New Blood on the Stage 2024

Natalie Tun is a choreographer, performer and educator working in contemporary dance. Her main focus is dance improvisation and original work, often combining the role of choreographer and performer. She was born in Northern Ireland, but subsequently moved to Prague and in 2023 completed a six-year degree at the Duncan Centre Dance Conservatoire. She also undertook an internship at the PERA School of Performing Arts in Cyprus. During her previous activity in the Czech dance environment she has collaborated with artists and companies such as Dočasná Company, Temporary Collective, Byström Källblad (within Dance Prague), Lenka-Kniha Bartůňková, Roman-Zotov Mikshin and Omar Carrum.

Audrey Wangle is a dancer, actress, choreographer and teacher. She completed a four-year degree at the Duncan Centre Conservatory and currently focuses primarily on multi-genre original work, dance and theatre improvisation, and building maximum body functionality through a variety of somatic techniques.

Circumstance (working title) is a work in progress. We have completed a six-day residency supported by SE.S.TA in Žďár nad Sázavou and a performance at the Nová Generace festival. At the moment we are also running another creative week in Barcelona with the support of the Nau Ivanow Residency Centre.

Our work stems from my creative interest in the role of scenographic objects, which not only complete the environment, but become an active part of the production.
We ask questions about the relationality of body and object. How does the scenographic object manifest itself when the body is inserted into a supporting role only as a source of impulse? What is the signification of the object when the performer is the primary mover of the scene? How can performer and object become equal partners?
The first object that provided the impulse to begin the work is a fabric in the form of a white cotton sheet. We studied the structure and physical nature of the sheet. We were fascinated by the way it folds, how it flutters and how it transforms into a wrinkled landscape. In relation to the physical form of the sheet, we explored its wide range of meanings. An ordinary fabric can become a sumptuous drapery with an iconic role in the visual arts. In another form, we are confronted with the immense intimacy associated with the sheet. We fall asleep and wake up on it every day, experiencing love, the conception of new life and childbirth, but also exhaustion, illness and death at the other end. We have dealt with the material’s ability to accumulate and absorb the human body and its experience.

Working with the symbolism of the white sheet intuitively led us to the study of another object. During the second residency we discover the absurd nature of the shopping cart.
At this point we already observe the changes in the dancing and performative expression of the body in contact with different objects. We transferred the half-naked body from the sheet to the shopping cart and observed. We were intrigued by the compelling contrast between the woman/performer’s gentle communication with the white cotton cloth and the bizarre interaction of the body with the metal shopping cart. In this way, we gradually found the social theme of objectification and commodification of man/woman and opened up a new possibility of developing the work in a group production.
We believe that through these observations and subsequent creation we will be able to build an authentic physical expression of the dancers, a coherent concept and a charismatic visuality of the dance performance in the future.

Concept and choreography by Natalie Tun
Assistant Choreographer: Audrey Kristine Wangle
Dances by Natalie Tun (only so far), Audrey K. Wangle and three other performers (in progress)
Music by Josef Bartoň and Jiří Valášek
Production by Martin Říčan

Planned running time 40 minutes

Vojtěch Brtnický

The project was presented only as a work in progress presentation in Žďár nad Sázavou and publicly at the Nová Generace festival on 3 November 2023 at the Disk Theatre.

Supported by SE.S.TA and Nau Ivanow

Tmel as an ensemble, group, collective, or anything that sticks together was created during the third year at DAMU (2021), where it brought together students from the Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre across all disciplines: stage design Berta Doubková, directing-dramaturgy Jan Froněk and Viktor Prokop, acting Antonia Rašilová, Jakub Müller and Nikolas Ferenc.

O is for Otesánek / Don’t be afraid, Mushroom

Otesánek:

O is for Otesánek
O is for perimeter
O is for determination
O is for threat
O is for refreshment
O is for horror puppet show based on a well-known fairy tale

Thanks to epoxy putty, the whole set design of our production of O is for Otesánek also holds together.
For its creation, we took inspiration from the well-known Czech fairy tale Otesánek, which we set in the world of printed circuit boards and electronic components. But into this world enters a greedy creature made of clay – Otesánek – and only one can emerge victorious from their clash.

