Nuori Näyttämö invites youth theatre groups to join! – HKT and the National Theatre mentor youth groups in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area
The National Young Stage project, organised for the fourth time by the Finnish Workers’ Theatre Association (TNL), is looking for groups of young theatre enthusiasts to produce new plays with the support of six professional theatres in March 2023. Helsinki City Theatre and the Finnish National Theatre are organising a joint Helsinki Metropolitan Area Young Stage Festival in April 2024 at Studio Pasila and the National Theatre’s Small Stage.
“It is great to be able to continue the good cooperation with the National Theatre that has already been carried out in the two previous seasons in connection with the Young Stage. The Young Stage is a unique opportunity for young people interested in theatre, but also for us professional theatre people. Three interesting new plays and one play translated into the project challenge us to try out a wide range of theatrical solutions,” says Mirja Neuvonen, who is in charge of audience outreach, and who is now leading the Young Stage for the fourth time at the Helsinki City Theatre.
“It is inspiring that the National Theatre can once again be involved in the Young Stage and collaborate with HKT. The experiences from previous seasons are excellent. It is a pleasure to have young performers on stage and also young spectators in the audience. I encourage groups – including first-timers – to apply boldly, as this is guaranteed to be a memorable experience,” comments Hanna Häyhä, the new audience outreach manager at the National Theatre.
The Young Stage application is open to school or student groups of young people aged 13–19, ready-made amateur groups and completely new ensembles without measuring skill levels. The instructor can be an amateur or a professional. The group’s work is mentored by theatre professionals working in professional theatres.
Each selected group will perform one of the new plays of the Young Stage 2022–24. The new plays for this round are Pauliina Feodoroff’s The Colonial Nation, Marko Järvikallas’ The Cherry Bomb and Arda Yildirim’s About Us, the Flies. In addition, Christoffer Mellgren’s play Cake to Share has been translated from Swedish.
Groups in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area apply to the Helsinki City Theatre and the Finnish National Theatre with a joint application. The local Young Stage Festival in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area will also be held from 25 April to 27 April 2024 in cooperation with the City Theatre’s studio in Pasila and the Finnish National Theatre’s Small Stage.
The other Young Stage theatres are Lappeenranta City Theatre, Rovaniemi Theatre, Seinäjoki City Theatre and Tampere Theatre.
The festive review and closing festival of new plays, selected from the performances of local festivals, will be held on the Small Stage of the Finnish National Theatre on 16–18 August 2024. 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 application period for youth groups is 1.-31.3.2023. More information at https://tnl.fi/nuorinayttamo/ and application form for groups in the Helsinki area: https://tnl.fi/nuorinayttamo/hakulomake/hakulomake-helsinki/
Watch the introductory videos of the Young Stage 2022–2024 theatres in the Helsinki area:
Jesse Goes Helsinki City Theatre and Jesse Goes Finnish National Theatre.
Photo in the press release: Kallio Upper Secondary School, Aino’s Aito Mä (2018). Photo Inke Rosilo.
Further information:
Helsinki City Theatre, Mirja Neuvonen, Audience Outreach Manager, mirja.neuvonen@hkt.fi, 040 352 3969, Kaisa Pelkonen, Communications Manager, kaisa.pelkonen@hkt.fi, 040 552 3788
Finnish National Theatre, Head of Audience Outreach Hanna Häyhä, hanna.hayha@kansallisteatteri.fi, 050 523 4756, Communications Manager Karoliina Masalin, karoliina.masalin@kansallisteatteri.fi, 040 833 7382