sense of trust was also excellent. I think that period will be very helpful for "Winners and Losers". And my personal challenge was to see the whole play from the audience's perspective… That will still apply, but I've become more aware of the condition of everyone on stage. "They're having a really good time," "They seem tired today," "Oops, their real feelings are coming out." (laughs)

Kohatsu: (laughs) Yeah, we'd also ad lib conversations like "He just wiped out!" and "I wonder if he's okay" off mic on the other side of the fence.

Asuma: Yeah, yeah.

– And now you've arrived at "Winners and Losers". The bloodbath between Karasuno and Seijou!

Asuma: This time I'll be part of the match from the beginning, which is unknown territory… I wonder how we can face up to Karasuno, now that they've done three productions together and have a stronger sense of unity than we do.

Kohatsu: It'll be fine. You're the only one in Seijou who's been in every production so far, after all. You've spent as much time in Haikyuu stage as Karasuno have.

Asuma: Oh, right.

Suga: So weak~ Hey!

Worry/Kimura: (laughter)

– Tell us about the directorial themes of this production.

Worry: There's quite a few… One is "wind". If pushed I'd say that up til now the big focus has been on the "character", like the establishment of Karasuno as a team, or what the Hinata-Kageyama combo see and how they evolve together. Like, last time there was "the losers' stories." But this time I want to make volleyball a little more… I want to depict that special sense of being on-court. That tingling feeling you get on-court, things like that that are portrayed in the manga. You might say "space" rather than "people". And then, what if a tremendous wind blew through the court. The moment you cross that line, you don't know where the wind will blow next, and the storm's already there. Isn't it interesting to think of them as fighting amidst such a tempestous wind? That's where I want to have the audience "enter" the court more than they ever have before, and the actors to embody the feeling of being in the middle of something special.

– "Wind." Show something invisible to the eye.

Worry: That's right. I think that's the real thrill of theater. I want to compose it as flight, Karasuno ruling the skies versus Seijou wielding the wind.

Suga: Wind, huh. Seijou are so cool.

– Plot-wise, the focus is on the three setters. There's that memorable line, "A setter is like a conductor."

Worry: Mmhm. I discussed that with Wada-kun, who does the music, about how the image this time should be an orchestra. Position the three sets as first movement, second movement, third movement, and in principle always have music playing… We decided on a creative style where it seems as if the music is coming from the players themselves. Everyone will have to think of the music as they play their parts much more than they have thus far. In more concrete terms, the three setters will literally be conductors… Have you been doing your homework?

Asuma: I've been watching the videos you told us about. Ozawa Seiji-san and so on.

Kimura: Conductors... Then I want a baton.

Worry: Oh, that could work.

"On stage, we want them to know how serious we are."

– We're holding this discussion shortly before rehearsals begin, but what do you think the highlights will be this time?

Suga: Hinata's highlight will be far and away the wide broad (moving attack), I think, but as a Haikyuu fan, it has to be Sugawara's storyline. Sugawara's "Not 'win for me' but 'we're going to win.'" That's a really great scene, so I wonder how (Ino) Hiroki and Worry-san are going to portray it... I can't help being excited for it.

Worry: Ah, that part. When Sugawara comes out all at once the story changes, so I think in that moment, he's the one who first sends a wind blowing through the court. It's an important point.

Kimura: I'm already like, "Will we have enough rehearsal time?" Because we have to do this and that and this too… I feel like the staff. (laughs) All I can think is that if we don't draw up a proper rehearsal schedule we'll run out of time.

Worry/Suga/Asuma/Kohatsu: (huge laugh)

Kimura: I mean, you can't just create the outline of the match. Matching the acting of emotion with the performance… You have to put together what's inside, too. For Kageyama, I stay conscious of the fact that everyone's always watching him, and go down to the finest details.

– It's not just the match in the present, there's an abundance of flashback scenes as well.

Worry: The plan is to go back and forth a bunch, so of course that's one of the highlights. You'll see parts of Seijou that haven't been shown yet, and there's a bit of an interesting plan for it.

Kohatsu: That's right~ I was surprised when I read the script. (laughs)

Asuma: I remembered all over again that I need to value those connections.

Kohatsu: Seijou have to put a lot of pressure on Karasuno. Like when Watari makes a toss and Nishinoya's like, no way!, and the jump serve's still insane!, and stuff… right.

Asuma: Right. We want to express all the members of Seijou, so I want to think about our presentation as far as how and where we draw attention.

