The Young Stage application period is open! HKT and the National Theatre mentor youth groups in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area
The national Young Stage project, organised for the third 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 2020. Helsinki City Theatre and the Finnish National Theatre are organising a joint Helsinki Metropolitan Area Young Stage Festival in May 2021 at Studio Pasila and Vallila National Theatre.
“It is great to be able to continue the good cooperation with the National Theatre that began in 2016-2018 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 have been written for the project, which 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 third time at the Helsinki City Theatre.
“Long-term work with young people offers us theatre professionals fresh perspectives on making art and the world around us. Our excellent experiences from the previous review have led to the National Theatre establishing its own National Youth Theatre, Kant,” says Pirjo Virtanen, Theatre Curator at the National Theatre.
The Young Stage call is open to school or student groups of young people aged 13-19, ready-made amateur groups and brand new ensembles. The group has its own director, and the work is mentored by theatre professionals working in professional theatres. Six artists from both the City Theatre and the National Theatre will be involved, each of whom will act as a mentor or sponsor for one group.
The new Young Stage plays are Okko Leo’s Daddy, Otto Sandqvist’s Flamingo Red Dream and Katariina Numminen’s Girl Forest, as well as Harriet Brown’s Three from the UK’s corresponding Connections project, which has been translated into Finnish by Jukka-Pekka Pajunen.
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 in May 2021 in cooperation with the City Theatre’s studio in Pasila and the Vallila National Theatre.
The other Young Stage theatres are the Lahti City Theatre, the Kokkola City Theatre, the Kouvola Theatre and the Turku City Theatre.
The Young Stage Final Festival, a festive review of new play texts selected from the performances of various local festivals, will be held at the Finnish National Theatre on 28-30 May 2021.
The application period for youth groups is 1.3.-31.3.2020. More information, Young Stage play texts and application at https://tnl.fi/nuorinayttamo/.
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, Theatre Curator Pirjo Virtanen, pirjo.virtanen@kansallisteatteri.fi, 050 374 2296, Communications Manager Mia Hyvärinen, mia.hyvarinen@kansallisteatteri.fi, 050 540 5062