I think we were very succesful in confusing the local journalists in our mental press event last Tuesday.
some more counter photography - they are always photographing us, now we revenge!
Here a link to TV brussels TV spot about Mental Finland - works with varying result
… and as a plus pic of HP as he is such a funny guy
Kristian and Jean are hiding something behind the curtain…
…the last run thru without audience! A slight but nice tension at the KVS on Wednesday night. Still some technical problems to be solved and a couple of interesting question marks hanging in the air. The process continues, hasta la victoria siempre!
So what do you think, is this a party in Mental Neverneverland, one of the many demonstrations in Brussels or perhaps love at first sight?
…whatever the scene is about, HP for sure knows how to show his emotions:
edit: This what happened in the end - HP someone went mental and biguru was lost!
A big production like Mental Finland requires a lot from everybody. With some real Finnish sisu, we’ve already managed to strech our dancers beyond their normal length.
Some time in the afternoon Herr Director went totally Mental Bananas and decided to do all the parts him self. Here you can see his erotic new art shit mental riverdance. Roger and out.
Smeds Ensemble on Vimeo.
Our Tommi “sexmachina” Korpela (pictured here in his underwear) is now called Jussi. Or something. I really could not concentrate reading the news properly as I had to go peepee. Anyways now I have to go again. Did not mean to write that… Im off! 50/60
The absolutely fabulous Bridge bar on the corner of the KVS has probably doubled its income since we came. A perfect place for having a nice cold cushbur after the rehearsals, but also for freaking out in a true Mental Finland Saturday Night Fever style. Kiitos ja anteeks, we’ll be back!
First tango in Brussels
Poetry girls Ana & Eva
…and Tarja
Hassisen Kone was yesterday, today the Thing is Nummisen Kone!
Mental Finland Allstars band plays one time only improvisational sensational jazz Odyssey at corner bar the Bidge (Theatre cafe) of KVS theatre, Brussels sat 31.1.2009 22:00! Be there!
We had biggest popstar of the biguru -speaking word honoring us with a visit, and yes, we made a video!
Tuesday mornings are dedicated to the Smeds Ensemble intern stuff, updating the current and future planning. Sometimes it feels a bit crazy to think about the year 2011 while being in the middle of the most exciting rehearsal process… But that’s the way it goes: both feet on the ground, and the head already firmly in the clouds.
Pictured here - A masterplan!
ps. It’s rather nice to be here at warm urban Brussels - after all this is how it really looks in Finland (the real one, not mental) currently:
We brought quite an army of people from all over the world to work at the KVS, but still wouldn’t survive without their magnificent own staff. Here just some of the indispensable people:
Gérard, or also called Keke (Formula 1 fans know why), is the Technical Director of KVS, but in Mental Finland also designing the light.
Stage Manager Jean knows all about props, whether it’s about finding perfect toy helicopters or organising freezer space for 15 bunches of birch twigs (saunavihdat!).
Véronique cooks everybody daily a fresh meal in the KVS cantine. Warm, healthy and good. Even in Belgium it’s not possible to keep cool only by eating chocolates…
Article on Mental Finland & Kristian at Embassy of Finland, Brussels homepage, in english, finnish (suomeksi!), svenska, français and nederlands.
Article on Mental Finland & Smeds by KVS dramaturg Ivo Kuyl in english, french and flemish- ”Theatre should be a wolf and not a sheep“ (.PDF)
And also the basic Mental Finland -info page on KVS website has been updated with picture gallery and all.
We like challenges and we also like to create them for others. Most of our actor crew has played some musicals instruments last time in their teens, but here we wanted actors to form a band, and a band they formed indeed. After the shocking start, people seem to be very excited about playing, and some times it really takes an effort to get some people NOT to play their guitar very loud distorted 100W indeed. Does the band have a name yet… ?
The second run-through on Friday night was a small success. We got a strong sense of being on the right path, and I guess confused our little test audience completely… 2 1/2 weeks to go until the premiere!
Juhan using all his strength against Ana:
H-P would just like to perform a little bikuru, but the guys don’t seem very keen on letting him…
Many scenes that are happening inside our Mental Finland shipping container audience can see only via video screens, so camera operators are in very important role. Gladly we have just the right persons for the job: Lennart from Germany and Margareta from Norway. It’s amazing where they can fit in with their cameras.
To put together a huge stage performance consisting of different art forms and challenging physical and visual elements, above all, a lot of thinking is needed. Director Kristian Smeds and choreographer Ari Numminen here at work.
Oops…well, you need maximum concentration on stage, too.
In our working group we have people of 10 different nationalities. I guess around here in EUROPE it’s nothing so special, but for us, mental Finns, it’s totally something new, and I can honestly say that it’s super. Pictured here: Actors standing, dancers sitting.
Jurate is our set and dress designer artist from Lithuania. She has worked and toured the world a lot with Oskaras Koršunovas and now she is here to play with us!
Polyphony of languages is so nice - Jurate is not speaking English so well, so we mostly speak with her via translator Reeta who speaks Lithuanian, Kalle and Gerard speak German and our Estonian actors Eva and Juhan Russian with her.
Jurate (in the middle) pictured here with her son Mikolas and translator Reeta
