Sporos | Harmonijos ir disonansai grybaujant su terapeutu

in 2026 Friday, September 25, 6 and 8 p.m. in 2026 Saturday, September 26, 6 and 8 p.m. 2nd Lithuanian performing arts platform
Vilnius International Theater Festival "Sirens"
Spores
Harmonies and dissonances in mushrooming with a therapist
Sporos, a musical performance, explores today's intersections between emotional health and technology, live and virtual assistance. The heroine of the piece is one of many people in the modern world, trying to express her anxiety to a therapist in the abundance of information and emotional stimuli. It is true that this therapist is a virtual advisor who has received the wisdom of artificial intelligence. The conversations between the two, based on the theories of Western therapy, help to dissolve in the swirling waters of everyday worries and grievances. However, by unconditionally supporting the patient, this counselor promotes attachment and creates an artificially positive environment - like a mirror reflecting the wishes and emotions expressed to him. Are these virtual psychotherapists an Ariadne's thread, helping to find a way out of the maze of dark thoughts and emotions, or is this thread only further confusing and tying the knots of technology addiction? The work is inspired by the principles of classical Greek drama, adapted to the present reality: here the inner transformations of the protagonist are accompanied by the voices of the choir. The classic Greek tragedy, taking place today outside the door of a psychotherapist's office or on the screens of phones, allows us to look at the changed relationship between the individual and the community. Is virtual care really a sustainable escape from emotional chaos, or should we still be looking for other ways of connecting with ourselves, others, and the world? "Sporos" is the debut performance work of visual art duo Pakui Hardware, created together with a large team of performing artists. Contemporary electronic music, polyphonic sound structures performed live by a community choir, video sculptural scenography and movement drawing - all this here becomes a new performative pulsating body grown from individual spores. Authors and directors: "Pakui Hardware" (Neringa Černiauskaitė and Ugnius Gelguda)
Text authors: Pakui Hardware and artificial intelligence therapist
Composer Miša Skalskis
The curator of vocal practices is Vaidas Bartuš
The co-author of the solo vocal parts is Justina Mykolaitytė
Choreographer Andrius Katinas
Set designers: "Pakui Hardware"
Costume designer Morta Nakaitė
Video artist Vaclovs Nevčesauskas
Light painter Julius Kuršys
Sound director Ignas Juzokas
Architect Sigita Simona Paplauskaitė
Dramaturgy consultant Gediminas Rimeika
Performers: Justina Mykolaitytė (protagonist), Eglė Rudokaitė (organ), "Sporų" choir - Smiltė Bagdžiūnė, Aistė Baltraitytė, Dalia Baltrušaitienė, Alexandra Bondarev, Akvilė Brazauskaitė, Vitalija Fokienė, Greta Germanavičiūtė, Laima Gric, Viktorija Jakštienė, Akvilė Jančauskaitė, Vytautas Juzėnas, Vėjūna Kaktavičienė, Danutė Kryžanauskienė, Marija Lenkaitė, Kristina Mickevičienė, Karilė Mozerytė, Daiva Petelienė, Aušrinė Rinkevičiūtė, Gabija Rostovskytė, Justė Savickienė, Raminta Šumskytė Sum, Dovilė Verikienė, Remigija Vilniūtė, Agnė Zeziulevičiūtė, Inna Zvinkli, Rugilė Žukaitė

Producers: "Operomania", "Performa"
Partners: Contemporary Art Center, Lithuanian Institute of Culture, "Iškrovos"
Sponsors: Lithuanian Culture Council, Vilnius City Municipality

The relationship between today's technology and bodies and their health has been a topic of our research since perhaps the beginning of Pakui Hardware. We are interested in how technological advances are changing the bodies themselves, how every cell is wired for economic performance, while somehow making our daily work and communication easier. Recently, we have increasingly noticed that technology is taking on not only physical body transformations, but also emotional health. Such a sensitive, intimate part of us suddenly becomes open to the technological gaze, and we willingly surrender to it. This is how the idea of ​​creating a musical performance was born, in which the classical genre of tragedy and today's technological lifestyle are intertwined.