Don’t worry, Mushroom:

Don’t Worry, Mushroom
The Forest Awakens. The mushrooms are growing. He who lives in the forest goes forth to harvest. Only one small mushroom cannot grow. Can’t or won’t? Asks the one who wants to harvest it. Will he or must he? In the end, no one wants to succumb to fear, but no one wants to be alone either. Not even a mushroom in the forest.

The author’s story originated as a written fairy tale, which was then built upon to create a performance that aimed for outdoor playability and an age limit ‘for young children’. The performance was inspired by various acting principles, Buddhism and sound design which acts as a live element throughout the production.

O is for Otesanek: the premiere of DAMU process 2021/Neboj, Houbo Vyšehrátky 2022

Photos by Zuzana Lazarová and others

Bazmek entertainment is an independent artistic group, which focuses mainly on theatre. Our projects deal with themes that we perceive as stimulating for life in the contemporary world. We are inspired by novels, mythologies, reportage books, lives of unknown celebrities, textbooks… In our repertoire, this diversity is also reflected in our search for challenges, which is why you will find new drama, open-air performances and audio-walking. We start each project with a fresh perspective, so that we can experience surprises while creating, and we believe that in this way we can always bring a different experience to the audience. Because we try to show that independent theatre is both playful and thoughtful, sweet and chilling, challenging and fun – and that even with limited resources it is possible to create cleverly, economically and colourfully at the same time. Our goal is simply to draw the audience in, grab them and not let go! The founding members are Anna Prstková, Eva Lietavová and Patrik Boušek. bazmek entertainment is a resident group of the independent art centre Co.Labs in Brno and a member of the Association of Independent Theatres.

Registered project: Atatürkiada: between the mosque and the disco

Atatürkiada, a production by the art group bazmek entertainment, explores what reportage is through a look into Turkey. Directed by Eva Lietavová, it is based on the book Murderer from the City of Apricots by Polish reporter Witold Szablowski.

“You won’t understand, you’re not Turkish,” is often heard in the reports that Witold Szablowski has collected into a mosaic view of contemporary Turkey. The split between the Western and Eastern worlds, between progress and tradition, between – as the subtitle of the production reads – the mosque and the disco. The understanding of the other seems to melt away with each new encounter, with each new life story Witold encounters in different corners of the vast country – at the foot of Ararat and in the centre of Istanbul. Witold Szablowski’s book appealed to us because of the way he tries (very successfully, it should be noted) to bring Turkish realities and culture closer to the eyes and mind of a Central European. We were also interested in exploring the very phenomenon of getting to know another country, overcoming our own prejudices and assumptions and discovering how many similarities exist between us, despite the various cultural differences.

Combining text, image and music, the performers Dagmar Říhová and Petr Theodor Pidrman seek answers to the question of whether we can understand a culture that is at first sight distant from us and yet surprisingly close to us. The series of situations and musical inputs is also complemented by the figure of a reporter who observes and comments on the ongoing events through projection and sound. Through the rehearsal process we arrived at a speech that we believe transcends nationality or cultural stereotypes. We look for acting expressions, situations and moments that can be common to both Turks and Czechs. We are human beings – that’s what unites us, even if it’s a bit of a cliché. But actually in this production we are trying to grasp this cliché in the acting and movement.

Another significant element of the production is the musical component, which is provided live on stage by Dagmar Říhová and Petr Theodor Pidrman. The instrument they play together was modelled on the Moravian marching dulcimer by set designer Jakub Šulík. The combination of the acoustic instrument with electronics allows the performers to move across a wide range of genres, from folk motifs to long-tone compositions.

Script: Patrik Boušek, Anna Prstková
Directed by Eva Lietavová
Projection: Anna Prstková
Cast: Dagmar Říhová, Petr Theodor Pidrman, Patrik Boušek/Anna Prstková
Voice: Dalibor Buš
Costumes: Klára Vincourová
Musical Collaboration and Musical Instrument Production: Jakub Šulík
Production: Andrea Polnická

Premiere 20.11.2023, Co.Labs Brno

Length: 60 minutes without intermission

Terezie Fojtová – Nameless photography

Project supporters. Bazmek entertainment is a resident group of the independent art centre Co.Labs.