“Superpowers”. Photo by Kaunas City Chamber Theatre archive 

The founder of the theatre of senses in Lithuania, puppet theatre actress and director Karolina Žernytė (1986) studied puppetry at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre from which she graduated with a BA in 2010 and an MA in 2012. Between 2010–2012, she worked as a puppeteer at the Kaunas State Puppet Theatre.

She first appeared on the professional stage as a director with a play for blind people and full-sighted audiences Tales of a Bee for Six Senses (Bitinėlio pasakos šešiems pojūčiams) and since then has been creating stage plays-experiences based on sensations and senses. This young director has already staged twelve theatre of senses performances and several educational programmes based on the senses. In addition to that, she regularly leads creative workshops on the theatre of senses not only in Lithuania but also abroad (in the Czech Republic, Italy, South African Republic, Russia, Germany and other). Her performances were shown in Estonia, Holland, France, Russia and Germany.

In 2015, Žernytė founded the Theatre of Senses (Pojūčių teatras), for which she continuously creates new senses-based performances. The method that Žernytė has discovered to create theatre for blind people, or rather to speak through theatre that is not visible but felt, not only gained this director numerous awards but also enables blind theatre-goers to experience the art of theatre, while at the same time allowing the fully-sighted audiences to understand the possibilities of a synthesis between senses and imagination.

In 2015, Žernytė received the Borisas Dauguvietis Earring award from the jury of the Golden Stage Cross for original and innovative work. That same year she was recognised by Dalia Tamulevičiūtė Prize for her production Stone Water Sting (Akmuo, vanduo, geluonis) and the Young Artist Award from the Ministry of Culture of Lithuania.

Žernytė’s latest performance is Superpowers („Supergalios“, 2019), created at Kaunas Chamber Theatre. However, the scene of this performance is not the stage, but the climbing centre. The director chose this unusual space for a sincere biographical conversation with three women with various disabilities, Irma, Ernesta and Aistė. These young women, who believe in themselves and their abilities, reveal what it means to live without sight, to move only in wheels and why dancing can be easier than walking. hi@theatreofsenses.com www.theatreofsenses.com