– In this show, Oikawa seems almost like a completely different person from the Oikawa we knew before.

Asuma: That's right. The side he hasn't shown yet starts to appear more and more.

Worry: I think Oikawa's a monster. So if Kousuke can get ahold of that interestingness… If he isn't shallow and truly interprets the material, it will be a great experience for him as an actor. Conversely, if he can't figure it out, his existence as an actor might be in jeopardy.

Suga/Kimura/Kohatsu: Ooooh.

Worry: That's how interesting a character Oikawa is. Especially this time. Kousuke, I want you to fully understand the appeal of theater here.

Asuma: ...Yessir.

– Has team spirit increased?

Kohatsu: Karasuno have been doing this since shoen so of course they've gotten better and better at volleyball. When Seijou all gathered, Worry-san told us, "It's not just the match, you can't lose there either. Make sure each one of you does what you can behind the scenes, and in the meantime get ready to do whatever may come."

Suga: Karasuno is… still the type who can't really hold proper meetings. (laughs) There's a surprising number of guys who will end up brooding over it if someone says something to them.

Kimura: For sure.

Suga: But! I think we have to get over that this time. Just in gathering together all the things different people have thought up, Karasuno will fix itself here as Karasuno. We should also probe our passion and momentum all the way through, like we always have so far. it's just, it would be amazing if that could be even greater and more expansive [than before]. For that reason, I think it's necessary we make time for deliberate discussion and consideration.

Worry: When things seem all over the place, Kenta as zachou will always say one word, like "This one," and everyone will jerk around to the same direction. I think that contributed to their sense of unity… Well, but if you feel like that now, Kenta… Is the message there "Stop counting on me"?

– "If someone says something to you, don't be afraid to feel the pressure."

Worry: Yeah. I think that's a very good thing.

– So, if you were to say what you feel has improved over the previous productions?

Suga: How much we want to be circus performers. (laughs) Each time, there's different things asked of us… In our physical expression. We're really learning that you have to use your body perform. And getting that conveyed to actors of our generation – the increasing number of people who tell us, "Haikyuu's amazing. I've been hearing about it. I've been watching it," makes me thankful. I'm glad. And I want to get far enough until adults who say this and that about 2.5D shows will instead just say, "Yeah, I know Haikyuu stage". I will. Absolutely!

Kimura: First and foremost, I can't believe that the next show will be our fourth, if you include saien. In a short span of time we've really fought tooth and nail. Like Kenta said, Worry-san's told us "I want you to work on this" about plenty of problems, and it's important to clear those one by one, and it's not just that, I think it's our job to present Worry-san with infinite possibilities. I want him to think, "Damn, you guys can do anything!" and "Wow, Kimura Tatsunari's good." Of course the audience will be watching, since this is a play, but for me this comes first. I'm convinced that if you earn the director's trust a good play will naturally follow.

Asuma: My theatrical debut was Haikyuu stage shoen, so I've always felt like this is truly everything I know. At first I didn't know how to count a rhythm, I was starting from, like, where's first position? Which is stage left and which is stage right?? …Now I've gotten more experience and it's finally time for a full match. I want to play a match soon!

Kohatsu: Yeah, I want to play a match~ I've always been watching. The more I watch, the more the feeling "I want to play a match soon!" gets stronger and stronger.

Suga: That frustration is part of why I'm looking forward to our fight with Seijou. I can't wait. Because when you say just that one word, "watching", it's like there's a corresponding explosive power, or like, a heat and passion you've been saving up that will come out. I won't accept anything less. I want us to know each other's true commitment on stage.

– It's no surprise that you're already on fire.

Kimura: We can't calm down. (laughs)

Kohatsu: The Seijou members are all looking forward to going up against Karasuno as one. In this fight between two separate schools we want to show the audience a single sense of unity, and for them to understand the color of Seijou with Oikawa at our heart. Obviously the passion of the work itself, plus the things all of Seijou hold, and the things we want. We want to show everything, so that they understand us.

Asuma: Our most important job is to strengthen the teamwork that says "This is the type of team Seijou is." Then there's the setter showdown between Oikawa and Kageyama... Tobio-chan. I want the audience to enjoy the drama at the heart of the story. On the staging side, there will be a lot of new portrayals of volleyball itself, and as a former volleyball player, I want to do my best to convey the attraction of volleyball as a sport.

