PROGRAMME
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EDITORIAL
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WHAT’S WAITING FOR US? HUMANS OF ENCOUNTER
POINT OF VIEW
Important.
Criticism.
Non-randomly selected.
Reviews.
Irreplaceable for this year.
Standoffish.
Humans of Encounter.
Misunderstanding.
Our festival would really miss them.
Negativity.
Important personalities, unique human-beings, inspirational people. Those who determine the outlines of this year’s festival. Although you may already know who they are, don’t miss a single edition - we bring their views, opinions and feelings to you in each Meeting Point.
Hostility towards practical theatre people.
FROM THE BACKSTAGE Who are you? Who are we? Who are they? Those you might not see at the festival, but they exist. And we’ll prove this here for the next few days. Individual festival participants will introduce themselves - and describe how they interfere with the festival, how backstage looks because of them. So don’t miss the encounter with them and stay tuned - with Meeting Point!
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Critics… …whose theatre reviews aren’t read anyway. Enough. We want to demolish these stereotypes, so we can define this place for the encounter that heals! Our editors, who will be writing reviews for you during the festival, will also prove to you, right here, that they’re just like everyone else. People enjoying the festival just like anyone. Editors from many universities will take turns giving you their daily reflections - so they can convince you that they aren’t just sitting in the newsroom with a pencil in their mouths after the performances.
WORKSHOPS
ECHO
Open Call.
Performances.
African drums.
Impressions.
Wanna Try Folklore?
You.
And much more.
Yes, this section is about you, written by you. That means: don’t run away after performances share your impressions with us! Our students will be waiting for you with (sometimes maybe unconventional) questions, so don’t hesitate to answer – we can only fill this column with your help!
We’re all wondering what the workshop with Attila Antal will look like, but there will be only a few of us involved in the creative process. But if your curiosity overcomes you, and you can´t wait for the closing ceremony, you can read more about WORKSHOP | SETKÁNÍ / ENCOUNTER here. We’ll track it for you even if we aren’t participants! In addition, this section will give an overview of the other workshops that are part of the festival programme!
photo by Martina Řeháčková
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EDITORS BIBIÁNA ŠVECOVÁ, VŠMU I love coffee. I perform in professional and amateur theatres as an actress and dramaturgist. If, sometimes, I need a change, I work as a waitress in my family’s restaurant in the hometown of the Slovak hero Juraj Janosik. And when I have more time, I explore beautiful places in Slovakia and Europe. LUBICA OMASTOVÁ, UPOL I graduated from secondary school and university with a focus on literature and music, but discovered that I am not good at giving orders, and I am a little bit afraid of children. In the darkness of the auditorium, I somehow feel safe. In my reviews, I’m fighting low self-confidence, which is good for the creator, but makes my work harder. MIRKA KOŠŤÁLOVÁ, VŠMU I enjoyed studying law at the Business Academy, and I also received a certificate in accounting, but God wanted me to go and study History and the Theory of Theatre at the Academy of Performing Arts. Sign: book and black and white clothes. Most of all, this pulled me towards puppetry, and that’s why people call me Mirionetta. PETRA KUPCOVÁ, UPOL As a little child, I was always told by my parents: “Girl, you were born for the theatre.” However, I dreamed of being a teacher or a vet. Only in the last year of high school, maybe because of an existential crisis, I accidentally filled in an application form for theatre studies at the University of Olomouc, and my parents’ prophecy was fulfilled…
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SARAH SLAVÍČKOVÁ, DAMU At Dialogue with inner partner classes I often transform myself into cartoon characters, and I reveal my secret obsession with trashy reality shows. My maximum speed in the car is almost always 20 km. I do Irish dancing and last year I adopted a dog I had seen on a post on FB. Right now I am hooked on Spanish songs and puppet theatre. And my favourite song? Of course, Sáro! From Traband. And I always say MORE! TEREZA RICHTEROVÁ, UPOL Due to my figure, I said goodbye to pointe shoes, and as a remedy for that trauma and my newly-found free time I started to study at two universities - (not only) Theatrology in Olomouc and Dance and Movement Theatre and Education at JAMU. My passion is still dance, but I enjoy listening to theatre dialogues, too. MARTIN TILŠAR, DAMU My name is Martin, but many people think I’m Thomas. I have a diploma in Civil Aviation, but I am keen on theatre. I am a poet, but I hate poetry. Brno is my hometown, but I live in Prague. I love dreaming, but my life is designed by reality. So? JAN REC, JAMU I am something like a legendary creature – my atelier is mysteriously called RTDS, and personally, I am from a mysterious area on the Moravian-Silesian border (yes, those lands where the hills burn from the inside), and I know how to use participle clauses in Czech. I know, it really is hard to believe, but don’t worry! If you are lucky, you will possibly meet me somewhere!
