Alum of the Year Jakob Höglund: Trailblazer in Musical Theatre
Jakob Höglund’s journey from actor to director was a process driven by the discovery of his true calling. Höglund is one of the Uniarts Helsinki Alumni of the Year 2024.
Theatre director Jakob Höglund’s spark for the performing arts was lit in his early years when he experienced the magic of theatre. Even as an adult, Höglund has maintained a childlike way of interpreting stories and creating worlds that resonate with audiences of all ages.
For the past five years, Höglund has been the director of Lilla Teatern under the Helsinki City Theatre. His role involves planning the repertoire and developing the theatre for the long term, but a big chunk of Höglund’s time is spent directing performances.
“Most of my work as a theatre director is artistic, which suits me well. I work in both Swedish and Finnish on large and sometimes smaller productions. It has been nice to see that my naive way of directing works well for adult audiences, too,” he says.
Höglund feels that he has found his calling, but the journey to his current situation was not straightforward. Höglund graduated with a Master of Arts (Theatre and Drama) degree from the Swedish-language acting programme at the Theatre Academy seventeen years ago. He moved to Stockholm for job opportunities but quickly realised that acting was not quite right for him.
It wasn’t until Höglund was given the opportunity to direct his first show, a children’s production of Pinocchio, that the pieces fell into place.
“I was quite a difficult actor because I wanted to make too many decisions. A good actor cares about the play as a whole, of course, but it is also good to just be on stage and listen – not direct your co-actors like I did,” he says.
Ensemble creates the play
Transitioning from actor to director took Höglund three years. At the beginning of his new career, Höglund directed several family plays for the main stage of the Vaasa City Theatre before moving to the city of Turku.
His first plays intended for adult audiences at Åbo Svenska Teater received enthusiastic reception. The Turun Sanomat newspaper headlined that Kalevala and Myrskyluodon Maija catapulted him into the elite of musical directors. For Höglund, success meant new, exciting job opportunities.
“The journey to becoming a director was quite a long process, where the most important part was understanding that I wanted to be a director in the first place. You have to find your calling yourself, no one can teach it to you. And when you find your thing, you also find job opportunities. At least that is what has happened to me,” he says.
For Höglund to get excited about a new project, the story must touch him. When that happens, he creates his own interpretation by combining storytelling with music, movement and visual elements through the principles of ensemble theatre. In this approach, an equal workgroup collaboratively creates the story by building characters, choreography, soundscapes and sets together.
“Spoken theatre doesn’t interest me; I want to see movement on stage. My way of creating theatre is based on everyone being active. When the play is done, the whole workgroup hopefully feels that this is our show, and everyone can stand behind it,” says Höglund.
Puppetry expanded the world
This autumn, Lilla Teatern is staging a musical directed by Höglund, based on Lars von Trier’s film Dancer in the Dark. The show features music composed specifically for it by Danish Marie Højlund. Across the town, The Helsinki City Theatre’s main stage premieres Astrid Lindgren’s classic story, The Brothers Lionheart, a tale that Höglund is familiar with from his childhood.
Seven years ago, Höglund discovered puppetry, which expanded his creative world even further. In The Brothers Lionheart, puppets portray soldiers, making them both dangerous and funny. They were designed by Heini Maaranen, with whom Höglund has collaborated since his time in Turku.
Although Finland has a strong tradition in puppetry, Höglund is concerned about the art form’s future.
“Currently, there is no university-level education for the field in Finland. It would be important to have a master’s programme in the field, which would enable progression to doctoral studies,” he notes.
Apart from improving the status and educational opportunities of puppetry, Höglund also has personal goals. He wants to be more involved in creating new musicals and music theatre works. Höglund is also interested in exploring opportunities within opera in the future.
Defining past highlights of his career is not as easy. Höglund considers each performance and rehearsal to be equally important.
“Making theatre is always difficult, which makes this job so great. You can never become lazy and indifferent. I strive to create an inspiring atmosphere in each and every rehearsal, so we can learn and create something new together. It’s wonderful whenever that happens,” he says.
Text: Laura Iisalo
The selection of the Alumni of the Year is an annual recognition awarded to graduates of the three academies of Uniarts Helsinki. The award honours alumni who have significantly enhanced the unique value and role of arts and artist education in an exemplary manner through their work. The Alumni of the Year 2024 are young creators and professionals who stand out by seeing things differently and discovering new ways and connections for making art.
