A fan of games, anime, and their respective music, Blair Baker attended two separate Final Fantasy concepts and felt a hole in the performance. It wasn’t in the sound, which was fine, but in the lack of anything on-stage accompanying the music.
“Video games and anime have so much imagery,” she said. “Especially the older ones; each character has their own distinctive theme. Wouldn’t it be awesome if we saw something happening on stage that got to tie into that aspect?”
Thus, in 2009 “Hideo” was born. A two-hour production of twelve pieces/scenes (two more than last year) featuring projections, live music, and acting, performed by “forty-some odd people,” this year marks the second performance on November 5th on the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus. The concert features an eclectic mix of rearranged anime and game pieces, including Final Fantasy 6‘s “Aria” and Cowboy Bebop‘s “Good Night Julia.” Their musicians (each performance is performed by a separate musicians) range from pianists and a string section to saxophonists, guitarists, and a mandolin player.
In addition to its major upcoming show, this year’s “Hideo” also featured two “Overture” performances, one at San Francisco’s Animation on Display convention and one at Fanime in San Jose. “Overture” was a half hour long, featuring four songs and “some acting,” but no projections.
“Hideo” is no small undertaking. “Most people underestimate what they can do,” Baker said. “They simply think it [their idea] is not possible. But all you have to do is ask. Yeah, people might tell you no, but if you never ask… I mean, what have you got to lose?”
“Hideo” takes place in an crumbling world, its narrative based on the famous story conceit of the Hero’s Journey. The performance narrative helps present video game and anime music to those who may not necessarily be familiar with their sources, and uses a musical number or medley from games or anime for each stage of the Journey. Written by Schyler Baker, the story concerns its eponymous hero’s investigation of a group of outlaws.
Baker, who is not part of the performance itself, had some experience in working on a multimedia concert similar to “Hideo” in college and minored in Music. “It was the first time I’d ever done theater stuff. I loved it. I don’t know why- it’s different every time; it’s not a desk job.”
After getting a job at Electronic Arts, she found a potential cast in many of her coworkers but never had enough time for such an undertaking. Once she’d left EA, she and her fiancee borrowed, saved, and scrimped up the total cost for their first show (around $50,000). They put up ads on Craigslist and then held auditions.
“I took my car to the bank and I used it as collateral for a loan of about $25,000,” she said. “I borrowed $5,000 from my parents. Everything else had been spread out over a year.”
The first show was slightly disheartening, attended by around six hundred people. The audience loved it, but the tickets’ expense (around $40) kept attendance low. “I sucked it up and ate the loss,” Baker admits. “It’s like a start-up. There’s a huge up-front investment and very little return, and I think for the performing arts it’s even more difficult.”
But the two “Overture” productions were much better-attended. “Those were great,” Baker said. “People had heard about us by then. They might not have come to the [first] show, but they’d heard about us.” Their greatest attendance yet was at Fanime this year, where “Hideo” opened for the event’s “Cosplay Masquerade” and drew in a crowd of three thousand, filling up the seats.
“It was great,” Baker reminisces. “Screaming, yelling, clapping.”
The upcoming performance’s isolation (in Cal Poly) presents some difficulty, but Baker is hopeful. Around half the present company is returning from the previous performance, and the successful performance of “Overture” at Fanime is encouraging. This year’s venue will seat 1200.
More information about “Hideo,” including news, concept art and illustrations, and links to samples of the performance’s music, can be found on the official site.