Tinfo news 2006/7


		No 7 / November 2006
		News from the Finnish Theatre Information Centre

		This is a monthly bulletin informing you about theatre events, new drama and international projects in Finland, sent to you by the Finnish Theatre Information Centre (TINFO). Some basic information of Finnish theatre life, and links to theatres, theatre organisations and festivals you can find from our website http://www.teatteri.org/english/index.html

		In this issue: Mobile.home Conrefence TINFO's theatre course in Burkina Faso Reko Lundán 1969-2006 Finnish theatre abroad: Spin - the Musical Finnish drama in USA Finnish National Theatre in St Petersburg Bengt Ahlfors' play in Prague Joel Lehtonen awarded in Moscow Other theatres and professionals on the move Opera news: Sallinen's Horseman in Moscow New work of Kaija Saariaho in Vienna Finnish choreographers: Jorma Elo and Jyrki Karttunen Other news: New executive director on Finland Festival Translator prize for Hildi Hawkins Upcoming Festivals

		MOBILE.HOME CONFERENCE 9-12 NOV 2006 IN HELSINKI Theme: Mobility of Artists and Art workers in the EU 600 artists from 48 countries gathered to BioREX, Kiasma, Vanha Ylioppilastalo and other venues Art and Art Workers Across Borders Art brings together nations and cultures but the journey across borders is not always easy for artists and art workers, not even in borderless Europe. When a group of artists from different national backgrounds go on tour, they face a tiring battle of paperwork in addition to their quest for finances: visa, work permits, different copyright laws and taxation. The EU has designated the year 2006 as the Year of Workers’ Mobility, with a focus on addressing and overcoming problems related to workers’ mobility. This theme was at the centre of the Mobile.Home conference, which was organised last week in Helsinki by IETM and the Finnish Theatre Information Centre. It brought together some 600 artists, producers, promoters, festival directors as well as representatives of public institutions and arts organisations from 48 different countries. The topic had raised a lot of interest within Europe and beyond – the conference included participants from many European countries as well as Australia, Africa, Asia and North America. The conference dealed with borders in a broad sense – crossing geographical borders as well as those between different art forms, and even pushing borders to open new fields for the performing arts. In the more than 40 workshops, meetings and seminars, participants exchanged knowledge about the good practices of international cooperation at the very grass-roots level – those who already cross borders with ease and success shared their experiences with those who are still learning. The conference also explored how modern information technology can promote mobility, discussed useful networks and international funding opportunities, and looked for ways of improving legislation to diminish difficulties related to mobility. The regional networks Baltic Circle and BaltMet held their own meetings in connection with the conference. The experts involved in the seminars and workshops represented the leading edge in their fields. Friday’s Plenary Panel Discussion ‘Why Mobility’ was chaired by Richard Pulford, Chief Executive of the Society of London Theatre and President of PEARLE, and included Fatin Farhat, director of the Sakakini Cultural Centre in Palestine, Macedonian artist Elena Marcevska, Professor Juha Siltala, MEP Erna Hennicot-Schoepges* from Luxembourg, and Jimmy Jamar, coordinator of the European Year of Workers’ Mobility from the European Commission. Sauna in the middle of Helsinki Attention had also been paid to the well-being of foreign guests coming to the unwelcoming weather conditions of the Finnish winter. The Höyry-Klubi, a tent sauna erected in front of Kiasma, offered visitors shelter from the cold on Friday and Saturday, and Finnish colleagues had been called upon to knit gloves for all participants. Showcase Festival Mobile.Dance.Theatre.Performance Showcase had been organised as a collaborative effort by the Finnish Dance Information Centre, the Finnish Theatre Information Centre, Baltic Circle and Kiasma Theatre, to give conference participants an opportunity to get to know Finnish dance, theatre and performance. The festival consisted of 11 dance shows, 9 theatre shows and 7 performance art shows – all made by artists looking to take their shows abroad. Event Organisers: Finnish Theatre Information Centre and IETM (international network for contemporary performing arts) in cooperation with Finnish members of IETM and PEARLE* (Performing Arts Employers’ Associations League Europe) as well as Baltic Circle. Finnish Theatre Infomation Centre wants to thank all the organisers, moderators, speakers and participants for an interesting and fruitful conference! KIITOS! More information regarding the event, please see http://www.ietm.org or http://www.teatteri.org/mobilehome/web-content/index.html Up

