Southern Illinois University Carbondale OpenSIUC April 1967 Daily Egyptian 1967 4-29-1967 The aiD ly Egyptian, April 29, 1967 The aiD ly Egyptian Staff Follow this and additional works at: http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/de_April1967 Volume 48, Issue 134 Recommended Citation , . "The aiD ly Egyptian, April 29, 1967." (Apr 1967). This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Daily Egyptian 1967 at OpenSIUC. It has been accepted for inclusion in April 1967 by an authorized administrator of OpenSIUC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SOUTHERH ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY CO .......... I•• llli.. i. Volume 48 Saturday. Ap.1I29. 1967 Number 134 A Little More Ham in the Finns Photo by 0 ... Werthime. FINLAND IS STAGE STRUCK, reports Ket'lneth Stare., an SIU graduate student who is spending a year teaehin9 in that eountry. The theater pietured above is one of five in the eity of Tamp ...e_ city of ISO,OOO population where, lost year, the,. were _e th.".coo,- 000 theoter goers. The explanation? There's. little more hom in the Finns than in any other p_ple. (Story on Page 2) tlln the imaginary world of the theater the Finn dares to unburden himself, to reveal his innermost soul." Poge 2 DAILY EGYPTIAN April 29, 1967 A Little More Ham in the Finns By KENNETH STARCK "Up there. Right about there:' The pretty blond extends her left arm at about a 90-degree angle into the azure sky of Tampere, Finland. "The plane comes in from there. The pilot is in touch with a member of the crew. And at the exact moment the plane comes swooping down to make its attack:' A female general? Hardly. A scene from a war movie? Could be-­ but Isn't. A scene from the popular outdoor theatrical presentation of Finland's most famous war novel, The Unknown Soldier? Correct. The airplane attack, which regu­ larly punctuates the pleasant summer evenings in Tampere, blends two Finnish characteristics­ a penchant for realism and a pas­ sion for drama. Appropriately, they meet on Finland's stage. For Finland. perhaps more than any other country, is a land that is stage struck. Explains one Finn: "Everyone's got some bam in him-- the Finns a little more so than others:' .\od the ham stretches throughout the land. from the somber, sparsely­ populated frontier of Lapland to the nonh to the more populous, indus­ trialized regtons to the south. In this land of 4.6 million persons. tbere are 40 professional theat~s and about 8,000 amateur theaters and dramatic clubs. Last Year nearly 1.5 mill ion persons at­ tended theatrical production.;. In Tampere alone. which has five thea­ ters, tbe number of theater-goers totaled more than 400,000- and this in a city with about 150,000 persons. Actually it is incongruous that the Finns should become so aroused over the theater. Outside of alcohol, little else manages to stir them from their usual taciturn selves. Finnish writer Matti Kurjensaari offers an explanation: "In the imaginary wc>rld of the theater the Finn dares to unburden himself, to reveal his innermost soul. He thinks that he is acting. But the truth is probably that when he believes he is acting he is in reality living his truest self." RauB Lehtonen. who has spent his entire life in the theater and now directs the Tampere Theater. agrees that ti1e dramatic an serves as a release to the "many long, dark winter months" but adds an imponant social factor. "Theater has been popular among K enne", Storck, 0 condi date for the Ph.D. in Joumalism at SIU, has been on exchange instructor at the University of Tampere,. 'Finland, this yeor. In on earlier PYNIKOKI SUMMER THEATER, first of its kind, feature~ 0 revolving spectator platform which allows the use of article he described the So"iet Uno on as the sum~unding countryside as part of the stage. he saw it during a holiday break. April 29, 1967 DAILY EGYPTI~M Page 3 all social classes:' he says through troupe went to Vienna in 1965. an interpreter. "Here the theater "We'd like to take it to the US," is regarded as an educational ex­ says Mr. LehtC'"'len. "But it's dif­ perience. It's inculcated among the ficult because of the changing casc." young persons in school:' Traditionally, Finnish actors sign FIMNISH JETS jazz it up ill the Ta ..,.,. Th ....r·. production of We.t Si_ Story. "The press," he adds, "also is a contract for only two years with a extremely active in discussing theater. At the end of the period, theater:' they may sign for another two years Just how popular the theater is in or move to another theater. The Finland is seen from the number of minimum salary of an actor is new theater buildings that