Festival

Having studied directing at the Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre at The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Mr Adamek is currently a lecturer there. He developed a novel type of musical theatre combining musically composed structure and vocal techniques on the border between speech and singing. He further advances this specific approach to language and speech (deconstruction, fragmentation , rhythmisation) with his theatre group Boca Loca Lab. As a librettist and director, he collaborates with a range of Czech theatres on music-theatrical compositions, staged concerts and new operas. His musical-theatre productions earned Mr Adamek multiple awards: Music Theatre Now! in Germany and the Award for original theatrical form at the Kontakt festival in Toruń for the production Tiká tiká politika (2006); the project Europeans (2008) won the prize for the best young director at the Mess festival (Bosnia and Herzegovina). He directed the Festival production of Hugo’s World presented by the Bratislava Puppet Theatre.

In 1997, Ms Bach founded with Christian Schrøder, with whom she still works, the Madam Bach Theatre. Their work with the group earned it high acclaim in Denmark. Ms Bach’s experience, creativity and exceptional ability to understand children are the key to the success of the Madam Bach Theatre. It reached a major milestone with 150 performances in China and toured 42 countries with its shows and workshops. Ms Bach directed the production Home brought to the Festival by the Madam Bach Theatre.

Together with his wife Miřenka Čechová, Petr Boháč founded the Spitfire Company. Based in Prague, the company has an extensive reach within the international context. Mr Boháč’s work of stage director has been seen in over 20 countries, including Japan, China, South Korea, the USA, Israel, South Africa, and Norway. His works have received international and domestic awards, such as The Herald Angel Award, Aerowaves Priority Companies 2014, Theatre newspaper awards, Next Waves festival award or Czech dance platform. Currently, he is the dramaturge at the Palác Akropolis Theatre, focusing on cross-over projects, genres of new circus and experimental theatre. He is also artistic director of the international festival Zero Point held every July in Prague. His poetics is based on exploring uncharted theatre methods, in order to cross the boundaries that people constantly set for themselves. He is the director of the Festival production The End of Man?!? Reports Written from the Kitchen presented by the Spitfire Company.

Having graduated from the department of puppetry at the Academy of Performing Arts Bratislava (whilst completing four semesters at the Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague), Ms Danadová joined the acting ensemble of the Puppet Theatre at the Crossroads in Banská Bystrica. During and after her studies, she collaborated with a number of leading names, such as Jiří Havelka, SKUTR or Petra Tejnorová. Since 2011, she has been the editor of the literary and drama department of the Slovak Radio and Television. She currently works as puppeteer, performer, stage director and workshop instructor. Since 2014, she has been forming the independent theatre company Odivo tht stages puppet, object, movement and performative productions for children and adults. In June 2022, she won the 2022 Skupova Pilsen Festival Award for the movement concept of the Mowgli production by the Bratislava Puppet Theatre. With Monika Kováčová and Ivan Martinka, she directed the Odivo production Svetlonos that received the prize for experimental and new forms at the 2021 Pierrot International Puppet Theatre Festival for Adults (Bulgaria). She co-directed the Festival productions Kozmos by the Odivo group and Robinson.ka by Puppet Theatre Žilina.

The founder of the Líšeň Theatre, Ms Dombrovská is its in-house stage director and screenwriter. The company favours original productions for children and adults, with its publicly committed work earning the company multiple awards. Ms Dombrovská collaborates with Roma artists, with whom she created several productions. She is involved in the Provocative Theatre project that reflects political situation in the world, expresses personal attitudes of the artists of the Líšeň Theatre to inspire and stimulate others to activity leading to freedom. She is the co-author and co-director of the Festival production Kriplštreka.

The co-founder of the theatre group Florschütz & Döhnert based in Berlin and regularly touring internationally, Mr Döhnert has been working with the artist Melanie Florschütz since 1996, having founded their theatre company in 2004. He is a composer, guitarist and singer. The Florschütz & Döhnert productions focus on the central idea of an actor as author. Productions for children always look for a synthesis of music, various means of expression, and puppet and object theatre and acting. The theme of the play determines the resulting stage form that always tends towards poetry and variety. Mr Döhnert and Ms Florschütz will feature at the Festival with their production Electric Shades.

