Q&A

Rock Challenge Tohoku 2014 - Tour Date

DATE: OCTOBER 15, 2014	SPECIAL PRESENTATION, SEMINAR & DANCE WORKSHOP
VENUE: SENDAI CITY, MIYAGI	HITACHI SYSTEMS HALL　www.hitachi-systems.com/company/hibiki/
TARGET NO’s: 10 SCHOOLS	OPEN TO TOHOKU ELEMENTARY, JUNIOR & SENIOR HIGH-SCHOOLS
AUDIENCE: 0 YEN ENTRY FEE	FAMILIES & TEACHERS ARE WELCOME
JOINING FEE: 0 YEN FOR SCHOOLS	FULLY SPONSORED EVENT

Creating a theme

RC-J theme how-to
Download in English
Download in Japanese

RC-J … SUPPORT FOR SCHOOLS

RC-J IS A ‘PROGRAM’ NOT JUST AN EVENT-EVENING. THE RC-J PRODUCERS WILL ASSIST WITH THE DEVELOPMENT, DESIGN, PLANNING & LOGISTICS FROM SIGN-ON DAY. SCHOOLS NEED AT LEAST 1 TEACHER-LIAISON + 2 STUDENT PRODUCERS.

RC-J TEAM WILL SUPPLY SAMPLE CONCEPTS; “HOW TO” BOOKLET; LINKS TO VIDEO-STREAMED EXAMPLES; REGULAR NEWSLETTER UPDATES; SCHEDULED SCHOOL VISITATIONS; COMBINED SCHOOLS “HOW TO” WORKSHOP

RC-J PRODUCERS UNDERSTAND THE “OBSTACLES” AND ISSUES FACING SCHOOL INVOLVEMENT – FUNDING, TIMING, UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT, IN-SCHOOL SKILL-SET, DIFFICULTY LEVEL, SCHOOL SCHEDULE, STAFF AVAILABILITY ETC.

In 2004, South Africa joined the Global Rock Challenge. This nation is one of the poorest in the world, with 15% of High School students suffering from HIV. In 2006 more than 150 schools in South Africa joined the Rock Challenge. Japan is the 2nd biggest economy in the world with an incredible health record. So … there is nothing stopping Japan !

RC-J PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS

1. MINI-MUSICAL-MIME	DRAMA + DANCE + MUSIC + MIME, THE ACT TELLS A STORY
2. FULL PROFESSIONAL STAGE + CREW	PRO-LIGHTING RIG, PRO-SOUND , SET BATTERNS ETC
3. 4 MINUTES STAGE SET-UP TIME	MAXIMUM TIME LIMIT
4. 8 MINUTE ACT DURATION	MINIMUM DURATION = 5 MINUTES
5. 4 MINUTES SETS REMOVAL TIME	MAXIMUM TIME LIMIT
6. 100 STUDENTS ON STAGE	MAXIMUM = 120 RECOMMENDED MINIMUM = 20
7. 20 BACKSTAGE CREW	MAXIMUM = 20 INCLUDING STAFF
8. 1 STUDENT PRODUCER	STUDENT ‘MC’ EXPLAINS CONCEPT TO THE AUDIENCE
9. BG MUSIC & RECORDED SFX	NOT‘LIVE’ MUSIC SHOW + NO ‘LIVE’ SOUNDS
10. SOUNDTRACKS (CONTEMPORARY)	RECOMMENDED MIN. = 3 & MAX. = 8 + SFX

RC-J … SOCIAL MERITS & TESTIMONIALS

Japan’s government statistics and media reports on the school refuser (toko kyohi), non-attender (futoko), class collapse (gakkyu houkai), youth suicide (jisatsu), bullying (ijime),acute social withdrawal (hikikomori) and gang violence (oyaji gari/homuresu atakku) along with the ever-present problem of substance abuse, are substantial sources of concern for Japanese society. The “Youth Suicide Tsunami”, a term coined in a prominent Japanese magazine in 2006 (Japan Inc. Spring 2006) to describe the prominence of deaths at this age, reflects the extreme-end of personal collapse in youth self-esteem and resilience. The Japanese Ministry of Education (MEXT), in its search for innovative and effective programs to address these debilitating behaviours, has yet to evaluate the Rock Challenge project that has proven its effectiveness in these areas in schools around the world. There exists an urgent need for RC to be introduced as a valuable educational project in Japanese schools - as an aid in stemming self-destructive and anti-social actions; and as a tool for developing resilience and self-esteem. The absence of these latter two personality skills being are at the core of youth depression and social withdrawal.

“It was a great event for the young students. I saw such happiness in their faces. It was such an entertaining night, I was taken by surprise ! I hope to see a step-up in the Rock Challenge Japan project where we can bring this to more Japanese children around the country. It was marvellous.”

“As I said on Tuesday night, thank you for the opportunity for all of the schools to do this. I know our group had a super day and without a doubt will put it together next year (and likely rope in even more students!). My wife and two friends who came along were very much impressed and entertained. A kid's mind is pretty powerful, isn't it! Anyhow, it was an extremely worthwhile experience for myself, and I am so proud of my students (they truly did EVERYTHING themselves). This kind of thing reminds me of why I became a teacher.”

“I’ve got a complaint. My face hurts from smiling so much!”