“I Really Believe Theater Has a Special Power to Heal”, Liuski Celebrates Her 5-Year-Old Journey With BroadwayWorld

Recently Rosanna Ilo Liuski celebrated her 5th year on BroadwayWorld. This interview provides an insightful look into her journey: from her desire to direct The Prince of Egypt where "people could feel God's presence", as well as an erotic and expressive version of Rocky Horror Show with LGBTQI+ cast. We also find out how the legendary actor Seela Sella welcomed her to the theatre field and why a reader from America contacted her on Messenger.

You've been writing about performing arts for half a decade: 102 articles and over 200,000 views in total, how does it feel?

I feel really proud: it's quite a number! Theater and all performing arts are so meaningful to me that none of this feels like work, but a joy and an honor. Unofrtunately when I started my studies as a physiotherapist, it has kept me busy and decreased my ability to write frequently. I haven’t seen all the shows I would have wanted. Nevertheless I’m very proud of these views, I have worked very hard.

More so I’ve heard that many professionals on the field like sharing my articles, which is amazing. I tend to forget it. 

Howdid you end up as a reviewer for us in the first place?

Back in 2018 I saw an Instagram ad that said "Would you like to receive free theatre tickets in your area?” I was sure it was a scam, but after emailing with Alan Henry it all turned out great. I had to submit a review example and through that I got selected to be part of BroadwayWorld as Finland’s admin.

In your physiotherapy studies you’ve also tried to specialize in performers’ rehabilitation, how has that gone?

I’ve been very lucky to get to do physiotherapy internships in Helsinki City theater last Winter and in The University of the Arts last Spring. In both places I got to rehab actors, but also craftspeople like tailors and visual artists. From there I’ve gotten a lot of manual practice, which I prefer as a physiotherapist. Muscle energy technique is one of my favorites to use, as well as trigger point technique. Now my final internship is at the Finnish National Opera and Ballet, which has been great so far!

Let’s dive into your past. What was your theater experience before BroadwayWorld?

I’ve always been drawn to the performing arts. I remember the shows we went to see in school very vividly.

One of the first shows I remember seeing in kindergarten was Hiawatha - it told the story of a Native American boy. I’ve tried to google if it was done by any puppet theater companies somewhere around 2002 but I haven’t found any data. I remember very well how there was a big doll twice the size of the puppeteer. That was intense for a 5-year-old Rosanna. 

At the age of 12 I joined Hyökyvuori Theater’s Youth Club. I was there for four years and on the fifth year I scripted and directed a performance. It included running the club itself for the new members. It was very fun and I probably got the itch to be a director from there, though at 16-year-old I still yearned to become an actor.

Kallio upper secondary school Of Performing Arts was a great place to grow into a budding artist. In 2015 we had a collaboration with the National Theater and through auditions I got a part in Nadia Sumanen’s Rambo, directed by Elina Kilkku. That was very meaningful to me. I got to spend time in the National Theatre's staff restaurant and took part in their annual Christmas party where I met some of my idols.

Later in 2019 I also played the leading role Eva in Tiina Brännare’s SKAM theatre adaption. The theatre version was previously only done in Denmark. The way Brännare directed made me want to pursue directing rather than acting. 

What are some of your current dreams?
One of them is to get into Helsinki’s Theatre Academy to study directing. This spring I applied and got into the 2nd phase where 30 were selected from 171 applicants. Though I got no further I am very proud of that milestone and the comprehensible feedback I got. I may also apply to study dramaturgy because in the future I see myself both directing and writing my own plays.

As a future director (*knock on wood*) a dream of mine would be to direct the Rocky Horror Show. The adaptations I've seen online and also the Finnish versions I've tried to research have either put emphasis on the comedy side or the musical side. I would put emphasis on the erotical side and their expressions and if possible cast mainly LGBTQIA+ people!

Some other shows that have been on my bucket list a little longer are: War Horse, Newsies and the Prince of Egypt.

The Prince of Egypt one is tricky because people mutter online that the script somehow "leaves God out" or that God is protried jokingly. I'd do the opposite so that people could really feel God's presence through the performance: if not in a religious sense then through a historic sense. How it would have truly felt when the red sea was parted for example? What is the true power of a generational story? It should be multi-sensory experience to say the least, not just a "Show".

I really believe theater has a special power to heal. When you watch a performance you mentally put yourself into others' shoes and get to experience your emotions symbolically through something or someone else. It's healing in a social, cultural and psychological sense — also in a physiological sense if the performance is multisensory.

Sometimes I am afraid of how many times more I have to apply for the Academy, but at least I have another profession to work with in the meantime. I’ve discussed with people who have applied several times and they wish they would have studied something else. Maybe in the long run we all feel that we’d want something else than what we have

I tend to forget where I'm already standing. I am very happy of all the connections I've made through being a journalist here on BroadwayWorld and that I've gained some acknowledgement already amongst theatre professionals. For example many theaters follow me on social media and I'm friends on Facebook with many theatre professionals. I’m really proud of my hard work but I’m still learning that sometimes I should just stop and be grateful of all the things I’ve already achieved.

Do you have any special memories from the past 5 years with us?

A jovially odd one is when someone had sent me a video message on Facebook Messenger. It happened to be a random guy from America who on the video said "Hi, I liked your review of Spamalot, here's a song from it" and actually sang a piece and wished a great day. That was a very concrete moment that okay yes, people read my reviews globally. 

Something that really inspired me to keep going was when I did my first interview with Seela Sella and Esko Roine at Tampere’s Theatre in 2019. They rehearsed "the Love letters" and I got to see the rehearsals and interview them after. I asked things like how they deal with disappointments to which Seela laughed and said that only a young journalist could ask such a thing! We also talked about theatre off-record. Afterwards when we all took a picture Seela tapped my shoulders and said: “Welcome to the field!” It felt like an approval and a blessing.

My final story is from 2019 as well. My dad was working as a taxi driver and he picked Heidi Herala from Helsinki City Theatre. I had done a review of their show The Cherry Orchard, directed by Lauri Maijala. On top of that I’d done a long article of Maijala and his methods of directing. My dad began to talk with Heidi, mentioning me and Heidi’s reaction was somewhat like this: “Are you the father of Rosanna Liuski? Ooh, listen! I don’t understand English so well but I tell you, my co-workers and I tried to translate Rosanna’s interview and review through Google Translator and we all wondered who is this girl who writes so well!” 

Her well written articles have and certainly continue to impress us in the future? Rosanna is a very passionate and hard-working young person. We are eager to see where she’ll be in the next 5 years.