The pamphlet for Junior High's 4th (and for now, climactic and final) stage play, Rerise, included an interview with the whole cast, as well as handwritten messages from the Junior High cast to their roles. The images up there are the messages, the interview is just a wall of text you don't need to see that (and sorry for the ugly scans).
By the way, this pamphlet is ridiculously beautiful, and I don't say this lightly, I went through every pamphlet I own so that I could say this with confidence: I think it's the prettiest one so far in the history of Starlight!!!! If you like the Junior High/Romana or even just like any of the cast member's faces at all I think it is very much worth buying and a great way to show support (you can still get it here)
Translation under the cut!
HINA AOKI
Looking back on the activities for "The STAGE Junior High", what left the strongest impression on you?
During the third play, Remains, the five of us in the Junior High were all so braindead when we were done with rehearsal, we laid down on the stage and just talked about a ton of stupid things with each other. That's what I remember the most. It's a really small and mundane thing, but the time we spent laughing with each other like that felt really precious to me.
The title of this play is Rerise. Do you do anything special to boost your mood and make yourself Rerise?
When I'm feeling anxious or frustrated, I start writing on paper or on my phone, and try to visualize the emotions in my head at that moment. If I don't know the root cause of why I feel a certain way, I'll keep thinking about it forever, so I try to calm myself down by visualizing it and making it easier to understand.
What does shining on stage mean to you?
I think rather than standing on stage while thinking "I'll shine!", enjoying the stage myself first and foremost will lead to shining on stage. Acting together with my friends, the lighting, the audio, and embellishments like that, when all of those factors align and I feel so incredibly good—sometimes I think that might be when I shine.
This is a segment where we give thanks in a relay format. What do you want to say "thank you" for?
TO YURIA SATO
Thank you for always being exactly who you are, I guess (lol). When I'm in front of you, Satoyuri, I can be myself as well, and having someone like that by my side really helps me be less stressed. You laze around when you need to, but when it's time to get to work you can get into it easily, so you're a dependable member.
Please say a word to everyone who came to the theater.
Thank you for coming to watch. The Junior High stage play series has finally reached its fourth work as well. We hesitate, fight, and grow. We'll try our absolute best to polish the raw gems each of us hold, and show you all the best stage, and a dazzling brilliance!
KANON MATSUZAWA
Looking back on the activities for "The STAGE Junior High", what left the strongest impression on you?
There are so many memories, but it has to be when we were so tired after rehearsal that we all laid down and talked for almost an hour straight. No one tried to get up, and we just talked about stupid things and laughed.
The title of this play is Rerise. Do you do anything special to boost your mood and make yourself Rerise?
I play with and sniff my dog.
He smells like the sun and is so cute he could save the world.
What does shining on stage mean to you?
I think it's the ability to make people feel like the character is alive on stage. I think people who can make the audience forget about reality and feel like they're totally inside of their world are amazing. And, I think that people who can make the audience smile are people who shine on stage.
This is a segment where we give thanks in a relay format. What do you want to say "thank you" for?
TO HINA AOKI
Thank you for always listening to me talk, even when it's about something stupid. You're like an older sister to me, and I love how you're always so clear and decisive about everything (lol).
I love your face when you laugh to your heart's content, so I'll keep on making you laugh, Hinapiyo. Let's keep laughing forever 😊
Please say a word to everyone who came to the theater.
Thank you for coming to watch. This is the fourth play, and first of all, I never even imagined that the Junior High-focused plays would continue this far, so I'm full of gratitude. While chewing on that feeling, I'll try my best acting with Shiro and my friends to show you how much I've grown. Finally, I hope that everyone will be able to reach the final performance with smiles on their faces✨
RUKA FUKAGAWA
Looking back on the activities for "The STAGE Junior High", what left the strongest impression on you?
Starlight stage plays have acting and fighting and singing and dancing. Every time I faced this work with so many things in one package, I ended up at my wit's end with so many different parts of it. But the Junior High are five! The five of us all have different strengths, weaknesses, feelings, and things to offer. I'm grateful that we were able to put on plays and concerts and the like every year, and every time I gain new memories. That's what I remember the most!