Having studied multimedia technology at the Czech Technical University, Mr Erbes went on to pursue studies in directing and dramaturgy at the Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre at Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. Since the 2020/2021 season, he is dramaturge at the Theatre Na Zabradlí. He works with, inter alia, the active role of the audience and the structures of the play, while regularly collaborating with Boris Jedinák on the productions of the Theatre Na Zábradlí. Mr Erbes also works on projects that go beyond the usual scope of theatre, such as the card game Panství (2021) and Legionářek (2018), or the interactive table Nad Zborovskou plání (2018). He is also co-founder of the creative collective 8lidí, with which he regularly creates alternative and performative projects, and author of stage texts. Mr Erbes directed the Festival production Spaghetti futurista! by Malé divadlo from České Budejovice.

In addition to his artistic activity, Mr Falke is also a lecturer. He is interested in stories told by materials and spaces, redefining the body, contradictions, tearing down old and familiar stories, and reconstructing them. His works have been presented widely, from national theatres to waste bins, from Israel and Palestine to Finland, from Russia to Brazil. He is co-author and co-director of the production Invisible Land by the Finnish theatre Grus Grus Teatteri, with which he cooperates. The production won the Festival Director’s Award at the 2018 Banialuka Festival (Poland) in and the Intimate Artistic Grasp of a Current Theme Award at the 2019 Spectaculo Festival Interesse (Czech Republic).

Co-founder of the theatre group Florschütz & Döhnert based in Berlinthat regularly tours internationally, Ms Florschütz studied puppetry in Stuttgart. She has been working with the musician Michael Döhnert since 1996, having founded their theatre company in 2004. The idea of actor as author is central in the Florschütz & Döhnert productions. In those for children, they look for a synthesis of music, various means of expression and puppet and object theatre, and acting. The theme of the play determines the resulting theatrical form, which always tends towards poetry and variety. Mr Döhnert and Ms Florschütz will feature at the Festival with their production Electric Shades.

Having graduated from the Department of Theatre Dramaturgy and Directing at the Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica, Ms Kováčvá collaborated with Mária Danadová for the first time when working on the degree project – production. Between 2008 and 2014, she collaborated with the Puppet Theatre at the Crossroads in Banská Bystrica as a dramaturge and stage director. At the initiative of the theatre, she directed there a toddler show – first of the kind in Slovakia. She currently cooperates with several Slovak theatres, such Studio Dance Theatre, Bratislava Puppet Theatre, City Theatre – Theatre from the Alleyway (Divadlo z Pasáže). She won an award for the best direction for the production Láska P a vášeň B at the 2015 Pierrot – international festival of puppet theatre for adults (Bulgaria). She is founding member of the independent theatre group Odivo, with which she will present the Festival production Kozmos. Ms Kováčová is also co-author and co-director of the production Robinson.ka brought to the Festival by the Puppet Theatre Žilina.

Having graduated at the Amsterdam School of the Arts in 2010, Ms Lindgren also studied choreography in Amsterdam and theatre in Clipa Visual Theatre in Tel Aviv. In her work, she is interested in exploring the body, seeking answers through the study of the relationship of the body to materials, objects and stories of our time. She is member of the Grus bilingual theatre Grus Teatteri, with which she arrives at 2024 Bábkarská Bystrica. She is co-director and co-author of the Festival production Invisible Land that won the Festival Director’s Award at the 2018 Banialuka Festival (Poland) and the Intimate Artistic Grasp of a Current Theme Award at the 2019Spectaculo Festival Interesse (Czech Republic).

Having pursued master’s degree at the Music and Dance Facukty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Mr Lyga specialised in Nonverbal Theatre under the tutelage of Radim Vizváry. During his studies, he created, with Šimon Plisk, Lukáš Bliss Blaha and Václav Wortner the renowned improvisation group My kluci co spole hódáme that specialises in free-form improvisations, including programmes for children. Mr Lyga also collaborates with Tantehorse, Studio DAMÚZA and others. Since 2022, he has been member of Losers Cirque Company. His first solo project, Fairy-Tale for the Brave, earned him nomination for an exceptional performance at the 2023 Thalia Awards in the Alternative Theatre category and for the Talent of the Year category at the 2023 Theatre Critics Awards. At the 2024 Skupova Pilsen festival, he received the City of Pilsen Award for Authorship and Performance.

