Young professionals do theatre for young people in Milja Sarkola’s direction at Lilla Teatern / Young professionals make theatre for young people under the direction of Milja Sarkola

Lilla Teatern’s successful spring ends with Milja Sarkola’s and Jessica Grabowsky’s En blick är en blick, which premieres on 25 April. The performance is a tripartite collaboration between Lilla Teatern, the Theatre Academy and the Cultural Foundation-funded project Young Drama.

“One of the starting points for the project has been that young people make theatre for young people. Through collaboration with young professionals, Lilla Teatern wants to open up to a new generation and a young audience. We must have the courage to let the theatre institution meet new, more process-oriented forms of work, and we must also open up the use of the theatre space in a new way,” says Artistic Director Marina Meinander.

How do you imagine a loved one seeing you? How do you imagine an acquaintance seeing you? How do you imagine a public figure seeing you? Based on these questions, the characters Professor McGonagall from Harry Potter, Jesus, stand-up comedian Bill Burr and actor Mikael Persbrandt meet in author Gertrud Stein’s legendary salon to discuss, play and challenge each other’s and their own gaze.

The third-year acting student has created characters under the supervision of Jessica Grabowsky using the technique of Russian actor and theatre educator Michael Chekhov, and the text of the performance is written and improvised by the students themselves. The performance is a continuation of the creative writing courses that Milja Sarkola has held for students in 2017 and 2018.

From the Theatre Academy , students Emilia Jansson, Mathilda Kruse, Oksana Lommi, Hermann Nyby, Antti Saarikallio and Emelie Zilliacus are also involved, all of whom have also been involved in writing the text. The set design is by Antti Mattila, as are the costumes made by Mattila in collaboration with the students. Dramaturgical sparring is provided by Christoffer Mellgren and Marina Meinander.

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Young professionals make theatre for young people under the direction of Milja Sarkola

Lilla Teatern’s successful spring season ends with Milja Sarkola and Jessica Grabowsky’s directorial work En blick är en blick, which premieres on 25 April. The performance is a collaboration between Lilla Teatern, the Theatre Academy and the Ung Dramatik project.

“One of the starting points for the performance has been that young people make theatre for young people. We collaborate with young professionals to reach a new generation and young audience. We must have the courage to allow the theatre institution to encounter new, process-like ways of working. We will also open up the use of the theatre space in a new way,” says Marina Meinander, Artistic Director of Lilla Teatern.

How do you think your loved ones see you? How do you think your acquaintances will see you? And how do you imagine a public figure will see you?  These are the questions pondered by Professor McGonagall from the Harry Potter books, Jesus, stand-up comedian Bill Burr and actor Mikael Persbrandt when they meet author Gertrud Stein in the legendary salon to discuss, play and challenge their own and others’ gaze.

Under the guidance of Jessica Grabowsky , third-year acting students have created the characters using the technique of Russian actor and theatre pedagogue Mikhail Chekhov . They have also written the text. The performance is a continuation of the creative writing courses that Milja Sarkola has held for students in 2017 and 2018.

The play was written and features Emilia Jansson, Mathilda Kruse, Oksana Lommi, Hermann Nyby, Antti Saarikallio and Emelie Zilliacus. The director is Milja Sarkola together with Jessica Grabowsky . The set design was designed by Antti Mattila, and together with the students, he also designed the costumes. The dramaturgical advisors have been Christoffer Mellgren and Marina Meinander.