Encounter2017_MP04_EN

SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER
28. 3.—1. 4. 2017
Hard choices?
We would like to thank
all of our partners and supporters,
without whose help the festival
could not have come into being!

Head Editors in Chief:
Adam Harton
Ilona Pawerová
Assistants of Head Editor in Chief:
Nikol Hlávková
David Šamánek
Editors in Chief:
Paulína Mazíková
Monika Okurková
MEETING POINT
The International Festival of Theatre Schools
SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER 2017
Editors:
Libor Brzobohatý, Lenka Dobrovolná, Lucie Hrochová, Pavla Kopřivová, Jana Kühn,
Martina Ligurská, Jiří Liška, Magdaléna Milostná, Jan Motal, Jan Neugebauer, Karolina
Ondrová, Lubica Omastová, Šimon Peták, Anna Ročková, Dagmar Říhová, Marek
Slováček, Miroslav Sýkora, Milada Váchová, L’ubomír Višňovec, Markéta Tulisová
Photographers:
Matouš Ondra, Anna Turková, Rudolf Vodička
Comic:
Eva Polgary
Translators:
Sára Galová, L’ubomír Višňovec, Lucie Kelčová, Vojtěch Marszalek, Eliana Denkocy,
Barbora Schejbalová, Adéla Svídová, Zuzana Kernová
Proofreading of the English Version:
Adrian Hundhausen, Tin Jurković
Proofreading of the Czech Version:
Anna Burianová, Lucie Říhová
Typesetting:
Kevin Wulfric Scherrer
Publisher:
Janáčkova akademie múzických umění v Brně
Divadelní fakulta
Mozartova 1, 662 15 Brno
IČ: 62156462 | DIČ: CZ62156462
2

CONTENT
EDITORIAL . 4
MORNING DISCUSSION. 5
INTERVIEW. 6
WORKSHOP. 9
MAIN PROGRAMME. 10
OFF–PROGRAMME. 14
PROGRAMME. 15
PHOTOGALERY. 16
FREQUENCY BABYLON. 18
10 WORDS. 19
BEHIND THE SCENES . 20
COMIC . 22
THEME OF THE FESTIVAL . 23
THANKS. 24

EDITORIAL
At 5.30. In a room. The Czech girl has finished binding Meeting Point, and now is about
to write. Montenegrin the cat and the Slovak girl have been sleeping for some time;
the Slovak girl is going to a morning discussion. Montenegrin – because of the Czech
girl’s arrival - thinks that it is morning. He is admiring the Czech girl’s hair.
M: What is with the cat?
P: He thinks it is morning.
M: It is morning.
P: I will take him out in the morning.
M: It is morning…
It is morning. As morning as morning. That time after sleep. The Czech girl, as her
relationship with the Montenegrin moves further, is sitting in the editorial office. The
Slovak girl comes from the Spanish show. A big meeting of the Czech and Slovak girls.
They kiss each other. On the third day of the festival, they have started to be more
tender towards each other. The Slovak girl askes for a computer.
P: Work!
The Czech and Slovak girls are editing what they can.
M: Poli, what else are you going to see today?
P: Nothing…
M: I am going to see the Polish guys… I would like to see something already… where
I experience a catharsis, you know… Something where I will be crying because I can
see myself in it.
The Slovak girl looks indescribably at the Czech one. The Czech girl decides to keep her
desires to herself. A manager joins the dialogue.
I: I would come to see the Polish guys but I am terribly afraid that I will fall asleep.
Right now I am having a weak moment. I am oblivious to everything around me.
The Czech girl comes into the editorial office after the Polish show.
P: How were the Polish guys?
M: I have had a catharsis.
Thus, the experiences from festival are accumulating. Tenderness, purification, stress
or lack of sleep. The editing work. And it is also, on the third day, humane and friendly.
Paulína Mazíková a Monika Okurková
Šéfredaktorky Meeting Point
4

