Theater 21 Fes
Open Call for Performers

Theater 21 Fes is an evening of seven ten-minute works in the B1F studio theater at Kagurazaka Session House. There is no restriction by genre, and our own technical staff light and run the show. The call below is for the next edition.

 

See also the Dzone 2027 open call, or Perform Here for all of the programmes.

 

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Theater 21 Fes asks for original work rather than polished technique, and takes it seriously: sound, lighting and streaming are handled by our staff, with a basic lighting setup plus one special per group. The stream is a five-camera live relay, available to watch back for a week.

 

Who this is for

• Dancers and performers looking for a stage in Tokyo
• Anyone with a ten-minute work, or who wants to make one
• Solo or group (up to three performers in one work)
• Any genre - contemporary dance, ballet, street dance, Japanese dance, physical theater
• First-timers on a theater stage are welcome

 

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Taking part

● Provisional booking by telephone on the application day
● Registration by email: contact details, all performers' names, group name
● A look-round day - you meet the staff, run the piece, hold a production meeting and pay the fee
● Performance day - one dress rehearsal, one show

 

The fee

 

The theater tickets are yours to sell directly to your own audience, so if you sell all nine theater tickets and all five streaming tickets, what you are left paying is the streaming handling fee, postage and - where it applies - the music rights. Streaming income above your allocation is returned to you after the archive period closes.

 

Groups of four or more take either two slots for a twenty-minute work, or add two theater tickets per additional performer.

 

The basic lighting setting

Theater 21 Fes is rigged in advance with a fixed basic lighting setting, shown below. On top of that combination, each group may ask for one special lighting cue.

 

Tell us your request for the special when you hand in your programme details, or at the site visit. You are also welcome to leave the lighting to our planner - describe the mood of the work and the house staff will design it for you.

 

 

The plan is drawn in Japanese. It covers back light (stage left, stage right, centre), a general wash, diagonal lights from upstage, centre and downstage, face light from both sides, front light, a pin spot, a centre special, foot spots upstage from both sides, and side spots upstage from both sides. LED units add a general wash, a back wall wash and front foot light, and the LEDs can be coloured.

 

Download the lighting plan (PDF, Japanese)

 

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The next call

The coming edition, volume 141, is already cast and plays on 18 and 25 October and 3 November 2026 - you can book to watch it.

 

Applications for the next edition open at 12:00 noon on Wednesday 4 November 2026, for a performance on Saturday 27 February 2027 at 19:00 (look-round day Wednesday 24 February 2027 from 21:00).

 

Places are taken in the order the telephone calls arrive, so the first step is to call us on the day applications open: +81-(0)3-3266-0461. If calling in Japanese is difficult, write to us in English beforehand and we will arrange it with you.

 

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Enquiries

Session House Planning Office
158 Yarai-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0805
Email: mail@session-house.net
Tel: +81-(0)3-3266-0461 (11:00-19:00)

 

Enquiries in English are welcome. Most of the application material is written in Japanese; tell us what you need and we will work it out with you.