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Overview of specialised monographs and other publications at the Faculty of Theatre
of JAMU
(a selection for the reference period of 2014 – 2018)
Overview of specialized monographs
2018
DOLEŽAL, Adam. Peter Brook’s Ways of Theatre Making (Cesty divadelní tvorby Petera
Brooka). Brno: JAMU, 2018. ISBN 978-80-7460-150-
7.
The monograph maps the creative career of Peter Brook, one of the most prominent theatre
directors of the second half of the 20th
century. It follows his career path from the beginnings in
England in the mid-1940s to the present day and attempts to put this path into perspective and
contemporary context and to identify Brook’s potential sources of inspiration. It deals with the
circumstances of the Theatre of Cruelty season in RSC and Brook’s breakthrough productions of that
time (Marat/Sade, US, etc.), Brook’s departure for Paris and the formation and work of the
multinational assembly CIRT. It also focuses on the formation of the theatre Les Bouffes du Nord, its
specific space and productions created by Brook in this theatre with the ensemble. A special section
of the monograph is devoted to the analysis of a production of the Indian epic Mahabharata.
KRÁTKÁ, Martina. Ctibor Turba – Pedagogy in Mimic and Comedy Theatre (Ctibor Turba –
pedagogika v mimickém a komediálním divadle). Brno: JAMU, 2018. ISBN 978-80-7460-142-2.
The publication presents the greatest contribution of the legendary Ctibor Turba to Czech theatre,
namely his pedagogical work. As a student of the famous school of the French mime Jacques Lecoq,
Turba develops his own methodology of acting as a mime or comic actor by using a method focused
on movement and gestures. An essential part of the book is the summary of the author’s personal
experience with Ctibor Turba’s teaching method, because as one of his students she had the
opportunity of watching closely his approach to pedagogical work and experiencing this approach
herself. For her, the Turb method is a very comprehensive approach that has learnt from the past
and that, through exercise, develops the imagination and awareness and the control of one’s own
body. The goal of the publication was to describe and bring this method closer to the wider public,
as well as the personality of the method’s author, a key personality of the Czech pantomime.
BURŠOVÁ, Andrea. Actress Nika Brettschneiderová in Exile or A Portrait of THEATER BRETT
Until the Fall of the Iron Curtain (Herečka Nika Brettschneiderová v exilu aneb Portrét divadla
THEATER BRETT do pádu "železné opony"). Brno: JAMU, 2018. ISBN 978-80-7460-149-1.
The monograph is a unique record of the journey of Nika Brettschneiderová and Ludvík Kavín to the
founding of Theater Brett in their Austrian exile in Vienna, reflecting its works in 1977-1989. The
study contains a brief biography of Nika Brettschneiderová, captures and identifies the wide
spectrum and uniqueness of her acting and theatre creations and reveals the roots of her teaching
work at the Theatre Faculty of JAMU in Brno in the context of leading acting and body language
workshops conducted since 1978 in Western European countries. The publication is the basis for
placing Theater Brett in the context of European theatre development in the second half of the 20th
century, when a number of stage crafters abandoned classical approaches to production and
embarked on unconventional directions.
ROUBAL, Jan. Searching for Theatre Coordinates and Contexts. (Hledání souřadnic a kontextů
divadla). Brno: JAMU, 2018. ISBN 978-80-7460-134-7.
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The book closes the selection of Roubal’s works, the first volume of which was published under the
title Theatre as a Ladder Not Thrown Away (Divadlo jako neodhozený žebřík) in 2015. Both
publications provide the reader with an overview of the thought space that Roubal examined in his
professional work, taking into consideration his lifelong endeavour to introduce foreign
theatrological concepts into the Czech environment. There is also a clear interest in alternative
theatre forms and their social outreach and historical appreciation. This volume focuses primarily
on the question of “open theatrology”, i.e. liberating the discipline from the traditional theoretical
closeness and reinforcing interdisciplinary influences from the German (and also Polish) linguistic
space. Roubal puts the theories described into the context of contemporary sociological and
anthropological concepts and insightfully shows the importance of interdisciplinarity for evaluating
today’s theatre.
MIKOTOVÁ, Zoja, PETIŠKOVÁ, Ladislava. Jiřina Ryšánková, Meeting New Forms (Jiřina
Ryšánková, Vstříc novým formám). Brno: JAMU, 2018. ISBN 978-80-7460-145-3.
