“IDeas”: shed your serpent skin, spend 20-minute in a police truck?

What interpretations come to mind when you hear the Lithuanian folk tale “Eglė the Queen of Serpents”? Whose fates are being transported from point A to point B in a police truck? With what do you associate the word “earth”? And when was the last time you enjoyed the calm and slow flow of time? These are the questions that the finalists of the contest “Idea” are also trying to answer. You’ll be able to see their projects in the Kaunas Drama Theater only on June 14th.

The contest “IDea” is held for the second time. The goal of this contest is to look for new talents who want to reveal their creative identity, or to give already known young artists the opportunity to express their ideas on a professional theater stage. The four finalist of the contest “IDea” are: Juta Pranulytė (composer, author of several projects, art director of female chamber choir “Melos”), Marius Pinigis (a successful creator, dancer and choreographer with the dance company “Nuepiko”), Uršulė Bartoševičiūtė (a director who made her debut on a professional theater stage, LMTA (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater) alumni), and Radvilė Kisieliūtė (a London Academy of Arts graduate student, who has recently finished her master’s degree in Costume Design). Contemporary play sketches of different genres, like dance, sound and motion, and performance will be presented to the theater community and the audience.

All of the listed creators have had a long journey so far: first they submitted their applications at the beginning of the year, and then those applications were evaluated by the committee that consist of the members of the theater art’s council, theatrologists: audio and video artist Artūras Bumšteinas; director Povilas Makauskas; director Kamilė Gudmonaitė; sound and performance artist, curator Daina Pupkevičiūtė; sound artist and performer Lina Lapelytė. In March it became clear which artists made it to the final stages, and their personal interviews with the theater representatives in April allowed to put down the final check marks. “The main goal of the contest “IDea” is to encode the concept of identity, ID, and to understand which topics are most prevalent, and which questions are usually raised by young creators. Obviously, the identity of young artists is multifaceted, they are not limited to only the phenomena they see in their environment. They also raise global and philosophical issues or give deeper meaning to social issues that are already prevalent in society. One of the more striking discoveries is interdisciplinarity, that is the act of combining different artistic genres. This is most likely promoted by international internships and exchange studies. And the fact that we can mature these young artists right here in Lithuania is very fortunate. Next season, one of the “IDea” sketches will become a complete play and will be included into our theater repertoire,” says theater director Egidijus Stancikas.

These performances are meant for fans of contemporary music, dance, movement, and theater art, and for seekers of new, experimental forms of art. Admission is free.

More about the sketches:

“Eglė the Queen of Serpents” – performative play

The author of the idea – costume designer Radvilė Kisieliūtė

Composer – Juta Pranulytė

Choreographer – Saulė Noreikaitė

Actors – Martyna Gedvilaitė, Inga Mikutavičiūtė, Gintautas Bejeris.

Radvilė Kisieliūtė’s project is an interpretation of the well-known Lithuanian folk tale “Eglė the Queen of Serpents”. It examines the human state of being through the interaction of matter and body movements, especially when the moving body is used as a creative tool, and matter becomes the guide of the body. Having acquired a master’s degree in costume design at the London Academy of Arts, Radvilė has transformed the state of the characters, which opens up a wide range of possibilities for telling the storyline through the characters’ costumes. Here, folk tales, philosophical and psychological motifs intertwine and open up a space for discussion and individual assessment.

The sketch is shown on June 14th. 11:00-11:20 in the Small Stage (entry through the main entrance, Laisvės av. 71)

Radvilė Kisieliūtė

“Earth” – a live sound and motion play

Composer – Juta Pranulytė

Choreographer – Ema Senkuvienė

Movement – Ema Senkuvienė and Gabija Blochina

Percussion instrument – Džiugas Daugirda

“Earth” is a live sound and motion play. The play presents five paintings that analyze the five types of soil: black soil, sand, gravel, clay and lime. The introductory act reflects the physical body of a human being, which interacts with the earth to create sound. The sounds of the body movements are then harmonized with the musical composition of the percussion instrument.

Two paintings are presented in the sketch: “Prelude (body)” and “Black soil”.

The sketch is shown on June 14th. 11:45-12:05 in the Rūta’s Hall (entry through the main entrance, Laisvės av. 71)

Juta Pranulytė

Dance performance “Overheat”

Choreography and idea – Marius Paplauskas, Marius Pinigis, Andrius Stakelė („Nuepiko“).

The reference point of the dance performance “Overheat” is the concept proposed by the Norwegian anthropologist Thomas Hylland Eriksen, who is researching globalization and societal development. The concept is of the overheated world/overheated society. The performance is also influenced by the famous Dutch artist Hieronymus Boschand and his art, which is filled with simbolism depicting humanity, exsistance and religion.

The growing consumer culture, technological development, the fast flow of time, and globalization have been the long-standing denominators of our society, but now they are becoming the epithets of a clearly overheated society. We can monitor the problems of excessive consumption, technological growth, growing inequality, poverty, democratic deficit and climate change at a global level. Meanwhile, on an individual level, global phenomena that happen around us cause a sense of inner anxiety, powerlessness, and “fast / dynamic time” is replacing “slow time” (what can be done quickly replaces that, what needs to be done slowly).

The sketch is shown on June 14th. 12:20-12:40 in the rehearsal hall (entry through the front entrance, Laisvės av. 71)

NUEPIKO

“Death in a Police Truck” – inspired by the E. Limonov’s play

The author and director of the idea – Uršulė Bartoševičiūtė

The Composer – Marija Paškevičiūtė

Actors: Pijus Narijauskas, Artūras Sužiedėlis, Eglė Mikulionytė, David Pabarčius.

Eduard Limonov – a “skewed” and peculiar figure in the literature fields of both Russia and France. The choice of this play is a bold step towards arguing with the author, not only because of the contents of the play itself and its subtle, delicate theme, but also the author’s nationalistic, fascist views.

Uršulė Bartoševičiūtė’s vision is to talk about the prison system, to analyze the topics of freedom and its restrictions, prison culture, and society’s social order. “At the creation stage of this sketch, for the purpose of directing this work, I would like to raise a distinctive and different work goal, with actors whose purpose is not to methodically create a character, but to analyze the relationship between the actor and all the elements, such as play, documentary, stereotypes and authentic opinion,” says the artist.

The sketch is shown on June 14th. 13:00-13:20 in the Long Hall (Small Stages courtyard, Kęstučio Str. 62)

Uršulė Bartoševičiūtė

National Kaunas Drama Theatre information