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| Striking 12, Helsingin kaupunginteatteri 2011. |
Åbo Svenska Teater, Helsingin kaupunginteatteri, directing, winning a musical theatre prize… Samuel Harjanne has been busy lately. At the moment, Harjanne, known for his dubbing and musical roles, is performing in Wasa Teater’s Next to Normal.
“Wasa Teater is nice, but as a town, Vaasa isn’t one of the most interesting ones. I like a bit bigger cities. But you go anywhere for an interesting job. We have a lovely team, and Next to Normal is a good musical.”
24-year-old Harjanne has been performing for soon fifteen years. He’s done lots during his career, from a singing competition for children to directing musicals.
Before musicals, there was opera. Harjanne’s career started in a children’s choir. Via the choir, he got a part in The Magic Flute and ended up singing in Finland’s National Opera. But getting the part of Gavroche in Helsingin kaupunginteatteri’s 1999 production of Les Misérables was a turning point for him.
“After performing in the National Opera, I knew I liked operas a lot. Then Les Misérables auditions happened. I got in – and had a revelation. Theatre can be like this? Classical music is great, but pop and rock speak to me on a completely different level. Ever since, musical theatre has been really important to me.”
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| Next to Normal, Wasa Teater 2012. With Mikaela Tidermark. |
Harjanne has acted in shows like Helsingin kaupunginteatteri’s High School Musicals and Spring Awakening, not to mention his countless Finnish dubbing roles in animated movies. However, during the last year, Harjanne has acted in two Swedish-speaking musicals. Two of the musicals he’s directed have also been, at least partially, in Swedish.
So, it’s surprising to hear Harjanne was not interested in the language at school. Actually, he says he hated it. He’s learned Swedish during the past few years.
In 2009, Harjanne was asked to direct the musical The Wedding Singer, in Swedish. He said that no way, you’ve called the wrong person, I can’t speak Swedish – and agreed to do the project nevertheless. He’d use English.
Around the same time, colleague Sören Lillkung told Harjanne to audition for Les Misérables again, this time in Åbo Svenska Teater. Harjanne was again skeptical, but agreed to try his luck.
”I sung Empty Chairs at Empty Tables and Your Song. Your Song is a pretty long tune, but I got to sing the whole thing… while director Georg Malvius was staring out of the window. I thought that I sucked. But soon, Malvius called me. I got the part of Feuilly and the understudy for Enjolras. The catch was that I should be able to understand the direction in Swedish.”
With two Swedish projects in sight, Harjanne started learning the language. He took lessons and told the fellow cast members to talk to him in Swedish.
“It made me very quiet. I’m usually very social, but I couldn’t keep up with the Swedish conversation.”
However, Harjanne’s language skills developed. After Les Mis, he was asked to do Next to Normal in Vaasa. The theatrical production company Polar Illusions, which Harjanne is the Head of Arts of, has also helped. The company put up a bilingual Finnish/Swedish production of Disney’s Aladdin last summer.
“The Swedish language has jumped into my life, and I’m glad about that. Nowadays I can have discussions in Swedish, and that’s amazing!”
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| Spring Awakening, Helsingin kaupunginteatteri 2009. With Teemu Mustonen. |
When asked about his most embarrassing moment onstage… There isn’t one, really. Harjanne says he doesn’t get embarrassed easily.
“A blooper is a gift, that’s my advice about acting. But well, in Next to Normal once, I said complete nonsense instead of my line. Since I don’t have improvisation skills in Swedish… Luckily, Mikaela Tidermark just kept going. That was difficult. But usually, I don’t get embarrassed. Some people think it’s embarrassing if you stumble onstage. I think it’s just a part of the act.”
Harjanne has acted in one of the most famous musicals based on a book, Les Misérables. Next, he will be tackling an ensemble part in Jekyll & Hyde. Has he read the books the shows are based on?
“I started reading Les Misérables after playing Gavroche, but I never finished it. When I read books, my imagination starts flying… Then I notice ten pages have passed and I don’t know what has happened. It’s annoying. Maybe I’ll read Jekyll and Hyde, though!”
Harjanne thinks musicals and books are very different, so going by the original book isn’t a priority for him.
“When creating a character, I first think how I see the character myself. Then I find out what other people think. The most important thing is how the other characters in the script react to the character. So, I’m not interested in how the character is portrayed in the book. The director’s vision may differ from that. In a worst-case scenario, the facts from the book just mess with you.”
How about favourite roles? Harjanne mentions dubbing the title character of The Adventures of Tintin.
“It was really interesting, such a great role. I read the comics a lot as a kid. I outdid myself so many times while I was acting the part.”
When it comes to onstage parts:
“Enjolras is an interesting role to do. He’s a lot like me, I’m a leader type of a person too. And passionate. But I also liked Spring Awakening, High School Musical… All my roles, actually. Henry, the role I’m doing now, is maybe the least colourful one I’ve done. He’s pretty much only a support to his girlfriend. Then again, he’s the only positive character in the whole show.”
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| Next to Normal, Wasa Teater 2012. Again with Mikaela Tidermark. |
Harjanne has done so many dubs and musicals that one might imagine he never sleeps. He admits that he does lots of work. If he has free time, he spends it by playing badminton, watching movies – and going to the theatre. Traveling is also important to him.
“I leave the country whenever I can. It’s amazing just to relax.”
Next to Normal will close in December. After that, as mentioned, Harjanne will be seen onstage at Turun kaupunginteatteri's production of Jekyll & Hyde. He’s a part of the show's ensemble and understudy for Riku Nieminen, who plays the titular part.
“It’s nice to do an ensemble role again. Many think a main role is better than ensemble, but that’s silly. Without ensemble, the piece doesn’t work. As for the title role, I figure I’m very young for the part. But it’s amazing to study such a huge role at this age. I will learn a lot. I haven’t got time to go to schools right now, so this is the way I learn.”
Polar Illusions will stay an important part of Harjanne’s life. There are lots of plans. For example, they’re working on doing Aladdin in some other country than Finland. Harjanne wouldn’t say no to working in foreign countries in other projects, either.
Jekyll & Hyde, then, will only employ Harjanne for a limited time. The production will go on for a longer time, but Harjanne leaves Turku after the spring’s last performance. He won’t yet reveal what he’s going to do after that.
But the grand plan for the future is clear:
“I know I will work with musical theatre all my life.”
Photos by Ville Akseli Juurikkala and Frank A. Unger. I tried taking my own – and of course messed royally with the camera, ending up with only lots of blur. Boo.
Related: my reviews about Striking 12, Aladdin, WT Next to Normal.
I've also published a version of this interview in Finnish.
Wow, that sounds like such a cool experience for you. And wow, he seems like a really driven guy. Very inspiring. And he's younger than I am. I'm going to go cry.
ReplyDeleteAnd hahaha... the same thing happens to me when I read.
It was pretty exciting – it was the first interview I've ever done in person, after all! :D But please, don't cry...
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