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ANNA SOLDÁNOVÁ, JAMU As a kid I wanted to be an actress. As a teenager I wanted (and I still want to) be a writer. Then I grew up, got some sense and became a stage manager/ producer. I can follow five different conversations at the same time. I can translate artistic language into normal language. And I can find a roll of barbed wire or a kangaroo costume at 3 AM. VERONIKA ONHEISEROVÁ, JAMU Veronika. Verča. Verunka. Veruna. 20 y.o. I like to spread joy. For no reason. I think that despite all the problems, life is beautiful and so I try to look for all the beauty of it. I like ICE Bon Pari the most, my favourite joke is the one about the crocodile, and I’m addicted to all kinds of competitions. MARIE MLATEČKOVÁ, JAMU marie - 21 - second year theatre dramaturgy - green tea caprisonne mate when it rains and when the sun shines ZUZANA TAŠKÁ, JAMU What? TAŠKÁ. Zuzana TAŠKÁ from Bratislava. That’s cool. Like a slogan(haha) Your favourite THEME? (.......) hm? All meaningful + ♥ -
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MARTIN MODRÝ, JAMU Welcome to my art form. Buckle up and get ready for a ride, straight to hell. Let’s talk about the loss of ideals (a painful loss of ideals), dogs breaking their chains and cats crying in their double beds, and if I think about it over and over and over and over again, I might be a pessimist. LEŇA DOBROVOLNÁ, JAMU Lenka Dobrovolná – student of Theatre in Education, recreational dramaturge, occasional writer, catastrophic actress, and sports disaster. Single. She loves cooking, baking, comic books, killing dragons, drinking wine, and sometimes starts to rhyme out of nowhere. KRISTÝNA STAROŠTÍKOVÁ, MUNI/JAMU Hello, I’m Kristýna. If you can’t reach me, no doubt you will find me in Gorky Street, where I study theatre studies. Or at JAMU, where I also study and star in a neverending fight with the coffee machine in the quiet room. For me, theatre is an element of communication in society. That’s why I started with the smallest, teaching children about the theatre, by the theatre, for the theatre. IVA HERIBANOVÁ, MUNI Hello, I’m Iva. Brno is my hometown, and I also study theatre there. Sometimes I write about theatre, sometimes I cry in the theatre (which usually means I am really enjoying the performance). Although my other major is English, I believe that theatre is an amazing form of self-expression no matter what language it is performed in.
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HUMANS OF ENCOUNTER THE FESTIVAL DIRECTOR MICHAL ZETEL: THEATRE SCHOOLS FROM ALL AROUND THE WORLD KNOW THE FESTIVAL ENCOUNTER. IT IS EXTRAORDINARY WHAT WE CAN DO IN OUR CONDITIONS ENCOUNTER has a new director after 28 years. This function was taken by Michal Zetel, a director of Slovácké divadlo, graduate and pedagogue of JAMU. What is his personal relation to the festival? And what was his last encouraging encounter?
You took the post of the Festival Director from Petr Oslzlý, who was the director for 28 years for the whole existence of ENCOUNTER. Was it an easy decision for you or was there a moment of hesitation? It’s true I was hesitating a bit. Not because of the nature of the job but because reasons of time. The fact that Petr Francán is the current dean of the Theatre faculty has helped me to decide to accept this position. Another reason why I decided to say yes is that Julia Pecková is this year’s coordinator and I worked with her on previous projects at Studio Marta. So I said to myself that if there is a good time to become the Festival Director of ENCOUNTER, it is now. Do you remember what your first thought that came into your mind was when you heard the proposal to become the Festival Director? Will I have time for this? It is really important for me. It was tempting but I am not doing decisions based just on what I want. I need to consider if I have time for it because I am quite a busy person. I did not want to become the person who has a lot of functions and positions but does not do any of them properly.
