Two more days : co-directing The tempest with the Baltic sea as artistic research
Pysyvä osoite
Verkkojulkaisu
Tiivistelmä
In this self-reflexive thesis, I explore what it might mean, in this historical moment, for theatre to become a practice of witnessing how
humans can share space with natural non-human. This approach does not require mastery, representation, or full understanding. If
incompleteness is accepted as permanent, not as a temporary flaw, the category of "human" could become available for reimagining. This
artistic research extends naturally from my personal and artistic journey toward multispecies sustainability. I attempt to live and work with a
greater awareness of our interdependent world. At the same time, I pursue the selfish possibility of a prosperous future for my offspring.
I write as a seasoned director with over twenty theatre productions to my name. For me, work has long been the primary site of both identity
and struggle. This thesis has been a rare chance to investigate myself and my directing more than any other aspect of my life. I wish my
work to align with my desires, and this alignment is not a given. Through the written and artistic parts of the thesis, I attempt to redirect
myself toward becoming a different kind of theatre director by co-directing with a natural non-human agent: the Baltic Sea.
The practical ground for this investigation is the performance Two More Days: The Tempest Resummoned by the Baltic Sea (2025), codirected
with the Baltic Sea. The Sea’s indifference was evident from day one of the workshop before rehearsals. That indifference
collapsed the scaffolding of the ready-made production plan. The production process never arrived at full readiness. Instead, we chose to
treat this constant not-readiness as a condition to be held, rehearsed, and performed. It allowed this state to reorganise our habits of
rehearsal, performance, and spectatorship. In this context, my work engages four practice concepts: recognising weak signals, working with
the non-human and its indifference, attending to the director’s persistent body, and reacclimating the stage as a shared, multi-agential
milieu. This thesis is in strong dialogue with, and/or inspired by, but not limited to, Vincent Roumagnac, Emilia Veselova, Una Chaudhuri,
Tuija Kokkonen, Anette Arlander, and the Degree Program in Directing at the University of Arts Helsinki.
Methodologically, the thesis travels through artistic practice, rehearsal documentation, and theoretical dialogue. The rehearsal mechanisms
themselves became part of the performance. My directing body stepped out of the shadows: I made my presence and labour (setting lights
and scene transitions, etc.) visible on stage, not as an omnipotent meaning-maker but as a working artist among others, and, in doing so,
decentred the traditional director who governs meaning and form from a position of presumed mastery, without erasing responsibility or
power. Instead, it exposed these powers, made them tender and reachable, and treated the situation as material.
For other practitioners, I am not here to offer solutions; I offer an exercise. I call for embracing non-readiness as a form of knowledge and
for staying with the unresolved. I also urge learning to listen to natural non-human indifference without romanticising it.