Maarit Kalmakurki, director and costume designer of Viidakkokirja: On the stage we see a rich jungle world and many different animal characters

The staging and costumes for the play were designed by Maarit Kalmakurki, already familiar to the people of Imatra from the visual look of Around the World in 2017 Days, which was presented in 80. Rehearsals for the play started on Monday 11.11. and for the visual appearance, the Actors were given a scale model and costume sketches to see. 

The design of Viidakkokirja is a great and challenging job for Kalmakurje, because the production is one of the biggest that Imatra has done so far. The musical is also a Nordic premiere.

- In Viidakkokirja we see a rich jungle world and many different animal characters. Costume design for animals is always meaningful when you get to think about how a person transforms into a particular animal. Great new elements are being built on the theater's stage, so the audience will definitely not be disappointed, he says Maarit Kalmakurki. 

"Designing the characters has taken my heart completely."

Maarit Kalmakurki graduated as a clothing designer from England fifteen years ago. She graduated with a master's degree in art from Aalto University in 2013 from the costume design training program. Over the years, Maarit Kalmakurki has designed numerous sets and costumes for various theaters around Finland. There are also several children's plays. 

- Children are a critical audience, so doing it for them is really demanding. When designing for children, on the other hand, you can use more imagination, but they may already have a ready-made image of the character, so it's a big disappointment if the character doesn't match the original, says Kalmakurki. 

- These theater works are wonderful snacks during the research vacation, I couldn't imagine doing only research.

Dissertation researcher on costume design for animated films

Maarit is currently preparing a dissertation for Aalto University on the subject of costume design for computer animation films. He has collected his dissertation material in Los Angeles at UCLA University. 

- Costume design for animated films combines two different fields, costume design and animation. In my dissertation, I researched how character costume design works for digital, because making animated films is different from making a regular film, says Kalmakurki. 

Maarit Kalmakurje's studies have also been noticed around the world, as they are mentioned in the latest Disney publication and at the end of October the New York Times published of the article, which cited the study.

- It was nice to come back here to Imatra, I already knew the house and the people. It's always nice to be asked again and it's wonderful to work here, concludes Kalmakurki. 

The premiere of The Jungle Book is February 8.2.2020, XNUMX.

For more information: 
Set designer/costume designer Maarit Kalmakurki, Kalmakurkigmail.com (kalmakurki[at]gmail[dot]com)
Theater director Timo Rissanen, tel. 020 617 6645, timo.rissanenimatra.fi (timo[dot]rissanen[at]imatra[dot]fi)