Oriza Hirata
| Oriza Hirata 平田オリザ |
|
|---|---|
in Tokyo
(September, 2013) |
|
| Born |
November 8, 1962 Tokyo, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation | Playwright, director, academic |
| Years active | 1989-present |
| Known for | Tōkyō Notes, Citizens of Seoul |
| Website | www |
Oriza Hirata (平田オリザ? Hirata Oriza, born on 8 November 1962, in Tokyo) is a Japanese playwright, director, and academic. For the majority of his life, he has been best known for his work in theater and creating what he has coined, “contemporary colloquial theater,” or as theater critics call it, “quiet drama.”
Oriza Hirata graduated from International Christian University as a part of their Humanities division. In 1983, he formed the Seinendan Theater Company, which he established in order to practice contemporary colloquial theater. In 1984, Seinendan settled into using the Komaba Agora Theater as their main base of operations. Hirata remains as the theater's primary artistic director and has continued to play a major role in the theater's management.
Hirata's first play, Citizens of Seoul (ソウル市民? Seoul shimin), first premiered in 1989, and has remained one of his most famous plays. 6 Years later, in 1994, he debuted Tōkyō Notes (東京ノート? Tōkyō nōto), which is still considered his magnum opus. As a playwright, Hirata has continued to write and direct plays both at Komaba Agora theater, as well as theaters in Europe, the Americas, and other parts of Asia. He is also known for doing international collaborations both in Japan and all around the world, where he has worked with a multitude of playwrights and artists to introduce his own work to new audiences, as well as introduce foreign work to Japan.
Hirata worked at Obirin University for six years as a professor in their theater department before moving onto Osaka University, where he works in their communication-design and robotics departments.
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