Meeting Point | ENG

SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER je mezinárodní festival divadelních škol s více než třicetiletou tradicí. Jedinečnost festivalu spočívá v tom, že hlavní organizátory tvoří studenti Divadelní fakulty Janáčkovy akademie múzických umění.

SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER

The already standard round of introductions was complemented by a smaller analysis of the notion of “safe space.” This question was answered by several male and female students – of course from the V4 countries (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary), but also by the pedagogues that moderated the debate.How to create an understanding environment at universities? What level of sensitivity is needed when working at a performing arts school? How to be a sufficiently understanding authority and not to hurt your students? These were all questions that came up during the joint dialogue between the teachers and students. The debate was so wide-ranging that the number of suggestions and opinions expressed completely filled the allotted time. The time for further topics such as, for example, political developments in the four countries was therefore (fortunately ) minimised.The response to the question of whether the MEETING/ENCOUTER was a&nbsp;safe place was unanimously positive. As an alumnus for whom this was the last year at the festival, I&nbsp;hope that future generations will answer the same way. I&nbsp;also hope that the number of problems that affect the university or any environment will also become fewer and fewer.<component-embed-media src="https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/mediaboard-publishing/blogs/rkbOYt8R61TjJSLkClkia5yWup1km8ID" alt="Photo: Adéla Šperková" visible_alt="true" url="" content_type="image/jpeg" type="image"></component-embed-media><component-embed-media src="https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/mediaboard-publishing/blogs/c6m75pia1bfFs33JoJMbYi6pDWXNN7AK" alt="Photo: Adéla Šperková" visible_alt="true" url="" content_type="image/jpeg" type="image"></component-embed-media>

Do you feel (un)safe?

The performance starts calmly with humorous parts bordering on stand-up comedy. As time goes on, we learn more information, not only about the main character, but also about the people she encounters in her work. Gradually, a deeper psychological layer of the story is revealed. Calm and more aggressive parts alternate, which pleasantly correspond to the text expressing the necessary emotions, pushing the plot forward along with the actress. The protagonist’s thoughts are loud but truthful, and certainly familiar to the audience. Everything that happens on the stage is clear, through parts that physically complement the situations and parts that point to an inner struggle. With regard to the directing, I would praise the very precisely-planned handling of props and the way they were treated during the performance.The room where the whole story takes place is an ordinary black box, utilizing an open space. By moving, positioning, and adjusting chairs, the actress captivated the audience, and by working with symbolic props, she reinforced their attention. The lighting often enhanced the emotion the actress was experiencing, not only by changing colours but also because she adjusted them herself. At a wave of her hand, like under a conductor’s baton, the lights returned to normal, and the echoing music stopped. At that moment, the actress had time to calm down and process her thoughts and emotions better. The music interestingly accentuated transitions, and its variety was refreshing.Andrea Tesařová presented a very authentic and captivating piece of work. Her portrayal of the young ‘toilet attendant’ was extraordinary yet understandable. Throughout the performance, she played with various moments in such a way that the audience was simply captivated and eagerly awaited what she would deliver next. She managed not only the humorous moments but also awkwardness, fear, madness, and aggression. She didn’t shy away from improvisation and always managed unexpected situations calmly. The wide range of meticulously crafted moments was fascinating, and the story she told found its way into the minds of all viewers. Now it’s up to us to decide when it’s necessary to take certain things into our own hands and find ourselves within ourselves.<component-embed-media src="https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/mediaboard-publishing/blogs/dLn9UeGHFQnEWKndRDecYLQ6LrGWLb5H" alt="Photo: Terezie Fojtová" visible_alt="true" url="" content_type="image/jpeg" type="image"></component-embed-media>

Will you contribute to our Shit-Chat?