We wanted to rethink the structure of the tragedy itself, when the protagonist talks to extraterrestrials, only they are not on Olympus, but on the phone screen, and also the chorus, as the voice of the public, is now expressed in the comments section. While delving into psychotherapy provided by artificial intelligence, we realized that its limitations are not only technical, but also cultural, i.e. i.e. based on purely Western theories of therapy, which do not always take into account the cultural peculiarities of each user, a certain cosmology that he/she brings with him/her, specific to the land from which he/she/they come. In general, I wanted to question not only the prevalence of AI therapy itself, but also the prevalence of established forms of therapy imported from the West: maybe there are other, non-linguistic ways of creating a relationship with oneself, one's past and those around me - whether they are human or non-human beings? Pakui Hardware

When creating music for "Spores", I aimed to create a sound fabric in which natural and synthetic sounds would organically merge, combining live choral sound, soloist's voice and electronic music. I was looking for a way to respond to Pakui Hardware's vision in music, their research on the body, materiality and technology connections, while contrasting with the community choir's charisma and DIY spirit. This is a new experience for me, requiring not only technical or musical solutions, but also sensitivity to ensemble, space and themes. Composer Miša Skalskis

This musical performance was created for the Vilnius Contemporary Opera Festival NOA and the "Lithuanian Pavilion without Borders" program of the performance biennial "Performa" in New York.
English language (a Lithuanian translation of the text of the work is distributed to the audience before the event)
Duration: 60 minutes
Premiere: 2025 October 23, Vilnius University Aula Parva

Critical feedback
I would like to single out the excellent work of the protagonist - Justina Mykolaitytė. Justina "Sporose" reveals herself as a talented voice performer, her natural but very flexible voice convincingly conveys the message of urban loneliness witnessed in this piece. Rasa Murauskaitė-Juškienė, 7 days of art

The "Spores" choir plays an essential role in the work - it is the most real choir, the body and voice of the work, a conscious community, each member of which is interesting with their vocal and presence features. Such authenticity can only be maintained by a group made up of music lovers, not bound by professional criteria, but reliable, able to strike a balance between "singing yourself" and "singing from notes". After all, a strong community is almost therapy too. Rima Jūraitė, menufaktura.lt

An EVENT-EXPERIENCE (!) was born, which can already be safely called one of the most memorable works created on the Lithuanian scene in the last few years. Ugnė Kačkauskaitė, menufaktura.lt

The choral parts in particular have an unexpected emotional density: their polyphonic sound creates a communal "body", like a spore network, which acts as a counterpoint to the protagonist's isolation, and reminds us that mental health is not only a personal matter, but is achieved in a connected community. In these fragments, the work reaches a thrilling resonance. Qingyuan Deng, Cultbytes.com

The performance is like opera therapy, inspired by classical Greek drama, adapted to the age of artificial intelligence and musical theater. Yonatan Eshban-Laderman, Impulsemagazine.com

Sporos disrupts established categories and reflects the increasingly mixed nature of contemporary performance. Marilena Borriello, Flash---art.com

Charismatic performer Justina Mykolaitytė, vocalist-virtuoso and co-author of songs, could hold the whole show by herself. Soon the audience becomes an integral part of the performance. It's hard to describe the thrill you get when a stranger standing next to you in the crowd suddenly starts singing. David Ebony, Artworld.snapeditions.com

When buying 10 or more tickets, you can contact: vipklientai@bilietai.lt

Doors open: ~20:00
Event duration: ~1:00
Breaks: None
Language of the event: Lithuanian
Children admitted for free: no
Age limit: N-10
Discounts: for pupils, students, seniors, disabled people for 1 ticket (present a document proving the discount during control)*

* Discount does not apply to service charges. The number of discounted tickets is limited.

On the AllEvents portal you can always Buy tickets to an event Theater Sporos | Harmonijos ir disonansai grybaujant su terapeutu, Vilnius, Vilniaus universiteto Aula Parva September 25

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