Having graduated from the Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Mr Maksymov cooperates with theatres in the Czech Republic and abroad. He also directed in Slovakia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, France, and Germany. In his productions, he often adapts prose, while the vantage point of his projects is not the text itself, but the material, matter. He largely focuses on puppet theatre, object theatre and theatre that tends to artistic metaphor. He cooperates with the Lampion Theatre and is currently artistic director at the Ostrava Puppet Theatre. Mr Maksymov directed the Festival production Komodo by the Lampion Theatre in Kladno that received the Jan Borna Award at the 2022 Dítě festival in Dlouhá.

Having graduated in directing and dramaturgy at the Department of Alternative and Puppet
Theatre at the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (DAMU), Mr
Mazúch combines the principles of drama, puppetry and physical theatre. He is also known
for his innovation in performing arts and experimenting. He has staged over two dozen
productions in Czech, Polish and Slovak theatres. He was director and artistic director in the
following theatres: Vosto5 Theatre, West Bohemian Theatre in Cheb, National Theatre,
Ponec Theatre, DISK Theatre, Municipal Theatre Kladno, Švandovo Theatre, Klicper Theatre
in Hradec Králové, Circus La Putyka. Mr Mazúch is the Head of the Department of Alternative
and Puppet Theatre at DAMU. He is the author and director of the production No! by the
Puppet Theatre in Košice, with whom he will perform at the Festival in 2024.

Having graduated in theatre direction and pantomime methodology at The Janáček Academy of Performing Arts (JAMU) in Brno, Ms Mikotová worked in the puppet theatre Radost Brno for a decade. In 1992, she founded the Theatre and Learning Studio for the Deaf at JAMU (one of the kind in Slovakia and the Czech Republic) and remains dedicated to learning through drama for the deaf. She worked as stage director in a dozen domestic and international theatres, including the BDNR. In 2004, she received the Annual Award of the Czech Centre Assitej. In 2006, she received the 2nd degree medal of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports for artistic and pedagogical activity. In 2007, she was awarded the JAMU Gold Medal. In May 2024, she was awarded the ASSITEJ (International Lifetime Accomplishments Award) for long-term contribution in theatre for children and youth. Ms Mikotová directed the Festival production Heroines?! presented by the theatre association Oukej.

Since 1985, Mr Pecko has been working at the Puppet Theatre at the Crossroads in Banská Bystrica, where he is currently stage director and artistic director. He directed nearly 200 productions for children and adults. He has been shaping the face of the Bábkarská Bystrica international festival. He collaborated with a range of Slovak, Polish and Czech theatres. He is known for his creative stage language and multi-layered work with signs. His work is often received to high acclaim at home and abroad. He is multiple laureate of the Annual Prizes of the Slovak Literary Fund, of the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Jan Dorman Award for noteworthy directing influence in Polish theatre for young audiences, and the Hašterica Award for creative contribution to puppet theatre in Slovakia for the production of Kubo. In 2012, Mr Pecko received the Main Prize at the 16th KORCZAK International Theatre Festival in Warsaw for the production Tajomné dieťa (Teatr Lalka, Warsaw) and, in 2017, the Grand Prix and the Spectator’s Award of the Nová drama/New drama festival and the Tatra banka Foundation Award for art in THEATRE category for the direction of the production Vojna nemá ženskú tvár (Slovak Chamber Theatre in Martin). He was repeatedly nominated for the Dosky award. The production Dojímate ma veľmi (fragmenty zo života diela Dominika Tatarku) directed by Mr Pecko was included in the Golden Fund of Slovak Theatre. The Festival presents his productiosn for children Kamil and for young people, and for adults Secondhand Time. The End of the Red Man by the BDNR, as well as the Brzechwatorium by the Polish Opolski teatr lalki i aktora.

