APAC Theater

Canadian Academy is fortunate to be the only international school in Japan that is a member of the Asian Pacific Activities Conference (APAC). Our participation in APAC spans a variety of activities and sports, and as a member school we enjoy taking part in and hosting workshops and tournaments. 

Upon our return from winter break, a group of students began their preparations for the recent APAC Theater conference, under the direction of Ms. Kristyn Art. With the theme of silent film, our theater students researched Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, paying close attention to the physicality of each character and how to communicate an idea without words. The students began to build a storyline that demanded each character to interact with an object to tie the story together. After each section was built and tied together as a whole, an external videographer captured their creation. The students then added appropriate music to add to the comedic effect. Please head here to enjoy their film.

During the conference, two workshops were given with students from Hong Kong International School, Seoul Foreign School, International School of Beijing, Brent Manila, and United Nations International School of Hanoi participating as well. Broadway actor Ryan Vasquez and Warner Brothers producer and writer Felisha Norman provided feedback and inspiration, encouraging students to know themselves so that they can continue to develop their craft, to not only study theater but whatever they are excited about in order to grow, and to be a good person so others want to work with them.

The afternoon featured a showing of all the school performances which all participants enjoyed viewing together. The students had a wonderful time sharing their work with students across Asia, providing an opportunity to build their theater 'tribe'. It was an inspiring day for sure!