The prize is awarded annually to an inspiring personality working in the field of theatre for children and young people. Pavel Vašíček was awarded “for his life-long systematic and high-quality work for young audiences with a national impact.”
Pavel Vašíček has been involved in the creation of several important theatre centres, projects and festivals (Divadlo Radost, Divadlo ALFA, Skupova Plzeň, etc.) aimed at children and young audiences, but he has also been continuously involved in their historical and theoretical reflection, either as a long-time editor of The Puppeteer magazine or as the author and co-author of a number of professional publications. No less important is his pedagogical activity, especially at the Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre of the DAMU. His contribution to Czech children’s theatre, as well as his spreading awareness of it abroad (especially through his collaboration with the ALFA Theatre in Pilsen), makes him one of the most important personalities in the history of Czech theatre for children and young people.
Congratulations!
Luděk Horký, the chairman of the Czech ASSITEJ Centre, presented the award and talked with Pavel Vašíček about his work at the ALFA Theatre. You can watch the video HERE.
From September 27 to October 3, the Arts and Theatre Institute will host the ASSITEJ International Executive Committee meeting.
On that occasion, a Visitors’ Program focused on theatre for children and young people is organised. The program will take place from September 28 to October 2 in cooperation with the Czech ASSITEJ Centre and the KUK Festival, a festival focusing on theatre for early years. You can expect to see nonverbal shows or performances with English surtitles, to discuss with artists and production teams, to participate in lectures and presentations and to visit venues in Prague.
With the kind support of:
The ASSITEJ International Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing a long-term contribution in the field of theatre for children and young people, was presented to Zoja Mikotová for her authorial and directorial work in theatre for children and young people, for her long-term efforts to connect the worlds of the Deaf and hearing and for many years of creative approaches to theatre for children and young people and tireless searching for open theatrical communication with an emphasis on movement, humour and musicality.
“It is a pleasure to receive an award for something what you have been doing with love and believing that it has a meaning. With the conviction that it is necessary and useful. Greetings to all those who work for the mental and especially emotional development of children and young people, hearing and Deaf, in short everyone!“, says Zoja Mikotová.
Professor Zoja Mikotová, MA is an important Czech director and lecturer in higher education. For thirty years, she led the Studio of Educational Theatre for the Deaf (Ateliér výchovné dramatiky pro neslyšící)at the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts (JAMU) in Brno, where she created a unique environment for the development and education of young people. She applies her creative approach to theatre for children and young people not only in direct contact with young audiences, but also through inspiring and systematic educational activities with the youngest actors. Zoja Mikotová’s work not only “opens the world of children to adults and the world of adults to children,” but also connects the world of the Deaf to the world of the hearing and the world of the hearing to the world of the Deaf. This work begins in the audience’s early childhood and the early youth of the performers. As a director, she has created many productions of high artistic quality, which have left a deep impression on Czech theatre, and, above all, have positively shaped the aesthetics and value perceptions of children and adolescents.
She has consistently focused on authorial, directorial and organisational work in the field of theatre for children and young people. She is the founder and guiding light of the Studio of Educational Theatre for the Deaf at JAMU, where she prepares young people with hearing impairments to fully participate in life as university graduates. She is the author or co-author of over forty plays and scripts (of these, over twenty are for the hearing impaired) which have been presented in over thirty productions. She has directed over 100 productions in many theatres in the Czech Republic. She lectures at conferences, leads creative workshops, and focuses on the topic of Theatre of the Deaf.
In 1994, she completed a residency at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC (the world’s only university for the Deaf). She has directed at many theatres in the Czech Republic and abroad, including in Slovakia, Poland, Austria, Germany and Japan. As a choreographer, she has worked in Hungary, Poland, Germany, Austria and France. She has participated in many festivals and led workshops with students and graduates of the Studio of Educational Theatre for the Deaf. In 2004, Mikotová was awarded the Czech ASSITEJ Centre’s Annual Prize. In 2006, she received the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports medal (second degree) for her artistic and pedagogical activities. In 2007, she was awarded JAMU’s Gold Medal. In 2018, she was the recipient of the City of Brno’s 2017 Prize in the field of dramatic arts and, in 2019, the Brno Union of the Deaf’s Prize for personal contributions to the Deaf. In 2022, she received the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic’s Award for contributions to the field of theatre, for the development of a personal aesthetic of poetic theatre grounded in movement, humour and musicality, and for artistic and pedagogical efforts to connect the worlds of the Deaf and hearing.
The award was presented on 28 May during the 21st ASSITEJ World Congress and the Festival of Performing Arts for Children and Youth in Havana, it was accepted by it was accepted by Zuzana Sikačová and Karola Štěpánová, members of the Czech ASSITEJ Centre Committee.
