Two revue sodas with Synneva Gjelland - The farmgirl who was bitten by the revue bacillus

Revue is an important and central aspect of the student environment in Ås, and during the last couple of years, Synneva Gjelland has been in the center of it all. She is also engaged in agriculture, environment, culture, politics and music.

Text: Guro Størdal
Photo: Ruben Rygh
Photo concept: Emilie Pedersen

“Farming runs through the veins”
Her accent quickly reveals her origins in the west of Norway, more specifically Voss. Here she grew up as the inheritor of the family’s dairy farm. For a long time, she was unsure whether to take over the farm or not, but after a few years in Ås the conclusion is that this is something she wants to do. “I came to Ås to get a good network”, she tells. Here she found participation, innovation and young people wishing for a future-oriented agriculture, as well as seeing a shift in the society and in politics. She has met many people she disagrees with and has had a good deal of discussions. This is something she likes about Ås; you meet every opinion there is. You can’t choose to only be around the people you agree with.

The mix of different people with different opinions has given her a great deal of new input. “You don’t learn how to become a farmer at the university where there are mostly talks and thoughts. Farming runs through the veins”, she says. Instead, Ås has given her new perspectives, ideas and the understanding of the connection between agriculture in Norway and in the world. She is now writing a master’s thesis about vegetable growing in Western Norway. Why? Because she did not know anything about it, it is rather new and requires innovation, and it is cool, of course!

The Cultural Backpack
From home, she has also brought plenty of culture from jazz, School of Music and Performing Arts and revues. This is what she first sought out more of when she moved away from home. She attended a folk song school in Sweden and studied there for a year. “Good lyrics in music are powerful”, she says, and in the folk songs the lyrics are the most important. In Sweden, she ended up in a quite radical class full of enthusiasm and a bunch of thoughts and opinions. She took a greater part in the feminist movement, left-wing politics, fellowship, anti-racism and battles she felt had to be fought.

Synneva has brought with her the music and its lyrics after leaving Sweden. In the spring of 2019, Maria, a friend of Synneva, gathered a group to practice. That day Sliteneliten saw the light of day, “a political telegram decorated with flute, fiddle, guitars, drums and bass”. After a couple of intense start-up months, they released their first single, and now, about two years later, their first album is coming out. “The concert we did on March 8, 2020 is one of my best memories from Ås”, Synneva says. “There was so much energy, everyone was so excited. We also had a lot of friends in the audience, as it was March 8. It was such a good day”.

Salvation from the revue
Despite all of this, the revues have marked her time the most in Ås. She had taken a small part of it in Voss and thought it was fun, but never felt a passion for it. By a coincidence she joined the revue group in Ås and became an UKE actress in 2018. She wanted more, and in the spring of 2019, she ran for revue manager for UKA 2020, and won. The work began, the ensemble was put together, and then covid arrived. Despite it, the revue took place. Synneva says that they were lucky that it was not canceled, and that people believed in them. They pulled it through! “In 2020 we made a revue that was seen by 3000 people. No other arrangement has been seen by so many”. She thinks that people were a bit hungry for culture, and that the revue provided a stable and reliable source of entertainment.

Full of energy
Synneva tells about how her collective has been good to have during covid, and that a lot of things have happened there. “I tend to be full of energy and feel a bit crazy when there is nothing to do”, she laughs. They got themselves chickens and she discovered that revues became a go-to activity. After everything got shut down in March, they made a small revue that they streamed over Instagram. She is a bit sad about how her time here in Ås is ending, but if there is one thing she has learned, it has to be that one must take things as they come.

It has barely started
Even though her time in Ås is coming to an end, Synneva has many plans ahead. In the fall, she and other members from Sliteneliten are going to Rauland to continue with their music. She will, someday, take over the family farm, and has many plans to put into action. She dreams about starting up a shieling, and to turn an old Christian meeting house connected to the farm into a youth club, offering billiards, music and revue. Because she will never stop doing revues. The future is hers. “Yes! Let it happen!”

Greetings for Synneva

From the UKEboard

The revue Synneva Gjelland

March 25, 2019 was the day we were elected at the General Assembly together, and in your speech, you said it was nice to be on stage again. Since then, you have remained on the same track, and while the rest of us have had more than enough with our studies and positions, you have also recorded an album and started a record company(!). Ever since the General Assembly you’ve been on many stages and created lots of fun for yourself and others. That UKErevyen got the name it did fit perfectly, because it describes you too! You’re also a lady with plenty of backbone and you stand up for yourself and others. A conversation with you can never be too long and you’re a patient listener, both in ups and downs – especially over “one” beer or in the jacuzzi.