MORNING DISCUSSION
MORNING DISCUSSION—DAY THREE
The topics of the second morning discussion of this edition of ENCOUNTER were the following
three plays: Horses at the Window from Moldova, Towards the Depth from Poland
and 336 Letters of Love from Colombia. In the gym which had been ingeniously transformed
by the scenographers, about thirty drowsy Festival participants met the duo of presenters
who were also in charge of direction and dramaturgy: Marika Smrekova and Otto Kaupinen.
Moldovan Education by Means of Difficult Topics
We spoke mainly with Emil Gaju, the teacher and director of the play from the Chisinau
Academy of Music, Theatre and Fine Arts. What was discussed the most was the topic
of the play. People discussed the topicality of it as well as the relationships between the
actors. They also asked whether it is appropriate to work on such topic with such young
people. How does the experience of war relate to young students of acting and to the
audience? The main argument of the director was that by choosing such difficult topics,
he tries to encourage his students to make progress in their personal development. The
students further talked about the fact that in addition to this, somewhat traditional type
of theatre, they also come into contact with post-dramatic theatre at school. As a class
they are to work at one theatre and play together even after graduation.
The Polish Folk DNA
The actors of the school from Krakow provided us with a brief introduction to the development
process of their play Towards the Depth. At fist the students who specialise
in vocal performance showed their skills. Then the work transformed into the study
of the archetypal DNA, as the second interpretation of the title suggests. The actors
described the philosophy which accompanied them in the production process, such
as getting rid of mental blocks; finding one’s inner energy and then releasing it. That
corresponds with the fact that the actors do not build specific and stable characters
during the performance. They change their positions in accordance with one’s recurrent
cycle of life instead. Actors were wary happy about the reactions of the local
audience which were, contrary to their expectations, positive. The actors were worried
that the language barrier and cultural specificity would impede communication but that
did not happen. The audience responded vividly and accurately, even to the little details.
The Colombian Study of Love and Loss
The Colombian students led by their teacher and director discussed mostly the way they
were thinking during the production of their play about love, relationships, violence, etc.
Their starting point was the tight link between love and loss. The performance came to
existence within the subject “Dramatic structure” by such a great team work that the
actors consider themselves to be performers rather than actors. They do not build characters
but instead they improvise in order to express their opinions of the topic. They
see the audience as a mirror. They mentioned several cases when the audience actively
interacted with them during the performance. The discussion was then officially over
and the people in the Chill Out Room divided into small groups which discussed in a friendly
manner. For about 22 hours the gym turned into a quiet room.
Karolina Ondrová
5

INTERVIEW
AN EXTREMELY PLEASANT ENCOUNTER WITH KAMILA POLÍVKOVÁ
We are to have a meeting on Wednesday at 11:30. She is standing in front of the Academy
a few minutes before half-past and suggests that we go to Rotor Bar. We sit down
and order. The nervousness is fading away and I am starting to look forward to the
interview. I stammered nervously when asking the first question but from that point
on the conversation was very pleasant. A conversation with a woman of many skills
and talents – with Kamila Polívková. The interview has been published today but we
carried out this interview on the second day of the Festival.
—
After how long are you back in your hometown of Brno?
The last time I was here was three weeks ago on an explication at the HaDivadlo theatre
where I am going to start rehearsing an adaptation of Petra Hůlová’s novel Macocha when
the Festival is over. Otherwise, I get here quite often because it is my hometown and all
of my friends, family and from time to time my work are here. Anyway, I love being here.
How do you perceive that the Festival Encounter belongs to the city you were
born in?
In the past few years, Brno has literally started living and it is wonderful to see how
naturally the visitors and the guests fit in the Festival’s atmosphere and share the popular
paths, coffee places and bars with the locals. I remember that I took part in the
Festival back when I was a student at JAMU but it did not feel so interconnected and
lively. And participation in an international student festival is a unique opportunity for
the city to create conditions for meetings of not only students but also teachers and
experts from all over the world. Brno is a university city and an event of this sort fits it
well. I think that some bonds are often created on such events that can mean mutual
and international cooperation in the future. It is great that a person gets a certain
overview of what is going on in here and right now in the academic settings. I, personally,
have not been a student for a very long time and that is also why I gladly accepted
the offer to become a member of the jury and to have the opportunity to see so
many international and domestic student works and to get a picture of the direction
modern theatre is taking.
What is your experience with being in a jury?
So far only one. I was in a jury at the Prague Quadrennial 2015 where I was a jury member
that chose Czech exposition and a jury member of the main competition. It was
a fantastic experience. Similar to the Festival Encounter in the sense of having the opportunity
to track all of the main events including the main – and student – expositions.
Are you going to evaluate the performances according to some criteria or are
you going to rely on your spectator intuition?
Since you have reached me after the first day of the Festival when I have already seen
three performances I am currently contemplating how to approach it. I am striving
to put myself into the position of an ordinary viewer and to get carried away by the
story, form and most of all by all the young and talented people around. At the same
6

