The jury consists of four members each year, Czech and foreign professionals from the cultural environment.
The aim of the festival is to provide a meeting place for students, teachers and other theatre professionals to present and discuss their work and methods. However, theatre criticism in the Czech Republic is becoming less visible. Students of theoretical disciplines such as theatre studies or theatre criticism are de facto artificially separated from the world of artists and art. If art is to be valuable, constructive feedback from theoreticians is also needed. The Encounters/EnCOUNTER festival is not just an art world in itself, for itself.
This year, the organizing team decided to expand the festival’s cooperation with theoretical theatre students. An Open Call has been announced for the position of student juror, who will get the opportunity to experience the festival from the position of a juror and receive unique experience in the theatre space.
Jury
Claire Binyon
Claire has a masters from Leeds university, she studied in Paris with Monika Pagneux and also holds a professional certificate in the Feldenkrais Method from the Feldenkrais International Training Centre in Sussex, England.
Her main area of research lies in somatic practice and devising, with a specific interest in the connection between the Feldenkrais Method applied to creativity, improvisation and making performance work.She has recently been involved with the development of the International encounter in Devising and Feedback Methods that ESMAE hosts in December in collaboration with school in the UK and other invited groups.
She also collaborates with various companies and training initiatives in the area of community arts practice and alternatives to formal education.
June Horton-White
I'm a Finnish freelancer lighting designer & technical producer.
My background is in drama, but recently I've been mostly working with physical theatre & contemporary dance.
After graduating from the Uniarts Helsinki's Theatre Academy, I have worked also with them in various roles, both pedagogical and artistic.
In SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER 2025 I'm especially looking forward to experiencing the vast array of fresh & unrestrained art that emerges from talented people doing what they love.
Gábor Koltai
I'm a stage director, an omnivore from Sophocles and Shakespeare to McDonagh or operetta. Taught at the University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest till 2023, now on the art board of the Szeged National Theatre. Also an essayist—my book on Renaissance stage horror is about to be published. Thrilled to be part of the SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER 2025 jury, because discovering how others think is always fascinating. Theatre is all about encounters and dialogue.
Lada Hradilíková
I'm an ordinary human being. I am currently studying Theatre Studies and Polish Philology at Palacký University. I am researching the discourse of Polish performance studies and I take care of the functioning of the student organization Performativity Club. I see the Encounter/Encounter as an opportunity to establish friendships and professional contacts.
Ambassador
Barbora Bezáková
As I am a graduate of acting at JAMU, I know the festival SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNETR very well from my student years. I loved this unique festival "timelessness" the most out of the whole year. For days you just go from show to show, meet students from other countries/territories who can inspire you so much, talk about theatre...some productions left a deep impression on me and I remember them till now. I'm curious to see where student theatre has moved in the past few years and I'm looking forward to experiencing those few festival days again!
