Dr. Holiday Laboratory, which has been selected for the FY2026 DaBY Open Call Residency Program, will hold a residency at Dance Base Yokohama from Wednesday, September 30, 2026, through Sunday, October 18, 2026.

On Sunday, October 4, we will host a talk event featuring Justin Ito Yamamoto and Masafumi Yoshida, the directors of this project. They will discuss the intersection of hip-hop and theater, as well as the background of this research. A Q&A session with the audience is also planned.

On Saturday, October 17, and Sunday, October 18, we will present the current status of this research as “skit.”

◆Outline

In this residency, we will conduct research on rappers’ gestures, body language, and the physicality that emerges from them in preparation for our main performance in fiscal year 2027.In collaboration with Masafumi Yoshida—who works as a rapper, beatmaker, and critic—we will conduct rehearsals and present a work-in-progress while deconstructing the elements that constitute rap and theater, including lighting, beats, lyrics, microphones, and the audience.

Broadly speaking, art since the 20th century has sought to question or deconstruct the “self.”

However, hip-hop, on the contrary, seeks to project a solid sense of “self”—even if it means putting on a front—by embodying the environment, relationships, and history associated with a particular body, or by flaunting extravagant fashion, luxury cars, and a large circle of friends to the point of excess.

It can be said that this is a powerful means for people who have been oppressed by society to resist poverty and a sense of powerlessness and to affirm their own lives.

There is discrimination and war, and on social media, people belittle one another day in and day out, while life is becoming increasingly difficult. In this current climate, what are the “real” words and physical actions we need?

Rather than critically deconstructing hip-hop and turning it into a more “accessible” form of art, our ultimate goal with this project is to create a space where people can come together in solidarity across time and space and dance together.

◆Talk Event

Justin Yamamoto, Ito, et al. + Masafumi Yoshida
“Becoming Real / Being Ambivalent—Reflections on the Bodies of Rappers and Actors”

Being “real.”

Just as Limestarr’s Utamaru once described hip-hop as “the antithesis of karaoke,” it involves rapping about one’s own experiences and thoughts—and doing so as none other than oneself. Being “real” is one of the elements that cannot be ignored in hip-hop.

On the other hand, theater in which a group of people perform a playwright’s words is, by its very nature, “karaoke-like.” In many cases, actors are required to become someone other than themselves.

At first glance, hip-hop and theater may seem contradictory, but many rappers create their own personas to a greater or lesser extent, and actors use their voices and bodies as raw material to bring their characters to life. It can be said that both exist in an ambivalent space between the “real” and the “fake.”

Masafumi Yoshida, with whom we are conducting this joint research, discusses the ambivalent subjectivity of rappers—who exist on the boundary between hip-hop’s “reality” and performance—in his book *Ambivalent Hip-Hop*.He is also one of the few writers to have focused on rappers’ body language, and at the same time, he is a rapper who leads the group “Kuchigumi Dakota.”

In this talk, Masafumi Yoshida and Justin Ito Yamamoto will trace the creative process while delving deeply into the physicality of rappers and actors.

I especially want people who aren’t familiar with hip-hop to listen to this; I hope it can serve as a guide for watching the show.

▪︎Participation fee

Free
Drinks available for purchase

▪︎Date and Time

Sunday, October 4, 2026
Doors open at 1:30 p.m. / Event starts at 2:00 p.m.
Duration: Approximately 2 hours

▪︎Sign Up

Please register through Peatix.

Registration with DaBY Members (free) is required to apply. Please register in advance.
*Please note that cancellations, refunds, or changes cannot be made for reasons attributable to the customer. If you need to cancel due to unavoidable circumstances, please contact 必ずcontact@dancebase.yokohamaまでご連絡ください.

◆Showing

A “skit” is a short spoken segment or skit inserted between tracks on a hip-hop album.

Masafumi Yoshida’s DJ set will begin as soon as the doors open, and the performance will start right at the scheduled time. You’re welcome to enjoy alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Feel free to stand or dance—it’s all good. You can come and go as you please during the event. You’re also welcome to take photos and videos—in fact, that’s the whole point.

And within that space, the performance unfolds just like a skit.

▪︎Participation fee

Free
Drinks available for purchase

▪︎Date and Time

Saturday, October 17, 2026
Doors open at 7:30 p.m. / Show starts at 8:30 p.m.

Sunday, October 18, 2026
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. / Show starts at 7:30 p.m.

Total duration: Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes
Performance: Approximately 45 minutes
Masafumi Yoshida will DJ before the show and after the performance.

