The aim of the festival is to provide a meeting place for students, teachers and other theatre personalities to present and discuss their work and methods. The jury and ambassadors play a key role in this.
The jury brings an expert perspective and helps identify exceptional student projects, while the ambassadors represent the festival externally, promote its values and actively participate in the programme. The International Theatre Schools Festival Encounters/ENCOUNTER is thus not just a world of art in itself, for itself, but a place of lively exchange and constructive feedback.
Jury
This year’s jurors are still shrouded in mystery, but we can reveal that they will be a diverse group of experts from various fields of theatre production – from directing and dramaturgy to stage design and criticism. Their task will be to carefully observe the productions of the main programme and select those that deserve recognition. At the end of the festival, they will award the Marta prize, which applies exclusively to student performances – whether in the acting, directing, musical or technical aspects of a performance the production.
Ambassadors
This year, two prominent personalities of the theatre scene step into the role of ambassadors, both bringing a sense of humor and creative expertise. Each works in a different field and has distinct experience, which makes them complement each other perfectly. Together, they form a dynamic duo that represents the festival externally and actively participates in its program.
Kamila Polívková
Kamila Polívková is a Czech theater director, set designer, and costume designer also working abroad. She lives by the motto “less is more” and is interested in the inner worlds of characters who do not fit into the conventional norms. She is very happy to take on the role of festival ambassador because she loves theater, encounters, and Brno. Let´s meet and enjoy!
Tomáš Weber
Hey! My name is Tom and I’m a theatre and film actor. I’ve acted in Waves, Goldenhair, High School Heist and on Setkání/Encounter I’m going to be the ambassador. I’m the ambassador because I’ve studied at the theatre faculty – Janáček Academy for four long, amazing, tiring years and I want to give something back.
Meeting new people, new artists, different styles from different countries is so super important for your artistic development, as it was for mine. So, see you there, April 14 to 18 in Brno, Czech Republic, 2026. Setkání/Encounter. Ciao.
Photo: Klára Prchalová