Tarina Taajamasta - a small town story

Tarina Taajamasta - A Small Town Story is a play about home and roots. It tells the stories of three small town dwellers whose lives are grounded deep in the soil of their beloved home town, but who are suddenly faced with a burning question: should I stay or should I go? Am I better off staying where I have lived my whole life, or would I be happier somewhere else?

homecoming

Tarina Taajamasta - A Small Town Story carries a strong personal meaning for me: it was my first ever work as a professional actor, my first full-length solo performance, and first play that I wrote. It is also an homage to my own home and roots. Coming from a small town in Northern Finland, I attempted to depict the experiences of growing up in a Finnish countryside and how that has shaped me as a person. Homecoming spiritually as well as literally, the play was produced and performed in my hometown the summer after my graduation in 2021.

generational experiences

Tarina Taajamasta - A Small Town Story revolves around three men of different generations. They come from the same place, yet all have a very different stance toward their beloved hometown. A 16-year old boy desperately wants move away and get out of the claustrophobic small town community. A 30-year old guy returns in search of a simpler life, while an old geezer wonders if his life would have been better living somewhere else.

Through these characters I attempted to dissect how the countryside life has changed during the past decades and what kind of a worldview does it give to a person. How does an internet-era teenager experience life in a remote country town compared to a 70-year old resident who still gets his news exclusively from the local newspaper?

Local issues

Apart from the three protagonists, one of the characters of the play is the titular town. The play draws its inspiration from the idiosyncrasies of small town communities, where everyone knows each other by name and a stray dog can cause a town wide scandal. While the endless bickering in the local Facebook-group over the deteriorating facade of the town hall or overly noisy mopeds of teenagers might seem absurd for outsiders, it also tells that people care about the place they have chosen to live in and call home.

Making fun of the quirks of small town communities resonated well with the audience. At the end of the summer the performance had sold over 700 tickets, which I consider a success for my first work as a professional theatre maker. Apart from the experience of performing for an actual, paying audience, the production was a comprehensive lesson in theatre making. From writing to acting to various production tasks like marketing, fundraising and social media promotion, Tarina Taajamasta - A Small Town Story accumulated a lot of know-how to work as an independent artist in the future.

Production details

Tarina Taajamasta - A Small Town Story

Written, produced and performed by: Karri Karjalainen

Director: Jonne Suopajärvi

Graphic design: Minna Koponen

Photography: Jonne Suopajärvi

Sound design: Antti Lindholm

Choreography: Johanna Keiski

Show tech: Anna Karjalainen, Nuutti Karhu, Antti Lindholm

Performed over twelve shows on 9.7.–1.8.2021 at Ahmalan kesäteatteri, Vaala Finland, with two additional shows in Rovaniemi Finland on 27.–28.7.2021. The play was produced with the help of Oulujokilaakson Näyttämöyhdistys ry.