At the beginning of April, a wave of creativity and theatre got under the skin of the city of Brno in the form of the International Festival of Theatre Schools SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER.

The 35th edition of The International Festival of Theatre Schools SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER 2024, organized by students of JAMU, took place from April 1st to 5th in various theatres across Brno: Studio Marta, Theatre on Orlí Street, HaDivadlo, The Goose on a String Theatre, and, of course, at the Theatre Faculty of the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts. Theatre productions were presented by a total of ten schools from eight countries – the Czech Republic (represented twice, by DAMU from Prague and the organizing JAMU), Slovakia, Germany, Poland (from the Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Arts in Warsaw and the AST in Krakow), Italy, Switzerland, Ukraine and Korea.

The workshop "Physical Training through Ganggangsullae", led by Subin Baek and Sangyeob Lee (South Korea), focused on a long tradition related to the Korean holiday Chuseok. The basic form was singing in a circle while holding hands, with a combination of games. Choreography based on Ganggangsullae was also used in the production of The Nape. In the sound workshop, Kamila Holíková (CZ) presented "Sonic Meditation by Pauline Oliveros", a tool for connection with compassion, imagination, and memories. The workshop "Singing and Rhythm", facilitated by Pavel Borský (CZ), was dedicated to the human body and breath, its rhythm, movement and perception of music. The last workshop, entitled "Choreographing Space - Creating Drift" and organized in cooperation with the International Visegrad Fund (IVF) and facilitated by David Somló (Hungary), focused on exploring spatial composition and collective movement in public spaces using simple yet precise choreographic structures. The three-day workshop culminated in a public performance in the park at Moravian Square. There was also a "V4 Discussion", which focused on the censorship of art in the Visegrad Four countries in the context of historical development, the current geopolitical situation, and the challenges faced by people involved with culture. 

In addition to the main program, attendees could take in the festival’s Off- program, which included an opening performance in a public space, concerts, and parties, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. The opening ceremony took place outdoors in the park on Moravské náměstí. It was followed by concerts by three bands: the Godfathers, Sycek, and MMNK. On the following nights, parties were held at the venues ArtBar Druhý Pád, Spektrum, and Kabinet Múz, where visitors could listen to the work of the bands Chora Sfakion, Pipesh, Chryzotil271, DJ C1UBCUB, Whyohwhy, Dukla, Hihihahaholky. The closing ceremony and the subsequent party were held, as is traditional, on the premises of The Goose on a String Theatre, where the bands Trin and Monte Cris B2B Cuntina played the accompaniment.   

This year’s jury consisted of three professionals and one theatrology student. The jury members were Claire Binyon (theatre director and ESMAE associate professor from Portugal), June Horton-White (Finnish light designer and technical producer), Gábor Koltai (Hungarian director, pedagogue and essayist), and Lada Hradilíková, a student in the master's degree programme in Theatre Studies and Polish Philology at Palacký University in Olomouc.   

During the closing ceremony, the jury awarded the Marta Awards in four categories chosen by the jury. In the category of Light Design, David Brabec (Janáček Academy of Performing Arts, Brno, Czech Republic) was awarded for the production “Bernarda Alba”. The jury appreciated his immaculate sense of dramaturgy and ingenious visual thinking. In the category of Best Stage Music, Anna Riabtseva (Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Ukraine) received the award for the production “Psycha Buda” for setting the poems of the Bu-Ba-Bu Poetic Trio to music and performing them with the instrumental skills the entire collective has acquired during rehearsals, creating and uplifting and tearful cabaret of the Apocalypse around us and inside us. The Marta Award in the category of Acting was given to Julia Fidelus (The Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw, Branch Campus in Białystok, Poland) for portrayal of two complete and vibrant characters and creation of illusion in her performance “20 DEN” which causes the audience to believe that the relatable story she is telling is her own. In the category of Directing, the award was given to Yoojung Kim (Korea National University of Arts, Seoul, South Korea) for creating and directing a fully integrated performance “The Nape” incorporating all the elements of theatre in a beautiful, rhythmic and thought-provoking retelling of the ancient Greek stories making the bridge between the traditional Korean techniques of mask, dance and music and contemporary concerns.  

The festival would not have been possible without the financial support of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the South Moravian Region, the State Cultural Fund of the Czech Republic, the City of Brno, the City District Brno-střed, and the International Visegrad Fund, whose mission is to support steps towards sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe.   

The festival was held under the auspices of Mgr. Jan Grolich (Governor of the South Moravian Region), Mgr. Martin Baxa (Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic), the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports of the Czech Republic, the Czech Commission for UNESCO, JUDr. Markéta Vaňková (Mayor of Brno), and Ing. Arch. Vojtěch Mencl (Mayor of Brno-střed).   

The main media partner of the festival is Czech Television.  

We thank all these partners for supporting the International Festival of Theatre Schools SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER!  

All photos from the festival can be found on our website. 

You can look forward to the next edition of the festival, its 36th, scheduled for April 14th to 18th 2026.  

Brno, the 5th of April 2025 

Contact: media@encounter.cz