Findependence – F100 – Call for proposals

Let’s celebrate Finland! 

On 6 December 2017, Finland will turn 100. And the day after, on 7 December, we will celebrate her in style at Rauhanasema in Pasila. With a Finnbrit festivity programme, and wine and nibbles. Homage to Finland – in English!

But we need a cast and programme. In other words – we need you! So let’s meet and put a programme together. Time is short, so please come to the meeting with at least some idea of what you’d like to do, the more detailed the better.

This is what we’re looking for:
- short plays, sketches, monologues, poetry, music
- somehow related to at least one of the themes ‘Finland’ or ‘independence’
- length max. 15 mins
- minimal set & tech requirements (the venue has no theatre lighting or soundboard)

Please also have some idea of how many people you’d require and whether you’d need any budget for performance rights, costumes, props, etc.

Aside from a joint dress rehearsal (provisionally on 3 December), you will mainly be responsible for arranging your own rehearsals for each piece among yourselves. Self-direction is therefore both permissible and encouraged; and those proposing solo pieces are encouraged to meet up with other solo performers for some feedback rehearsals.

It would be helpful if you’d let us know in advance whether you’re interested in being involved, either in proposing something or just taking part as an actor or crew member. Email us with your suggestions, and any queries, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

See you in the FINNBRIT Club Room (Fredrikinkatu 20 A 9) on Monday 16 October 2017 at 6 pm.

Welcome!

Zoë and Ulf (The Producers)

Auditions for our autumn production, 'Ingrid' by Ulf Persson

WHAT: Auditions for our autumn production, ‘Ingrid’ by Ulf Persson
WHEN: Saturday 26 August 13:00–18:00
WHERE: FINNBRIT, Fredrikinkatu 20 A 9, Helsinki

Director: Anna Olkinuora
Assistant director: Ulf Persson

Ingrid is a play about Ingrid Bergman, Swedish actress. She was for many years Hollywood’s darling and received thousands of fan letters every week. All that came to an abrupt end when she left Hollywood to make films with the Italian film director Roberto Rossellini. They fell in love and she had to make a great personal sacrifice ­– she had to leave her little daughter Pia behind. The moral outcry in the USA was enormous with condemnations even in the senate, and the fan letters became hate letters

Ingrid takes place towards the end of her life. We are in Ingrid’s apartment in New York and she has invited her daughter Pia to dinner. She wants to explain – before it’s too late.

Rehearsals will be in September and October on Saturdays and Sundays 13:00–18:00.

There will be five performances: 9, 10, 11, 14 and 15 November 2017 at the Warehouse, Arkadia International Bookshop, Nervanderinkatu 11, Helsinki.

We are looking for 1 female actor and 6–8 male actors:

Ingrid Bergman – Swedish film actress
Paavo Turtiainen – Ingrid Bergman’s friend; event planner from Finland
Alfred Hitchcock – Ingrid Bergman’s friend; film director
Petter Lindström – Ingrid Bergman’s first husband; dentist, neurosurgeon
Robert Capa – Ingrid Bergman’s lover; war photographer
David O. Selznick – American film producer and director
Edwin C Johnson – Senator from Colorado
Roberto Rossellini – Ingrid Bergman’s second husband; Italian film director
Lars Schmidt – Ingrid Bergman’s third husband; Swedish theatre producer and director

We would appreciate it if you would tell us in advance if you will take part in the auditions and which part or parts you would be interested in. Also let us know if you would be interested in joining the backstage crew. Please write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

You do not have to be a member to audition, but you must join if cast. Please arrive in good time to begin at 13:00.

Welcome to the auditions!
Anna Olkinuora and Ulf Persson

Auditions for Go back For Murder

Welcome to open auditions for our spring production of ‘Go back For Murder’ by Agatha Christie at 13:00 on Sunday 9 October at the Finnish-British Society, Fredrikinkatu 20 A 9, 00120 Helsinki.

What is more exciting than an Agatha Christie play based on family secrets, intrigue, suspense, romance, seduction, and murder?

Carla Crale returns to the UK from Canada carrying a disturbing secret. Her mother, Caroline Crale, died in prison serving a life sentence for poisoning her husband, Amyas Crale, Carla’s father. On receiving a letter in which Caroline pleads her innocence of the crime, Carla is determined to clear her mother’s name. With the help of a young lawyer, Justin Fogg, she assembles the people involved in the tragic drama, and together with Justin, uncovers the truth.

We are now looking for 1) a cast and 2) a production team. The available acting roles are:

Justin Fogg – a young lawyer
Turnball Justin – Fogg’s assistant
Amyas Crale – a painter
Caroline Crale – Amyas’s wife
Carla Crale – their daughter
Jeff Rogers – Carla’s fiancé
Philip Blake Amyas’s best friend
Meredith Blake – Philip’s younger brother
Lady Melksham/Elsa Greer – Amyas’s former mistress
Angela Warren – Caroline’s younger sister
Miss Williams – Angela’s former governess

IMPORTANT DATES
Rehearsals will be held every Sunday from16 October 13:00–18:00.
Opening night is 2 February 2017.
There will be 8 performances, 2–12 February 2017, at Puoli-Q.