Kimura: I'm going to play Kageyama the setter, rawer than anyone, shining brighter than anyone. I'm sure many things will come up between now and opening night, but together we'll overcome them and finish something great by the time we show it to the audience… I expect. I'm excited to see how we look in a month. And I believe that throughout the run we'll keep growing, in the most enjoyable way.

Suga: "Winners and Losers" features a match that's a major part of the original manga, a storyline where as a team Karasuno becomes truly complete. So that no one forgets that we create this production together, we want to use in full everything we've done so far as the Haikyuu Theater Troupe, and create a play that everyone reading the pamphlet now will enjoy… We did, right? Yes, we did! This is the story of the people entrusted with the ball, the setters. I personally am excited for the changes that might also change how we look on stage, and I'm glad that I'll be able to see them from up closest of all. Of course, I also want everyone in the audience to enter the court with us, and be able to experience that feeling.

Track note: Tracks 21 and 22 are bonus tracks from the original Engeki Haikyuu OST – "Haikyuu!!" (the main theme) and "Itadaki no keshiki" (the closing theme).

tracklist 1. "進化の夏" ("Shinka no natsu") 2. 村人Bと太陽の冒険：新しい出会い (Murabito B to taiyou no bouken: Atarashii deai) 3. 村人Bと太陽の冒険：半端な思い (Murabito B to taiyou no bouken: Hanpana omoi) 4. 烏合の衆 (Ugou no shuu) 5. 村人Bと太陽の冒険：巣立ち (Murabito B to taiyou no bouken: Sudachi) 6. "進化の夏" Into High Gear ("Shinka no natsu" Into High Gear) 7. THE GAME -烏野高校 vs 音駒高校 東京遠征練習試合- (THE GAME -Karasuno koukou vs Nekoma koukou Tokyo ensei renshuu shiai) 8. 相棒 (Aibou) 9. 月はくすんだ夢を見る (Tsuki wa kusunda yume wo miru) 10. 同時多発位置差攻撃 (Douji tahatsu ichisa kougeki) 11. 頂での戦い方 (Itadaki de no tatakaikata) 12. THE GAME -梟谷学園高校 vs 音駒高校 東京合宿練習試合- (THE GAME -Fukuroudani gakuen koukou vs Nekoma koukou Tokyo gasshuku renshuu shiai) 13. THE GAME -烏野高校 vs 梟谷学園高校 東京合宿練習試合その１- (THE GAME -Karasuno koukou vs Fukuroudani gakuen koukou Tokyo gasshuku renshuu shiai sono 1) 14. 月は目覚めない夢を見る (Tsuki wa mezamenai yume wo miru) 15. ハジメマシテ色付ク世界 (Hajimemashite irotsuku sekai) 16. 進化の地平線 (Shinka no chiheisen) 17. THE GAME -烏野高校 vs 梟谷学園高校 東京合宿練習試合その２- (THE GAME -Karasuno koukou vs Fukuroudani gakuen koukou Tokyo gasshuku renshuu shiai sono 2) 18. 相棒と、頂での戦い方 (Aibou to, itadaki de no tatakaikata) 19. "進化の夏" To The Next Stage ("Shinka no natsu" To The Next Stage) 20. KARASUNO～ほしがりのテーマ～ (KARASUNO ~Hoshigari no teema~)

track translations 1. "Summer of Evolution" 2: The Adventures of Villager B and the Sun: New Encounters 3. The Adventures of Villager B and the Sun: Halfhearted Feelings 4. A Murder of Crows 5. The Adventures of Villager B and the Sun: Leaving the Nest 6. "Summer of Evolution" Into High Gear 7. THE GAME: Karasuno High vs Nekoma High, Tokyo Away Match 8. Partners 9. The Moon Dreams a Clouded Dream 10. Synchronized Attack 11. How to Fight at the Summit 12. THE GAME -Fukurodani Gakuen High vs Nekoma High, Tokyo Training Camp Match 13. THE GAME -Karasuno High vs Fukurodani Gakuen High, Tokyo Training Camp Match #1 14. The Moon Dreams a Dream It Can't Awake From 15. A Brand-New World of Color 16. Horizons of Evolution 17. THE GAME -Karasuno High vs Fukurodani Gakuen High, Tokyo Training Camp Match #2 18. How to Fight at the Summit, As Partners 19. "Summer of Evolution" To The Next Stage 20. KARASUNO ~Theme for the Hungry~