FINGO - Vallaton Festival - Dramaturgy

What would the world look like if it were created with the logic of infinite play, instead of continuing the finite game logic that drives us to destroy forests to "win," or where someone else wins the game? Game logic and competition have been at the foundation of colonization, which feels impossible to eradicate. But what if we unlearned control-based thinking and instead learned to approach life as a play, where the only goal is for the play to continue for everyone?

What?

Erika Eva created and designed the dramaturgy and experience rooms, as well as the texts for them, for the Vallaton Festival organized by Fingo. There were five experience rooms that participants could explore freely. Each room contained a text that guided visitors through the task of that room and connected it to the playful theme of the festival.

The Vallaton Festival was produced by Fingo in collaboration with Labra 540, whose Utopia exhibition was also part of the festival. Music for the festival was provided by Lotta Hagfors.

How?

Experience rooms

• Presence Room: Here, participants could relax in the present moment, as play happens only in the now.

• Room of Playful Sounds: In this room, participants could freely make music with various instruments, practicing letting go of control—essential for play.

• Future Building Room: Participants could shape the future using modeling clay and Legos, emphasizing that instead of merely imagining the future, we could practice playing with it now.

• Connection Room: Here, participants could gaze into another's eyes, freeing themselves from the pre-written scripts we often have when meeting people.

• Confession Booth Room: In this booth, participants could acknowledge their uncertainties about the future and express them to a person behind a screen. Letting go of control can lead to uncertainties, and it is important to recognize and process these feelings to enable play.

Purpose

• To awaken thoughts about a different kind of world.

• To introduce a new way of approaching the imagination of the future.

• To be an interactive and engaging festival for all ages.