INTERVIEW
time, I believe it is also important to take into consideration that these student performances
are often directed by one of the teachers. I can imagine that the teachers who
work with the students on their performances want to, within a framework of a certain
study programme, direct it in a way it fits the context of a particular year. It was
relatively obvious yesterday (Prague – Pavillion, Italy – The Farm, Austria – Phaedra’s
Love, editorial note). It was possible to discover by observation that there was not only
a directorial intention but also an educational intention. However, when it comes to
my personal criteria I told myself I would wait and see what happens next. I would like
to make a more concrete idea of the whole. Then I will set my evaluating criteria – in
simple terms, I want to have the possibility to compare. Anyway, I am looking forward
to seeing what happens next.
Among other things, you are also a theatre designer. Do you consider it to be
your advantage when watching a performance which is in a language you do not
understand and so you can focus more on the picture as such?
It is certainly important for me and I will probably not get rid of this point of view.
On the other hand, I think that it is essential to understand the language to evaluate
the individual performances or the performance as a whole. The performances I saw
yesterday were either in Czech, in English or with subtitles. I think that the absence of
a translation of the play Pavillion of Prague’s DAMU can have a considerable influence
on the jury’s evaluation. A theatre play always combines all of the used means:
the topic, language, visuality, actors’ performances, dramaturgy-directional concept,
music...and it should look like a compact whole. One cannot be separated from the
other. Or at least that is the way I perceive it. Moreover, the content should always be
as important as the form.
You have experience with production abroad. What are the main differences
in production in your opinion and when do all the people involved speak one
common language and when they do not?
Apart from German-speaking countries, I have not worked anywhere abroad so far.
And even there I worked as a costume designer. It happened only occasionally that
there was not a Czech translation provided and at the same time I had learned German
to such level that if I could read a Czech script in advance I had no problem understanding
and getting my head around what was going on on the stage even though it
was in a foreign language. Most of the time, I collaborate with the director Dušan Pařízek
who speaks German as good as he speaks Czech and therefore, our communication
regarding the production of a visual concept is mostly in Czech. It is true, however,
that I cannot speak German to the level of being able to completely understand texts
by Elfriede Jelinek or Werner Schwab. In cases like these, I let the visual and emotional
side of the performance impress me.
How would go around working with a group that would not understand you at all
or would understand only the basics? What means would you choose?
I would take it as a challenge. In Germany, I met several directors and even actors who
were from Serbia, Lithuania, France, England or from Sweden and could not speak
German at all. And it is possible if you have a translation of the text or an interpreter.
I, personally, would take advantage of such a barrier and would take it as one of the
7

INTERVIEW
means of expression of a play. Let’s say the impossibility of communication or communication
in the same language would be one of the central topics. Do you know how
many characters in classical theatre and non-theatre literature is called “Foreigner” or
“Unknown” or “A man in black” a so on...? There is a lot of material.
The theme of this year’s edition of the Encounter is hard choices... What was the
hardest choice in your professional life?
It is hard to say. I am, by nature, a contented person and I can find a challenge in everything
even if it does not seem pleasant at first. In the end, I want to overcome all
the difficulties. One of the rules I learned from the director Dušan Pařízek and that
I fanatically abide by goes: “Be a part of the solution, not the problem”. Even because
of this, I cannot think of anything I could call the hardest choice. It sounds so fatally
that I think it cannot be said in the profession I am in. Maybe if I were a politician, a doctor,
a judge, a soldier... Anyway, I was lucky to get in touch with inspired and inspiring
people and together with them, I can do what interests me and what I find meaningful.
In my opinion, a choice is just a choice. If it is a good one or a bad one often cannot be
assessed in advance. That is the way I think – I try to focus on the present. Everything
the future brings is always influenced by someone’s choice and often by not our own.
And often everything ends up completely differently than a person wanted or could
imagine.
Monika Okurková
8

