40 years old | When the theater manager Susanna Airaksinen takes a break, she becomes the guitarist of a surf band

“No hell, it’s a dog’s business!”

A few years ago, the mere thought of a theater manager’s job got the director and dramaturg excited Susanna Airaksisen to improve.

“With constantly dwindling resources, we have to do more and better. Under no circumstances do I ever want to do that,” Airaksinen thought at the time.

Now, however, he is sitting in the lobby of Helsinki’s Kom theater in the role of the big boss. It will soon be a year as an artistic director. Airaksinen admits that he was surprised himself that he applied for laundry at all, and later on how much he enjoyed the job.

When A couple of years ago, Airaksinen worked as a director as a substitute lecturer at Teatterikorkea, he was offered the opportunity to participate in leadership studies. The experience was inspiring and eye-opening.

“I read a lot about it and realized that this kind of management is incredibly interesting.”

Airaksinen sees plenty of room for development in the management culture of the theater industry.

“In our field, there are still quite a lot of echoes of the charismatic leader, where it is imagined that the innate qualities of one person can save the entire community,” he says.

“I am fascinated by more modern post-heroic thinking, where one person’s personal qualities do not decide the result, but how community processes and mutual communication succeed.”

One of his goals is also to improve the working methods of the industry.

“If greatness is required of a leader in this field, a lot is also required of oneself. It involves the idea that this [ammatin] it should take all the time.”

Originally from Turku Airaksinen wants to make sure that there is more to his life than the theater bubble. That’s why he also protects relationships with his friends in different fields.

When Airaksinen makes a free throw, he becomes the musician character Scary Lou. Then he puts on a wig, sunglasses on his eyes, a guitar on his shoulder and goes to gigs in completely different circles than theater circles.

“I have a weird dark surf band like The Horribly Ones,” says Airaksinen.

The English name of the genre is Horror surf.

The four-piece band performs mainly at rockabilly events, because in Finland, according to Airaksinen, surf music belongs to the fringes of the fringes, unlike in the rest of the world.

The band plays surf loaded with camp horror in a serious but not serious way.

“Because no one wants to make a career with the band, it’s suddenly terribly liberating. The genre is heavily associated with humor, but it’s not a joke. Although usually before the gig we laugh and say to each other that ‘grown-up people’.”

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“It’s suddenly terribly liberating.”

In the year The work of Airaknisen, who graduated as a director in 2017, has been seen in, for example, Helsinki City Theater and Turku City Theatre.

Next spring, it’s time for the first direction on Komi’s stage. He doesn’t say much about the subject of the play yet, but it’s a long-term dream anyway.

“It combines something from your own taste and sense of humor with something similar, which you see quite a lot these days and which makes the current situation wild,” says Airaksinen.

He is working on a script Rosa-Maria Perän with.

“Something universal, topical, personal and really fun aesthetics is coming. We’ve been here for a couple of days giggling, even though we’re not doing any actual comedy.”

Sometime in the future, Airaksinen would also like to do a show with real horses. Hevosilta Airaksinen believes he received his greatest leadership lessons.

“When communicating with them, you have to be terribly honest, clear, fair, have good self-esteem and know how to listen.”

In Airaksinen’s opinion, every manager should practice those skills.

Presently Kom theater is preparing for the future, which is darkened by the government’s cuts to the cultural sector. However, preparation is extremely difficult when there is no information about next year’s funding.

“The topic is difficult, and it’s tiring to talk about it when the facts don’t matter anymore. Decision-making is based on emotions, even hysterical, also the kind of thinking that you just have to cut the culture, because you can’t afford it.”

According to Airaksinen, the cuts will not bring savings, but their effects will immediately affect jobs. The government hasn’t done any kind of impact assessment, says Airaksinen.

“The fact that we have to talk about it all the time makes us look stupid and as if we spend an awful lot of money. Even if all theaters in Finland were to be closed down, it would not save Finland’s war.”

What would you like to say to your 20-year-old self?

“Everything you’re doing is right now.”