The book is devoted to Jiřina Ryšánková, an important educator of the Theatre Faculty of JAMU,
who contributed to the development of the teaching of acting movement and significantly
contributed to the introduction of pantomime as a regular subject of acting education at this
school. Through her pedagogical activities, J. Ryšánková influenced a large number of theatre
personalities. The authors of the book aim to shed light on the personality of this educator, dancer
and choreographer, who has so far received very little attention, but above all they want to
introduce Ms. Ryšánková’s theoretical writings to those who are currently interested in movement
theatre. Thus, besides Ladislava Petišková’s study devoted to the professional life of J. Ryšánková,
the publication also contains Ms. Ryšánková’s selected theoretical writings, namely the articles On
the Relationship between Kinetic Education and Acting Education (O vztahu pohybové výchovy k
výchově herecké), On the Significance of Pantomime in the Process of Acting and Actor Education
(O významu pantomimy v procesu herecké tvorby a výchovy), Meeting New Forms (Vstříc novým
formám) and the textbook Actor Movement (Herecký pohyb). For the sake of completeness, the
book also provides a list of all theoretical works by J. Ryšánková and a list of her choreographic
collaborations.
DECROUX, Etienne, NADAUD, Pierre. Words about Mime. (Slova o mimu). Brno: JAMU, 2018. ISBN
978-80-7460-144-6.
The topicality of Decroux lies in the radicality with which he produces his art. In 1970s, he started
to invent scenic works, their themes and structures, based on which his improvising collaborators
offer him gestures, dynamics and specific movements. His Words about Mime are neither a
theoretical treatise on theatre and scenic movement, nor a conceptual analysis of human movement
in the style of Rudolf Laban or François Delsart. It is rather a definition of poetic itself. Decroux’s
works carry the radical power that we are still looking for today in stage form: they flood the
viewer with gestures, movements and storylines that refer only to themselves and influence the
viewer by the glow of their accuracy and by the uniqueness of their style. The power of these works
is born in the absolute passion of the individual who invents them, dwells them and lets them
penetrate him/herself, i.e. a stage artist whom Decroux calls “the actor”, without distinguishing
whether this actor is a mime or a dancer.
2017
HLAVICA, Marek. Dramatic Production of the Ostrava Studio of Czechoslovak Television (1955-
1991) (Dramatická tvorba ostravského studia Československé televize (1955-1991)). Brno:
JAMU, 2017. ISBN 978-80-7460-129-3.
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The monograph is devoted to dramatic programs created in the Ostrava studio of Czechoslovak
Television (ČST) since its foundation in 1955 until the end of 1991, when the successor Czech
Television was founded. It is a sequel to the previous book (2012) by the same author which, in a
similar time span, attempted to provide a comprehensive overview of dramatic programs created by
the Brno studio of Czechoslovak Television: Dramatic Production of the Brno Studio of Czechoslovak
Television (1961–1991). The book aims to describe and analyse the studio’s all fictional narrative
productions, i.e. programs intended for both adult and child audiences and all genres and program
types (e.g. psychological dramas, comedies, criminal stories, literary adaptations, series, animated
shows, broadcasts and recordings of theatre performances, opera productions), and thus create an
overview of the development of dramatic production of the North Moravian regional studio of ČST.
The works under review are analysed and compared according to their thematic, content, genre,
geopolitical or authorial context and endeavours, among other things, to identify changes in the ČST
production over the course of nearly four decades, which were marked by a significant amount of
fundamental political, social, aesthetical and technological changes. At the same time, the
monograph also explains the context of the studio’s operations, personnel, the way programs were
created, the ideological requirements placed on TV production as well as the production
circumstances surrounding the origin of individual works. Besides examining dramatic programs
themselves, the monograph also draws on archive documents and personal interviews with the
studio’s employees and collaborators and attempts to capture the methods and developments of
their work at ČST.
VENTRUBOVÁ, Eva. Josef Karlík’s Acting Exercises (Herecká cvičení Josefa Karlíka). Brno:
JAMU, 2017. ISBN 978-80-7460-124-8.
