Orange Alert

Sari used to have a good job. Or at least, this is what everyone thought, not knowing the stress it brought.

Now, she has had enough of it and armed with doctor’s orders, with friends and family’s orders, and with that voice in her head screaming “What the hell were you doing?!” orders, Sari moves to a new business opportunity, one that promises calm and stability.

We all see it, right? We can all see the big neon letters “it’s a trap” written all over it. Even Sari’s dog Banksy, sitting…

Yes! Banksy! We finally found who Banksy is!

Sorry…

… even Sari’s dog Banksy, sitting next to her new work outfit, can see it and reluctantly joins the chorus in her head: “What the hell are you doing, Sari?!”

If you want to find out what Sari is doing, today is your last chance. Annamari Lattunen portrays her in the short play “Pauper’s Winter” as part of the Stray Seasons programme. Our final, matinée performance begins at 4:00pm. There’s still a chance to reserve your seat via: https://forms.gle/bZHAxddmcrP5rVm78

Another battle-hardened warrior joins the company of poets performing in Stray Seasons. Meet Leah Martin!

Marge Piercy once told her she was like the girl with a curl in that Longfellow poem. She said, “When you’re good, Leah, you’re really, really good. But when you’re bad, you’re oh so bad.”

Leah is a poet and an improviser who combines those two lines of art in a masterful performance. Leah plays at badness— crossing over caution tape that marks and mars culture. Her work is both a prayer and a permission-slip, as her poems pluck the pesky hairs of daily life and nest between and beyond the familiar.

Leah’s set within Stray Seasons originates from her participation in collaborative projects of the Helsinki Writers Group, of which she is a member. With strong Nature and personal themes, her pieces offer a range of emotions, from desperation to joy and understanding. They might even make you giggle.

You can enjoy Leah’s performance tonight at Rauhanasema, or have a last chance to see the show on Sunday, November 19th.
To reserve your seat, please use this form: https://forms.gle/bZHAxddmcrP5rVm78

One of the core acts within the programme of Stray Seasons is the performance by Veriprikaati, The Red Rebel Brigade of Finland.

The Red Rebel Brigade concept is a form of invisible theatre originally developed for Extinction Rebellion by British artists Doug Francisco and Justine Squire. The Brigade is performed by Extinction Rebellion around the world and recalls the global environmental crisis and the mass extinction of species. Their bright red clothes symbolize the blood that unites humans and all other species on our shared planet. The members of the Brigade move in unison, reminding us that we are all connected to each other on this planet.

The latest action of Veriprikaati is their support of the activists working to protect what’s left of the beautiful Stansvik forest in Helsinki. The struggle for Stansvik has been going on for 20 years. Activists have achieved a victory as the felling of trees in Stansvik has been stopped, at least temporarily. Veriprikaati will bring vestiges of this struggle to show during their performance in Stray Seasons.

You can see them in three more shows, the next of which is on Thursday, 16th of November.
Reserve your seat via this form: https://forms.gle/bZHAxddmcrP5rVm78

Photo by Satu Söderholm.

Welcome to Siikalahti Nature Reserve. Here, the waters and forests of Eastern Finland join to create beautiful scenery and the perfect environment for migratory birds and for birdwatchers.

Sari, one of the heroes in this story, comes to Siikalahti in hope to trade her stressful job in the city for something more relaxing. Something closer to nature. Little does she know that nature has decided to withhold one major component of Sari’s business plans and thus deny the chance for any relaxation.

Low on hope and options, Sari encounters a mysterious wanderer – Risto. Maybe he will bring more insight into this upsetting situation. Maybe his cheeky remarks will be the last nails in the coffin of Sari’s sanity. Or just maybe, sanity or not, he’s the only escape Sari has got?

If you want to find out how Risto and Sari will manage with this predicament, and with each other, come and see “Pauper’s Winter”, a short play within the programme of Stray Seasons. John Leo and Annamari Lattunen bring the characters of Risto and Sari to life. Vladislav Nenchev is the playwright and director behind the play.