WORKSHOP
HALF OF LOVE
I was very curious about the presentation of theater-motion project Lamour, connected
with a workshop. Conceptual performance of students of the Theater Faculty
JAMU of the year 2015 is a rather specific project and it was a very bold move to dedicate
it a whole workshop program, without specifying the actual performance. Unfortunately,
the interested therefore were not able to show at this year‘s Encounter and
had to be satisfied with only a video presentation.
However, the strength of the presented parts was so great that each participant was
immediately drawn in. The presentation, directed by Marika Smrekova, acquainted
the audience with the rich content parts of Lamour, which works mainly with improvisation
(movement, dance and music improvisation) of all participating performers.
After the explanation of the project by the director and the presentation itself followed
the workshop with practical examples of the techniques that were used during
the development of the project. After initial familiarization and establishment of an
eye contact with participants followed a series of improvised motion exercises, which
were later accompanied with a discreet ambiance and music. Techniques for testing
the perception of one‘s own body and the bodies of the other were just an icing on the
cake of perfectly conducted workshop.
What to say more? Perhaps only that this particular project surely earned its well-deserved
place at this year‘s Encounter festival and undoubtedly the experience of the
workshop could have been even more intense, was it given more time and space on
the festival‘s schedule. Like this, it is still only halfway perfect.
Milada Váchová
9

MAIN PROGRAMME
ACHAQUES
Madrid, Spain
Author:
Director:
Language:
Lenght:
Cast:
Xus de la Cruz
Pablo G. Boutou
Spanish
90 min
Juan de Vera, Lara Fernán, Alba Fernández, Julia Nicolau, Itziar Andía,
Oscar Allo, Ángel Villalón
ORA PRO NOBIS
The veterans of the Spanish civil war have a dangerous disease: they are getting younger
and losing their memories. They are losing their scars, their pains, and their bent backs,
and slowly becoming just black figures with no story, no interest in the past. They are in
a hurry to study, work, do yoga. They have no time to listen to anyone. Other veterans
are fighting the disease by writing down everything that should not be forgotten.
This performance has a clear goal - to show the ignorance of the young, who may
want to be reporters, but don’t care about the world. Unfortunately, this message did
not affect me one bit. More than the message, I noticed the very precise stylisation
and movement of the characters, the interesting puppets, the rhythmic music, the
enlarged figures of the “mothers risen from the dead”, and an ostentatious lowering
of a sackcloth curtain. Perhaps it was because I was constantly switching my attention
between the stage and the subtitles, but I didn’t feel touched at any moment. The
communication channel was closed - goosebumps (my way of knowing if a play is great
or only good) did not arrive…
Not even the ending, although they were trying very much, managed to evoke any
emotions. Red and white confetti falling from the sky, a bell ringing, actors returning
with a slight smirk, and black and white photos of presumably real people whose stories
had been used, who have gradually become skeletons of the war’s fallen. All of
that emphasised the goal; unfortunately, it was all too pathetic and obvious.
Next time, I would like to be more connected with a play that uses such interesting
methods and addresses a very important topic.
Lucie Hrochová
10

