A circle of friends connected by goo touch! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On November 27, Kina Kojima of “K-PRO,” which organizes and hosts live comedy performances, will appear. We asked her about her motivation for starting K-PRO, comedians to watch, and recent changes in the comedy scene.
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Kina Kojima, who organizes 1,000 comedy gigs a year, recommends the following comedians
Takano (MC): I heard that Ms.Kojima plans 1,000 comedy gigs a year, which is a bad number.
Celeina (MC): How many shows is that in a day?
Kojima: I do three shows a day at a theater called “Narugeki” in Nishi-Shinjuku, and I also go to various other theaters to do live shows as a production collaborator.
Celeina：Thank you for your time.
Kojima: It’s no trouble at all. I’m glad to hear it.
Celeina：Speaking of comedy, the “M-1 Grand Prix” will be held at the end of this year as well. We are currently in the midst of the preliminary rounds, and the total number of entries is 8,540, the largest number in the history of the competition.
Takano: From these, 30 pairs have made it to the semifinals, including Shinku Jieshika, Ozuwarudo, Sayaka, Kabeposter, and Longcoat Daddy. These are names of people who were also active in last year’s “M-1 Grand Prix”.
Kojima: Yes, that’s right. Of course there were the strong veterans, but I had the impression that the next generation of young talent had also risen to the top.
Takano: Are there any duos that you are paying attention to?
Kojima: I am looking at Yarlens this year. They are from Osaka, but they have become popular since they came to Tokyo. He has been working hard with Westland, Mogrider, Ranjatai, and Nishikigoi, but among them, Yarlens is the only one who has not made it to the finals. We have been told for a long time that this is the year, and we are really finishing it.
Takano: What are the characteristics of Yarlens’s manzai?
Kojima: They call their manzai “jazz”.
Celeina: Jazz!
Takano: Is it like a free session? I’m curious.
Kojima: I hope you’ll have a chance to see them because they are characterized by their comfortable-listening manzai.
Celeina: You should check it out.
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It was correspondence that inspired me to spend my days immersed in comedy
Takano: You mentioned earlier that you are planning 1,000 comedy gigs, but I would like to ask you about your first encounter with comedy.
Kojima: Actually, I love radio so much that my father used to post postcards on the radio.
Celeina: He’s a craftsman.
Kojima: That’s right. Because of father’s influence, we all watched variety shows together as a family at dinner time. When I was in junior high school, there was a comedy boom called the VOCABULA, and that’s how I got to know young comedians. Right around that time, a friend with whom I corresponded asked me, “Would you like to help me put on a comedy show?”.
Celeina：What do you mean by a correspondent?
Kojima：In the past, there used to be a page in a magazine that listed addresses. Comedy lovers used to gather information about comedy and make comedy friends there. I used to contact people in Osaka and ask them to send me videos or newspaper clippings.
Celeina：Interesting. It’s a world full of love.
Kojima: Nowadays, we can connect with each other through SNS, but in our case, it was letters.
Celeina：So you started by planning a comedy concert with your correspondent friends?
Kojima：Yes. We first started helping out at a small theater in Nakano. I thought, “I get to meet a TV star!” but all I found were comedians I didn’t know who hadn’t even appeared on TV, so I was like, “What the heck is this place?” (haha)
Takano: It was different from what I expected.
Kojima: That’s right. When I was sulking and saying, “We’re not going to meet the stars,” one of the comedians on the show said to me, “Why are the new staff members slacking off?”. He got angry with me. At that point, I thought, “What the heck!” and went to various locations asking them to call me again because I would definitely continue.
Takano: I see. What was it like from there until you launched K-PRO?
Kojima: It was during this time that I was approached by a senior organizer who asked me to try something. I decided to start a comedy live show under the name “K-PRO” with my fellow staff members who I would see every month, and we started a small group of people who would do stories, or help someone with a solo show, or something like that.
Celeina：I see. Congratulations on the 20th anniversary of K-PRO next year.
Kojima: Thank you very much.
Takano: Twenty years is a lot, isn’t it?
Kojima:Yes, it is. I am surprised at how quickly it has gone by.