Stray Seasons premieres on 14th of November, Tuesday, with three more shows following on 16th, 17th, and 19th of November.
To reserve your seat in advance, please fill in this form: https://forms.gle/bZHAxddmcrP5rVm78

A face that you’re going to see a lot during Stray Seasons is that of John Leo. Except… in a couple of occasions when his face is going to be behind a mask…

John Leo is a veteran both as a Thespian and as a performance poet. He is joining the show in both capacities, bringing three of his nature-based poems and a monologue inspired by Carl Sagan’s fabled “Pale Blue Dot”. His work, as usual, is full of beautiful imagery, references to great poets and artists, and masterfully crafted words, woven like a forest ivy and cascading like a mountain river.

John also appears in a short play as Risto who, just as the real person behind this role, is a great friend of nature.

“I performed some of my own poems in the first Orange Alert programme in 2021 and am looking forward to presenting more of my poetry for Stray Seasons. I’ll also be acting with Annamari Lattunen in Vladislav Nenchev’s intriguing Pauper’s Winter, a short play about birds - without birds!”, shares John.

The first show in which you can see John Leo is on 14th of November. Three more shows follow later that week, all at Rauhanasema.
To reserve your seat, please use this form: https://forms.gle/bZHAxddmcrP5rVm78

As the weather of today shifts more and more beyond regular patterns, so does the programme of Stray Seasons. From show to show, there will be changes – some acts will come, then go, then come again. Others will be like a lightning – gone before you know it.

Here is our up-to-date forecast for the weather of Stray Seasons, so that you can plan your visit best:

Diliana Stoyanova, the 2023 Finnish poetry slam champion, performs her masterful work in two of Stray Seasons’ shows. Her poetry, full of visions of a world beyond humans, will sweep us away like a gale on Tuesday, November 14th, and on Friday, November 17th.

The winds will blow the other way on Thursday, 16th of November, when Taru Salmenkari and Noora Ojala will appear on stage to present Helsinki Climate Quiz and help us navigate a future with rising sea levels. This is their only performance within Stray Seasons.

The forecast for Sunday, November 19th, features heavy precipitation of music. Only on this date, Tony Shaw plays his short musical meditation “Activator”, and the unorthodox Perkkamania will perform a rendition of Jack Savoretti’s “Not Worthy”.

“The Pool” is a short play on the water situation in Kurdistan, Iraq, written by Kashnas Mahdi and Jessica Calonius, additionally starring Johan Bolin and Sanjay Shrestha. It will freshen us on each night, except in the opening show on Tuesday, 14th of November, when the temperature will be too hot for any pools to remain.

Linnut (The Birds) is a performance group that came into being for the demonstration to save Matokallio woods. As with birds in nature, the irregular weather makes it harder and harder to predict when their artistic counterparts will appear on stage. We know they are coming eventually… but at what time precisely?

Stray Seasons opens on Tuesday, 14th of November, at Rauhanasema.
Remember to reserve your seat via this form: https://forms.gle/bZHAxddmcrP5rVm78

“Helsinki Climate Quiz” is one of the special performances in the programme of Stray Seasons. Here is what its masterminds, Taru Salmenkari and Noora Ojala, share about the agency behind this act:

“Travel agency Sea & Shore holds a quiz show about how to get the best out of Helsinki before the sea level rise threatens to disrupt your travel plans. Are you sure you know what to see soon and what you can leave for later days? After the quiz you will know. Travel guides Taru Salmenkari and Noora Ojala will be your quiz show hosts.”

To know more about Sea & Shore travel agency, check out the following links:
https://uudetihmiset.weebly.com
https://seaandshoreagency.wixsite.com/seaandshore/

Photo by Noora Ojala.

“Helsinki Climate Quiz” appears in only one show – on Thursday, November 16. So, be sure not to miss it and to reserve your seat via this form: https://forms.gle/bZHAxddmcrP5rVm78
For further information about the show, follow its Facebook event.

Change is the only constant of life. Change of time, change of moods and minds, change of the weather and in our environment. Change of nature. Within and without.

Ever since our origins, banding together in small tribes, way before civilization was invented, we've been reluctant gamblers in this game of change. We place our bets, and lives in fact, and the roulette wheel of nature spins. Will it land on a warm summer, on a lightning to run away from, on a bountiful autumn or the horrors of wildfire, or just on the beautiful mantle the land puts on in winter. We never know in advance and can only be grateful when all ends well.

With the change of time, however, so do we. Our civilization grows, we know more, or at least we think we do. Our ego grows, as well, and so we no longer just bet and hope. We push and pull the wheel ourselves.