MAIN PROGRAMME
ACHAQUES DID NOT TOUCH ME EMOTIONALLY.
The strengths are of crafty nature – in motion, the use of puppets and some other props
– but I appreciated them rather rationally. I did not feel what the topic meant for the
actors, how they related to it and what they wanted to present to me, a viewer. From
the beginning, when a group of pensioners scuttled in, I found the effective old person’s-like
movements, precision and harmonization of the group and tempo-rhythm
very well performed – even though a bit of slowness and silence would liven it up.
Later, they showed a great control of their bodies when they walked in as tall puppets
wearing dresses under which were other actors hidden or when they put a puppet of
a baby on a neck which made the body look smaller and visually worked brilliantly or
when they turned themselves into a telephone exchange or when they were shooting
at each other and taking blows. I just wished they had not been talking so much.
Words were bringing up stories of the past that did not have the power here and now.
Even the person saying those words did not perform them with expression. It seemed
to me that the agedness was only a mask they put on the outside instead of building
it up from within, filling it up with their own experience and so it did not speak to me
towards the end. Perhaps, the aged stylisation kept them from personally relating to
the topics the hints of which I noticed from several actors when they embodied the
younger themselves towards the end of the play.
One moment in this performance touched me. It was at the end when a young lady
started listening to one of the grannies thus finally stopping the stream of war stories
that were pouring in with no response. For me, this was the central point of the
performance – we should not ignore the old people. And why? Perhaps, because they
are the spokespersons of the past. Perhaps, because we will grow old one day as well.
Experience adds what it lacked: an answer to the question “Why should I care?”.
Pavlína Kopřivová
11

MAIN PROGRAMME
THE DEVIL INSIDE HIM
Lodz, Poland
Author:
Director:
Language:
Lenght:
Cast:
John Osborne
Mariusz Grzegorzek
Polish
120 min
Aleksandra Chapko, Aleksandra Przeslaw, Wojtek Lato, Maciej Musialowski,
Marianna Zydek, Tomasz Marczynski, Cezary Kolacz
THE DEVIL IS IN ALL OF US
This year the National Film Television and Theatre School from Łodź brought a play inspired
by John Osbourne’s The Devil inside Him, which is critical towards the church and
religion in general. It may be surprising that a Polish school has chosen such topic. However,
it reflects the current global situation perfectly, using the topic such as the danger of
religion, misuse of power for “the evil,” and the issue of human diversity in the society.
What makes the school from Łodź exceptional is the choice of actors. The actors are
strong personalities every time. What is more, they are visually interesting. I would
not be afraid to say that they are attractive, which may be caused by the fact that the
school focuses on film as well. There is however one problem associated with this.
A one-time visitor to the Festival may be oblivious to it. An experienced Encounter
visitor may notice that the students of this school often perform a high-wire act of
affectation. They do not manage to stay on the right side, mainly in cases of stylized
plays. In this case it happened to the actress who played the mother. On the whole,
though, it kind of fit into the convincing and good acting of the rest of the ensemble.
In order to create a dark atmosphere the students used simple and, for most of the
time, empty stage with candles, which gave the impression of a Holy place. The adhesive
tape was also very effective. It created kind of a bordered element which singled
out and put emphasis on Huw’s differences. Uniform black costumes complemented
the scene, having fit closely to the symmetrical bodies of the actors. The creased-looking
fabric deformed them at the same time.
Understandably, a projection with speeches of the actors was used. The speeches
were about the characters and worries. However they were not very convincing. Such
multimedia bits and pieces were disruptive, killed the atmosphere and thus became
completely unnecessary.
Overall the play is a precise depiction of today. It deals with problematic topics and
forces the viewer to reflect on the fact that the evil is in each of us.
Henrietta Ctiborová
12

MAIN PROGRAMME
EXORCISM
Wax. You can smell wax everywhere. Every viewer who has some experience with
Polish theatre is starting to suspect something. There is going to be around 28 candles
and the actors are going to be dressed in black. It turned out the way the viewer
suspected. Suddenly, an outstanding opening is unfolding before the viewer’s eyes.
The actors usher the audience into a beautifully mysterious magical atmosphere,
a moving Polish song promises purity, absorbed in the atmosphere, ceremoniousness
and a ritual offer really a remarkable show. But they are not worked with onwards.
The song is forgotten, the ritual is replaced with an adhesive tape sometimes making
inappropriate noises and symbolically expressing inaccessibility of the world of two people
and actors pick up words and arguments instead of rhythmical songs. Arguments
in which they lose their characters and motivations while their voices intensify and emotions
are exponentially growing. The far side of the romanticism in here and right now.
The thematic motivation of this Polish performance is clear. The re-opened question
of women’s rights, religious problems, growing insulation. Poland is walking on a thin
ice and its theatre reflects the problems of today’s society. For the sake of currency,
the actors used a seemingly undefined period as if they tore off a bit of every period
and every place. At some points, it looks like we are in Victorian England and at another
we are going to a cinema, lighting with candles but wearing sunglasses and a pink
purse. At other points, we are talking about women’s rights and religion as if it was all
happening a hundred years ago and every fifteen minutes, the viewers are detached
from the performance by video shots from the rehearsals from which we learn how
happy everyone is to be working on this play. But again – they work with the element
of indefiniteness only halfway as if they did not want to talk about it, as if it has never
been said out loud, never thought of.
Lodz offered effective pictures, strong topics, hysterical acting, unassertive forth wall and
much more to an eager viewer who drinks in expressive expressions and experience of
the characters. A lot of screaming and violence mitigated by the cheerful videos from the
rehearsals seemed to work well with the audience. A standing ovation acknowledged the
performances of the actors who managed to deal with this hysterical genre.
Dagmar Říhová
13