The title of this play is Rerise. Do you do anything special to boost your mood and make yourself Rerise?
I just sleep! When I'm at an impasse, no matter how much I think about it, if my brain is tired, I can't come up with a good answer, and if I keep making my tired body move it could lead to something unexpected, so even if it's just a nap, I sleep and give my brain a rest! It's simple, but we are humans! We have to give in to the workings of our bodies!
What does shining on stage mean to you?
I think it's when I feel the flow and atmosphere of things and feel satisfied with my own acting and I feel like I'm having so much fun that I can't handle it, but that's just me feeling good and it might not reach the audience fully. I think that if I could make myself, the audience, and even my co-stars who play my opponents feel the same way, if I could capture the gazes of everyone from atop the stage, then I would be shining the brightest.
This is a segment where we give thanks in a relay format. What do you want to say "thank you" for?
TO KANON MATSUZAWA
Zawa (Matsuzawa) is maybe the person who understands me the most, or rather a great person to ask for advice. I often talk to her about things from my private life to work related things, and she thinks differently from me, so she always gives me a fresh perspective, or I feel better because she listened to me, she's truly always helping me out…
Thank you Zawa…
Please say a word to everyone who came to the theater.
After watching Remains, you must have thought, what will happen to Ryoko, and the discord between Siegfeld and Romana…! All of you in the Stage Production Department who were on the edge of your seats for about a year… we're finally here! In this production, Ryoko fights to find her own brilliance, and everyone else faces their own worries and feelings. Enjoy it to the fullest!
KOKORO KUGE
Looking back on the activities for "The STAGE Junior High", what left the strongest impression on you?
The "Revue of the First Star" with Kuina in Remains. Satoyuri and I ran around the practice room while singing in order to build up our stamina! It was the first time in the Junior High that only two people sang a Revue song together, and an important scene that lead to a big change and moment of growth for Minku-chan, and I'm thankful to Satoyuri for rehearsing it with me so much.
The title of this play is Rerise. Do you do anything special to boost your mood and make yourself Rerise?
During the play's run, I just made sure to sleep properly! Sleeping puts your brain in order and is the most important thing for helping your body recover. I don't really have a routine that I have to do before a performance starts. I'd become anxious if I couldn't do something like that, so instead I just keep going as usual and start feeling like "It's time to shine!". Maybe it's about the same for Minku-chan too~
What does shining on stage mean to you?
As Minku-chan and as Kuge myself, it's to stand on stage while thinking "I love the stage!". I put that feeling of love into my voice and body, and I believe that it'll reach the audience in the form of brilliance. To borrow a line that's been in Starlight, sometimes I really believe that "the stage is responding". I think that I'm probably shining in those moments☆
This is a segment where we give thanks in a relay format. What do you want to say "thank you" for?
TO RUKA FUKAGAWA
Ruka-chan♡♡ You're always with us with your casual and carefree attitude and you're like a cute little sister to all of us in the Junior High. I'm always healed by your cuteness~. Thank youu!! I love you just as you are!! Please keep being you, Ruka-chan.
Please say a word to everyone who came to the theater.
It's already the fourth production where I've been able to shine together with the Junior High and Minku-chan. Having the chance to be watched over by so many people for such a long time really makes me happy as a Stage Girl. I still want to shine more as Minku, in her casual and carefree way☆ The five of us will try our hardest to take on challenges with one heart. Please watch over us from your seats in the audience.
YURIA SATO
Looking back on the activities for "The STAGE Junior High", what left the strongest impression on you?
This question just made me jump because it makes it sound like this is the last play, but it can't be the end… right?! My answer is pretty unremarkable, but I think it's going home or going out to eat with all five of the Junior High after practice. We're always going at our own pace in our own different ways (lol). Personally, I think it's amazing how much we've changed through working together, to this point where the five of us can do individual things collectively like that.
The title of this play is Rerise. Do you do anything special to boost your mood and make yourself Rerise?
