True Colors DIALOGUE “All the Sex I’ve Ever Had” by Darren O’Donnell of Mammalian Diving Reflex

The execution of this work was decided in 2019 as True Colors DIALOGUE, an official program of the True Colors Festival, which was held by the Nippon Foundation DIVERSITY IN THE ARTS. It was the initial production and performance of the original Japanese edition of All the Sex I’ve Ever Had, a participation-oriented project by Mammalian Diving Reflex, a group of Canadian artists. The members of MDR were invited to Japan from Canada for the performance. Five people aged 60 or over selected by an application process and the MDR members participated in a one-month workshop, in which they looked back on their lives from the perspective of sexual experiences and wrote the script. The premiere performance was scheduled for March 2020, but had to be postponed shortly before, due to the onset of Covid-19. It was finally staged in 2021. Thereafter, it was held in Kyoto and Tokyo in March and April, respectively, of 2021, as part of the Kyoto Experiment : Kyoto international performing arts festival 2021 Spring and an official program of the True Colors Festival.

We at precog planned and produced the performance while communicating online with the MDR members. To attract all sorts of people to the theater, we did the planning and production work for various means of audience support, including English interpretation and subtitles, on-stage sign language interpretation, and voice guides. During the run of the performance, we were in charge of managing an accessible venue. Besides linking Japan and other countries, we created involvement by people with diverse backgrounds, such as youth and senior citizens, people of diverse sexualities, and persons with disabilities.

Performance in Kyoto
Date | 26-28 March 2021
Venue | Auditorium, Kyoto Art Center
Official website | https://kyoto-ex.jp/en/shows/2021s-mammalian-diving-reflex-darren-odonnell/

Performance in Tokyo
Date | 8-11 April 2021
Venue | Spiral Hall
Official website | https://truecolorsfestival.com/program/all-the-sex-i-ever-had-mammalian-diving-reflex-true-colors-dialogue/

Outline of works

Stories told by senior citizens about sex and life that make the audience both laugh and cry. Documentary theater with messages to encourage youth.

Five performers aged 60 or more were selected from the applicants, who were invited to talk about their sex life. These five and the MDR members participated in a one-month workshop and interviews, in which they looked back on their personal history of sexual experiences and wrote the script. The senior citizens have a wealth of experience and differing backgrounds as regards disabilities and sexual preference. Their stories about sex prompt them to talk about their genuine feelings and life in their own words.

The stories of life experienced by the senior citizens are delivered to the younger generation as precious textbooks for living, teaching them things they could not learn in school. Besides being stories of courage, they are at the same time bound to start dialogue between senior citizens and youth.

Directed and written: Darren O’Donnell
Produced and written by Annalise Prodor & Ryan Lewis
Production and writing assistance by Kathy Vuu
Environment design and technical direction by Alice Fleming, Christian Horoszczak
Transcription by Ngawang Luding

Featuring: Seniors from Miyagi, Chiba, Hyogo, Toyama and Tokyo

Sound designer and MC: Yo Irie
Japanese-English interpretation, script translation, subtitle translation by Art Translators Collective(Nobuko Aiso, Kanoko Tamura, Hibiki Mizuno, Kyle Yamada)
Stage manager: Yoshiko Haraguchi
Assistant stage manager: Yoshiyuki Shimizu, Kensuke Sugita
Lighting designer: Ayumi Kito
Sound director : Ukioka Atsushi
Video director/Surtitle projection planner: Kei Uchida
Stage sign language Manager: Asako Hirokawa
Stage sign language interpreter: Yuko Kato, Ichiro Hashimoto, Rika Mizuno
Supervision of stage sign language: Yoriko Kawai, Yumiko Kawai
Stage sign language assistant: Sachie Shimosaka, Mitsumi Suito, Mika Takada
Audio guide narrator: Kahori Saiki
Surtitle Operator: Mizuki Tazawa
Project coordinator: Miki Nozaki
Accessibility coordinator: Miyuki Tanaka

Main visual photographer: Katsumi Omori
Rehearsal photographer: Ryohei Tomita

Production: precog co.,LTD.
Director: Akane Nakamura
Senior producer: Kumi Hiraoka
Producer: Tamiko Ouki
Chief administrator: Yuka Morita
Project manager: Hitomi Sato
Project manager assistant: Tomo Seto
Interns: Nana Shimojo, Haruka Ueda, Yuka Okazawa
Accessibility Coordinate Producer: Mai Hyodo
Accessibility Coordinate Manager: Yuka Yatsu
Accessibility Coordinate Assistant: Mei Hayashi

PR director: Haruka Murakami
PR assistant: Asumi Kitahori, Miki Tainaka
Ticketing coordinator: Madoka Shishido

Organized by The Nippon Foundation DIVERSITY IN THE ARTS, precog co.,LTD.
With support from Embassy of Canada
With financial support from Arts Council Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture
Special cooperation: Kanayo Ueda, Otsuka Takashi, Taku Suzuki, Tatuya Takagi, Takeda Tomoya, Raku Nakahara, Hayashi Tomoko, Takashi Usui, Ken Okamoto, Migiwa Kikuchi, Shinko Suzuki, Rino Nakashima
Cooperation: NPO Theatre Accessibility network, City Lights, Chupki, Tanaka Arts Studio, KYOTO EXPERIMENT
Venue support : Wacoal Art Center Co., Ltd.

*This presentation of All the Sex I’ve Ever Had has been made possible in part thanks to a grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council touring programs.