Actor Katsuhiro Higo talks about the “40-year reunion” before the formation of Ostrich Club.

Juro Karo is passionately playing the role of an old man on stage

The stage “Shoujo Toshi kara no Koei” (Calling from the Girl’s City) has been performed since July 9 this year. In the world of underground theater created by playwright Juro Karo, Katsuhiro Higo, a member of the Ostrich Club, is playing the role of an old man with veteran actor Naomasa Rokudaira.

How did he get into acting? We will look into the core of Katsuhiro Higo’s charms, which have not been revealed much until now, such as his first film as an actor, episodes before the formation of Ostrich Club, difficulties he faced in film productions, and stories related to Juro Karo.

His first stage appearance was in “Akashinogekidan” before the formation of Ostrich Club.

–At present, you are active as an actor in addition to comedy, but do you remember the first work you appeared in?

Higo：When it comes to the stage, I first appeared in a play called “Akashin Gekidan,” which was created by the comedy trio “Kontro Akashin” (consisting of Masayuki Watanabe, LaSalle Ishii, and Takayasu Komiya).

The play “Magellan Blue” was performed in 1984, written by Mr. Naofumi Konoue, the leader of the theater company “Daisanbutai” and directed by Mr. Takeshi Kawamura, the leader of the theater company “Daisan Erotica”. Probably, it was before he formed Ostrich Club.

–Do you remember your first appearance in a movie or drama?

Higo: The movie was “Billy the Kid’s New Dawn” (released in 1986, starring Hiroshi Mikami. Vap/Parco), and I think it was MP (Military Police). It was a role where I was just standing around as an MP in the US Army.

I think my first drama was “A Strange Story” (“There Was a Door There” aired in ’90 on Fuji TV). With “Sekai ni Bizarre Monogatari,” I had a hard time getting my lines and movements to match. The dialogue was fine, but the director gave me detailed instructions like, “Move this far and then stop here.

For example, if I was to hold a plastic bottle and drink from it, the director would say, “The camera is near your face, so please move it a little further. …… (Mr. Higo gradually adjusts the position of the plastic bottle) Oh, here it is” (smiles). (Laughs.) I was so nervous about it, and after that it was all messed up.

I had to give out a lot of NGs. Looking back on it now, I only memorized the lines, so they gave me detailed instructions. I remember I realized that I had to come up with my own acting plan in advance.