When the Circles closes, the Spiral begins

The International Festival of Theatre Schools SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER 2026 has come to an end. So let me take a brief look back at the past week of work for festival blog Meeting point; let me take a final turnon our editorial spiral for this year.

Monday evening did not mean just arriving in Brno, it meant the first ENCOUNTER. An encounter with the editorial team, a group of people assembled with a clear purpose: to connect diverse personalitiesfrom various fields of study, with different experiences and perspectives on the world. We could only hope that the vortex of this diversity, which had just begun to spin, would work. That it would be creative, supportive, safe, and inspiring. 

Ideas were flourishing under the wooden beams of the editorial office at the Theatre Faculty of the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts. The blog took a breath, it was enriched with diverse textual and audiovisual formats, and this mosaic-like group of people started to find common ground. 

The creative process requires—just like a spiral—time, movement, and depth. The last thing such a fragile mechanism needs is a clenched fist from the editor-in-chief, or a stare with a deepening furrowbetween her brows. It demands free space, innovative artistic stimuli, and inspiring personalities all around. 

We can consider this series of original articles (capturing the atmosphere of this unique theatrical and festival experience) a result, but I see the true result in a different form. In a specific row in the audience, full of diversity, all of whom—in response to the question “Who among you made new friends here during the festival?”—raised their hands in a fluid, unified gesture. 

Our editorial spiral began to turn slowly and unobtrusively in the heart of Brno, then dynamically increased in speed until it finally spread out and sent us back to our homes. No one leaves the same as theyarrived.  

Let the spirit of the festival resonate within us; let’s take our time, let the dance of the spiral slow down and unfold in our hearts, so that we may meet here again together, perhaps next year. To close thecircle? No, just to experience another twist in our new friendship. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed to the festival and who allowed us to express ourselves creatively.  

And above all, I would like to personally thank my team: 

Aneta Zákoutská 

Eva Nývltová 

Kamila Jášová 

Veronika Vaňková 

Anna Seifertová 

Justýna Jirsová 

Alena Růžičková 

Lukáš Hladík 

Jakub Tesárek 

and Tomáš Chudoba. 

author: Barbora Lahučká