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International Internships

Making Theatre Together

YTG Team

The Yokohama Theatre Group generally hosts several international interns during a given year, with terms as short as two weeks, to as long as 12 months or more. At the moment, we need the most people from May through to September. If you want to join us as a performer, our big annual show tends to be in mid-to-late September every year, with a work-in-progress showing in July, so keep that in mind.

Job Duties

As an international intern, you will be involved with working and training with the Yokohama Theatre ensemble, and depending on the timing, be involved in a show or showcase with us. If your training includes teaching, then you will be invited to guest-teach some workshops for us or one of our sister groups during your stay. You will also probably be asked to perform other tasks (limited office work, organizing costumes/props etc.). Obviously, if your skills lie outside of performance, your work with us may be different.

Since it’s a non-paying internship, we do our best to make the job duties fit your goals for the internship. However, just as none of the ensemble members have just one job to do, neither will you, and you’ll be expected to wear multiple hats.

Train in Japan

Aside from participating in any classes as a student (which you are welcome to do, if we have any ongoing ones while you’re here), there are many great theatre training opportunities in Japan: Butoh training, Kabuki classes, Noh workshops, and more… We will make sure you have time to participate in those as well.

See Shows

There is always lots of stuff going on in Yokohama and Tokyo. At the very least you should catch some Kabuki, Noh, and Kyogen performances. The live music scene is also very active, as is the visual art and the modern dance scene. The theatre scene is less active, but there is always something innovative to go see if you look hard enough.

Build Bridges

The Yokohama Theatre Group is also in the process of building bridges with other small, local, innovative performance companies, so there might be some opportunity to make long term connections there as well.

Costs and Expenses

YTG is still a volunteer-run organization, with no member of the team drawing a salary, so the internship is also an unpaid experience. Traditionally, the intern is expected to pay his or her own airfare, housing, food, and transportation within Japan.

Housing

Housing is very expensive in Japanese cities compared much of the rest of the world. YTG interns frequently stay at a guest house in Kawasaki run by the owners of our performance venue. Private rooms there are around 58,000 yen per month (inclusive, no deposits), and less for shared. This guest house is typically within a 10 minute walk of the nearest station, and bicycling distance from our venue. It is surrounded by restaurants and stores. We encourage people to stay there because it reduces transportation costs and we have a direct line to the landlords if there are any problems. It also means you’ll be living with people who you have something in common with. (update 2020: the status of the guest house is not clear; but we can point you to other accommodation resources if you require us to)

Food

You can expect your food costs to run about 5000 – 6000 Yen a week, possibly lower, depending on how you shop.

Transportation

You will be expected to pay your own domestic transportation costs but will be reimbursed for any YTG-related travel costs outside of going to and from rehearsal or similar distances. It may be possible to borrow a bicycle to get around more cheaply, but be warned: riding a bike in Japan is very different from riding a bike in Europe or even North America… it can take a bit of getting used to. Also, Yokohama, Kawasaki, and Tokyo are huge cities and some areas are not practical to access by bicycle. Expect to spend 5000 yen a week or more on train fare (less, if you’re staying at a guest house close to our main venue), especially if you are planning activities in Tokyo. If you plan to take a week or two off during your stay to visit other parts of the country (Hokkaido, Kyoto, etc.), we suggest you check out the Japan Rail pass that you can redeem for the week that you travel to save you some money. But be careful: depending on where you want to go and when, the savings may not be that great. We’ll point you to resources about travel as well, if you wish.

Inquiries

If you wish to apply for an international intern position, or ask some questions about it, please use our contact form.