Where we stand
A three-act telling of the Gotō martyrs and Kakure Kirishitan, staged for one evening in the Sacred Heart Campus Chapel, offered to us without a rental fee. The budget below is offered in three levels so the group can choose the scale, and in phases so we commit what is urgent now and raise the rest over the fifteen months to opening night.
Three ways to stage it
The story itself is austere, so even the lean staging can move an audience. What climbs the cost is period accuracy: the moment officials, shoguns and samurai enter, you need tailored costumes, armour and Edo-period wigs. Each level below says plainly what you get and what you give up.
The numbers
Phase 1 is identical at every level. Phases 2 and 3 vary by level and are raised across the runway to performance.
Higher tiers buy period accuracy and craftsmanship, not more performers. The cast is largely volunteer and roughly the same size at every level; what climbs is how much is made rather than sourced, and how much period detail we commit to.
Driven by period accuracy, not headcount. Lean dresses the cast as impoverished peasants in simple farm wear, mostly sourced. Moderate tailors accurate costumes for the officials and samurai who interrogate them. Full adds samurai armour and dresses the wider cast to period.
Lean suggests each setting with a few flats: a rocky shore, a hidden prayer room. Moderate builds a proper backdrop and a fuller prop set. Full constructs richer multi-scene sets with the complete inventory: the Maria-Kannon, the fumie test plates, lanterns, nets and farming tools.
The driver is wigs. Lean styles the women in hair donuts and extensions and keeps wigs minimal. Moderate buys quality Edo-period wigs, chonmage and nihongami, for the key roles. Full wigs and adds facial hair across the cast for full accuracy.
The chapel charges no rental, so extra performances no longer carry a venue cost. What they add is staging and crew time, and they depend on the school’s calendar. Seat count is a placeholder until the room is confirmed.
What the venue change actually did
Moving to the chapel removed a ¥900,000 rental. It did not remove ¥900,000 of cost. A chapel has no stage, no rig and no house sound, so part of that money moves to a hire line; and because no admission fee may be charged, the income side softened at the same time. The three scenarios below are the same show funded three different ways, compared at Moderate over two performances.
Sponsorship needed is the Moderate total less expected income. The July row is the old plan, kept so the change is legible; it used full ticket take-up because a price could still be charged then.
- No admission fee may be charged. Tickets are sold in advance at FCC as a donation, on a registration card printed without a price. This is the school’s condition, not a preference.
- The content must be religious in nature. The Gotō martyrs and the Kakure Kirishitan meet this plainly, but the marketing should not drift toward billing it as general theatre.
- University events take priority and the 2027 calendar is not settled until March 2027. The school has its own concert on 26 November or 3 December, which is why 13 November was chosen.
- No rental fee, and the chapel cannot be rented. A thank-you donation is customary. The school suggested ¥10,000; this budget carries ¥50,000, since a three-act staging needs far more of the room than a concert does.
Open decisions
Carried from the 5 July working-group minutes. Set a due date and change the status live; done items strike through. Your changes are saved in this browser.
The runway
- Jul 2026Budget approved in principle; commit Phase 1 (writer and venue).
- Sep 2026Venue moves to the Sacred Heart Campus Chapel, offered without rental; budget reworked.
- 29 Sep 2026Reworked budget to the Finance Committee.
- 2026 H2Libretto and script written with Gareth; music themes composed.
- Early 2027Casting from the parish; secure sponsorship for Phases 2 and 3.
- 2027 H1 to H2Rehearsals at FCC (free); source costumes, props, hair and makeup.
- Mar 2027School publishes its 2027 calendar; the 13 November date is confirmed or moved.
- Nov 2027Tech and dress in the chapel; registration cards and marketing push.
- Sat 13 Nov 2027Performance at the Sacred Heart Campus Chapel (provisional).
The working group
Against the recommended Moderate target. Static snapshot; update as pledges arrive.