*As a general rule, this is a standing-room-only event. You are also welcome to use the chairs provided in the venue.
*You are free to come and go as you please.
※When taking photos or videos, please be considerate of other audience members who may appear in your shots.
※Contains violent depictions, sexual language, and explicit scenes.
※Due to the nature of the production, loud sounds and bright lighting will be used throughout the entire performance, from the time the doors open until the end of the show.

▪︎Sign Up

Please register via Peatix.
Please note that this screening is not open to anyone under the age of 15.

To apply, you must register for DaBY Members (free of charge). Please register in advance.

*Please note that cancellations, refunds, and changes cannot be made for reasons attributable to the customer. If you need to cancel due to unavoidable circumstances, please contact 必ずcontact@dancebase.yokohamaまでご連絡ください.

◆Project Credits

Direction: Justin Ito Yamamoto*
Cast: Asahi Ishikawa*, Fumine Yui*, Manami Watanabe
Music & DJ: Masafumi Yoshida (Kuchou Yumin Dakota)
Costumes: Kaeko Fujitani
Lighting: Toshiki Suga
Lighting Operator: Hisayo Uchiyama
Sound: SKANK (Nibroll)
Research Assistance: Robin Manabat*
Art Direction: Hiroki Yamamoto+h (Inu no Senaka-za)
Production: Riho Onodera*
Production Assistance: Akari Onodera
Funding and Residency Support: Dance Base Yokohama

*＝Dr. Holiday Laboratory

◆Venue

Dance Base Yokohama 3F
Click here for directions
5-57-2 Kitanaka-dori, Naka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture KITANAKA BRICK&WHITE BRICK North, 3rd Floor
Minatomirai Line, Bashamichi Station, Exit 2a (directly connected to “Yokohama Kitanaka Knot”)

Venue Facilities

• All-gender toilets: There are all-gender toilets on the third floor that anyone can use.
• Multipurpose Restroom: There is a wheelchair accessible multipurpose restroom next to the supermarket across from the venue.

*We also provide assistance for visitors using wheelchairs or those who require accessibility support. If you need assistance, please contact contact@dancebase.yokohamaまでご相談ください.

◆Profile

Photo by Makoto Okazaki

Dr. Holiday Laboratory A theater collective established in 2021. The five members are Justin Ito Yamamoto (Artistic Director), Asahi Ishikawa, Riho Onodera, Fumine Yui, and Robin Manabat. While the collective focuses on producing theater works, individual members are also active in dance, senryu poetry, fiction, and event planning.Major productions include *The Escape Plan (tentative title)* (2023, Komaba Agora Theater) and *The Sacrifice of Imagination* (2024/2025, ROHM Theatre Kyoto / Kichijoji Theater).Selected for the ROHM Theatre Kyoto × Kyoto Arts Center U35 Creative Support Program “KIPPU” (FY 2024). Web X: @DrHolidayLab Instagram: @drholidaylab

Photo by Makoto Okazaki

Justin Ito Yamamoto (Director) Born in 1995. Hails from Santa Monica, California. Playwright, director, and critic. After graduating from the Faculty of Letters at Keio University, he earned a master’s degree from Waseda University Graduate School with a thesis on rhetoric in the works of Samuel Beckett.He creates theatrical works that explore the politics of the relationship between characters on stage and the living actors who portray them, while constructing multiple layers of meta-structures. Recent works include *The Sacrifice of Imagination* (Rohm Theatre Kyoto / Kichijoji Theatre) and *Archive of the Unremembered* (Jeonghwa Arts College, Seoul).He also writes theater reviews, organizes talk events, and serves as an assistant director for companies such as Chelfitsch and The Disk Riders. Since 2023, he has been serializing the essay series “Theory of Idle Directing” on *Torch Web*. His next work is scheduled for February 2027.

Masafumi Yoshida (Musician/DJ) Born in 1975. Critic / beatmaker / MC. Beginning with his work with 8th Wonder around the year 2000, he currently leads the hip-hop collective Kuchou Yumin Dakota. He served as the first chairperson of the “Genron Atsushi Sasaki Criticism Regeneration School.”His publications include *Ambivalent Hip-Hop* (Genron, 2025) and *The Last Music:|| Hip-Hop Dialogues* (co-authored with Shōzi it, DU BOOKS, 2024).Translations include *The Lies and Truths of Mad Villain* (by Will Hagel, DU BOOKS, 2025) and *J Dilla and the Beat Revolution of *Donut*** (by Jordan Ferguson, DU BOOKS, 2018).As a beatmaker, he produced Meiso’s *Rokuro* (2017) and contributed to OMSB’s EPs *HAVEN* (2021) and *Kiai* (2023).

◆Credit

Organized by: Dr. Holiday Laboratory and Dance Base Yokohama