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Is there anything about being the festival director that has surprised you? What have you not expected? Every time you take over such a position after a person who has been there for such a long time, you are going to find out what he has done and taken care of. There is a document about responsibilities and tasks the director has to do and there is more of it than it was before. It surprises me how an informal position can become an institution. What is a month before the festival like for the director? There is a lot of promo events happening. An exhibition of photographs from previous years, press conference and so on. On the other hand, we meet the organisation team more and more often and there is this nervousness, which is kind of nice. But I have to admit that position of the director is mostly representative so I am more like a consultant. It all comes from the faculty team, mostly the student one. Have you already gained any pleasant experience which you would not have had without your position? I have. It is a pleasant experience with what students can do. How independent they are and how
further they are than my own generation. For example, the fact how easily they can communicate in English and other languages. And then it is also great how one can use personal and foreign contacts, or long forgotten relationships. When I write to my colleague from Berlin, who I have not seen for 5 years, asking him for help and he remembers and agrees to do it. That’s really nice, too. In the opening remarks of the bulletin you were talking about insecurity as well. What caused it? It was mainly because of the theater authority of Mr. Oslzlý and some other reasons. I’m not nervous about ruining something or doing anything wrong. It just might happen. The important thing is how you react to it, but I think I am used to situations like this. The main point is that the festival has a top-notch brand. And it might not look like it, but it is a really fragile thing and I would not like to be the person who would be responsible for ruining it. So it’s not just about the Rector, but also about the good name of the festival and theater faculty itself. What does ENCOUNTER mean to you? Do you have any experience you would like to share? The experience is long. When I entered JAMU, the eighth year of ENCOUNTER was held. And we did not know if the festival would continue or not. It was always a difficult question if we could make it or not. I know that there was quite an intense discussion about whether to make ENCOUNTER once every two years or once for each student´s study cycle at the faculty because it was and still is a bit overwhelming event. But it has become a certainty. Maybe not for new students, but for me it is absolutely incredible that we can get students from Colombia, Taiwan or other countries come here. I think it is extraordinary because I have been to many foreign schools and they know us all around the world. And of course, there is a lot of very intense personal encounters, but these cannot be published. (laugh)
What healing encounter have you experienced recently? My visit to New York was my last healing encounter. I went there with my co-worker from Chicago musical, which we are going to prepare in Slovácké Divadlo. Of course, it was very healing to be in a completely different place without any contact with work or family. We ensured this by leaving our phones at home and buying short-term American ones. Sára Matůšová
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BEHIND THE SCENES Saturday afternoon, the last couple of hours before the official festival launch, but for me, the festival already started a long ago. I check every detail as, much to my surprise, the thing we have been talking about and imagining for long months slowly shapes and begins to materialise. The arrival of the first participants is a relief for me and a feeling of joy, for – yes, it is going to happen, it is already happening! After long phone talks and countless email conversations, our – sometimes a little abstract – mission has been fulfilled. They are all here! Our mission is called: FESTIVAL. Our six-member team, Anička, Helča, Klárka, Matěj, Káča and me, have been organising your arrival for a couple of past months and – with the help of other colleagues – schoolmates – we have been trying to give you as much information as we could about how wonderful this festival is and that it can become an unforgettable experience for you as well. Where can you find us now? Some of us are spending their time with the arrived ensembles. Others are waiting for you in The Infocenter and are pleased to see you arriving. Yet others are running around the railway station to find out which carriage you may get off from, to welcome you and accompany you to the Janáček Academy. Some members of our team are accompanying the competition jury moving from one theatre to another. And someone can be seen running around with a cell phone pressed to their ear. Their expression will be strange and radiating the adrenalin of their attempt to resolve an issue. I am happy for now the long-awaited ENCOUNTER has materialised after all. For our mission to be accomplished I ask all of you to help. Come enjoy yourselves. Come to the theatre to see the staging prepared by each participating ensemble. Come to gather inspiration, share and find understanding and participate in discussions.
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Try to greet all people you meet and give them a smile. Meet with others at the party and dance together. Invite somebody to a pint of beer! Have a joint breakfast in the festival Encounter café. Contribute to everybody´s loving memory of the days here. That will make our mission accomplished indeed. I wish everybody beautiful and (maybe) sunny days, a lot of great stage and off-stage experiences, new friendships and memories for the rest of your lives. Sylvie Vojtová The Head of Guests, Jury and Participants
WORKSHOPS 3. 4. / NELY H. KORNETOVÁ / THE BODY OF MANY VOICES
The aim of this workshop is to work with the body and voice organically, based on real sensations. The voice as a starting point for movement, and movement and touch as a starting point for the voice. The workshop aims to warm up participants flesh & bones, voice and bodily consciousness. We will investigate how to use the body and vocal organs effortlessly, and how to intensify an awareness of one‘s own body and voice in relation to others and space. To attend this workshop means to relate and react to the impulses, your space, and your current condition. I working with techniques such as voice massage, humming into the bones, radical manipulation of the body (and its parts), all followed by focused improvisation based on imagination and recreation of given impulses. I am currently interested in re-enactment of the impossible as a starting point for physical and vocal improvisation. How can the participant solve the problem of the absence of their partner or group, and still recreate the position and voice that they found themselves in naturally when working with their partners? We will play with contrasting qualities and apply different mental and physical conditions, frames, and rules as possible ways of exploring and creating instant compositions of movement and vocal material. We will work with focus and time in order to deepen and expand the work. The body is looked upon as the ultimate instrument in the orchestra. This workshop is for performers, dancers, actors, or people who dare to work intensively with their body & voice.
