PROJECTS OF THE THEATRE INSTITUTE

Conference and Exhibition : THEATRE AND REVOLUTION

This year we are celebrating 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution that also took place in the Czech and Slovakian theatres. To return theater topics back into scholarly discussions as ´polis´ is the main focus of the exhibition and conferences, which are dedicated to this idea.
The Arts and Theatre Institute decided to put together exhibition and conferences, THEATRE AND REVOLUTION, not only because of the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution and the important role of theatre during the revolutionary period, but also because the Arts and Theatre Institute celebrates in 2009 50 years since its foundation.

THEATRE AND REVOLUTION EXHIBITION

Through photography and graphic materials the exhibition will present the most important Czech stages in Pilsen, Prague, Brno, Olomouc, and Ostrava during November and December 1989. The idea is to chronologically document the transformation of theatre spaces into public political discussion halls that contributed to the collapse of the totalitarian regime during the revolutionary days.

THEATRE AND REVOLUTION CONFERENCE

Three day conference focused on the theatre-historical-sociological point of view of this period. The first day of the conference will begin with investigation results of the young generation of Czech theatre historians. The second day will be opened to the many contributions made by our guests not only from the Czech Republic but also from abroad. The third day of the conference will take place in the theatre Divadlo v Celetné and it will be dedicated to the discussion with direct observers and active participants of the revolutionary events in November and December 1989.

PROGRAM OF THE CONFERENCES:

• contributions from the graduates of the Theatre Studies at the universities in Prague and Brno
• guests

• presentation of the results of the project Theatre and Revolution - lectures organized in the academic year 2007/2008 in KDV FF UK in Prague, scholarly presentations of master's program students
• presentation of the results of the project Children of the Revolution organized by the Theatre Institute in Bratislava (for more see http://www.detirevolucie.sk), students´ and project organizers´ scholarly presentations
• guests

• opening of the THEATRE AND REVOLUTION exhibition in the courtyard of the Arts and Theatre Institute
• hosted discussion with direct observers and active participants of the revolutionary events

Partners: National Theatre in Prague, Charles University

For more info: martina.cerna@divadlo.cz.

The Launch of the Contemporary Czech Plays Anthology in New York

The anthology of contemporary Czech plays called Czech Plays: Seven New Works was published in the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center in New York in June. The Theatre and Arts Institute and the Czech Center in New York participated in publishing of this book. It contains plays by Lenka Lagronová, Ivana Růžičková, Egon Tobiáš, David Drábek, Jiří Pokorný, Iva Klestilová and Petr Zelenka. David Drábek and Iva Klestilová were present at the festive launch of the book as well as at the scenic reading that took place on 15th June 2009 in the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center.

The editors of the book Czech Plays: Seven New Works were Dr. Daniel Gerould, Director of the Publishing Department of the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center and Marcy Arlin and Gwynn MacDonald, the authors of the Immigrant's Theatre project. It is a part of the framework Czech Plays in Translation where the selected works in English translation by contemporary Czech playwrights have been presented for 8 years. The book contains a vast study by Daniel Gerould about Czech theatre of the 20th century and a genesis of the Immigrant's Theatre project of scenic readings of Czech playwrights performed by Marcy Arlin. The anthology contains following plays: Miriam (Lenka Lagronová), Otevírám zásuvku a vyndávám nůž/I'm Opening a Drawer and Grabbing a Knife (Ivana Růžičková), Slíbil jsem to Freddymu/I Promised It To Freddy (Egon Tobiáš), Akvabely/Synchronized Swimmers (David Drábek), Taťka střílí góly/Daddy Shoots Goals (Jiří Pokorný), Minach (Iva Klestilová) and Teremin (Petr Zelenka).

The authors of the project dealing with publishing English translations of Czech plays that originated after 1989 - Marcy Arlin, Gwynn MacDonald and Director of the Theatre Center Martin E. Segal Frank Hentschker - introduced this project to the audience in New York. Then scenic reading of parts from the plays followed (Akvabely, Minach, Otevírám zásuvky a vyndávám nůž a Slíbil jsem to Freddymu) as well as the projection of parts from Czech stagings of plays Taťka střílí góly (Činoherní studio Ústí nad Labem/The Drama Studio Ústí nad Labem), Teremin (Dejvické divadlo/Dejvické Theatre) and Miriam (Divadlo Komedie/Comedy Theatre). Another part of the program was a discussion of the audience with Czech authors. Dramaturgist of the National Theatre in Prague Iva Klestilová and Artistic Director of the Klicpera Theatre in Hradec Králové David Drábek discussed the position of a contemporary author in Czech theatre, staging contemporary Czech plays abroad but also the situation of contemporary Czech theatre and political and cultural connections of the theatre development after 1989 in Central Europe with the American translators, producers, theatermakers, students and Czech community. The last topic is interesting for New York audience because they celebrate the 20th anniversary of revolutions in Central Europe where the Czech Republic and Czech theatre have an irreplaceable importance. In autumn this year, the vast exhibition, artistic and conference project are being prepared and Czech artists, professionals and theatres will take part as well.

The Czech Centre in New York will distribute this book in the USA, the Arts and Theatre Institute will distribute this book in the Czech Republic and other countries.