The monodrama Mess / nepořádek, nebo snad úklid by the JAMU Physical Theatre Atelier, underneath genuinely funny content and excellent acting, hides the certain bitter aftertaste of helplessness and despair that modern man encounters at every turn. An attic room is suddenly transformed into the small, orphaned world of one man and the tragedy of confusion, which is extremely difficult to get rid of despite the undying efforts of the performer, the help or support of the audience, and the activity they themselves assume for its chaos in many moments. The viewer thus becomes a follower of the performer’s journey across the five stages of grief and final acceptance, but a journey that just raises more and more questions, despite a seemingly happy ending.Is the performer struggling all the time with herself and her physical or mental disorder, or on the contrary, is she battling with the windmills that the world and its injustice have put in her way? All the more disheartening is the fact that the spectator subjectively feels sorry for the performer and would be extremely happy to assist her in cleaning up, but she herself refuses any possible help and only becomes more entangled in the whole tragic nature of her situation. The final, apparent order is, in fact, just a new version of organized chaos, with the performer also cleaning herself into one of the plastic boxes present on the set. The cathartic moment does not arrive, and it is questionable how far the loss of self and of order can extend.However, once that is the way it goes in life, what evokes feelings of utmost despair in an individual, makes others laugh at the helplessness and be grateful that this mess and its consequences do not affect them. Whether we laugh at ourselves or the performer through our tears, however, remains an unanswered question.<component-embed-media src="https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/mediaboard-publishing/blogs/ZiLmJhMlCNqf1K7HISB8PNEHHoIYy9zd" alt="Photo: Tereza Ondryášová" visible_alt="true" url="" content_type="image/png" type="image"></component-embed-media>

This is not me

They presented a range of basic emotions such as love, passion, and pain from a cross-section of human history in the form of various folk and religious songs. And in several languages: Polish, Ukrainian, Yiddish, Swahili, Norwegian and Turkish. Prayer and ritual, greetings and salutations to several entities from around the world contrasted with grandiose vocal delivery. A divine and earthly concert in one.All for the Gods: for their birth, for their message, for their vision. Accompanied by the piano, drums, and other instruments, sounding mystical and spiritual, the cast communicated fragmented and subjective statements to the viewer. This was mostly through the vocals, which evolved, alternated, and blended in multifaceted tendencies in a multilingual performance. As such, the production did not contain a consistent narrative; rather, it was built on separate images dedicated to different cultures and traditions.The musical chosen created a harmoniously matched melody that spoke of cultural and civilizational values captured in the flow of history. The minimal movement or vagueness of the action was not such a major factor in the confusion. From a subjective point of view, it was an experiential lesson in basic human feelings through singing.<component-embed-media src="https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/mediaboard-publishing/blogs/IBrpFlyrmnqh5P333xFF8JcbtjI0HGxw" alt="" visible_alt="true" url="" content_type="image/jpeg" type="image"></component-embed-media><component-embed-media src="https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/mediaboard-publishing/blogs/hcyzuT8bidRh3Ujz4fy7BnzVpI4nk1E5" alt="" visible_alt="true" url="" content_type="image/jpeg" type="image"></component-embed-media>

Foreign and Terrestrial Hit Parade

Singing as a form of expression, song as a carrier of ideas and emotion as a result. The Polish creators have chosen several different religious and folk songs as a means of communication for their work – the vocal expression and the emotional gradation of the songs form a line in which the theme of the production can be found. The actors and actresses interpret several songs of praise and prayers that invoke higher entities. However, each person’s God may have a different name, with a different intensity of belief, so the interpretation remains up to the individual – who is, however, part of the musical collective.Despite the fact that the production is built on repetition (song – darkness, song, darkness...), there is no monotony. The many languages (Polish, Ukrainian, Yiddish, Swahili, Norwegian and Turkish are heard in the production) and religious allusions make it difficult to navigate and grasp the contexts. The audience thus perceives the production and its message only on the basis of human desires and feelings, which it captures precisely thanks to the emotional praise. Longing, sadness, joy, or pain. All of this on an empty stage, where, apart from the performers, there is only a pianist and a few musical instruments.The production is therefore, logically, based on the actors’/singers’ performances. It is almost unbelievable that a ten-member ensemble was able to give such balanced vocal performances. Each student demonstrated exceptional skills in working with their voice and its modulation. Despite the unquestionable qualities of all, the solos by Zofia Justyńska and Marek Puchowski were the highlights of the evening.Coming into the hall, there was singing in the hall. We leave the theatre, singing, but suddenly there is silence. The moment in which religions, narratives and cultures came together suddenly resounded. The diversity of interpretations was brought together by one particular experience that wiped away all differences, and everyone understood despite the absence of a specific idea.<component-embed-media src="https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/mediaboard-publishing/blogs/S5dns2TOgNe8VKUWl0GrTQk6qqRN4O5k" alt="" visible_alt="true" url="" content_type="image/jpeg" type="image"></component-embed-media><component-embed-media src="https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/mediaboard-publishing/blogs/WaVSzmiht8ucp2IGZ452lkKtcPbHNRpR" alt="" visible_alt="true" url="" content_type="image/jpeg" type="image"></component-embed-media>