For some reason, I listen to a lot of radio shows. When you're worried and feeling down, don't the words from a completely unrelated party hit you the hardest? When I listen to episodes where they give advice and stuff, it makes me think, wow, there are a lot of people in different places in this world working really hard to live in their own ways. And then I think, maybe other people see me as someone who works hard too..? And it's pretty nice.
What does shining on stage mean to you?
Maintaining the awareness that I'm a Stage Girl. The time when I studied so hard at my desk as a student, and the time when I swayed in a fully packed train every morning as a new grad OL. While embracing those as part of my past, I stand on stage with the determination to no longer be that person I was, and to be someone who lives on stage, where I'm being watched by others. That honest and direct feeling shines, I'm sure!
This is a segment where we give thanks in a relay format. What do you want to say "thank you" for?
TO KOKORO KUGE
When I didn't know my left from my right when it came to acting, and I thought for the first time in the first Junior High play, "Giving and receiving lines on stage is fun!", I'm sure it was because you were my partner, and you love acting so much, Kokoro-chan. We're the only ones who can be Minkuina. Thank you for being the best Minku-chan! Let's keep working hard together!
Please say a word to everyone who came to the theater.
Thank you very much for coming to watch this production! I started my life as an actor together with Kuina, and I've slowly encountered various roles since then. But in the end, her honesty and strong feelings always move my heart, and she always brings me back to how I felt at the beginning, so she's a special role to me. As always, I'll try to play her with the utmost care. Please look forward to it!
YUI KANARI
Looking back on the activities for "The STAGE Junior High", what left the strongest impression on you?
During rehearsals and the play period, we the five of us in Romana had review meetings about our dancing. In order to make sure our lines of sight, the height of our hips, how sharp our moves were, and everything else you could possibly think of felt in sync, we rewatched our videos over and over again and tried out different solutions together. Thinking back on it now, it felt like a really Romana-like conversation.
The title of this play is Rerise. Do you do anything special to boost your mood and make yourself Rerise?
I make some time for myself to do absolutely nothing and think about absolutely nothing. When I'm worried about something, I end up only being able to think about it from a very biased point of view, so I try to divorce myself from the thing that I'm thinking about for a bit so I can think about it objectively. I do different things depending on what's going on, but to be specific, I slept for 18 hours before.
What does shining on stage mean to you?
I think that someone working hard or trying to overcome something shines. I don't just mean the brilliance you can feel watching a character in a story work hard and grow. As an actor, I'm always facing the stage and acting to the best of my ability, and I think that gives birth to brilliance that reaches the audience.
This is a segment where we give thanks in a relay format. What do you want to say "thank you" for?
TO REI SONODA
Thank you for being my comrade in crying too easily. We were both taking part in our first play, and we both cried in rehearsals because we were too nervous about various things. But I could tell that you were crying so that you could move forward, Sono-chan, so seeing you like that helped motivate me to work hard as well. You're so human, and I love it. Let's keep on working hard together!
Please say a word to everyone who came to the theater.
Thank you for coming to watch! A play wouldn't be able to exist if it weren't for you who come to watch it. I'd be happy if you would continue to create the stage together with us.
KANON NAKAZAKI
Looking back on the activities for "The STAGE Junior High", what left the strongest impression on you?
It was the first time I'd experienced this full combo of fighting, singing, dancing, and acting. It was packed full of expressions that I love, so I was happy. Also, when we practiced singing Remains, one time all of Romana faced the Junior High while singing, and the energy in front of me and beside me was amazing, and it really hit me that we were creating one production all together, and it left a deep impression on me.
The title of this play is Rerise. Do you do anything special to boost your mood and make yourself Rerise?
I jam out to the music I love on full blast. I move around and work out. But I don't know if I'm doing the exercises properly… Satoyuri-san, please teach me!!! Let me join the workout club!
What does shining on stage mean to you?
Looking confident even if I'm not. If I do that, I slowly grow more confident, and before I can even realize it, I'm not Kanon Nakazaki anymore. I think that if I can have fun, then the people who watch me will have fun too, so I try my best to resolve all the things I'm worried about with everyone's help in rehearsals, and when it's time for the real show, I just try to enjoy and live as the role. That's what I try to keep in mind.
