PROJECT OF THE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF THEATRE SCHOOLS
SETKANI/ENCOUNTER 2004
INTRODUCTION
Janacek Academy of Music and Perfoming Arts in Brno is one of five universities educating future personalities of
both artistic and social life in the Czech Republic. One of the important activities held by the Academy is
the Setkání/Encounter festival.
BASIC CHARAKTERISTICS
The Setkání/Encounter international festival of theatre schools has become the second greatest event of its kind in Europe
within twelve years of its existence.
At the beginning of this project in 1991 there was the idea to arrange a meeting of all
theatre schools from former Czechoslovakia, i. e., the Theatre Faculty of JAMU in Brno,
Theatre Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Prague and University of Performing Arts in Bratislava.
Later the festival Setkání/Encounter has broadened and in present days 14 ensembles from the whole world take part in its
five-day run. The festival has become a partner of the Dutch ITs festival in Amsterodam and is held under the auspices of the
Mayor of the City of Brno, the Governor of South-Moravian Region, the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and
the Czech Commission for UNESCO.
The 14th festival will take place between March 30th and April 3rd 2004, and the audiences will be invited to traditional festival
venues, such as the Theatre Husa na provázku, Bolek Polívka's Theatre and the Marta Theatre Studio,
to see festival performances. The festival won't lack accompanying events such as presentations performed by
Theatre Faculty students. The participants will meet the Mayor of Brno and will be invited to take part in discussions on the
festival productions as well as discussions with their creators.
The students of each disciplines of DIFA JAMU, especially the students of theatre management, dramaturgy and stage design,
are involved in preparation of the festival.
This a is good occasion for students to get hands-on experience and extend their ability to co-operate with other theatre
people on international level. Students and their teachers can confront different kinds and methods of acting.
Thanks to both formal and informal activities during the festival there is enough space to broaden the co-operation among
schools even outside the festival itself ( street theatre projects of the Theatre Faculty of JAMU, both teachers' and students'
mobilities between DIFA JAMU and other art schools, e.g., in Moscow, the Netherlands or Great Britain.)
The financial support of the project is shared by public and also private sources. The Festival is mainly supported by
The Statutary City Brno and The Ministry of Finance, The Royal Brewery of Krušovice or Jihomoravská plynárenská
(The South Moravian Gasworks) have become the important partners and sponsors.
The total costs of the Festival are 995.000 Czech Crowns.
THE PURPOSE OF THE FESTIVAL
The purpose of the Festival is to provide space for meeting students and teachers from the world art schools and
theatre people.
THE AIMS OF THE 14TH YEAR
There are two basic functions of the Festival - an educational one a cultural one. Organisation of the festival has become
a part of the study plan in the Academic Year 2003/2004 and enables students to confront the theory and the practice,
to get new experience which is the base for the following assessment of their work. The Festival wants to welcome new
ensembles and enrich the general knowledge of its regular participants.
We would also like to contribute to Brno's cultural life, some festival performances will be open to public and the audiences
will be invited through street promotion projects. Thus both the layman and expert audiences will be allowed to get a clear
image of the world theatrical trends.
ORGANISATION
PREPARATION
On the basis of the study programme the Festival is organised by ca 20 students of Theatre Management Department.
Their activity is supervised and controlled by the Festival Committee headed by the Dean of Theatre Faculty JAMU and the
Director of the Festival. On the basis of competition the Festival Committee chooses one student of Stage Design,
who becomes the designer of the Festival. Students of dramaturgy are also involved in the all-year preparation.
They choose the ensembles and do everything which is connected with their study disciplines.
During the Festival Week they publish the Festival Daily.
The festival is held at the beginning of April, between Tuesday to Saturday and is finished by MARTA Awards ceremony.
There are three performances every day at different venues, the performances are held at different times and are followed
by discussion "Students for students".
Traditional accompanying events are the mini-festival "Something More", working meetings for teachers within international
networks and the teachers' and their partners' meeting with the Mayor of the city of Brno.
ASSESSMENT
Each June a festival Final Report is published. It provides our partners with important data concerning the following:
theatre attendance, economic indexes, promotion activities e. c. There is also internal assessment at the faculty,
which is to provide for the students involved in the festival organisation the necessary feedback.
