Shimin Kyogen Dec 7 th ; Hanagata Kyogen Dec 21-23 With Sennojo’s passing, the Shigeyamas seem to be in a holding pattern. They follow through with their varied performances, continue to give solid, funny, individually-inflected shows, and attract their loyal fans. But there are no wild experiments, no changes from twenty years ago, not attempts to expand kyogen potential. 1Big Projects, newsmaking events and special restorations are rarely to be seen. Same old, same old, sometimes with tweaks not for the better. The shimin (civic) kyogen, a 4/year city-sponsored kyogen-only program has been going for over 40 years. Inexpensive seats (once geared towards cinema tickets, now twice that), unusual plays, and stakeholding public (I once saw a vehement claim that the photographer’s pachipachi sounds were disturbing them!). But recently, the shows have shifted to four plays in a row, rather than the 15 minute pre-show lecture performed so ably by Sennojo, a mix o
an occasional document of theatrical life in Kyoto and the virtual world at the beginning of the 21st century