Helsinki City Theatre and the Finnish National Theatre’s joint Young Stage local festival will be held at the end of April

School and student groups of young people aged 13–19 and ready-made hobby groups have chosen to perform one of three plays written for the project and one translated into Finnish. Over the course of three days, Studio Pasila and the National Theatre’s Small Stage will feature a total of 13 performances of young groups’ interpretations of the plays: Pauliina Feodoroff’s Colonial Nation, Marko Järvikallas‘ Cherry Bomb, Arda Salaniemi’s (formerly Palomaakansa). Yildirim) On Us, Flies and Christoffer Mellgren’s Cake to Share (in Finnish. Sinna Virtanen).

The Young Stage project offers young creators a unique opportunity to strengthen their skills and collaborate with professional theatres. The artist mentors of the theatres have followed the work of the young people and shared their expertise in the performing arts with them.

“The experience has been interesting and exciting. Our group is on the verge of something completely new, because this is the first time we are making a performance based on a play text. Combining circus and theatre has sometimes made it difficult to move forward, but it has also provided an opportunity to come up with new approaches. Learning lines and speaking on stage are also new things for me. The sponsor of our group, actress Vappu Nalbantoglu, has visited our rehearsals and it has been a relief to get confirmation from a person who has a lot of experience in this kind of stuff. I’m really excited about the festival, but at the same time I’m also excited. It’s especially interesting to get to see the performances of other groups,” says Sohvi Kanervo, 17, who plays the lead role in the play Meista, kärpäsista in the Cirkus Helsinki group.

“Proud, overwhelmed, moved. These are a few words to describe my feelings about our Young Stage group. It was a cleansing experience to see how seamlessly the young people went through the day’s news and experiences, joys and sorrows at the beginning of the rehearsals, and then jumped into the world of the play. The characters and the text came to life and in the middle of it all was the joy of performing and playing together. Everyone has their own place in the group and everyone has their own moment to be seen. The group leader took everyone into account. All of this touches me deeply, because in the midst of everyday life and life, profession and hard work, in the end, the most important thing is exactly that: playing with friends and the joy of doing things together,” says actor Martti Manninen, the sponsor of the Caliban group at Tikkurila Theatre and Circus School.

“As a sponsor, it is a great pleasure to experience the enthusiasm, skill, talent and joy of success of amateurs in the early stages of their theatre careers. I get to see the same moments of invention and aha moments that make even professionals smile. We will be on a journey together for almost a year, and at the end I will be proud to see the finished work on the stage of the Finnish National Theatre,” says actor Ilja Peltonen, the sponsor of the Dante group of the Tikkurila Theatre and Circus School.

The sponsor groups of the Helsinki City Theatre are the musical theatre group of Tapiola Upper Secondary School, Circus Helsinki, the Caliban group of the Tikkurila Theatre and Circus School, the Young Stage of the Icebreakers, Teatteri Pikku Kivi, Teatteri Werner and the Vimma Ensemble of the Helsinki Theatre School. The sponsors of the groups are actors Jouko Klemettilä, Merja Larivaara, Tuukka Leppänen, Martti Manninen and Vappu Nalbantoglu, as well as the director’s assistant Johanna Elovaara and the organizer and prop manager Satu Noroluoto-Fäldt.

The sponsor groups of the National Theatre are the Artmix group of the Children’s Cultural Centre Musikanttit, the Dante group of the Tikkurila Theatre and Circus School, the PALO group of the Tuike School of Expression, the youth of the Järvenpää Theatre, Martinlaakso Upper Secondary School and the theatre group Jouni of the Narri Stage. The sponsors of the groups are actors Ilja Peltonen, Jani Karvinen, Kristiina Halttu and Marja Salo, as well as artistic designer Antti Haikkala and tailor Nina Martikainen.

Five local festivals around Finland will premiere a total of 27 different interpretations of four plays. The other Young Stage theatres are Lappeenranta City Theatre, Rovaniemi Theatre, Seinäjoki City Theatre and Tampere Theatre.

The Young Stage Final Review, which will bring together performances of different plays from around the country, will be held on 23–24 August 2024 on the Small Stage of the National Theatre. The Repertoire is compiled by selecting interpretations of all texts. Performances are not ranked and the repertoire is not selected according to skill level.

The main organiser of the Young Stage project is the Association of Workers’ Stages.

Check out the programme of the Young Stage local festival on 25–27 April and buy tickets (10 € each):
Helsinki City Theatre: hkt.fi/esitykset/nuori-nayttamo-paikallisfestivaali/
Finnish National Theatre: kansallisteatteri.fi/esitys/nuori-nayttamo-paikallisfestivaali-0Young Stage 2022–2024

The photo in the press release shows the group of Martinlaakso Upper Secondary School. Photo Heli Groschup.

Further information:
Helsinki City Theatre
Mirja Neuvonen, Audience Outreach Officer, mirja.neuvonen@hkt.fi, 040 352 3969
Kaisa Pelkonen, Communications Manager, kaisa.pelkonen@hkt.fi, 040 552 3788

Finnish National Theatre
Maarit Kakkonen, Head of Public Relations, maarit.kakkonen@kansallisteatteri.fi, 050 523 4756
Karoliina Masalin, Communications Manager, karoliina.masalin@kansallisteatteri.fi, 040 833 7382