Even with a leopard dress, lipstick and pink hair, you can’t hide the truth that you’re a down-to-earth farm girl from Voss. Suddenly your accent strikes through, so extreme that neither a taxi driver from Trondheim nor anyone else can understand. If you add a couple of radical undertones and the need for exposure to this mix of a personality you get the perfect revue manager. And this somewhat strange combination of personality traits is what makes Synneva an extraordinarily exciting, and not at least easy-going person to spend time with. Synneva’s complex personality is accompanied by an equally complex range of hairstyles. So far, we have seen you with curls, bangs, straight hair, after sex-hair, pink hair and a bob. What’s next? Regardless of your hair, we can’t wait to see what you come up with when you are now, unfortunately, leaving Ås. We’re going to follow your journey with excitement and look forward to a reunion the revue on two feet; Synneva Gjelland!

Greetings from the UKEboard!

From Stova

With the fiddle in your hands and sourdough on the forehead, you go through life with the greatest style. And not to mention the crosswords. Even though you have more balls in the air than in the playroom of McDonald’s, you ooze safety and peace, there you sit and sip your high-status coffee and nibble on a rugsprø. Wherever you go you bring with warm colors, fiddle music and the smell of fenalår. In a dimension between revolution and tradition, you plat punk music on the fiddle. Duties at home are combined with a record release (congrats!!), tearing down the patriarchy and heavy leadership positions. We, Stovanians, are grateful for the opportunity to take part in this interesting dimension. We are also grateful for you keeping our ears warm with your balaclavas, and tax the brown snail population in the basement with shots from the air rifle.

Your own quote might best describe you: “The best thing about being an adult, is that you can take as many spoons of O’Boy as you want. And then you take one more, just because you can”.

“Ut, seilbåtsprut, påsketut!”. A huge bag of “punchknapper” from us in Stova<3

From Synneve

Dearest SynnevA!

You came into my life as a dobbeltgänger. Same backpack and same hair. You said “Synneva” and I said “Synneve”. We were children of June, born on the west coast, and I think we had the same shoes.

Almost five years have passed by and I can sum up everything by saying that our friendship has been one hell of a party. Thank you for morning coffees and conversations on the floor. For lyric poetry and music. For power readings and proverbs. Thank you for laughter, tears and sparkling wine, and for being so incredibly nice.

I want to end this by thanking you for the words you said to me, high on pizza, in the middle of a roundabout in Italy: “this is better than sex!” I look forward to a hundred more!

Love and gratitude from SynnevE

From the revue

Revues are made for Synneva, or maybe we should rather say that Synneva is made for the revues; energetic, creative, talented, sharp, funny, loving and crazy – there is nothing this woman can’t do. She can even do a backflip from the top of the diving tower in Hamar! *Weeeeoow*. She has plenty of back bone when needed, and is always there for you if you need her.

As a queen on stage and in life, Synneva deserves a spectacular tribute, and how can you pay tribute to a Rockstar like her in a better way than with a song? With her brilliant musicality, Synneva wrote a song for the whole of Ås’ Cathrine Strømø for the miniUKErevue of 2020. We have now adopted the melody and written the song for the whole of Ås’ Synneva Gjelland:

This is a greeting to a person out of the ordinary
A person creating jOoy
She rocks life and is not afraid of anything
She is here and she is making noOoise

On the second floor of Tårn
You thought she was just a normal person
But she has left deep marks
'cause revues say more than a thousand words

Synne-vaAa 
Ooh Synne-vaAa 
Ooh Synne-vaAa 
Synne-vaAa 

Everyone wants a piece of Gjelland
“Rått” coming from the star of Voss
Bangs, curls and a beautiful mind
Everyone is thinking, “I wish Synneva was mine”

The coolest lady on the countryside and in town
Synneva makes a show just with her presence

Synne-vaAa 
Ooh Synne-vaAa 
Ooh Synne-vaAa 
Synne-vaAa 

Everyone sings
Gjelland makes peace on Eeeaarth

Thank you for all the fire & ice toasts, kebabs, midnight musicals and energetic shouts of “RÅTT”!
Love form revue mates, Mathilde, Mathias and Tanita