The book deals with the contribution of the original approach of Josef Karlík, an actor and
educator, to the development of acting exercises at the Theatre Faculty of JAMU and the possible
use of these exercises in theatre practice. The author relies both on available sources and on her
own experience, an analysis of student improvisations, interviews with Karlík’s pupils and
colleagues, etc. An integral part of the book is a comparative study of the approaches of two
prominent artistic personalities: Josef Karlík and Ivan Vyskočil.
OSLZLÝ, Petr, et al. THE GOOSE’S FLIGHT from Brno to Amsterdam and Avignon (LET HUSY z
Brna až do Amsterodamu a Avignonu). Brno: JAMU, 2017. ISBN 978-80-7460-121-7.
The publication reflects and documents the first period of professional activity of the Goose on a
String Theatre (Divadlo na provázku) from the beginning of 1972 until the end of the 1979–1980
theatre season, when an average of four productions per year were created. For each production,
there is a list of authors, their theoretical reflections, excerpts from working versions of
screenplays, theatre space design and samples of posters and programs understood as the “graphic
space” of the production. Everything is complemented by rich photo documentation and critical
reflections from the contemporary press. The book covers all foreign activities of the Goose on a
String Theatre as well as its “irregular” creative procedures, which especially included the annual
work camps which opened each theatre season. The last section of the publication features a
sample selection of texts in which generationally related theatre theoreticians attempted a more
comprehensive view of the output of the Goose on a String Theatre, followed by a selective list of
responses to individual productions, tours and events in the contemporary Czechoslovak press.
SMILKOVÁ, Oxana. Metaphorical Method – I Choose a Cat… (Metaforická metoda – Já si vybírám
kočku…). Brno: JAMU, 2017. ISBN 978-807460-126-2.
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Oxana Smilková’s explores the complex problems related to the professional education of a modern
drama actor. Through sincere dialogue, the director and, simultaneously, the head of one of the
drama studios at the Faculty Theatre of JAMU, focuses on the development of the relationship
between the future actor and the educator on the path from the entrance exams to the graduate
role, thus capturing the actual teaching method, the so-called “metaphoric training”, which
concentrates on analysing the actor’s sensual apperception and the methods of developing the
actor’s poetic metaphorical perception.
ZELOVÁ, Andrea. Karel Hegner’s Methods of Teaching Musical Singing (Metody výuky
muzikálového zpěvu Karla Hegnera). Brno: JAMU, 2017. ISBN 97880-7460-114-9.
This book by Andrea Zelová deals with the basic voice and pedagogical methods of Karel Hegner
which he uses in his methods of teaching musical acting at JAMU. In her research, the author relied
on an analysis of students’ voice recordings through listening and the VoceVista application and
complemented this research with observations of the actual teaching practice to which Hegner’s
methods were applied. The publication also includes a description of Karel Hegner’s voice exercises
and pedagogical style.
OSLZLÝ, Petr, et al. TOGETHER – SPOLEČNĚ. Brno: JAMU, 2017. ISBN 978-80-7460-121-7.
The book presents an exceptional international project of theatrical ensembles from several
European countries called “Together – Labyrinth of the World and Paradise of the Heart”, which
originated in 1983 and which was co-organized by the Brno-based Theatre on a String (Divadlo na
provázku). The monograph describes the project from its conception, through the creation of the
screenplay and the search for a suitable space for implementation to the verbal and pictorial
reconstruction of the performance which was the artistic output of the project. The text also
reflects the reactions of the Danish press to the performance in July 1983 and is supplemented with
many photographs documenting the project’s origins, a unique venue in the Valsevaerket factory
space (Denmark) and the international project itself. Together was praised as one of the most
important European theatre projects of the year 1983, which represented “a new method of
theatrical/cultural exchange based on the creation of a joint production”.
2016
RIEGER, Lukáš. Roads to Acting Pedagogy (Cesty k herecké pedagogice). Brno: JAMU, 2016. ISBN
978-80-7460-104-0.
