Encounters. Vilnius" are conversation sessions, during which the audience watches and listens to the dialogue of two anonymous persons, voiced by the performers on stage. Hearing the voice through the headphones, the actresses reproduce it, in this way they "lend" their bodies to others. However, the most interesting factor of "Encounters" is the unexpected authenticity - the participants of the conversation do not know with whom they are developing a dialogue, they remain anonymous both to the audience and to each other during the entire performance and after it. This artistic solution analyzes the connection between people, examines the relevance of the prevailing topics in society, as well as issues of power positions, representation, anonymity and empathy.
Performance creators Katri Naukkarinen, Amanda Palo and Olga Palo wonder: what if the faceless condition seen in the performance is a way to achieve more intimate communication? How can one person represent another? How does this principle of communication presuppose power relations, what kind of atmosphere is formed between the audience, performers and anonymous participants in the conversation?
Encounters. Vilnius" is a conversation between two people who remain anonymous to each other. The two cannot see or hear each other and remain invisible and inaudible to the audience as the actresses on stage lend them their voices and bodies. Hearing the voice in the headphones, the performers reproduce it, but do not act: they try to convey the speaker's thoughts and tone as authentically as possible.
The method developed by developers from Finland for two people to talk live while remaining anonymous to each other is interesting in itself. However, the most interesting thing about "Encounters" is the authenticity of the interlocutors - the conversation participants go on an interesting expedition to find common questions, topics, experiences, testing their own and each other's limits of openness and trust. In this way, the work draws attention to the connection between people, reflects on the relevance of the dominant topics in society, as well as issues of being in a position of power, representation, anonymity and empathy.
Performance creators Katri Naukkarinen, Amanda Palo and Olga Palo wonder: does the faceless state created in the performance allow for more intimate communication? How can one person represent another? What kind of power relationship is determined by this way of communication, what atmospheres are born between the audience, the performers and the anonymous participants of the conversation?
About the developer
The Feminist Secret Society of Helsinki (FSSH) is a ten-year-old informal collective of artists, which this year consists of actresses Lida-Maria Heinonen, Saara Kotkaniemi and Kreeta Salminen, researcher and visual artist Katri Naukkarinen, director and writer Amanda Palo, screenwriter and theater directed by Olga Palo. This collective often creates performances and performances in collaboration with artists from various fields from Finland and abroad. FSSH members also organize trainings, organize exhibitions, installations, conduct discussions, and publish articles.
The Feminist Secret Society of Helsinki puts a lot of emphasis on teamwork. Therefore, they create together not only in Finland, but also while traveling. Therefore, FSSH members Olga Palo, Katri Naukkarinen, and Amanda Palo came to Vilnius this spring to prepare for the showing of "Encounters" at "Sirenose" and organized a creative workshop for Lithuanian creators. In collaboration with artists Vilma Raubaite, Austėja Vilkaityte, Livija Krivickaite and Milda Naudžiūnaite, they adapted the work to the Lithuanian context and prepared for the "Encounters" screening in the fall.
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The Encounters show works retrospectively. The day after the performance, I noticed that this work had absorbed me more deeply and disturbed me more than when I watched it."
Pledge Times
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We are used to seeing the people we interact with. From their appearance, face, clothes, we can draw many conclusions - about their age, social class, possibly profession, education. And how does it feel to communicate with someone completely anonymously, but at the same time live? When his words are broadcast with the help of another person, reach the ears? As an audience, we listen to a conversation between two people who know nothing about each other as they try to get a feel for each other and the world through words. Poetic, real, improvised and different every day. I am glad that this Lithuanian premiere of "Encounters" became another joint project with TINFO - Theater Information Center in Finland.
Kristina Savickienė
Artistic director of the "Sirenas" festival
