The Interview with Petr Francán, the Dean of the Theatre Faculty JAMU

This year he will experience his 5th rendition of The festival SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER as the dean of the Faculty of Theater at JAMU. I mean, to put it in perspective…  Last year the festival did not take place, but the organizational team regularly posted feeds on social media under the hashtag “#KDYBYloSETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER” and as a means of compensation presented their viewers with video-clips and photographs, so that they could enjoy the festival at least in this very limited online version.

How has the Festival ENCOUNTER changed during his election term, according to Petr Francán? How does he perceive the impact of coronavirus and its measures on the artistic cultural sphere? And do these negatives have some positive effects on the new productions that are being presented to an audience online?

• What does the festival SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER personally mean to you?

To me, Encounter is a festival that goes hand in hand with the entire modern history of our Theatre faculty and in a way reflects it. It´s a tradition and the center-point of the academic year. A tradition that seldom repeats itself and is completely original each and every year, as are the students that organize it and the ones who present their productions.

But I would say that the most important part is the time we spend outside of the theatre environment. Just to be clear, I am aware that the essence of the festival is to present various graduate productions, but the same can be said about many other festivals across the world.

If there is one truly outstanding thing that we offer to our guests, then it´s the intensive and true effort to spend this time together with them. Throughout all the breaks and accompanying events. And I think that this is the reason why so many of the schools that attended the festival regularly rerun their appearance in the future. Be it as performers or as festival guests

• Do you have any intense memories from the time when you could still meet with the students in person?

Intense memories of the festival are the only ones I have! After all, the whole week is this one continuous event. Countless meetings, the main program, running frantically from one theater to another to see all the performances if you embark on the way of the juror, fatigue from tension, sudden exhaustion, unexpected influxes of new energy, off program, parties, discussions, concerts and again and again for five whole days. This variegated carousel creates a unique atmosphere of rush and haste, on an almost spiritual level. So yes, my intense memory is called “rejoicing” or perhaps even better “taking pleasure in our common coexistence.” So it would seem that all my memories are just one giant versatile memory.

• Do you think that the development of the festival will be slowed down by the digital age we live in, or that it will in fact provide students with the knowledge and experience, needed to elevate the entire festival?

I certainly cannot say that the online environment is our primary goal and if it were just a little bit possible, we would gladly realize this festival in its physical form. On the other hand, one of the strongest theatrical instincts is to search for new ways to communicate with the audience. That is why we´re always ready to face any obstacles and to experiment with the unknown, whether it be “the digital” or “the analog”. 

I don´t think that the current online form could somehow jeopardize the so-called guaranteed norm of our festival, but I don’t expect it to significantly improve on it, either. Whatever the circumstances, the festival will always be about theater schools, the students, and their teachers. About their joint work, about their effort to touch the heavens and to change the world. No digital age can change this. It has nothing to add, nor to remove.

• Do you feel like the online platform encourages JAMU students to experiment with new staging shapes and forms?

We´re definitely trying to learn. And we can clearly see from the work of our students that it´s already starting to pay-off. We have many new forms, students have already started to focus more on the film speech: acting, movie trailers, video clips, adaptations, documentaries. Maybe I talked about this a bit in my previous question. I think it´s great that we can raise our heads and say: yes, in the match against covid-19 we fell to the very bottom together with the rest of the Czech Republic, but we also have the ability to bounce back, conquer our positions and rise even higher than previously. There´s also the unwavering nature of theatergoers, to never succumb to external pressure. It is not without a reason that theatre is considered to be amongst the traditional incubators of the new manifestations of civil society.

It´s a completely different question from the technical viewpoint, where we still have a lot to catch up on. Sadly, we realize that online platforms do possess many new risks which we do not always know how to deal with easily. Sometimes there simply are situations where “IT just doesn’t work” and one has no choice but to return to humility and trust in the saving grace in the form of an IT worker.

• The Festival SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER had a one-year break. Are your expectations any higher because of it?

That one-year break acted as something of a memorial, a memento. Last year´s festival was not skipped out on. It was ready, fully timed, and then… disbanded. Out of the respect for all the shaken lives of this world and also out of respect for all the work of one generation of students who participated in the preparation of the canceled year.

As a faculty teacher, I will experience my nineteenth rendition of the festival. Over the years, I´ve grown used to not having expectations, but to watch. And so I´m on the lookout for the Festival SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER. I don’t expect anything from it, and at the same time I very impatiently wait for “everything”!

Thank you for the interview

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