		TINFO’s project Theatre of Social Intervention in Burkina Faso The first training course Theatre of Social Intervention was put into practice at the Gambidi Culture Centre in Ouagadougou, from Mid-October til the beginning of November. Finnish Theatre Information Centre’s chairperson, theatre director Raija-Sinikka Rantala was in charge of the course, working with local trainers. Dancer Mickaël Stockel worked as Ms. Rantala’s assistant. The participants were actors with basic education, coming from different countries of Western Africa: Burkina Faso, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo and Republic of the Congo. The course targeted at giving them further abilities in producing performances using methods of the theatre of social intervention, in improving acting and directing skills as well as in developing the subject matter themes for productions. Centre de Formation et de Recherche en ArtsVivants (CFRAV), African Regional Bureau of the ITI and Théâtre de la Fraternité were the local partners of the project. Up

		Reko Lundán (1969-2006) Playwright, director Reko Lundán died of a serious illness at the end of October. Lundán was one of the most remarkable names of contemporary Finnish drama. He interpreted the experiences and feelings of his own generation particularly through family relationships. He was also a sharp-eyed social critic. The international theatre world knew Reko Lundán not only from his plays but as a member of the artistic team of Tampere Theatre Festival, and as a Finnish "godfather" of Theaterbiennale Wiesbadener. Lundán’s plays are praised by the critics and the audience, and he received several prizes in Finland. The Finnish Dramatists’ Union (SUNKLO) gave out Lea Prize 2006 to him in September. TINFO will remember Reko Lundán as a warm, considering person and a great artist. We had a pleasure to work with him on several drama export projects, like the Platform for Contemporary Theatre. Lundán’s plays have been translated into various languages: - Aina joku eksyy into German (Einer verirrt sich immer), Swedish (Vilse går någon alltid) and Slovenian (Vedno se kdo izgubi). The play has also been played in Ljubljana City Theatre in 2003. - Tarpeettomia ihmisiä into English (Unnecessary People), Estonian (Tarbetud inimised) and Swedish (Onödiga människor). The play has been played by Tallinna Linnateater in Estonia in 2004. - Teillä ei ollut nimiä into German (Hört ihr die Wolfshunde bellen?), French (Quand rôdent les chiens-loups) and English (Can you hear the howling?). For more information on Reko Lundán’s plays, please mail tinfo(at)teatteri.org Up

		The export of Spin – The Musical proceeds Spin is a pilot case of exporting Finnish music theatre. So far the producer of Spin, Svenska Teatern i Helsingfors (The Swedish Theatre in Helsinki), has signed contracts with Volkov Theatre (Yaroslavl, Russia), Teatr Rozrywki (Katowice, Poland) and Zazerkalje (St Petersburg, Russia), and a preliminary contract with Fifth Theatre (Omsk, Russia). Negotiations with a Danish and a Dutch-European production company are under way. Spin - The Musical is a whole concept including the rights, the text, the music, with the artistic head (direction and choreography) as an option. Douglas S. Pashley is the author and composer of the musical. Spin – the Musical is a musical thriller comedy. The themes in the musical deal with personal ideals in conflict with power structures controlling media and music business of today. Daniel Jackson, a journalist, reveals a conspiracy behind the deaths of the stars like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and John Lennon. They were eliminated because they turned youth against the establishment. The journalist starts his crusade to save a popular pop star Chantal de Milo (a beautiful girl) and his own honour and reputation. The Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Foreign Affairs support the project for two years. Up

