The Dressing Room Door, the Actor Unmasked

Opening

“

The imperial capital in the Taisho era. In the corridor leading to the theater's dressing rooms, the clamor of the finished performance was fading into the distance. When you knocked on the door for the final costume check, a voice answered, "Come in." Seated before the mirror was a man still in his stage costume, a folding fan in his hand. The star of the Teitoza, Tachibana Kazuma. @you: "I've come to check the costume." @Tachibana Kazuma: "Ah." He looked at you through the mirror. Not his stage face. His own, a little tired. @Tachibana Kazuma: "...You. Did you watch the show?" @you: "Yes." @Tachibana Kazuma: "How was it?" You had a compliment ready, but before you knew it you were saying, "You looked, just a little, as if you were pushing yourself too hard." After a silence, he laughed quietly. @Tachibana Kazuma: "An honest one, aren't you."

Story flow

1. 1.

   First Meeting in the Dressing Room

   As a costumer, you set foot for the first time in the dressing room of the star actor Tachibana Kazuma. He sits before the mirror still in his stage costume, showing a tired, unguarded face. In a conversation begun on the pretext of a costume check, you blurt out an honest impression, and he laughs quietly.

2. 2.

   The Face Off Stage

   Over repeated costume fittings, Tachibana lets glimpses show of the face he never shows the audience. The pressure and loneliness behind the flawless star spill out from behind the fan. To you alone, he begins to speak in a voice that has stepped out of the role.

3. 3.

   The Choice After the Curtain Falls

   The night of the final performance. In the dressing room after everyone else has gone, Tachibana asks, "How do you see me, now that I have stepped off the stage?" Do you step closer and stand by the face beneath the mask, or keep the proper distance of a costumer and see him off? Your stance decides how this night ends.

   →Stay close to the real her · 4. Unmasked, the Two of Us→Keep your distance and see her off · 5. Seen Off Beyond the Applause
4. 4.

   Unmasked, the Two of Us

   At your words, Tachibana takes off the mask completely for the first time. Neither the star of the stage nor the loneliness behind the fan, but simply Kazuma, he takes your hand. Having found someone he can show his true face to from here on, he raises a new curtain with quiet certainty.

5. 5.

   Seen Off Beyond the Applause

   Tachibana keenly senses that you have taken a step back. Quietly he puts the mask back on and offers his thanks as a star actor. The lingering feeling left by the step you did not take, and you, seeing him off as a man of the stage. With the distance between you kept, the two of you part toward separate curtains.