"Am-dram" may attract devotion and derision in equal measure, but in Japan a strong tradition of amateur English-language theater has been serving the wider community for nearly 150 years.
The earliest English-language performances were held in Yokohama -- in the homes and on the ships of the first Westerners to enter the country after the Meiji government ended the shogunate's policy of national isolation in 1868. Attracting entrepreneurs and adventurers from the West, Yokohama's first drama clubs were organized by the foreign military, with all the roles taken by men. This is in marked contrast to today, when a commonly heard directorial lament is about the scarcity of male actors.
However, it's not only women who have moved center stage over time. Education and cultural bridge-building have evolved from peripheral concerns into the driving force behind English-language theater, once considered merely entertainment for expats.
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