Sumo wrestlers weigh, on average, over 325 pounds. That's the sheer opposite of the entertainment industry, which tends to privilege performers who are slim. For the actors playing sumo wrestlers in SUMO, a new play by Lisa Sanaye Dring currently running at The Public Theater, they were relieved to discover that the goal (for once) wasn't to become smaller. They had to become bigger. And to become comfortable with showcasing their bodies while wearing just a loincloth on the stage.
Earl T. Kim admits that as a bigger actor, he'd always felt insecure about his size: "As an actor who has always been a 'big guy' with a large frame, my size has often been made to be a point of contention, frustration, sorrow, and shame while navigating the entertainment industry." For SUMO, Kim underwent training with USA Sumo to prepare. And that process of preparation and being part of the play itself has been "empowering," he says. "This process has truly given me the grace and insight to appreciate my body more and all the multitudes of stories our beautiful, powerful fat bodies are capable of telling."
SUMO takes place in a training facility in Tokyo, where six men train to reach makuuchi, the highest level in professional sumo wrestling. But the play isn't just a showcase of fight scenes, it's also an exploration of the culture of sumo wrestling, from the intense training regiments to the shinto rituals and taiko drums that are part of every match.
A co-production of Ma-Yi Theater Company and La Jolla Playhouse (where the show premiered), SUMO extended before it even began performance. The show runs until March 30. Below, get an advance look at the SUMO cast with exclusive photos by Emma Zordan. The actors also provide insight on how they prepared to play sumo wrestlers and what the show has taught them: about the culture of sumo, their bodies, masculinity, and how to feel comfortable taking up space.
Kris Bona (Kannushi 2)
"When it comes to Western theatre, usually the norm has been all about Broadway bodies. Ripped and toned six-pack-having dancers wearing very little. Going to the gym five or six days a week to stay lean and build up stamina. It wasn't until this show that I have embraced who I am in my own skin. I still go to the gym but mainly for strength training and making sure my body is warm enough to do such a physical show. Wearing the mawashi during the fights changed how I saw myself. Usually shows I've done in the past, I was always very difficult to dress because of my size. It would always be clothes were clearly too tight or way too baggy. This show changed that ideal because your size was seen as something very powerful in the world of sumo. Something that was instilled in us on the first day of rehearsal was the idea of the triangle body. In Western culture, the norm has the triangle upside down with broad shoulders and a small waist. However, in Eastern culture, the triangle is right side up and the center of strength is in the lower half and core. Getting to embody and portray these wrestlers who are essentially seen as Gods in Japan really boosted my confidence and self-esteem, knowing that no matter what I wear and how I present myself from now on is no longer anything less than."
Red Concepción (Fumio)
"There are very few shows that celebrate people of size. To be honest, I did come into this show slightly anxious because I was fully aware of my body issues and insecurities. But this show has forced me to challenge my preconceived notions on strength and beauty. I found strength in groundedness, in connection with the earth under my feet. Beauty and grace in our stillness and in our heft. I feel like there is so much pressure on all of us to hide our fat, to wear clothing that would disguise our size. So to stand in front of people in nothing but our mawashis [loincloth] is really very empowering."
Michael Hisamoto (So)
"Taking part in this show has been revelatory for me beyond the boundaries of the play itself. To be in the company of such extraordinary talents is something special; but what’s more is the space that this company holds for bodies of all sizes, the way we collectively redefine power and masculinity, and the liberating experience of being in community with like-minded individuals."
Earl T. Kim (Shinta)
"In preparing for Sumo, I was fortunate to have undergone some sumo training with USA Sumo when I was researching/preparing for another role a couple years ago. Interestingly enough, after completing a few months of sumo training for this other role, I was informed by the writing/narrative team that they decided to shift my character's backstory and that I would no longer be playing a sumo-wrestling Shinto ascetic. In the months leading up to SUMO at The Public, I was able to utilize the training and exercises I had learned through my time with USA Sumo as well as my background in martial arts (Tae Kwon Do, Wing Chun, and Northern Shaolin Seven Star Praying Mantis) to prepare for the rigor and impact of rehearsals.
"It would be an understatement to simply say that this process has been 'empowering.' As an actor who has always been a 'big guy' with a large frame, my size has often been made to be a point of contention, frustration, sorrow, and shame while navigating the entertainment industry. Throughout my career, I've had to constantly fight stereotypes and preconceived notions that others have projected on to me because of my size. Being a part of SUMO has truly been transformative in my relationship with my body. It is so rare to not feel pressured to have to 'shrink myself' or try to take up less space in a rehearsal room. It has been a welcome paradigm shift in decolonizing my own thoughts about how size and fatness has been presented in western/eurocentric stories and media. For far too long, fat bodies have been presented as lazy, incompetant, impotent, and as the butt of jokes. In SUMO, our fat bodies are held in different regard, and imbued with strength, power, tradition, discipline, and rigor. The characters we portray are fully multidimensional and have dreams, hopes, fears, and stories and arcs that are often not afforded to fat characters.
"To that end, this process has truly given me the grace and insight to appreciate my body more and all the multitudes of stories our beautiful powerful fat bodies are capable of telling."
Ahmad Kamal (Ren)
"On top of the physical demands that we knew about coming into the show, one of the things I had to get used to was being comfortable with being so exposed on stage. As a bigger person in Western society, there’s a clear stigma about being undressed in public and a desire to shrink yourself and not occupy much space. But in the world/sport of sumo, it feels almost prideful to display your largeness and to take up as much space as possible, and I really wanted my body to honor that—to move away from any feelings of shyness and, instead, to embrace the inherent strength that exists with utilizing your size and how you’re able to marry size and technique to take down your opponents. It’s been a very liberating feeling.
