Music and choreography create contrast and balance
When Lilla Teatern puts on Märta Tikkanen’s Men Can’t Be Raped, it will not be a speech play in a classical version, but a work with strong elements of both music and choreography. The music and choreography planning is signed by Robert Kock and Ulriikka Heikinheimo, respectively; Both are also part of the acting ensemble. They open up the process from rehearsal to premiere.
Robert Kock and Ulriikka Heikinheimo.
It is an exciting challenge to create the music and choreography for a new dramatization. The starting point is to create an understanding of the work and an idea of what form the performance will take. Composer Robert Kock takes the play’s context and the spirit of the time as his starting point and looks for inspiration in the music of the 70s.
“Right now, I’m trying to throw out ideas and find a sound,” says Kock in mid-May, with about two months left until rehearsals begin. The plan is to use both finished music from the 70s, during which the play takes place, and to compose new material.
“I try to find a tone that both contrasts and complements the retro feeling. At this stage, it is important to make decisions and at the same time maintain flexibility for changes and adjustments that may take place during the rehearsal work,” says Kock.
For choreographer Ulriikka Heikinheimo, it is important to get acquainted with the ensemble, director and musical material before determining the choreography. The choreography should support the story and interact with the music, while it is important that it really feels natural to the actors on stage.
“Basically, my task is to think about when and how movement is necessary for the story, how movement is combined with music and how it strengthens a stage. But it’s also important to make sure that the movement patterns fit well for the actors who portray them.
Both the music and the choreography are living and malleable processes, and it often happens that adjustments have to be made during the rehearsal work as the working group and the play grow together. The fact that both Kock and Heikinheimo are also part of the ensemble is an extra challenge, as there are fewer opportunities to watch the rehearsals from the outside. For Kock, it is important to plan as much as possible in advance in order to be able to concentrate on the acting role during rehearsals, while Heikinheimo prefers to work with acting and choreography simultaneously.
“I can try to plan everything to the letter, but most of it will change during the rehearsals,” Heikinheimo says.
Kock and Heikinheimo agree that the music and choreography should offer a contrast to a play like Men Can’t Be Raped.
“As I see it, the music in a theatre production has two main functions: to add additional dimensions to the story, and to reinforce or twist what happens on stage. The themes in the play may be heavy, but that certainly doesn’t mean that the music has to be. Contrasts are important and interesting,” says Kock.
“I try to approach the material in an experimental and light-hearted way. Sure, the theme is serious, but the script is also airy and playful. A heavy theme requires lightness in the balance,” Heikinheimo agrees.
Märta Tikkanen’s Men Can’t Be Raped has its Finnish premiere at Lilla Teatern on September 5, 2020.
Text: Jonna Haikonen