photo by Eva Racova
10:00 - 13:00 Astorka
Bio: Nela H. Kornetova is an independent performer, creator and director living in Norway. After graduating from The Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno (CZ, 2010) and the Norwegian Theater Academy (NO, 2013), she received the prestigious DanceWEB 2014 Scholarship (Impulstanz, Vienna). Nela H. Kornetova focuses on topics and emotions that the viewer can directly relate to. She is also the artistic leader of T.I.T.S., who work in non-hierarchical teams and together create atmospheric visual performances. T.I.T.S. explore the possibilities of hybrid theatrical forms at the border of choreography and play, sound, image, and body. TITS has performed „Force Beauty“ (2016) and physical concert / operetta: „Mine“ (Tributes): Black Box Specific Performance „Trumpets in the Sky“ (2017), audiences in Norway, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, Italy, Poland, France, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, the audio-visual physical performance „Cult of Busy“ (2018).
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3. 4. / WANNA TRY FOLKLORE? 13:00 - 15:00 DF JAMU 202
Folklore, dance, tradition - does it mean anything to you? Would you like to learn more? At this year‘s International Festival of Theater Schools SETKÁNÍ/ ENCOUNTER there will be a dance workshop of traditional folk dance from the regions of Moravia, Bohemia and a bit from our brothers from Slovakia! Sign up for the „Wanna Try Folklore!“ Workshop, is designed for Earth people of all ages, genders, and social status. The only condition is to bring sportswear and dance shoes (jazz shoes, dance shoes, cloth shoes, inadequate shoes with heels, beautiful flooring in the hall!) At the workshop we will try to dance, not just solo but also in pairs. It is an advantage to sign up in pairs, but this is not a prerequisite! Bio: Dance, as we know, has healed the soul for centuries and heals today. Our ancestors knew this well. After hard work, they had fun together, creating the basis of folk culture and folk dances. A vast number of regional dance styles, individual dancing elements, and beautiful folk costumes still give us a chance to learn about folk culture today. Sign up to the energetic but also educational workshop of folk dances, mainly from Bohemia, Moravia, and Slovakia. Dancers and dancers from the Brno ensemble Ondráš are looking forward to seeing you in their free time.
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photo by Hana Holomčíková
WORKSHOP | SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER Thinking about the topic for this year’s festival, encounter regenerates, I asked myself the questions: How do encounters regenerate? What kinds of diseases do encounters heal? What did we lose and want to get back? The obvious answers came immediately: in our digital age we are estranged from each other, we communicate less in person and we rely more and more on our gadgets, our kids can’t even play with each other anymore, using two sticks as swords, our intimate relationships start in the virtual world, but then we agree on having a story for the outside world, where and how we had met, etc. Is this really the problem? If this is what we need to recover from, is theatre a good place to start the healing process? A theatre is a place full of contradictions. This is a place, where a new entity arises initiated by the performers, in the active presence of the audience. But we too often take the presence of theatre for granted: we make strictly deigned pieces, without the active presence of the audience, or we use quasi-interaction, which also becomes self-sufficient and estranged. If we end this workshop with a few minutes of true co-presence and of everyone in the room, I will be very happy. Can we develop something that will be a true encounter between the audience and the performers, with a group of strangers coming together for this occasion, in a few days’ time? I want to discover the encounter between the 9 of us in the workshop, and use it as a starting point. The end result will be ours: it will build on the personalities of each individual participant in various encounters: with each other, with space, the festival itself and the people of the city of Brno. We will use everything on our disposal to arrive to our essence of encounters. Attila Antal, Budapest, 31. 3. 2019
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ENCOUNTER. CAFÉ BY PUNKT.
“We are pleased to offer you refreshments right at the Theatre Faculty. We will try to make Encounter café a real café with an unforgettable atmosphere. We love stage and all that belongs to it and we wish you enjoy the festival to the fullest.” Klára, Martin and the team of Punkt café
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OPEN AIR STAGE TODAY BRNO WILL EMBRACE THE LIVE ART of the ENCOUNTER festival with the Opening Ceremony in the streets! The streets will be filled with street artists, jugglers, omnipresent music, and especially the feeling of spring (the meteorologists are forecasting sunlit days)! At 2:30 pm the Open Air Stage in Moravian Square around the statue of Jošt will offer an excellent programme of music. The evening will be headlined by the local band Acute Dose, who have already released two Indie pop recordings and are known for their talent on the guitar. The evening gala will culminate with the remarkable Slovak star Katarzia, tonight giving a solo recital. Her nostalgia, combined with an expressive mixture of electronic and folk music will enchant you. These are also the genres featured on her successful new CD called Antigona, where Katarzia introduces ancient dramatic ideas through music. At 9:00 pm the First Bashavel Party will begin in Artbar. Be prepared for a real dance fever. Your dancing will be accompanied by DJ Gadjo.cz with saxophonist El Checo. Do not miss this opening charged with energy. Alžběta Konečná Member of the Off-programme
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