"Beyond the physicality, it’s just been a deep joy to get to dive into a sport, a culture, a spirituality, that I knew nothing about. Reading book after book to place the sport in the greater context of Japan’s history, watching these larger-than-life bodies clash at Honbashos (tournaments), and (ultimately) getting to use my own body to feel that union of aggression and reverence that exists in sumo—all of this has brought an immense sense of appreciation to what these warriors do. These Rikishi are athletes and celebrities, but they’re also icons of Japan’s everlasting history, and I’m very excited to celebrate that history and culture, while also having the opportunity to ask questions and challenge certain aspects of it narratively. And to get to bring all of that to a Western audience for the first time is truly incredible."
Viet Vo (Kannushi 3)
"I have been very fortunate to be a part of this project for two-plus years. In that time, this story has made me re-evaluate my perception of strength. Strength is not singular. It’s not just physical and mental and spiritual, it's also emotional. More than ever, I have become more aware of where my strengths and weaknesses are, but also recognize that my weaknesses are also a form of strength.
"Being Asian and masculine is a funny thing. I have many thoughts on this, but it's something I feel is a deeper conversation to be had. Maybe one day. In this play, this story examines that. And like many things in life, balance is the key. You need feminine power in your life, regardless of your sex (which is a construct, by the way)."
David Shih (Mitsuo)
"I started by watching a lot of videos about sumo that sumo consultant and co-fight director James Yaegashi sent in advance of rehearsals. My favorite was a 2.5-hour unedited video of an actual practice in a sumo heya (stable). It was a good way to get a feel for what daily life is like for rikishi (sumo wrestlers). I’d often just leave that video running on my computer. In addition to my normal workout routines, I would practice squatting positions—especially sonkyo (a full squat with heels up), which I knew would be very challenging for me. I also wanted to put on weight, so I significantly increased my protein intake and started eating a lot of rice and pasta every day. Working on SUMO has opened my perspective to an alternative image of strength and masculinity that isn’t confined to a ‘V’ body shape that is more typical in Western culture."
Scott Keiji Takeda (Akio)
"From a Western perspective, sumo can be difficult to understand and grasp. At first glance, it simply appears to be two huge men trying to knock each other out of a ring or onto the ground. It is not unlike other sports in that it grapples (pun intended) with ideas like sacrifice, mental fortitude, and physical strength. However, it is unique, in that it is rooted deeply in spirituality and cultural tradition. It challenges what an ideal physique might look like. It forces you to redefine where power and physical strength actually begin. While outward displays of emotion in sports are generally welcomed and add to the excitement and entertainment, sumo requires quiet and humbleness at all times. Exploring all of this and experiencing the depth of Akio's journey has made me pause and reevaluate how I view my own body, my own strength, my ego. I've gained a new perspective on the parts of myself that I, or others, may be quick to judge or criticize. As an actor, you always hope for the gift of a show that you can really sink your teeth into—that will challenge you mentally, physically, and/or emotionally. One that will change you as an artist and force you to grow as a human through the experience. SUMO is the greatest gift I've received in my career."
Paco Tolson (Kannushi 1)
"Sumo wrestling is an ancient practice with deep Shinto symbolism in its rituals. So in addition to learning how to fight, James Yaegashi (cultural consultant and co-fight director) and our artistic team worked very hard to educate us about the philosophy and meaning behind every move—the clapping, the stomping, where to imagine our center of gravity, the gestures of veneration and respect—many things we as a cast may have had to learn growing up in the West. My track in the show deals almost entirely with relationship to the divine, so I watched hours of documentary footage, read books, and streamed sumo tournaments from Japan on YouTube to minutely understand how the gyoji (referee) handles a gunbai (ceremonial war fan used to adjudicate matches) for example, and how their posture, the way they walk, and each of those gestures is related to purification, martial antecedents, and relationship to kami (spirits/gods). I watched how kannushi (Shinto priests) perform cleansing rituals and the ways in which their alignment and exacting focus is exhibited in the way their heads and shoulders stay on the same axis. Shinto is infused in everything about the play, and to work so hard to express it legibly to an audience by transforming physically has been incredibly rewarding.
"The very bodies of the actors in this play tell their own story in a complementary way to Lisa's exquisite text—we are silently communicating something very profound in everything we do onstage. It's been a beautiful challenge to weave it all together. I also deeply appreciate that sumo wrestling has reached a global audience, and our show reflects the ways in which fighters from different countries have brought their own national identities into the ring with them. There's also a movement sequence of pure joy in Act 2 choreographed by (SDCF directing fellow) Jessica Chen which took the ceremonial rigor of sumo and shaped it into an expression of life-affirming dance. It also took hours to learn (for me). There's just so much power you can wield as an artist by reaching into the layers of history that something like sumo has."
Shih-Wei Wu (Taiko Drummer and Taiko Drum Composition)
"To prepare for my role in SUMO as the taiko player, I had to make sure I am in good physical condition to execute the multiple solos in the show. I have been doing upper body workouts in preparation, and I have also been watching documentaries about the role of drums and music in grand sumo tournaments. There are particular rhythms that are associated with each match, and they are all oral traditions passed from teachers to apprentices. I tried my best to capture the taiko player's spirit as the drum is an integral part of the ritual that is sumo.
"Taiko can be viewed as a pretty masculine performance art. But as a non-binary individual, I find that the performance art is much greater than gendered binary. I actually find the act of hitting the drum so liberating from my body and that it allows my spirit to shine on its own. It is always my goal that the sound of the drum serves as well wishes to the actors to do their very best in the show."
