In October and November 2017, the first Belltable:Connect Professional Theatre Artist International Exchange took place. This year we partnered with the Irish Festival of Oulu. Mags O’Donoghue spent two weeks working in Finland and we welcomed Anna-Kaisa Kvist to Belltable.
The Irish Festival of Oulu is the northernmost Irish festival in the world. It has taken its place as the main event of the northern countries presenting Irish culture in its various forms from music and dance, poetry and theatre and much more. The Festival has reached great success during the past eleven years.
Anna-Kaisa Kvist is a Finnish theatre instructor. She studied in the University of Applied Sciences in Kokkola, Finland, and spent a semester in exchange at the Music and Theatre Academy in Vilnius, Lithuania, studying physical theatre. Since gratuating in 2010 she has worked in 8 cities in Finland, including Kokkola, Taivalkoski and Oulu, her current home. In her theatre career she has been involved in over 50 productions as a director, actor, singer, producer and choreographer – just to name a few roles! She has also worked as a drama teacher in different schools and institutes. She has also written two plays performed at the Oulu Student Theatre, and is always hatching a few new ideas. Anna-Kaisa uses her maiden name Kettunen in her theatre and music work.