Watch the Czech ASSITEJ Centre NOMINATION VIDEO and THANK YOU VIDEO with subtitles.
At the end of May, Drak Theatre will embark on a week-long tour to Havana, Cuba. We perform three shows of the production Bedtime! at the 21st ASSITEJ World Congress and the Festival of Performing Arts for Children and Youth. The production, directed by Veronika Poldauf Riedlbauchová, has been selected for this international showcase along with 14 other foreign productions out of a total of 542 submitted projects.
The production Bedtime! designed for children aged three and up stands at the intersection of poetic physical theater and clownish grotesque. All three actors, Petra Cicáková, Luděk Smadiš and Dominik Linka demonstrate significant physical talent and a sense of gag. This is all accentuated by visually clean stage design by Marianna Stránka and the stage lighting by Michal Kříž.
Drak Theatre tour is carried out in cooperation with PerformCzech / the Department of International Cooperation of the Arts Institute – the Theatre Institute and with the support of the Ministry of Culture and the National Recovery Plan. The Czech delegation of si representative from the Czech ASSITEJ Centre, of which Drak Theatre is a member, will also participate in the congress.
ASSITEJ International (International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People) associates theatres, organisations and individuals from around the world to share knowledge and practical experience, create new opportunities for collaboration and network.
“The ASSITEJ World Congress aims to achieve several goals: advocating for theatre and performing arts for children and youth to bring them to the forefront of decision-makers’ interests, supporting new synergies between education and culture, fostering a new generation of professionals and artists in the field of theatre arts, and strengthening intergenerational trust and cooperation. These are all values that are relevant in the Czech theatre context as well, and we are pleased to be a part of their development, strengthening, and sharing,” the director of Drak Theatre, Tomáš Jarkovský, explains the main purpose of the event.
Jarkovský mentioned: “We greatly appreciate that the production of ‘Do hajan!’ has been selected for the showcase programme, giving us the opportunity to present Czech theatre for children and youth at this event of global significance. Participation in the festival will also be an opportunity for us to develop contacts with colleagues from ASSITEJ International and other national centers.”
Martina Pecková Černá, the Department of International Cooperation of the Arts Institute added: “The activities of the Czech ASSITEJ Center are coordinated by the Arts Institute – the Theatre Institute, and the history of this international non-governmental organization affiliated with UNESCO has been connected with our country since its inception as the first congress was held in Prague in 1966 the first congress held in Prague in 1966. The long-standing excellent relations between Czech theatre professionals and this organization are further confirmed by the fact that the ASSITEJ Executive Committee will meet in Prague this autumn as part of the Hi PerformanCZ Visitors’ Program for foreign guests, and further collaborations within ASSITEJ projects are planned for the upcoming years.”
Meeting with the Czech ASSITEJ Centre delegates will take place on May 30 at 5:30 PM in Pabellón Cuba.
Three performances of Bedtime! will be on program May 27, 28 and 29 at 3:00 PM in Teatro Nacional, Sala Covarrubias.
The presentation is implemented with the financial support of the European Union through the Czech Recovery Plan and the Ministry of Culture Czech Republic.
The program will take place in Prague on September 22 – 25, 2022 and is organized by the PerformCzech team based in the Arts and Theatre Institute in Prague and in collaboration with the Czech ASSITEJ Centre (International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People).
PROGRAM
Thursday, September 22
17:00 Official opening, welcome to guests and presentation round
18:30 Dramaturgical introduction to „Emil, or About Hácha“ with the creative team
19:30 Emil, or About Hácha (D21 Theatre, Prague) / The City of Palermo Is Falling Asleep (NoD Theatre, Prague)
Friday, September 23
9:00 Goats Horsing Around (Ostružina, z.s. – Moving Station, Pilsen)
10:05 Discussion with the creative team from „Goats Horsing Around“
10:00 The City of Palermo Is Falling Asleep (NoD Theatre, Prague)
14:30 Presentation & Discussion: Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know About Czech Performing Arts and Theatre for Children and Young People
18:00 Zá-to-pek! (Minor Theatre, Prague)
20:05 Discussion with the creative team from „Zá-to-pek!“
Saturday, September 24
10:00 Komodo (Lampion Theatre, Kladno)
11:05 Discussion with the creative team from „Komodo“
14:30 River (Studio Damúza – NoD Theatre, Prague)
15:05 Discussion with the creative team from „River“
17:00 My Tail and I (Holobiont Collective, PL – KD Mlejn, Prague)
20:00 Roundtable: History and Politics in Theatre for Children and Young People
Sunday, September 25
10:00 Online discussion with the creative team + screening of the opera: Royal Swedish Opera’s Orpheus & Eurydice, part of the Young at the Opera series