Martin E. Segal Theatre Center (MESTC) is a non-governmental theatre, dance and film center established as a part of the PhD program at the City University of New York. It was originally founded as the Center for Advanced Studies in Theatre Arts (CASTA) in 1979, it became Martin E. Segal in 1999, and it is one of the main and most prestigious artistic centers in New York.

Published in 2009 / ISBN 978-0-9790570-6-9
Price: 15 EUR + p&p

Digital Theatre Words

Participation of the Arts and Theatre Institute on the project of the Digital Theatre Words/DTW

The DTW (Digital Theatre Words) project is linked to a successful project with history back to 1975. Thanks to a collective strive of an international team of professionals, a dictionary focused on new theatre terminology concerning stage design, theatre architecture and technology and other similar theatre fields originated 24 years ago in Scandinavian languages and English. The dictionary was published in several parts in the 1990's, it includes 24 languages (Czech as well) and it is divided into geographic-language fields.
It is natural that the OISTAT is preparing a project how to transform a corpus of the dictionary to a digitalized version in the time of the computer technologies development that brings digital language tools as well. The process of digitalization of the vocabulary was commenced this year and its main purpose is revision of terms and their translation in older versions of the dictionary, adding new terms, reorganization of terms etc.
The result will be a launch of a dictionary site which will be available for a broad basis of users.
It is a great honour for Czech theatre studies and Czech theatre that the working group of the new OISTAT Digital Theatre Words project in Antwerp decided on its first meeting that the digitalized form of the dictionary will be festively launched during the Prague Quadrennial 2011. More information martina.cerna@divadlo.cz.

The Czech-Argentinean Biennale e-Golems

The 5th Czech-Argentinean biennale held in April 2009 offered theatre, dance, and film productions along with literary projects.

The Czech-Argentinean Biennale e-Golems was founded as a project with the aim to show the influence of science and technology on society and on individuals, as well as, their impact on culture and arts. The program included two parts: scientific and cultural.

Golem-Robot-Computer

The cultural bridge between the two countries is created by two main figures of the Czech and Argentinean literary world: Karel Čapek and Jorge Luis Borges. The Czech author, Karel Čapek, contributed to the world dictionary with the word "robot" that anticipated possible benefits and threats for the future existence of our society. One of the poems by Jorge Luis Borges is called "Golem" and it is inspired by the old Prague's legend about Golem and his creator Rabi Jehuda Low ben Bezalel. Golem not only represents, in the Jewish culture, an artificial being, but also corresponds with language and its secret magic powers. Therefore the connection of Čapek´s "robotic shem" with Borges´ "Golem" triggered a lasting cooperation between the Czech Republic and Argentina in the cultural, scientific and educational field. Golem becomes a symbol for two opposing forces: the force of positive creation and progress, or destructive force yielding to ambivalent moral and ethical questions.

History of The Czech-Argentinean Biennale e-Golems

The project started in Prague in 2002 with a first literary contest for the best Czech translation of the poem "El Golem" by Jorge Luis Borges. The competition was announced by the Embassy of Argentina and the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts of the Charles University in Prague. The first biennale also included scholarly seminars, film projections, exhibitions, and other cultural activities centered on the subject of Golem.

The 2nd biennale, called Golem, was opened in Buenos Aires. In the year 2005 the project was transformed into a regular Czech-Argentinean cultural event, re-named The Czech - Argentinean Biennale e-Golems. The third biennale took place, again, in Prague including scientific conference about artificial intelligence and computer science. The 4th biennale returned back to Buenos Aires with the subtitle "Informational and Communicational Society, contemporary technologies, and their application in art and society".

This year's 5th Czech-Argentinean biennale e-Golems came back to Prague. The cultural program was organized in April 2009 by the Arts and Theatre Institute in Prague and its partner, the Embassy of Argentina in Prague.

The Czech-Argentinean Biennale e-Golems: Prague, April 2009

THEATRE
Theatre was represented by the Argentinean company El Patrón Vázquez and its production Buenos Aires. The production Buenos Aires forms the 3rd part of a trilogy "Three Cities", co-produced by Ranters Theatre (Melbourne, Australia) and Chapter Theatre Stiwdio (Cardiff, Wales). The production was inspired by a play written by an Argentinean playwright, Rafael Spregelburd, which introduces four characters - an unemployed physicist, an art student, a mysterious Welshman, and a confused real estate broker - involved in a plot to solve a secret equation encoded in a famous painting "Scream" by Edward Munch. The play contemplates the true value of art, scientific knowledge, and the role of money in the modern world.

DANCE
Dance was represented with the production Turing machine by the Czech choreograph and dancer Petra Hauerová and her dance company TOW. Modern technologies and laser projections are part of this futuristic dance performance.

LITERATURE
Literature was represented with a stage reading and presentation of the anthology of Czech drama, recently published by the Argentinean publishing house Emergentes with the title "Teatro checo contemporaneo". The anthology includes Spanish translations of the plays Garden party by Václav Havel, Aquabelles by David Drábek, and Tales of Common Insanity by Petr Zelenka.

CINEMA
Cinema was represented with two Argentinean movies projected in the cinema Světozor. The short movie Al Sol en Bici by the independent artistic group Humus shows strong passions and eclipse of the sun. The movie La Sonámbla is a futuristic vision about Buenos Aires of 2010 that connects drama, action, and surrealistic ways of perception.