Masamichi Ito

Creating all aspects of theaters and halls

Our goal is not only to create theaters and halls with excellent functionality and beautiful design, but also to create facilities where people can always gather and enjoy themselves through the medium of performing arts such as theater, music, and dance, even when there are no performances. To this end, we assist in various ways, from the planning and conceptualization stages, to the design and construction of facilities, management and operation planning, preparatory work for the opening, and post-opening operations.

At the elementary school where I studied, we had drama, dance, and film classes, and from childhood I experienced the joy of working together with my peers to create. At university, I studied architecture and chose the theater as my research theme. While in graduate school, I participated in the planning of the New National Theatre, which led to the Kagawa Prefectural Hall, and in 1983, I founded Theatre Workshop. We were the first theater consulting firm in Japan to come from the architectural design field, which means that we are a pioneer in this field.

At the time of its founding, the company was only responsible for the hardware side of the business, such as facility planning, design support, and construction supervision. However, we expanded our operations when we realized the importance of the management and operational aspects, especially the business aspects, in order to maximize the functionality of the facility. Since I was involved in arts management education, I started work to support the preparation for the opening of the theater, including the examination of the management and operation plan from the initial planning stage and the planning and production of the opening project, while aiming to establish a professional position in theater management. We have further expanded our operations to include the management and operation of theaters and halls after their opening.