		New area for Finnsh drama: USA Queen C by Laura Ruohonen will be played in Lit Moon World Theatre Festival, in Santa Barbara in June. The director of Queen C will be John Blondell, artistic director of the festival and Lit Moon Theatre Company. In addition, Naomi Izuka’s new play will get its premiere at the festival, and it will be directed by Finnish director Mikko Viherjuuri. It is the first time a Finnish theatre director works a guest director in a professional theatre in USA. All this is a result of a campaign Find a Fine Finnish Play. Mikko Viherjuuri introduced Finnish drama to theatres in the West Coast, and made contacts with local directors and theatre managers in 2005. After that, Finnish Theatre Information Centre invited John Blondell to Tampere Theatre Festival in 2005, and Pier Carlo Talenti this year. Pier Carlo Talenti is the literary manager of Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles. Lit Moon Theatre Company http://www.litmoon.com Up

		The Finnish National Theatre a success in St Petersburg In October, The Finnish National Theatre gave two performances of its production of The Young Mistress of Niskavuori, directed by Juha Lehtola, at the prestigious Aleksandrinsky Theatre in St Petersburg. The production was invited as part of the Aleksandrinksy's 250th anniversary festival which opened the season on the theatre's newly and lavishly refurbished stage. Hella Wuolijoki’s best known work, the ‘Niskavuori’ family saga, traces the fortunes of a country estate from the 1880’s to the 1940’s. The series includes five plays and begins with The Young Mistress of Niskavuori. The director, Juha Lehtola has taken Wuolijoki’s traditional steeped-in-realism melodrama, and revitalised it into a beautiful, stylised study of love, change and the difficulties of choice. Lehtola’s interpretation is a dance performance, an art-work in music and sound, a visual tale, and a dramatic play. The Finnish National Theatre's performances in St Petersburg were extremely warmly received. http://www.kansallisteatteri.fi Up

		Bengt Ahlfors' play in Prague Den sista cigarren (= the last cigar) by Bengt Ahlfors will get a premiere on 23rd November in Prague, at Divadlo Na Fidlovacce Theatre. The translator of the play is Frantisek Fröhlich, who has translated Ahlfors' plays En teaterkomedi and Ashes and Aquavit as well. The latter has been in the repertory of ABC Theatre, Prague, for five years now. The premiere of Den sista cigarren was at the Helsinki City Theatre in 2004. Besides into Finnish and Czech , it has been translated into German and Slovak, and an English translation is in progress. Up

		Director Joel Lehtonen’s works awarded in Moscow Finnish director Joel Lehtonen has worked in Russia for some time. The first Russian theatre production based on the book by Svetlana Alexievich's Chernobyl Prayer is produced and directed by Lehtonen, and it was performed in Moscow during 5 days, from 26 till 30 of April, 2006. Although the theatre production was conceived as a five-days action, the organisers of the performance decided to continue to play the performance. In September 2006 Chernobyl Prayer took part in the festival New Drama. The jury of the festival decided to give the award for "The Best Woman's Part" to Anna Galinova for her performance in Chernobyl Prayer. The nearest performance will be shown on November 26 on the stage of Meyerhold Center in Moscow. Moreover, the performance took part in the festival of the young Russian theatres, which took place in Omsk at the end of October, where Anna Galinova was awarded again. Joel Lehtonen has also produced and directed Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues in Russia. In September The Vagina Monologues was acknowledged as the «Best Innovative Project» by the award committee of the «Emotion Award» - a new Russian award for the best producers and managers in the show business industry. http://www.chernobylprayer.ru Up

		Other theatres abroad Puppet theatre version of H.C. Andersen’s The Nightingale by Kemi City Theatre visits Puppentheaterfest of FEZ-Berlin at the end of November. Theatre group Ispinä is invited to Amman, Jordan to a ASSITEJ-festival with they play SII MU SEE! Finnish theatre professionals are visiting Hungary this autumn. Mika Myllyaho, artistic director of Ryhmäteatteri, together with playwright, director Juha Jokela were getting acquainted with Hungarian theatre field. Kristian Smeds and his Houkka Bros. Group are visiting Kretakör Theatre and Merlin Theatre in Budapest. http://www.finnagora.fi Sauna Productions theatre group will visit Sydney in Darlinghurst Theatre's festival IN THE RAW at the end of November. The play is Finn City (Rikos ja rakkaus), based on Jari Tervo's novel adapted by Pekka Milonoff and Hanna Raulo. Up

