Life as we know it
| Theatre: |
Maija Hirvanen & Juha Valkeapää |
| Premiere: |
Sept 2020 (in Finnish), Nov 2020 (in English) |
| Produced / co-produced by: |
Co-production: TTT-Theatre, Baltic Circle festival, Espoo City Theatre, Maija Hirvanen, Juha Valkeapään Ääni. |
The starting point for the performance Life as we know it by Maija Hirvanen and Juha Valkeapää has been in imagining directions, to which life could go or where it would be desired to go. A small part of this process has been selected to be cultivated into a stage performance. The imagined directions of life have turned into a performance through exaggeration and dreaming; Life as we know it is a kind of adults play of imagining.
The elements of this act of playing are - in addition to imagining the close future - wondering and repetition, coincidence and choice and performing in the intersection of fiction and real.
Choreographed bodily acts, movement, words and utterances, sound and gleaming lights are driving the life-wondering world of the performance.
To imagine is to create and to use one's imagination, but imagination is also an area through which we can influence change, to create a basis for what life and the world will be like in the future.
Maija Hirvanen and Juha Valkeapää are internationally established, Helsinki based performance makers. Life as we know it is their first collaborative work.
The performance is supported within the framework of TINFO – Theatre Info Finland’s international program MOTI, which is funded by Finnish Cultural Foundation
Supported by: Kone Foundation, Arts Promotion Centre Finland
Residencies: Santarcangelo Festival / Santarcangelo, Homo Novus Festival / Riga, De Platoo / Brussels, Teater Viirus, TTT Theatre
Touring information
| Running time at full length |
60 min. |
| Interval |
no |
| Stage required (height/width/depth) |
For the lighting plot and technical rider, please contact info@hirvanen.net or juha@juhavalkeapaa.net |
| Scale of show / Special requirements |
apprx./min. 8 m (w), 10 m (d), 8 m (h) |
| No. of people on tour |
4 |
| No. of performers |
2 |
| Used language |
English |
| Requires a clear understanding of Finnish or another language |
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| Subtitles |
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| English synopsis |
[above] |
| Simultaneous translation |
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| Touring season |
from now till the future |
| Availability for workshop and educational work |
on demand |
Key personnel
| Directed by |
Text, performance, and overall responsibility: Maija Hirvanen ja Juha Valkeapää |
| Written by |
Physical and performance dramaturgy: Maija Hirvanen, in discussion with the whole working group |
| Concept by |
Text, performance, and overall responsibility: Maija Hirvanen ja Juha Valkeapää |
| Performers |
Maija Hirvanen & Juha Valkeapää |
| Lighting design |
Jenni Pystynen (+ space design) |
| Sound design |
Ville Kabrell |
| Other credits |
Artistic discussion partner Barbara van Lindt, Dramaturgical discussion partner Aune Kallinen |
Contact information
