Award-winning theater artist Mansi Stycz turns 80 on Friday, May 8, 2026. A founding member of Teatteri Mukamas, she has served as the director of the Tampere-based puppet theater since its early days. Stycz’s work has always reflected an uncompromising desire to create high-quality theater for children. Her work has retained a childlike enthusiasm, a healthy sense of wonder, and an open mind. Leading a small theater has also required unwavering determination and courage.
Mansi Stycz emphasizes the importance of education and personal initiative in the creation of art.
From the very beginning, the windows have been open to the world. International visits and cultural exchange have served as a foundation for the development of puppet theater, ultimately leading to the establishment of MUKAMAS— International Puppet Theater Festival in Tampere.
Of the 94 premieres at Theater Mukamas, Stycz has directed over 60 plays. In total, the theater has staged 10,500 performances, attended by approximately 1.16 million spectators. Although a large part of Mansi Stycz’s tangible life’s work was destroyed in the great fire in Pirkkala last year (October 23, 2025), she believes that her most important legacy lives on in people’s hearts.
Celebrating a Special Anniversary at Teatteri Mukamas
Fri, May 8, 2026 Reception 2:00–4:00 p.m.
Sat, May 9, 2026 Family GARDEN PARTY 2:00–4:00 p.m., free admission
Pispalan valtatie 30, Tampere
teatterimukamas.com
“Why don’t we start a theater?”
Born in Kemijärvi and raised in Varkaus, Mansi Stycz discovered her passion for theater at the Kuoppakangas Coeducational School’s Teen Theater, which led her to the Varkaus Theater School. The village of Kallo in the municipality of Kittilä, where she spent her childhood summers, became a place close to her heart.
Mansi Stycz was studying drama at the University of Tampere in the 1970s when she was invited to join a puppet theater production. She joined Elina Rainio and Anna-Liisa Tarvainen’s Kukunor group, which made puppets and performed in nearby towns. As Mansi and Anna-Liisa sat in a red Toyota after the show, the thought struck her: “Why don’t we start a theater?”
Teatteri Mukamas was founded in 1979 with the goal of introducing children to the world of theater and producing professional puppet shows. The role of theater director fell naturally to Mansi through her involvement in the group’s activities. Her business administration degree has helped her understand financial matters. Curiosity and the ability to learn new things on the fly have carried her forward. She became familiar with life on the road when the puppet theater troupe set out to tour Finland in a van. At times, life was quite a balancing act when the challenges of everyday life and work collided.
Initially, Teatteri Mukamas performed at venues such as the small stage at Tampere Theater, known as Pikkuteatteri. In 1984, Teatteri Mukamas moved to Ala-Pispala to the VPK building, which had been used by the Youth Committee; initially, the space was shared with other users, and only part of the building served as a rehearsal and performance space. Teatteri Mukamas finally gained full use of the charming building, steeped in local history, in 1989. Mansi recalls with particular warmth Kaarina Suonio, who served as deputy mayor and championed the cause. There have been challenging phases over the years, and at times work has been done at their own expense. The support of the state and the City of Tampere has been absolutely essential. Often, their own initiative has been the deciding factor in difficult situations. “It’s important to be seen and heard by decision-makers.”
The children’s sparkling eyes
All of Theater Mukamas’s early productions were directed by Mansi Stycz, and the performances were staged as collaborative efforts. In the 1990s, in particular, the theater began producing its own scripts. Teatteri Mukamas established its position and was accepted under the scope of the State Theater and Orchestra Act. A fact that both theater critics and the parents of young audiences have praised from the very beginning: theater that takes children seriously has been created. In a 2012 consulting report by Tuomas Auvinen, Mansi is quoted as saying: “In children’s theater, the quality of a performance is measured by the sparkle in the children’s eyes after the show.”
Mansi Stycz has also directed plays for adults and poetry readings, among other things. Theater Mukamas has staged a total of 94 premieres, more than 60 of which she has directed. In the rest, she has served as an assistant director, actor, and producer, among other roles. Over the years, she has collaborated with countless different groups. “Every working group is always important,” Mansi emphasizes now.
Mansi Stycz’s timeless productions continue to be performed on the stage of Teatteri Mukamas. Key highlights of the theater season include the Easter production *Pupun kevät* and the Christmas productions *Joulu on jo ovella* and *Jouluyö*. Styczyn’s daughters also work at Mukamaks: Katarina Stycz as a director and Veronica Stycz as a producer.
The Importance of Encounter
In 1984, theater director and mother of three Mansi Stycz was taking a supplementary puppet theater course at the Theater Academy when she met the legendary Czech director Josef Krofta. Mansi’s open-mindedness is reflected in how, on a whim, she invited Kroftan to visit her theater. This marked the beginning of a decades-long collaboration that has continued with Kroft’s children, Jakub Krofta and Jana Bačová-Kroftová. In the 1980s, there was Nordic collaboration, and Swedish directors Gösta Kjellin and Tomas Alldahl directed productions at Mukamas. In the 1990s, the theater collaborated with, among others, the Kostroma Puppet Theater. In the 2000s, the theater has participated in several international EU projects.
Teatteri Mukamas has toured its own productions throughout Europe and Asia. In 1993, Mansi Stycz was elected president of Unima Finland, and Teatteri Mukamas served as Unima Finland’s headquarters until 2004.
Teatteri Mukamas celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1999. To mark the occasion, international friends were invited to Tampere. This is how the MUKAMAS – International Puppet Theater Festival spontaneously came into being, and it has since established itself as the showcase for Finnish puppet theater. The festival is now held every other even-numbered year in September in Tampere. Over its 27-year history, the festival has hosted participants from 19 countries.
In the 2000s, Stycz received numerous awards and honors, including the State Prize for Children’s Culture in 2003. In 2009, the Pirkanmaa Fund of the Finnish Cultural Foundation honored “theater director Mansi Stycz, a unifier of magic and art, a master of small-scale forms.” In 2022, the Central Association of Finnish Theater Organizations awarded her the Golden Medal of Finnish Performing Arts with a white ribbon in recognition of her “exceptionally distinguished work for the benefit of the nation’s theater life.”
Theater Mukamas has staged a total of 10,500 performances, attended by approximately 1.16 million spectators. A large part of Mansi Stycz’s life’s work was destroyed in the massive fire in Pirkkala last October. The loss was catastrophic, but her true life’s work lives on in the hearts of all the viewers of all ages whom Mansi’s performances have touched over the years. “The most important thing is the connection,” she says with a smile.
Josef Kroftan’s idea of a theater has stuck with me: “A theater company is like a house. Its most important part is the foundation—the groundwork laid by training, experience, and expertise. Only on top of that can walls and a roof be built, creating a space where artists can freely experiment, play, and explore new possibilities. When the foundation is strong, even the fiercest winds cannot shake it.”