Schools and day-care centres

Day-care centres

Every year, children in pre-primary education take part in theatre tours organised together with the City of Oulu Unit for Sustainable Development and Cultural Education in Early Education (also called Alakööki). The tour takes the children behind the scenes.

The theatre sponsors two day-care centres each year.

Art Testers

Art Testers is a programme that offers all eighth-graders in Finland the opportunity to experience high-quality art. The programme consists of exercises before and after the visit, as well as giving feedback.

Oulu Theatre has been an Art Testers venue since 2017. During the 2023–2024 school year, eight-graders were able to experience the play Fishing for the Little Pike, directed by Janne Pellinen.

Previous Art Testers shows have included the comedy Peter Pan Goes Wrong and the children’s play Kaboom ja kuvittelun voima (Kaboom and the Power of Imagination), directed by Alma Lehmuskallio, the historical play Sara Wacklinin Oulu palaa (Sara Wacklin’s Oulu is on Fire) directed by Hanna Ojala, A View from the Bridge, directed by Pasi Lampela, and 
The Railroad, directed by Heta Haanperä.

Art Testers is Finland’s largest cultural education programme, offering all eighth-graders in Finland and their teachers one to two visits to high-quality art attractions per school year.

The aim is to provide the young people with unforgettable art experiences and the tools needed to form well-reasoned opinions on their experience. After the visit, the young people evaluate their experience, and the critique is published on the Taidetestaajat.fi website for all to read.

The programme coordinator is the Association of Finnish Children’s Cultural Centers, and it is funded by the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland. Click here to read more about Art Testers.

Sponsored schools

We sponsor Myllytulli comprehensive school and Oulun Suomalaisen Yhteiskoulun lukio upper secondary school, with whom we have been collaborating for 20 years.

The collaboration aims to increase the volume of theatre education in basic education, boost the appreciation of theatre as an art form and a school subject, gain new theatre audiences and deepen the role of theatre as a social influencer.

Theatre Diploma

The Oulu Theatre and the Myllytulli school piloted the Theatre Diploma in the autumn of 2021. At the initial phase of the pilot project, the diploma can be awarded to pupils in grades 7 to 9 of lower secondary school.

While working on their Theatre Diploma, the pupils learn more about the making of theatre and the Oulu Theatre. The Theatre Diploma consists of six tasks that can be completed over the course of three years. The pupils may study performing arts at school. In the classroom, they listen to theatre professionals talk about the making of theatre and their job descriptions.

The pupils must complete half of the diploma at the Oulu Theatre by completing tasks such as attending theatre performances with their class or on their own, being a member of the theatre’s test audience, following rehearsals separately agreed with the theatre, reading a script or learning about the writing of a script for a play for young people, or participating in the youth theatre.

Theatre exercise toolkit for teachers and educators

The Oulu Theatre exercise toolkit is intended as a tool for teachers and educators who want to unravel the viewing experience with their pupils. A theatre performance is a unique event that is impossible to revisit. The toolkit contains plenty of materials that can be applied according to the needs.

Created by teachers from Myllytulli school and the Oulu Theatre dramaturge, the theatre exercise toolkit can be freely used by anyone. Click here to view the toolkit (in Finnish).

Introduction to working life for lower secondary school pupils

The Oulu Theatre is a popular place for lower secondary school pupils to complete their introduction to working life. Please contact audience outreach manager Heidi Jäärni in any matters related to the introduction to working life.

Our personal email addresses are of the format firstname.lastname@oulunteatteri.fi.