WHY I'M NOT VOTING

In the 2024 Seimas elections, only 35.69 percent of young people (ages 18–29) voted, even though their turnout in the presidential election that same year was a record high. After the Seimas elections, a headline on the LRT website asked: “Active in the presidential election, but stuck on the couch during the Seimas election: why aren’t young people voting?” (LRT, 2024).

“Why Don’t I Vote?”—a documentary play for teenagers that invites audiences to explore citizenship through personal stories. Four creators from Lithuania, Ukraine, and Russia share memories of their childhoods and teenage years—about family, school, their first dreams, and coming of age in different political contexts. Although their experiences begin similarly, their differing relationships with politics and civic life eventually become a decisive factor in shaping their futures.

Interactive storytelling The format of the performance breaks down the barrier between actors and audience. The classroom-like space gradually transforms into a vibrant field of memories, discussions, and imagination, where documentary narratives intertwine with elements of visual theater. “Why Don’t I Vote?”—a play about taking responsibility for one’s future and one’s community.

Kūrybinė komanda: Nijolė Makutėnaitė, Karolina Šoblinskytė, Mariia Patokova, Stanislav Alokhin