This is a segment where we give thanks in a relay format. What do you want to say "thank you" for?
TO YUI KANARI
Kanarin, I receive a lot of things from the Mikoto you play. Even when you're not in character, sometimes I think that you're pretty similar to her, and it makes me happy (lol). Thank you for always giving me motivation!! Let's keep working hard together✊
Please say a word to everyone who came to the theater.
Thank you for coming to watch! Continuing from last year, I'm really happy that I can stand in front of you all as Naoe Haruka from Romana Scuola d'Arte Drammatica once again. I'll sweep through all the performances at full power so that all of you can bathe in tons of brilliance!
CHIKANA ANDO
Looking back on the activities for "The STAGE Junior High", what left the strongest impression on you?
The first play.
If not for the Junior High, Romana wouldn't have come into existence, and when I think about that, I feel grateful to the Junior High members, staff, and all of you fans who have built up their story thus far. When you watch them from the first play, you can see how much they grow over time, and I think that's amazing. It makes me think that I need to work hard too.
The title of this play is Rerise. Do you do anything special to boost your mood and make yourself Rerise?
I don't really have a set routine, but when I'm nervous, or right before a scene starts, I hit my face and chest as much as I want. It helps me feel less nervous and gets me pumped up.
What does shining on stage mean to you?
I try to get whatever I'm trying to act out as that role 100% across to the audience. It's the character who stands on stage, not me, so if the audience can feel that fully, I think that's when I shine, and if there's an actor like that I find myself captivated by them.
This is a segment where we give thanks in a relay format. What do you want to say "thank you" for?
TO KANON NAKAZAKI
What a fun idea!! I'm thankful to Nakachi for giving so much energy to everyone in the Romana group! And, I think she's amazing for being able to say such difficult phrases so smoothly. The role she plays is so cool, but she herself is always so silly, and it's so cute and lovable (lol). Thank you for everything!
Please say a word to everyone who came to the theater.
Thank you for coming to watch! I'm very happy that I can appear as part of Romana again. I'll do my best so this can become a production that remains in your memory!
MEINA HAMAKAWA
Looking back on the activities for "The STAGE Junior High", what left the strongest impression on you?
They're all such precious memories, but I think it would have to be when we got a standing ovation for the final performance… No, it's when I saw everyone in the audience for the first time on the first day… No, but when we went into the audience during the concert part for the first time too… I can't choose, but all of the moments when I met eyes with the audience members who received our brilliance made me so happy, and I'll never forget them.
The title of this play is Rerise. Do you do anything special to boost your mood and make yourself Rerise?
When I'm feeling down, I sleep or eat something sweet! Also, before a performance starts, I always listen to Kukugumi-san's songs!! It helps me become a shining stage girl, and soothes the stomachache I get from being nervous… I always listen to "Butai Shoujo Kokoroe", "Watashitachi wa Mou Butai no Ue", "Hoshi no Dialogue", and "Star Parade" when I'm on my way there too!
What does shining on stage mean to you?
Enjoying the moments of living out the story on stage desperately, from the bottom of my heart. Right now at least, I think that's what it means to shine. But I think there must be other answers, too… Brilliance is kind of like, when you keep searching for your own answer, and stand on stage with a strong desire to shine, it's something born through that process. I think maybe that's brilliance too.
This is a segment where we give thanks in a relay format. What do you want to say "thank you" for?
TO CHIKANA ANDO
Naso-chan-sensei!! Thank you so much for teaching me things about dancing and stage fighting!! You're the strongest boss in Romana behind the scenes!!! You're always so cool!!!!! I love you!!!!!!
Please say a word to everyone who came to the theater.
I'm so happy and grateful that we at Romana Scuola d'Arte Drammatica, who only just joined in last year's play, Remains, received so many warm words of support. I turned those feelings into my driving force and worked hard in rehearsals, so I'd be happy if you all bathed in our powered up brilliance to your heart's content…!
REI SONODA
Looking back on the activities for "The STAGE Junior High", what left the strongest impression on you?
