19.11.2021
Helsinki City Theatre’s Stage for Contemporary Performance – open call for premieres in 2022-23
Stage for Contemporary Performance is the Helsinki City Theatre’s pilot project implemented during the years 2021-2023. The objective of the project is to include different forms of contemporary performance in the theatre’s seasonal program.
Helsinki City Theatre is now looking for proposals for new works to be premiered in 2022 and 2023.
The call has no theme. Instead it is framed by the spatial and temporal resources and possibilities of the studio Pasila stage. The theatre seats 328. The stage is 6 meters deep and 18 meters wide and the size of the stage and the auditorium can be adjusted to some extent.
Stage for Contemporary Performance project aims to renew, disrupt and observe the theatre stage and space in different ways.
We offer the selected performances
- Salary for the duration of 1,5 months including the residency period and performance period, or alternatively, production support to be negotiated separately
- a stage residency of maximum one month in studio Pasila, either in June or in July of 2022/23.
- a premier and two-week performance period in August 2022/23 as a part of the Helsinki City Theatre seasonal program.
- Technical resources and staff of studio Pasila, to be discussed according to the working groups needs.
The selections are made by a curatorial team composed of dancer, Master of Arts and Master in Live Art and Performance Studies Suvi Tuominen; director, doctoral candidate Tuomas Laitinen; and, curator and producer, Master of Arts and Master of Fine Arts in Exhibition Studies, Riikka Thitz.
During 2022 and 2023 the activities of the Stage for Contemporary Performance are divided into two parts: a program of visiting performances in May and premieres in August, created during residency periods taking place in June and July.
How to apply?
The open call is targeted for professional artists and collectives working in Finland.
The application process is realized as face-to-face meetings. Each artist or collective will meet one of the curators and present their performance idea as they wish.
Through these face-to-face meetings, the curators aim to provide an alternative for open call application processes, where writing is highlighted as the principal medium for expressing ideas.
After the meetings the curatorial team will discuss and make the final selections during January 2022.
The meetings will take place between 7.-17.12.2021. The duration of each meeting is 45 minutes and they are held either in the premises of the Helsinki City Theatre or online. The applicants will receive more detailed information about the meeting prior to the appointment.
You can book an appointment with the curator of your choice. All curators are happy to discuss all kinds of performance proposals. However, each of them have their own areas of expertise:
Riikka – contemporary dance, performing arts, visual arts, interdisciplinary forms
Suvi – live and performance art, dance, art-research
Tuomas – live and performance art, contemporary theatre, spectatorship, artistic research
Book an appointment with Riikka here
Book an appointment with Suvi here
Book an appointment with Tuomas here
Note! Please book one meeting only even if you would like to present more than one idea. The booking system is open 19.11.-2.12.2021.
For further inquiries, please contact
Antti Lahti
Helsinki City Theatre