Let us gather and contemplate this wheel of nature and climate. Let’s think of the grip we have on it. Us, artists and activists and audience, pundits and... just people who wonder what the heck is going on. Let's enjoy a couple of hours of poems, and songs, and stories, and perchance have a chat about what to do. Push? …or pull?

Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen. Are you ready?

Join us in Stray Seasons. Premiere is on 14th of November at Rauhanasema.
To reserve your seat, please use this form: https://forms.gle/bZHAxddmcrP5rVm78
You can follow us in our endeavours via this page or the Facebook event for the show.

GAP CREATIVES DATABASE MEMBERS NEWS: "Stray Seasons": A Climate Reality Show

In two short weeks, "Stray Seasons" opens at the historic Rauhanasema (Peace Station). "Stray Seasons" is a show that combines various performance arts, from music and poetry to spoken word and theatre. The line-up features the Finnish champion of Poetry Slam for 2023, prominent actors and troupes from Helsinki's amateur theatre stage, and multiple artists that perform across genres, some of which are involved in peace and climate activism. The show aims to raise awareness and provoke reflection on the ongoing climate crisis, and in particular on the disruption of familiar seasons and weather patterns. With climate change being widely recognized as a threat to international peace and security, we hope that "Stray Seasons" will support the efforts to reverse global warming, and will be a small step in the direction of a brighter and more secure future.

Attendance is completely FREE OF CHARGE. Also, free snacks and refreshments will be available during the intermission. In order to guarantee your seat, please reserve it in advance via the form provided below. In case of limited space, audience members with reservations will have priority.

Venue: Rauhanasema, Veturitori 3, 00520 Helsinki
Price: Free
Seat registration: https://forms.gle/bZHAxddmcrP5rVm78
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1012663636603774/
Language: English

FEATURING
POETRY by John Leo, Saara Kahra, Mira Berglund-Fitzpatrick, and Diliana Stoyanova
SONGS & MUSIC by Tony Shaw, Mira Berglund-Fitzpatrick, and John Millar
MONOLOGUES & SKETCHES by Baida Embarec Rahal, Jessica Calonius & Kashnas Mahdi, Vladislav Nenchev, Taru Salmenkari & Noora Ojala, Bane Đakovic & Olga Zamurović
STARRING Jessica Calonius, Taru Salmenkari, Noora Ojala, John Leo, Annamari Lattunen, Bane Đakovic, Olga Zamurović, Johan Bolin, Sanjay Shrestha
IMPROV THEATRE by Loud Visual
SPECIAL APPEARANCES by Veriprikaati & Linnut
NARRATION by David Rogers

PRODUCED by
The Orange Alert Crew (Jessica Calonius, David Rogers & Vladislav Nenchev)

For more detailed information about the various pieces, please follow the posts on the page of the organizers:
https://www.facebook.com/people/Orange-Alert/61551499635572/

PERFORMANCES:
Tuesday, 14 November 2023, 19:00
Thursday, 16 November 2023, 19:00
Friday, 17 November 2023, 19:00
Sunday, 19 November 2023, 16:00

The show will consist of two acts, about one hour each, separated by a 15-minute interval. The doors will be open 30 minutes before the start. Please arrive in good time, as the welcome desk will close after the show begins.

“Stray Seasons” opens in two short weeks. So, here we start our journey with the cast and the people behind the show. There’s no better choice for our first encounter, than the Master of Ceremonies, David Rogers. Here is an opening salvo from our MC:

“Stray Seasons is an English language production that ranges from live music and poetry to spoken word, short plays and an improv performance. The line-up features the Finnish champion of Poetry Slam for 2023 as well as other artists, some of whom are involved in peace and climate activism. In a nutshell, Stray Seasons aims to raise awareness and provoke reflection on the ongoing climate and biodiversity crisis, and in particular on the disruption of familiar seasons and weather patterns. It will be my pleasure to host the show and introduce each of the performers.

The show is free of charge and all performers will appear on a voluntary basis. Since seating capacity at the Peace Station is limited, we urge you to pre-register by using the attached link. Seating preference will be given to those who have pre-registered. Your cooperation in pre-registering will also help us in setting up the room and arranging for light refreshments during intermission."

To reserve your seat, please fill in this form: https://forms.gle/bZHAxddmcrP5rVm78
For further information, follow the Orange Alert page and the Facebook event for the show: https://www.facebook.com/events/1012663636603774/