OFF–PROGRAMME
THE HOUSE
Author:
Dramaturgy:
Cast:
Zoja Mikotová
Veronika Broulíková
Barbora Dohnalová, Aneta Hegylová, Nika Jáňová, Veronika Křížová,
Markéta Kunášková, Věra Lištvanová, Veronika Mikulová, Nikola Váňová
SILENCE BEHIND THE HIGH WALL
Behind the high walls with peeling plaster... There is a house. Nobody ever comes out
of this house. And yet, it is possible to glimpse flickers of candle light or hear some
cautious sounds of a violin. Or does it only seem like that? Not at all – the street vendor
tells you that all her best embroidered scarves and best clothes come from that
house, the house of Doña Bernarda. She immediately adds that Doña Bernarda went
insane after her husband died, and that she locked her five daughters (who are more
beautiful than the jewelry of Granada) into cells inside the house. And that she did the
same to her own mother! - And why...?
„She is a witch,” the street vendor answers. “She drains strength and beauty from
her daughters!” Perhaps she is taking revenge, because her mother was not loving.
Perhaps she believes that she should be strict with the girls; it is also possible that the
world has been co cruel to her that she wants to protect her daughters from its brutality.
(Whose fault is that? The men’s?). And she is the one who has punished them the
most. Perhaps she just wants to be a good mother.”
What could possibly go wrong? Eight women, eight years, one house.
The visual-motion play The House, directed by Zoja Mikotová, formally resembles the
other plays which the author puts together with her students at the Studio of Drama
Education for the Deaf. These plays are quite poetic. Their dominant components are
sign language, gentle rhythm, and gentle acting. The author uses sign language and
the combination of the deaf and non-deaf actors as a characteristic trait of her plays
in order to make them visually impressive and to use the combination as a metaphor
(e.g. the boundaries of interpersonal communication, diversity).
The director has a great sense of stage metaphor. She can express general conflicts
of different roles (daughter vs. mother; loved vs. broken-hearted, etc.) very precisely,
just by using one situation, one action, or a few words. What struck me, for instance,
was that when Doña Bernarda discontinued the wonderful studies of the girls (ballet,
violin, gymnastics), she might have done so under the influence of tradition. Similarly,
I often make decisions according to traditions (e.g. men vs. women – Who will drive the
car? Who is in charge?). Egalitarian decisions are not as frequent.
What I was not happy about: some scenes were a bit too childish (nursery rhymes with
background music, a skinny girl played by a thick gymnast) and the demanding final
scene; somewhat clumsy entrances of the music, too much light in delicate scenes; the
not very strong voices of some of the actresses.
I would like to thank Ms. Mikotová for her distinctive work and the students for their
enthusiasm.
Jan Neugebauer
14

PROGRAMME
15

PHOTOGALERY
Morning Discussion
photo: Anna Turková
L'amour
photo: Anna Turková
16

PHOTOGALERY
The Devil Inside Him
photo: Anna Turková
The House
photo: Jáchym Michal
The Devil Inside Him
photo: Anna Turková
Achaques
photo: Anna Turková
17

FREQUENCY BABYLON
Can you connect words with the same meaning?
Devil
religion
agog
old man
war
stylization
paper
puppet
visa
anciano
guerra
هلاقم
diabeł
religia
ازیو
haczykowaty
یزاب بش همیخ کسورع
estilización
18

