Helga Guren & Silje Storstein
Residency presentation

“And then I got older and I had children myself and I loved my children and my parents died and my children got older and they had children and I loved my grandchildren and then I died and on and on it went until the end of time, which was nice (…) On the one hand we have a perfectly normal day like today and on the other hand we have my children and their children and their children’s children on and on forever and ever until the sun burns out and how do these two seemingly opposite things relate to one another (…) Every day I wake up and think: today something will happen. And things do happen. Every day all sorts of things happen. And some things are less disappointing and other things are more disappointing and a few things are even kind of satisfying in their own everyday sort of way but nothing is THE THING that puts it all into perspective, makes all the other things more meaningful than they would otherwise ever be. Nothing is the epiphany (…)I’d just like us all to take a moment of silent prayer, pray to whatever god you can manage that we don’t just fuck everything up, and that THE LITTLE THINGS will somehow manage to continue, perhaps even for all eternity. I’m still young so I’m still idealistic and I’d just like us all to take a moment and pray that we don’t completely fuck everything up. Can we do that?”
– Jacob Wren

Guren+Storstein is a performance duo with Helga Guren and Silje Storstein (2012). They met during their acting education at Oslo National Academy of the Arts (Teaterhøgskolen) in 2005. This is their second residency with the project “Hold me like a mother would” where the two actors try to examine ”what does it really mean to bring a child into this world”? looking at the theme from different perspectives, both ethical, philosophical and environmental, and through their own personal thoughts and questions. The text-material is based on a gmail-chat over several years between the two actors, the book “Families are formed through copulation” by Jakob Wren, anonomous interviews, and various texts, both philosophical and scientific, as well as material collected from different chat forums and social media.

Helga Guren is educated actress from Oslo National Academy of the Arts in Norway, Esper Studio New York and Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts in Sweden. Guren has worked at various theatres in Norway. She has also performed in international performances at MDT, Weld and Impulstanz. Her background from music leads to work also as musician and singer, as well as she is leading and vocalist of the band «Guren Salong» (based in Stavanger/Norway). Guren has been nominated to “Hedda-prisen” (Norwegian Theatre Award) several times for her role-interpretations, and is now in the ensemble of Rogaland Teater in Stavanger/Norway.

Silje Storstein graduated as an actress from the National Academy of the Arts in 2008. Since then, she has worked at various theaters in Norway, primarily at Det Norske Teatret in Oslo. She has also worked with independent projects both in film, radio and theatre. This spring, she had one of the lead roles in the film “De Nærmeste” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and was also shown at the Gøteborg Film Festival. She is currently working on an Ibsen project at Hålogaland Theatre in Tromsø/Norway.

By/with: Silje Storstein and Helga Guren. Illustration: Monica Nestvold. Scenographer: Chrisander Brun