February 16th, Saturday @ Hotel Aomori. Bring a mask/ mustache, and evening’s best.
Check-in 6:00-6:25 START 6:30 (food and toast)
5,000 yen includes 7 course meal, drinks (alc & non alc), entertainment, prizes) Click HERE for all the info you need.
We’ve got so many exciting things planned for you in less than THREE WEEKS!! But for now, why don’t you take a second and find out about some of the night’s performers! They are all brave souls, some have performed before, and some haven’t. Let’s show them some love!
For your listening pleasure:
Shinjiro Hamajima, Hirosaki City – Jazz Pianist
Born and raised in Nagoya, Shinjiro now attends university in Hirosaki city, currently studying to be an engineer. When he’s not busy hard at work studying for his latest final or research paper, you can find him playing piano at local jazz bars in town and around campus. He’s also the keyboardist in the local band Kyle and The College Try. He’s been killin’ it on the keys since the ripe old age of four. His hobbies include piano, guitar, cooking and jogging. He loves playing jazz, rock, and classical style music. His favorite musicians are Bill Evans, Michel Petrucciani, John Mayer, The Beatles, Queen, U2, Sting, Led Zeppelin, and of course, Michael Jackson.
Get your ears ready to party, he’s about to blow your mind.
DJ Shoni, Tsuruta Town – DJ
DJ Shoni (comes from his middle name Shonin) is a 22 year old House and Hip Hop DJ. He’s been an active DJ for one year. He likes drums, beautiful chords, but what he loves most is helping people enjoy both. Good music, a chill atmosphere and a crowd wanting to go on a fun journey into music – combine those things and you get a DJ Shoni experience. So, if you wanna have fun,
Drag Queens and Kings:
Hailing from the Nanbu side…
Michael Diana, Mustsu City – 1st Year ALT
Originally from somewhere close enough to Seattle that it’s not worth mentioning.
A multitalented being of the aether, Michael likes drawing, music, pretending to be funny, long,
romantic walks to the fridge, fried chicken, and Dick’s (a small chain of burger places in Seattle,
loved by all). Performance experience includes several years of orchestra concerts, several
(critically acclaimed) bit parts in high school plays, and life. He aspires to one day own a pet
ferret.
Rachel Henry, Kazamura town – 1st year ALT
If you’ve made a habit of attending comic, anime, and/or Star Trek conventions in America over the last eight years, you’ve probably seen Rachel Henry dressed like a boy before. If you’ve made a habit of being anywhere near Kazamaura-mura since Rachel arrived to teach there last August, you’ve probably been subjected to watching at least one episode of Star Trek with her, and for this she apologizes (…but not really.)
For some reason, Rachel thought it would be a good idea to major in playwriting and writing for children’s animation at New York University, so she did. An extraordinary amount of money later, she worked a further two years in the New York theatre scene as a playwright and stage manager. Before all that, she lived in Oklahoma and had an extraordinarily geeky childhood, primarily composed of reenacting action scenes from movies with her brother by jumping off the garden shed. Miraculously, most of Rachel’s bones are yet intact.
Rachel enjoys writing, theatre, onsen, crazy adventures in Japan, and putting action figures into hilarious positions.
Kyle Helm, Yamauchi town – 3rd year ALT
Originally from Washington state, Kyle went to school at Linfield College in Oregon. He studied intercultrual communication, where he also went abroad. He studied in Japan, Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago. You can find Kyle making about 10 Lord of the Rings references a day, or see his voluptuous shadow silhouetted behind the curtains of his cold apartment, karate chopping a watermelon in fruit ninja on his connect. He enjoys eating everything, feeding his True Blood addiction, exercising, swimming, and deepening his bond with his Xbox.
When asked about his experience in the drama/stage field, he told interviewers, “In short, I have none! Haha. Actually, I dressed up as Cinderella for Halloween last year. I had this sassy blonde bob; all I wanted to do was make people feel jealous because I was a princess and they were beneath me. I’m excited to do drag this time because I have some sassy shoes!” His words, not ours.
Reppin’ the Tsugaru side…
Richard Denham, Aomori City – 2nd year CIR
From the beautiful distant land of the United Kingdom, Richard currently works at the City Hall in Aomori. He loves looking fabulous and wowing his friends with his incredible good looks and memorable personality. He loves to swim, read, and salsa dance. His favorite film is Thelma and Louise.
His experience with drag and drama, goes as far back as the late 2012. As all of you will undoubtedly remember, he gave a critically-acclaimed performance at the Tsugaru-ben taikai 2012 as Junko – a sassy and soulful mama who runs a snack joint in the seedy back streets of Aomori City (it appears alas, that Japan Post has misplaced his Oscars nomination somewhere…). Well now he’s back as Brichardy Spears, and with top record producer and jet-setting international mogul Sahrish.I.am., shall wow the bejangles off of you once again with a performance of their latest smash right from the top of the hit parade, Scream & Shout.
Sahrish Chaudary, Aomori City – 2nd year ALT
Sahrish, is a bright bubbly and friendly lady who loves soccer, Japanese, photography, and traveling. She loves TV and can be found watching almost anything that evokes a strong desire to laugh. She is somewhat of a typical girl, in the fact that she LOVES to shop, listen to music, and stare endlessly at Jensen Ackles. (I mean, who doesn’t, right?) If you’re sneaky, you may be able to catch Sahrish trying to use spells on people, there is not enough room in this post to describe her love for Harry Potter.
Last year Sahrish performed in the Tsugaru-ben Takai, and loved being on stage and wowing the crowds with her theatrical ability. She wants to try her hand at something new and exciting, and will be shakin’ her groove thang at this year’s masquerade.
Kyle Sharpe, Hirosaki City – 3rd year spouse (awww yeah)
Originally from Spokane, Washington, and the son of an Airforce pilot, naturally, Kyle has always loved traveling. He is the pretty-boy frontman of his own 5 member blues rock band, Kyle and the College Try, where he’s the singer/songwriter/rhythm guitar player. With over a terabyte of music on his personal computer, Kyle will entice you with his musical knowledge of both the popular and underground sound. He also snowboards at Naqua 3-4 times a week, and in our opinion is pretty good at it. “He can do a 350 razerback thirty two kickspin whatever thing on a snowboard!” according to Kimberly Sadovich. Kyle can also make one killer plate of Spaghetti and arguably the best French Toast on the planet.
Kyle grew up attending the “Best of Broadway” tour with his family and developed a love for theater at a young age. He battled crippling stage fright throughout adolescence and by high school he was acting in large productions; his favorites being “Our Town” and “Noises Off”. He was voted “most likely to appear on Broadway” by his peers at North Central High School, but chose instead to learn and play guitar (poorly) in college. This will be his first drag performance.
Aomori AJET 
I am SOOO excited!