Japan's drama scene has seen some change in 2010. It was as if the theater crowd grew tired of waiting for the country's ailing economy and faltering politics to offer them anything new to work with and decided to go and find their own inspiration.
Although most mainstream commercial theaters continued with their formulaic casting of young idols or good- looking boys to draw audiences to their productions, public theaters and young dramatists started working together in search of new ways for theater to survive.
In particular, young dramatists began to actively exchange ideas between themselves and with theatergoers at the many symposiums that they organized. They not only generated a lively atmosphere at such meetings but, having invited friends of theater enthusiasts, they also attracted many new fans.