SISU  is in the Heart
  • About
    • Park Cofield
    • Project Partners
    • Project Team
    • Project Timeline
    • Vaivaisukot (Pauper Statues)
    • Ancestry & Genealogy
  • My Story
  • Plays
    • Fairport Harbor
    • Lapua
  • Share
  • Events
  • Latest Updates
  • Contact

Meet Larvateatteri!

8/24/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
.Meet Larvateatteri! 

Larvateatteri and Vanha Paukku Cultural Center are the two lead community partners for SISU is in the Heart: A Play for Lapua. Larvateatteri has been producing plays in Lapua since 2010 and will be responsible for all production aspects including stage management, publicity, marketing, lights & sound, props, costumes and more. Many of their association members will also perform on stage or help out behind the scenes. 

I'm excited and lucky to be working with this talented group of theater artists. Please take a moment to read the short interview below with association member, Pirita Latva-Teikari.

-PC

Interview

Park Cofield:  How would you describe the company? When did it start and what was the first play?

​Pirita Latva-Teikari: First of all, Larvateatteri is an association, not a company. It was founded in Lapua in 2010 and has included experienced theater professionals and enthusiasts as active members from day one. Larvateatteri was also responsible for the construction of the outdoor stage at Luhurikka summer theater with funding from the EU. The first play was Purasen häät (The Wedding of Puranen) which is an old Finnish play. The audience gave Larvateatteri a warm welcome. The most recent production was this past summer's musical play Onnen maa (The Land of Happiness). The next production will be the classical play, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams, which will premiere this winter.
 
Park: What kinds of plays do you typically produce (classics, originals, etc.)?


​Pirita: In the summer, Larvateatteri produces classical Finnish "country-style" comedies​ for the summer theater Luhurikka. Luhurikka is very idyllic place in Lapua, surrounded by forests and fields. There is even a horse pasture behind the stage. In winter the issues are deeper, for example, The Diary of Anne Frank and Aarre, ryssän äpärä, a love story between a Russian prisoner of war and a Finnish girl. The play was a world premiere with music and based on a true story. It was a massive hit, praised by both critics and the audience! 
 
Picture
 Larvateatteri's production of Onnen maa at Luhurikka summer theater last year.
Park: How you are organized and how do you operate? 

Pirita: ​We usually present 1-3 plays a year. Larvateatteri is open for everyone who is interested in making theater. That is one of our main principles. Everyone is welcome! We have a board of directors (Kari Manu, Pirkko Manu, Ritva-Leena Heikkinen and myself). When we start to plan the season, we ask for everyone's opinion on the play selection, not just the board. We send scripts by email to everyone in the association to give their opinion about which play should be next. We like to keep things open and democratic.​
​
Park: Where can people learn more about your work? 

Pirita: You can read more about Larvateatteri and see photos from the previous productions at:  
​http://www.larvateatteri.fi/
0 Comments

Meet Esa Honkimäki, Cultural Producer

8/24/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Meet Esa Honkimäki! 

Esa is the producer of SISU is in the Heart: A Play for Lapua and cultural director of
Vanha Paukku Cultural Centre. He is also the person responsible for making the production possible in Finland! 


I was intially introduced to Esa through Antti Ojala, whose artwork is part of the permenant collection at the Lapua Art Museum. Esa agreed to set up the first story circles in Lapua with a groups of local teenagers and older adults and quickly thereafter offered to come on board as the producer and for the Cultural Centre to act as the lead community partner for the project.

Last October, Esa travled to Fairport Harbor, Ohio to attend the U.S. premiere and to observe the production process in anticipation of bringing the production to Lapua, and to establish a connection with the Finnish Heritage Museum. He even lent a hand with props and made an authentic 
vihta (a bough of birch leaves used to stimulate the skin) to use in the sauna scene that started Act Two. 

I have already learned so much from Esa and I am looking forward to the work we have together in the next couple of weeks. Please take a moment to read a little more below.

-PC


Three Questions

Do you have any family in America? 
I know there are relatives from my mother´s side in the US because we have photos of them in our family photo book. Unfortunately, I don´t know anything about them. Though I´d like to. 

What is your favorite family tradition? 
My favorite tradition is at Christmas time when the family gathers together. We perform an old children's play called the Wolf's Circle with my sons and grandaughters.

What does SISU mean to you? 
It is like the last drop of Maxwell House coffee! 

Bio

Esa Honkimäki (Cultural Director) is a Lapua born cultural producer and the head of Vanha Paukku Cultural Centre. After graduating with an MA in Cultural Anthropology and Art History from Jyväskylä University, he has been working his whole career in field of arts and culture  for Lapua Town Council. 
During the years he has made initiatives for art venues and projects, produced and organized art exhibitions and events of all kind. 10 years Esa has been music producer for Vanha Paukku Music Festival. He has created networks regionally and internationally especially with Co.Louth, Ireland as well as with Strangford Loch area in Nortnern Ireland. He has been responsible for several cultural projects financed by Europen Union Leader Programme. SISU is in the Heart will be the last production he is involved due his retirement in Autumn 2016. 


About VanHa Paukku Cultural Centre

Picture
Vanha Paukku is a centre for culture and entrepreneurship unique both by its surroundings as well as its history, located by the Lapuanjoki river. The milieu, made up of old  factory buildings, has a 200-seat Alajoki hall/auditorium, meeting rooms as well as a cafeteria. The Vanha Paukku area is also home to a number of entrepreneurs and operators. Movie theatre Bio Marilyn, Theatre Lapua, Lapua Art Museum, the town library as well as the Music Institute and the Adult Education Centre all function within the premises. In the summer there is also a river boat that takes its passengers on a cruise through the history and the surroundings of the area.

Read more at: http://www.vanhapaukku.fi/etusivu

History - From a Cartridge Factory into a Cultural Centre 
​

The State Cartridge Factory was established in 1923 in order to ensure the national security of the newly-independent country. Not long after that the factory was put to a real test: during World War II, it played a significant role in the Finnish military operations as it made sure Finnish soldiers were never short of rifle cartridges. Tragedy struck in the morning of the 13th of April 1976 when an explosion in the loading department took the lives of 40 factory employees. After this national tragedy the factory operations were gradually moved away from the town centre. Today, Vanha Paukku is a versatile cultural centre that serves as a lounge area for locals and an enticing attraction for tourists. The events, businesses and boutiques at the cultural centre all come together and create a truly magnificent combination of culture, arts and crafts, experiences and – life. ​
0 Comments

    PARK COFIELD

    Latest updates about SISU is in the Heart.

    Archives

    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    February 2016
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.