Let us present the International Festival of Theatre Schools SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER with its extensive programme. What can you look forward to? We already know which international schools and which jurors will participate this year.
The 34th edition of The International Festival of Theatre Schools SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER 2024 will take place in Brno on 16-20 April. You can look forward to the unique artistic achievements of students from theatre schools around the world. But not only that – we have prepared an accompanying programme of interactive workshops, passionate discussions, and the informal atmosphere of The Off-Programme packed with bands, DJs, and parties.
Like every year, the festival is organized by students from the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts. And this year, for the first time ever, Mgr. Sonja Špačková, a current student, became the festival director.
You will be able to see the art of foreign and local students on the stages of well-known Brno theatres such as the Theatre Goose on a String and the JAMU school theatres – the Theatre on Orlí Street and Studio Marta.
The festival will take place in the atmosphere of THE STORM, which is the theme of this year's festival, for a total of five days. The opening parade will start on Tuesday, 16 April in front of the Theatre Faculty of JAMU and will culminate in the Old Town Hall Courtyard on the Open-Air Stage provided by the Tourist Information Centre of Brno.
A total of 9 theatre schools will visit the heart of South Moravia. Students from Slovakia from the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, as well as students from Austria from The Max Reinhardt Seminar - University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and from Poland’s AST National Academy of Theatre Arts in Krakow. From Switzerland we will be visited by students from Academy Dimitri in Terre di Pedemonte, from Serbia by students from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade and from Ukraine by students from the National I. K. Karpenko-Karyi University of Theatre, Cinema and Television in Kiev. Last but not least, we will be visited by students from Latvia from the Latvian Academy of Culture in Riga. Of course, we will also be visited by students from the Theatre Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. Students from JAMU will also perform their work at the festival.
If you would like to find out more information about individual schools and productions, you will be able to attend stimulating discussions about the performance. But you can also expect interactive workshops introducing a wide range of approaches to the craft of theatre. You can look forward to concerts by bands of various genres and parties with DJs. The bands you will be able to listen to are: mezi patry klid, Ghost Of You, Toad Planet, Krajina Ró, Tribe-J, InFlus, Midnight Swimmers, Space Bandits, Beach Bum, Nessie, Dj Duo, Kolorez, JAMU Jazz band a DJ Rubenz. The courtyard of the Old Town Hall, café Trojka or Artbar, where most of the evening programme will take place, will allow you to soak up the extraordinary atmosphere of evening in Brno.
Even though SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER is a non-competitive festival, the jury awards the Marta Award for outstanding artistic achievements. And who is part of this year's jury? The jury includes Hungarian actor and director Márton Birta, and Maria João Vicente from Portugal, an actress and dramaturge. The last foreign juror is director and performer Tata Angola Tavdishvili, who will join us from distant Georgia. The jury will also include one student representative, Viktor Hájek, who studies Theatre Studies and Cultural Anthropology at Palacký University in Olomouc.
Tickets for individual productions will be available online at GoOut website no later than one week before the festival. If you would like to learn more about the festival behind the scenes, please visit our festival blog Meeting Point. You will be able to get an Off-programme bracelet, a printed version of the Meeting Point review magazine, festival merch or the festival programme directly from the Infocenter at the JAMU Theatre Faculty. You can visit us already on Monday, April 15, when we are open from 12 noon to 6 pm, and otherwise throughout the festival from Tuesday to Friday from 9 am to 6 pm, on Saturday it will be possible to come only until 1 pm. You can keep up to date with the latest news and updates on our social media channels: the Facebook page SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER, Instagram @setkani_encounter and on the website www.encounter.cz.
This project is co-financed by the governments of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia through Visegrad grants from the International Visegrad Fund. The mission of this fund is to promote sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe.
Furthermore, the festival is being held with the financial support of the Statutory City of Brno and the State Fund for Culture of the Czech Republic; the festival is under the auspices of the Governor of the South Moravian Region, The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Czech Republic, The Minister of Culture Czech Republic, The Mayor of Brno, EFFE label by European Festivals Association, Czech UNESCO committee, and the Municipal District of Brno-stred.
The main media partner is Česká televize.
We thank you all for your support.
Author of the press release: Julie Michalčíková
Contact: Brno, 1st April 2024
Anna Zelíková (Head of Media and Propagation)
+420 737 776 401