		Sallinen’s The Horseman visits Bolshoi Theatre Aulis Sallinen's opera Ratsumies (The Horseman) will visit the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, on November 24 and 25, 2006. The performances are part of the exchange between the Savonlinna Opera Festival (Finland), and the Bolshoi Theatre. The Bolshoi will visit the Savonlinna festival next summer. The guesting 'Ratsumies is a new Savonlinna production directed by Vilppu Kiljunen in 2005. The Moscow performances will be conducted by Ari Rasilainen, and the main roles will be sung by Juha Uusitalo, Johanna Rusanen, Jyrki Anttila and Tommi Hakala. Up

		New work of Kaija Saariaho in Vienna La Passion de Simone, a new work by Kaija Saariaho, will get its world premiere in Vienna on November 26, 2006. The production team gathers the top Saariaho performers: The solo soprano part will be sung by Pia Freund, and Susanna Mälkki will conduct the Arnold Schoenberg Choir and Klangforum Wien. The staged production will be directed by Peter Sellars. The score includes an electronic part, and the production has also also a dancer on stage. La Passion de Simone was commissioned by the New Crowned Hope Festival, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Barbican Centre and Lincoln Center. The work, subtitled as Musical path in fifteen stations, is based in the life of French philosopher Simone Weil. The text is writen by Amin Maalouf. Up

		Finnish choreographers cherished internationally Choreographer Jorma Elo has made a real breakthrough in New York this year. His latest work Glow-Stop has got good critics in several newspapers in NYC and the East Coast, e.g. in New York Times, New York Newsday and New York Sun. The critic of the dance magazine Dance Europe, Donald Hutera, chose Jyrki Karttunen’s Human Imitations as the best premiere of 2006. As the best male dancer of 2006, Hutera chose Carl Knif in the same production. Also Karttunen’s Fairy pleased the critic in 2003, when the production was selected as the best premiere of the year by Hutera. Karttunen’s Human Imitations can be seen in Norway, UK and Germany in 2007. Fairy has been invited to Taiwan and South Korea in the spring of 2007. The New York Sun on Jorma Elo: http://www.nysun.com/article/41567 Information on Jyrki Karttunen: http://www.nomadi.fi/jyrki/index.html Up

		New Executive Director of Finland Festivals Kai Amberla will be the new Executive Director in Finland Festivals from the beginning of 2007, as the present Executive Director, Tuomo Tirkkonen will retire. Finland Festivals is a cooperation organisation for the principal cultural events in Finland. Kai Amberla is the Executive Director of FIMIC (Finnish Music Information Centre) at the moment. http://www.festivals.fi Up

		Translator Prize for Hildi Hawkins Ministry of Education in Finland has given out State Prize for Foreign Translator to translator, journalist Hildi Hawkins. The prize of 10 000 euros is an honor to the important but often invisible work of a translator. Hildi Hawkins lives in London and translates texts and novels from Finnish to English. She has translated and presented innumerable Finnish authors in the magazine Books from Finland, and her translations of Leena Krohn's novels have been published in UK and USA. Besides literature, Hawkins has translated books of Finnish architecture and design. In Great Britain Hildi Hawkins has been working as a journalist and a lecturer of Finnish at the University of London. Up

		Upcoming festivals in Finland Side Step Festival Helsinki 20.-29. Jan 2007 Festival Flamenco de Helsinki Helsinki 10.-18. Feb 2007 Oulu Children's Theatre Festival Oulu 20.-24. Feb 2007 More festivals: http://www.teatteri.org/english/festivals/index.html or http://www.festivals.fi Up

xxxx		Finnish Theatre Information Centre Meritullinkatu 33 00170 Helsinki tel. +358-9-2511 2120, fax +358-9-2511 2125 tinfo(at)teatteri.org www.teatteri.org Director: Riitta Seppälä, Information Officer: Anneli Kurki, Information Secretary: Nina Jääskeläinen
		Subscribe - Unsubscribe - Give feedback: tinfo(at)teatteri.org