When I did special training on how to run. Until the play, I didn't know that the way I ran was different from everyone else's… Maybe that's why I was always so slow. I'm greatly indebted to Coach Chikanaso and Master Satoyuri. Thank you very much. I'll [she used ore here] take first place in track and field. (No I won't)
The title of this play is Rerise. Do you do anything special to boost your mood and make yourself Rerise?
If I'm in a space where I'm alone, saying something like "I'M GONNA MOVE!" or "I'M GONNA START WORKING NOW!!" helps my brain switch up and start moving. If I'm around others, chanting "everything has an end once you start it" in my head makes me feel like I'm the strongest no matter what situation I'm in.
What does shining on stage mean to you?
Going in pursuit of the role's life at full speed, and trying to be that role endlessly, is what I think it means to shine! I think that desperation is dazzling, and I want to be that desperate myself.
This is a segment where we give thanks in a relay format. What do you want to say "thank you" for?
TO MEINA HAMAKAWA
Meina, thank you for gifting me macarons for my birthday♡ There were orange and purple macarons, and we talked about it like "It's Jurina and Nadeshiko's colors~", too. They were so yummy! Thank you for the meal! Look forward to your present in return, too~!
Please say a word to everyone who came to the theater.
Thank you so much! For coming to watch! I'll devote my whole body and soul to living as Jurina, and try my best to make your hearts Rerise with Jurina's brilliance! 奴樽出! 釜死樽出! (I'll get it done! I'll kill it!) Thank you. [to explain this, she wrote yattarude and kamashitarude, which are Kansai-ben, and then wrote them as fake kanji, for the yankee manga vibes, I guess]
ARISA SHINOHARA AS KUROMI SAIKAWA
Looking back on the activities for "The STAGE Junior High", what left the strongest impression on you?
There's a lot… it's hard to pick just one (lol). The more recent things come to me first, so… In that case, it's the intermissions for the 13 performances of Remains, I guess. I've been asked to do them since the first play, and for the first and second, there were other ensemble members included, but for the third we couldn't do that… So I thought really hard about what I should do to entertain the audience, and that's what I remember most. It was fun.
The title of this play is Rerise. Do you do anything special to boost your mood and make yourself Rerise?
I'm pretty good at convincing myself of things to begin with…
(If I say "It doesn't hurt!!" when my stomach hurts, it stops hurting). So, when I need to snap myself out of it, say "Ah… Enough already! Yeah!! It's fine!!" and make myself listen, and then I feel better pretty quickly. If that doesn't work, then I beat my chest a ton. It's really loud. It's pretty wild, huh (lol).
What does shining on stage mean to you?
For me, I think it's "eyes and gaze". When I was in school, I was once told, "walk while thinking that someone else is watching you". When you do that, it makes you picture a circle of energy surrounding you. And when dancing and acting too, when my eyes "LOCK ON!!!" to my target, it feels like, I'm shining~!!! (lol).
MESSAGES
To Ryoko
I think your tendency to give in to those around you and your humble nature are good things,
but your exceptionally strong feelings for the stage are the most dazzling to me, and I really respect them.
Find the the brilliance you have within yourself, and make sure you never lose it.
From Ruka
To Shiro
At first, you felt really distant from me,
but since we've grown so much together, I feel like we've gotten a little closer now.
Your perfectionist, unyielding, tall back is always shining, Shiro.
But in truth, you have more love in you than anyone else, and I love you for that.
Let's keep aiming for greater heights.
From Kanon
To Stella
Your strength and weakness and kindness, all of it is so lovable to me.
You're filled to the brim with love, and I love you!
Let's keep seeing various kinds of brilliance together!
From Hina☆
Dear Kuina ♡♡♡
I love the down to earth and hardworking you!
You're the greatest Stage Girl, being able to turn your weakness of self-centeredness into your strength.
Hard work and muscles won't betray you, am I right😊💪
In the end, the person who's built up the most over time is the strongest!!!! Let's keep on running straight ahead.
From Satoyuri
To Minku-chan
Thank you for letting me meet so many roles and Stage Girls!