10 WORDS
{CHURCHES DIDN'T FALL AND
ARE EMPTY.
THEATRES WON‘T FALL AND
EMPTY WILL BE.}
19

BEHIND THE SCENES
MAKE YOUR CHOICE! LOVE OR MONEY?
It is no secret. We need money! There is a way with less money, sharing things, food,
knowledge, but sure: There is no way without! Or? – We should talk about!!!
By the way the festival costs at least 2 013 000 CZK
One show in Divadlo na Orli 43 000 CZK
One edition of Meeting Point Newspaper 15 CZK
Festival experience invalueable.
And have you ever thought about how much is a plastic cup?
And I am just writing about money not human ressources!
Most artist, let‘s talk about us in general without a difference, artists don‘t earn a lot.
So it is a daily decision, to be artist or not. Students of art are used to work 10 hours or
more in university for some years - sweating, bleeding, loving, crying, dying - and after
exam there gapes, maybe for the most of them, a big whole of nothing. We know art
cost us a lot and is unpayable. We work with passion. We give our last shirt to express
ourselves and hope for... hope for... the change of the world?
Art is love. Art is passion. But how to explain this to our hirer? We are free. (I know, maybe
not all of us – For that question, read „Behind the scene“ here tomorrow!) We have
the freedom to be artist! But art is not eatable. Mostly. And there will be once the question:
Should I do this job, it is not the best, but ok, I will earn some money...yes... no?“
I talked to David Strnad, professional dancer and teacher of JAMU, who danced in
international companies all over the world, who teach 800 to 1000 students per year,
to get an answer for our question? Love or money?
His honesty, cought my attension from the first moment I met him – an artist with
high knowledge about life and art. So I want to share with you his philosophical point
of view and I think, no - I hope a lot of us will agree with him!
David: „Everybody should do everything for 100 %. NOW is the time for that, not
tomorrow or somewhen. We have to enjoy each second on stage or on dancefloor.
We have to work for it. Some people spend their time for nothing. I can‘t understand.
Time is expensive. Somethimes we are in a bad mood. The condition of our soul
matters. We have to care for. Dance is my personal answer. I am always nervous
before danceclass or workshop, somethimes tired, but after closing the door of the
danceroom I am a different person. Work hard on your technical knowledge. Choose
the best teachers. Every choice is precious. I am teacher for 25 years and I think
young people are often worried about challenges. Why? I know, I am just a small part
in this huge dance world, but I take the challenge. I know how it is to work in a „job“
just for money. I was fireman, riskmanager in an isurance or camera man. That gave
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BEHIND THE SCENES
me the freedom to dance. Dance is not my job. It is my life. Don‘t care to much about
money. Care about the moment.“
So my dear artist friends, let‘s choose our teachers. Let‘s choose the best. And, you
know, somethimes the best teachers are our friends, who help us to choose without
asking neverending stupid questions like me!
Enjoy the love at SETKÁNI/ENCOUNTER 2017!
Jana Kühn
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COMIC
HARD CHOICES?
for setkání/encounter
By Eva polgary
© 2017
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THEME OF THE FESTIVAL
HARD CHOICES?
„The amount of information we deal with on a daily basis provides us with so many
options, but we are also under the attack of too much news, an overdose of information
— we have to find our bearings. ‚HARD CHOICES‘ symbolises this phenomena, that
is now an unconditional part of our society. One is confronted with many different
opinions, that are generously opening doors to new points of view, whilst closing them
at the same time.”
Alexandra Bolfová and Martin Hodoň
Department of Theatre Directing and Theatre Dramaturgy
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THANKS
Special thanks to all the students involved in festival preparation, in particular the students
of the Theatre Management and Stage Technology department, Theatre Directing
and Dramaturgy department, the Audiovisual Creation and Theatre department,
the Stage and Costume Design department, the Musical Acting department and the
Drama Acting department.
WE ALSO THANKS:
City of Brno
The South Moravian Region
The Ministry of Culture
The International Visegrad Fund
State Fund for Culture
PRODUCERS OF THE FESTIVAL:
THANKS
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