have shot about $250 a month, slightly more side can be used as part of the tape recordings made during the up over the country. In .urku along than t.hat of a school teacher. stage. war. the southwest coast. In Kuopio in although the better actors receive Several different plays. all of And what of the future of theater which require a nature setting, have in Finland? Apparentiy as bright the Interior of Finland. InJHelsinkb consIderably mor~. scheduled for completion this fall is This reponer saw the Finnish been performed at the theater. but as ever. a new $10 million theater. And In version of West Side Story· and can the most popular by far has been Television and the new prosperity Tampere. the Tampere Theatre, attest to the high qUality of perfor­ the stage adaptation of Finnish. of people have cut into attendance founded In 19M, has designs on a mance, even though the entire score writer Vaino Linna's novel. The somewhat, says Mr. Lehtonen. new building. was in the impossibly-difficult Fin­ Unknown Soldier. "They are not so imponant. but The theater of Finland traces its nish language. The acting was The production has played to about they leave an im(:act. origin to long before the nation be­ superb, and the recreation of the 300,000 persons over six summers. "More importantly," he con­ came independent in 1907. It began Pueno Rican section of New York LInna himself lives within easy tinues. "the whole world has awak­ when the Finns- for nearly 700 was realistic, replete (with a be­ walking distance of the theatre. ened to social problems. People years under Swedi"h rule and then fuddled) Officer Krupke. His novel. published In 1954, des­ are interested in these problems. for more than 100 ye?rs under About 60 per cent of the works cribes Finland's struggle against anc;l happily the theater today is Russia- began groping for their produced in Finland are impons. the Soviet Union during 1941-44. The dealing with them:' own national conscience more than Sixteen pel' cent are British. 14 emphasis, however, is not so much "The form of the plays must be a century ago. per cent American ("WillIams and on the war as on the conduct of interesting too. It must be of a The most prominent early Miller are probably the most popu­ the Finnish soldit"r. documentary type-but not didac­ dramatist was Aleksis Kivi (1834- lar American Playwrights:' says BeSides the airplane. other au­ !lc. Real-life, you might say:' 72). who in 1864 published the pre­ Mr. Lehtonen). 11 per cent French, thentic props include trenches, Yes, you might say, real-Ilfe••• mier Finnish commedy.Cobblers on 4 per cent Russian and 3 per cent graves of soldiers and tanks. Sounds on the stage - for that's where· the Heath His biblical arama,l.ea, from other Scandinavian Countries. of actual combat are provided from many Finns find and experience it~ heralded the binh of the Finnish Perhaps another reason for the theater. popularity of the theater in Finland The real story of the Finnish is that it is state subSidized. Since theater. however. is found more in 1860 municipalities and the state Finns as performers than play­ hav!;' provided about 60 per cent of wrights. the revenue. Thus, ticket prices Each year the cunain goes up on are kept nominal. more than 20.000 performances. Productions, however, are chosen They range from Tampere Theater's by each theatrical group. box-office smash, lJest Side Story, Also prominent in Finland'sthea­ to the Helsinki Student Theater's trical scene are numerous "work­ presentation of Jack Gelber's dif­ ers' theaters." Born during the ficult, ·111 e Connection., a plotless labor movement. they have provided play about drug addiction. an outlet for social realism. About the stuaents' struggle with When inquiring which city offers Til,. Connection, Director Otso the best theater, the visitor en­ Appelqvist wrote: counters vociferous loyalties. Hel­ "The material of The Connection sinki. the nation's capital with about goes much funher than the <lope, 600.000 inhabitants, is generally much funher into reality ••• We tried conceded the top rung. to render what we considered im­ But the residents of Tampere, the ponant in the play by creating second largest city about 100 miles processes of drug addict behavior, nonhwest of Helsinki, argue "we the same way Gelber had intended try harder:' in the Unitetj States. Centainly the Tamperites present "We did not attempt to master a a strong case. especially to this pre-arranged set of movements, panisan observer who has spent memorized lines. etc., as is usually the past eight months. often as a the point of theater rehearsals: we theater-goer, in Tampere.