Your ability to smile and give others energy
has helped me so much. You're my brightest star☆
I hope we'll be able to see more exciting views together in the future.
I love you!
From Kokoro♡
Script and Lyrics
Ohine Ezaki
Hello, I'm Ohine Ezaki. It's been a year since "Remains". You've all waited a long time. Finally, the second chapter of the Junior High's story is complete.
The Junior High stage plays can only be performed thanks to the support of many people. I put my gratitude towards the cast, staff, and all of you in the Stage Production Department who have helped us up until this point, into the script and lyrics. You could even say this is a culmination of everything we've done until now.
Please watch until the end to see what "answer" Siegfeld Institute of Music Junior High and Romana Scuola d'Arte Drammatica arrive at.
I hope that after you watch the play, a rainbow hangs in the sky after the rain.
PROFILE
He has written many scripts for theater troupes and units, and is known for writing plays with dense dialogue. From music readers theaters which combine live band music with live reading; to theater that combines ballet, Japanese dance, orchestra, and reading; he has staged many productions related to "sound".
He works not only in theater, but also on anime projects, and in Shoujo☆Kageki Revue Starlight, he's in charge of the script and direction of the Starira readers theaters.
Direction
Takehiro Yoshida
I'm very happy to be able to direct for a series I personally love, and I also feel the responsibility that comes with that. I'd like to make this production soar to great heights with the brilliance of the play, the cast, the staff, and everyone involved.
I hope you enjoy it to the fullest until the end.
PROFILE
Having worked on scripts and directing for many productions in various genres, he's reputed for constructing flashy and beautiful worlds with the theme of "a view that can only be seen on stage".
In Shoujo☆Kageki Revue Starlight, he was in charge of -Edel Bühne- ~Readers Theater Elysion - Chapter of Gods~.
Cerise/Raven: this is actually really cute. I definitely see Cerise pinning a little bit. But I just love the idea of them. 8/10
Cerise/Daring: even as a kid I saw them as platonic. No chemistry. Some good fics tho. I don’t like it sorry not sorry 0/10
Cerise/Cedar: I have so many hcs about them. Like Cedar finding out Cerise’s secret and then learning how to tell misleading truths and Cedar specifically becoming a real person for Cerise! Otp 10/10
Cerise/Kitty: I’ve posted about them before. Like yk how parents say that boys pick on girls because they have a crush on them? That’s what Kitty would be like to Cerise. And then in exchange Brooke being a nuisance to Kitty by narrating her feelings. 10/10
Cerise/Maddie: not my thing personally. I see them more platonically. 2/10
Cerise/Darling: athletic girls who hid that they are>>> locker room 🤨. I read a rappel fic where Darling had a crush on Apple and Cerise had a crush on Raven and then the two of them made some bad choices together. Cute 6/10
Cerise/Rosabella: I just like the idea of Rosabella being with someone ‘beastly’. 5/10
Cerise/Charlotte Step: this is such a rarepair but like in once upon a twist the clock strikes Cupid, Cupid sees Charlotte play bookball with some girls and then in Cerise and the beast Cerise plays bookball with some girls. And her and this one girl are lowkey flirting the whole time. And I like to believe that that one girl is Charlotte and I’m pretty sure this is implied because one; clock strikes Cupid and Cerise & the beast are the first and second books in the series and it is confirmed that all the miss matched fairytales can all interact with one another in Rosabella and the three bears. 9/10
Cerise/Briar: way more popular than it should be. It’s not that popular but there’s still way too many fics about them. They don’t really have any interactions and they’re just not an interesting dynamic. 2/10
Cerise/Romona: 🤮🤮🤮. So gross. Im not even putting it here for scare factor they are genuinely shipped. I talked about Cerise/Briar having too many fics but they really take the cake. The amount of fics on ao3 with them tagged is insane. -♾️/10
Anyways here’s how I’d rank these ships:
Cedar>Kitty>Charlotte>Raven>Darling>Rosabella>Maddie>Briar>Daring>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>(honestly shouldn’t even be mentioned)>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Romona