Having graduated from the Physical Theatre Studio at The Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno, Ms Piktorová explores stage connection between the areas of physical theatre, dance and contemporary clowning. She is co-founder of the independent culture stage ZDRUHESTRANY. As a performer and co-creator, she collaborated with a range of local and international artists, independent dance and theatre groups, the National Theatre in Prague and Brno, and the Bratislava Puppet Theatre. She also conducts movement workshops for children and adults. Since 2020, she has been a lecturer of the art and learning Dance for Schools. At the Festival, Ms Piktorová will perform with the production Microworlds by ZDRUHESTRANY that received the 2023 Czech Dance Platform Award and the 2023 Czech Dance Platform Spectator Award.

In 1997, Mr Schrøder and Pernille Bach, with whom he collaborates, founded the Madam Bach Theatre that became widely popular in Denmark. In addition to acting at home, they take their productions across the globe. The versatility of Christian Schrøder as musician, actor, composer and singer served as a creative force in all Madam Bach Theatre productions. International exchange and cooperation is the cornerstone of the work of the company. At the Festival, Mr Schrøder will feature with the production of Home by the Madam Bach Theatre.

Having graduated in dramaturgy and directing at the Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Mr Spišák has been working in the city of Nitra: since 2013 in The Karol Spišák Old Theatre and, since 2016, in the New Theatre. He is occasionally a guest in Banská Bystrica-based Theatre from the Alleyway (Divadlo z Pasáže) which he creates as a form of drama therapy, and in other Slovak puppet theatres. He was nominated for the 2017 Dosky Award for Best Stage Director of the production Anne Franká (New Theatre Nitra, 2016). He is the director of the Festival production About Plants, Animals and People presented by the Nitra New Theatre.

Ms Svironi is a foremost award-winning independent theatre artist based in Tel Aviv. She graduated from L’École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq, Sorbonne and also studied with master clown Eric Bluetooth. Over the past 20 years, her works have been seen in 20 countries around the world (Europe, the Far East and Africa). She brings a personal, yet communicative stage language that uses mixed genres and self-mockery. Her theatre is a relentless search for innovative ways of expressing deep psychological processes and their transformation into theatre events. Her world is poetic and abstract, absurd and provocative. She specialises in interactivity, creates for interiors and exteriors. Ms Svironi will feature at the Festival with the production Carte Blanche in which she combines visual arts with theatre to create a unique stage language she calls Paint-theatre. Through this specific approach, she mediates the female experience, which is the main theme of her production.

Ms Škripková completed her studies in film and television dramaturgy and screenwriting at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava and in aesthetics at The Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra. Since 1985, she is with the Puppet Theatre at the Crossroads (BDNR) in Banská Bystrica, first as a dramaturge and, since 1992 as director. As the author of screenplays and dramatic texts, Ms Škripková received multiple awards (inter alia Alfréd Radok Award, Drama). For two decades, she has been dedicated to the issue of women’s experience in theatre. Her interest in the theme facilitated the foundation of Studio TWIGA (Theatre Woman Improvisation Gender Action) at the BDNR and led to cooperation with the feminist association Aspekt, Bratislava. Various gender-sensitive projects and studies at BDNR gave rise to the first feminist and gender-sensitive theatre in Slovakia. Ms Škripková directed the BDNR Festival production for young people and adults, The Daughters of the Late Colonel.

She studied directing and dramaturgy of puppet theatre at the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Music in Bratislava. He is mainly devoted to author’s theatre, he has completed projects such as Chlap(c)i (2014, Studio 12), Jasné v pohode (2016, City Theatre Žilina), HOAX (2018, Divadlo Andrej Bagar in Nitra), O nich nejde ( 2023, New Theatre). He is also engaged in creations for children, he has collaborated with the Žilina Puppet Theatre, the Košice Puppet Theatre and the Bratislava Puppet Theatre. Since 2017, she has been the artistic director at Divadla na cucky , where she presented several original productions. She is the director of the MASARYK(OVÁ) production of the Cucky Theatre .