Concert for Divinity

Participants first warmed up with energetic choreography, which they learned in small pieces. Once they gained some confidence in it, they were able to have a good time – shouting, enjoying the rhythm of the jazz music, and most importantly, dancing with a smile on their faces.Then it was time for various exercises: legs, arms, head, pelvis, and chest. Have you ever tried spinning your feet in a different direction than your hands? How about three exercises at the same time? Instructor David Strnad didn’t make it easy for the participants, but that made the workshop even more fun. At times you didn’t know which hand was left and which was right and whether to shout “smile!”, or to clap slowly or quickly. At the end, the workshop went back to the initial choreography, which the participants danced, although sweaty and red-faced, with a big smile and enthusiasm.Dr. Strnad is a very talented teacher, and his energy never waned throughout the lesson. He was able to generate real enthusiasm from all the participants. He created a safe environment in the room where people were not afraid to try things, even if they were quite challenging for them. In addition to this, the lecturer always emphasized the safety of all movements because, as he said, we only have one body, and with the wrong exercises we can ruin it in just a year.Overall, the workshop was very successful, with enthusiasm and satisfaction radiating from all participants. This was helped by the great jazz music, which itself invites dancing. Everyone left with a smile on their face, full of positive energy.<component-embed-media src="https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/mediaboard-publishing/blogs/RWBPmyiNEC0iGmCiJrTpUHcUTT72VqL5" alt="Photo: Adéla Šperková" visible_alt="true" url="" content_type="image/jpeg" type="image"></component-embed-media><component-embed-media src="https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/mediaboard-publishing/blogs/RbW26NF6XyJ99q2CfaaR3WaOjhK3pTTr" alt="Photo: Adéla Šperková" visible_alt="true" url="" content_type="image/jpeg" type="image"></component-embed-media>

Joy in the Rhythm of Jazz

The work is based on a dramatic text, with characters frequently revisiting the theme of family, from which they simultaneously strive to escape. Chaotically, they navigate towards the end, traversing the text through the thorny paths of forests glimpsed through the train window. Lukas Schöppl, a student of theatrical direction, has compellingly arranged the piece, and thanks to the set design and excellent performances by Austrian actors, the audience was immediately immersed in the absurd drama.The staging takes place in a compartment of a moving train. Through the window, one sees the landscape shifting, marking the passage of time. Sometimes time flows swiftly, at other times slowly, and occasionally as if in a dream. The frequent use of projection was an intriguing element that kept the audience engaged in the narrative. The colourfulness and the utilization of projection across the entire stage complemented the emotions of the characters.As a significant component, György Ligeti’s music, specifically his String Quartet No. 1 “Metamorphoses of the Nights,” began the entire production. The actors responded to the music’s progression, expressing emotions they couldn't articulate aloud, skilfully using their bodies in more dramatic moments. The costumes were simple, and ordinary, yet with a slightly old-fashioned charm. The costume for character A. had an interesting function, consisting of a suit with suspenders which aided in the portrayal of the character's age. The shift in age was also accompanied by music from Franz Schubert, featuring urgent motifs that underscored the scene’s intensity.Each character undergoes an age transformation throughout the performance. All the actors handled this transformation adeptly, infusing their characters with distinct nuances. Despite the noticeable psychological depth of the characters, the acting felt natural and authentic. They broke through the language barrier with excellent vocal work, ensuring clarity even in passages where they spoke softly. The entire performance unfolds towards the end with all the information leading to the final conclusion.<component-embed-media src="https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/mediaboard-publishing/blogs/QDS5oIiDYr28pUQzOGyq3pE3Vn5zERFp" alt="" visible_alt="true" url="" content_type="image/jpeg" type="image"></component-embed-media><component-embed-media src="https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/mediaboard-publishing/blogs/yuPWqiqtkFUUUNGApQCY90Z9Ss3V46gI" alt="" visible_alt="true" url="" content_type="image/jpeg" type="image"></component-embed-media>