REGISTRATION
If you wish to audition, it would help us plan a smoother day if you drop us a line, preferably before 1 October, to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Pls tell us if you’re interested in an acting role or being part of the production team.

PREPARATION
There is no need to prepare anything in advance.

ARRIVAL
Please arrive in good time to begin at 13:00. Press the FINNBRIT buzzer by the street door to be let in.

Hope to see you for the auditions! You are warmly welcome to join us!

Ulf Persson, director
John Leo, assistant director

Auditions for the autumn production – Melancholy Play

What: Auditions for Melancholy Play by Sarah Ruhl
When: Saturday 11 June 2016, 2:30–6:30 pm (latest)
Where: FINNBRIT, Fredrikinkatu 20 A 9, 2nd floor

Welcome to open auditions for the Finn-Brit Players' autumn production in cooperation with the Passport Theatre Company: Melancholy Play by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Adrian Goldman.

The auditions will begin at 2:30 pm and last until the play is cast (latest 6:30 pm). Please arrive in good time to begin at 2:30. Press the FINNBRIT buzzer by the street door to be let in.

The performances will be on 21–25 September. You must be available for an intensive rehearsal period starting 6 September.

Preparation
We’d like you to prepare a short monologue of your choice in advance, preferably from a comedy. There will be some monologues available to read on the day, but advance preparation will improve your chances of being cast.

In addition, we’d like to hear you sing, as there are a couple of simple songs in the play. There's no need to prepare any songs and as long as you can keep in tune with the piano, you should be just fine!

Registration
If you’d like to audition, it would help us plan a smoother day if you register in advance to zoe (at) finnbritplayers.com.

More information & queries
You can read more about the play and characters below, but if you have any questions about the play, auditions or other arrangements, or are stuck for a monologue, please contact us at the email address above.

The Play
Tilly is melancholy. She is depressed and longing, alluring and unashamed. “She makes her unhappiness into this sexy thing.” Tilly’s therapist, Lorenzo, wants her to take pills, but instead falls madly in love with her. In fact, it seems that everyone Tilly meets falls madly in love with her melancholy. Frank, her tailor, hems her trousers, which leads to romance. Frances, her hairdresser, and Joan, France’s lesbian partner, also become infatuated. Everyone feasts off her melancholy and falls in love with her –until she becomes happy herself.

That happiness throws the world out of whack: everyone else is experiencing turmoil in their lives. Now they are unhappy: Frances becomes so melancholy that she turns into an almond. The streets are full of them – of almonds that used to be people. With Frances’ very existence in question, Tilly, Lorenzo, Frank and his long-lost twin sister Frances must go and find her. But how does one become so melancholy that they turn into an inanimate object? What will happen when Tilly and her friends travel to the almond state?

The Characters
Tilly (cast) – The central character of Melancholy Play. She embodies melancholia in a way that is so completely unashamed that it is considered sexy. Tilly seems to enjoy her melancholy, even though her job wants it cured. As Tilly encounters people with her melancholia, they seem to fall in love with her.

Frank – A tailor who hems Tilly’s trousers, which leads to him being her boyfriend. Frank is a typical nice guy, and Tilly is a little out of his league. He loves Tilly in spite of her constant melancholy, although he too is longing for something that is lost....

Frances – A hairdresser who gives Tilly a trim. She has moved from New Jersey to Illinois and currently resides with her partner, Joan. Frances falls in love with Tilly, which begins their whirlwind affair. When Tilly becomes happy, Frances becomes so depressed that she turns into an almond.

Joan – Frances’ partner. She is a nurse. Joan is very calm and composed. At first, she is jealous of Frances’ obvious attraction to Tilly. However, upon meeting Tilly, she too is overwhelmed by the melancholy and falls in love.

Lorenzo – He is Tilly’s therapist and hails from an unspecified European country. Lorenzo was raised in a sweet shop and grew up so happily that he did not fit in with his European heritage, so he moved to Illinois. He is happy here. As he falls in love with Tilly, we begin to see a less happy side to Lorenzo.

Julian (cast) – He plays the clarinet at various points during the play. The other characters do not notice him until the final scene, and everyone comes together.

The Dramatist
Sarah Ruhl is a modern American dramatist, winner of a MacArthur award, and a Tony Award nominee (for In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play).

Submissions and auditions for Face to Face

The Finn-Brit Players is launching Face to Face, a new spoken-word event in the style of Poetry & Jazz, but without music.

Face to Face will focus on monologues (first-person only) and dialogues, either stand-alone pieces or excerpts from longer works. Pieces should be in the range of about 1–6 minutes in length.

All texts must either be a) your own work, b) out of copyright, or c) otherwise available for performance without royalties. The focus will be on more modern works and you are usually able to perform a short monologue from a play under copyright as long as no entrance fee is charged. Please submit your suggestions freely – we will check copyright.

There will be one performance at Arkadia International Bookshop on Tuesday 31 May 2016. There will be three or four rehearsals starting in the second week of May, exact dates TBC with the cast, but probably a mixture of Tuesday evenings and Sunday afternoons.

If you’ve performed in Poetry & Jazz before, just email your suggested texts – in full – to Zoë (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) by Sunday 1 May. If you’ve never performed in Poetry & Jazz before, please contact Zoë to arrange an audition time for your suggested texts, and also if you need any further information.