The publication is a structured reflection on the content and meaning of the university-based acting
pedagogy and draws on the author’s own experience from 1996–2003. Its main goal is to capture not
only the historical and psychological contexts of the individual phases of the author’s personal
story, but also the tensions and controversies of some artistic and pedagogical approaches in their
general application. The book is broken down into three chapters. Chapter One deals with a
master’s degree in dramatic acting at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts, especially
a meeting with Josef Karlík. Chapter Two is devoted to the period of the author’s doctoral studies:
his search for his own conception of the acting method and to the context of dissertation topics
(analogous to the acting drills and Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola) and opinion confrontations with
renowned directors and educators: Sergey Fedotov, Jan Nebeský and Ivan Vyskočil. Chapter Three is
a report and a reflection of a pedagogical internship at the Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute in
Moscow with Vladimir Poglazov which significantly influenced his further teaching career path.
According to this publication, the main problem of the university-level teaching of acting seems to
be the tension between the “secondary-school” approach, which aims to equip students perfectly
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with the “craftmanship” for their future profession, and the “university” approach, which strives to
form personalities capable of thinking about acting in general artistic and human context.
SLÁMOVÁ BARTOŠOVÁ, Kateřina, et al. Humans in Light of the Word. AT THE TABLE THEATRE
(DIVADLO U STOLU) 1989–2016 (Člověk ve světle slova. DIVADLO U STOLU 1989–2016). Brno:
JAMU, 2016. ISBN 978-80-7460-110-1.
The book analyses the work of the At the Table Theatre (Divadlo U stolu) and documents its
activities since its foundation at the turn of 1988 and 1989 until 2016. The first part of the
publication includes studies by Margita Havlíčková, Eva Stehlíková, Kateřina Slámová Bartošová,
Tereza Sejkorová and Marie Kvapilová. They focus on the historical and cultural context of the
theatre’s foundation, general characteristics of the theatre’s productions and activities,
dramaturgy, scenography, acting and direction and the characteristic use of music of the At the
Table Theatre. The second section offers brief information on the theatre’s productions and
activities in individual years and visual and textual documentation.
HRABALOVÁ, Jarmila. Breath, Voice and Speech From Practice to Theory and Back. (Dech, hlas
a řeč od praxe k teorii a zpět). Brno: JAMU, 2016. ISBN 978-807460-096-8.
The ambition of this work is to describe the patterns of the origin of voice and speech, their defects
and subsequently prevention and corrective exercises. Both voice and speech evolve throughout the
entire lifetime and, therefore, the author focuses her attention on individual life stages. At a time
when the sense of correct pronunciation and pleasant speech is disappearing not only from
preschool facilities, but also from elementary schools, let alone secondary schools and universities,
this is an important contribution to the topic of voice teaching, which should not only be a matter
of music education, but should have its place in the curriculum as speech and voice education.
MOTAL, Jan. Dialogue Through Art: The Philosophy of Mimésis in the Culture of Dialogue
(Dialog uměním: filozofie mimésis v kultuře dialogu). Brno: JAMU, 2016. ISBN 978-807460-106-4.
The book presents a comprehensive theory of art in the form of a philosophical essay. It proves that
we have become accustomed to perceiving a work of art as a tool of communication instead of
seeing it as a meeting place for us. So, a place for dialogue with ourselves, with others, with the
experience of all humankind stored in the archetypes we work with in art. The book is based on an
existential view of humans and considers the work as a reflection of the fundamental questions of
human existence (death, freedom and decision-making, loneliness, meaning) which can only be
tackled “now and here”, i.e. not abstractly. A work of art reflects the experience of both the
author and the reader/viewer, who thus meet on a common ground that overcomes the differences
of our individual existences. According to this book, art can be a tool for rediscovering the face of
the other and for opening a situation of dialogue that will help us develop mutual understanding.
MACKOVÁ, Silva. Theatre and Education (Divadlo a výchova). Brno: JAMU, 2016. ISBN 978-80-
7460-101-9.
The author of Theatre and Education (Reflections on the Field) summarizes the issues of the
historical development and present of the Theatre and Education field. The work recapitulates the
history of existence of the Theatre and Education Studio at the Theatre Faculty of JAMU in Brno,
while capturing the genesis of the Theatre and Education field. This has resulted in a publication
that puts the changes and development phases of this field into perspective, while simultaneously
summarizing the historical and contextual data and facts related to the referenced foreign
literature and the available sources of domestic professional literature. The author creates a high-
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quality terminological interpretation of the terms that are often misused in practice. She draws
attention to the pitfalls we currently face in educational practice. Consequently, she helps dispel
the ignorance lingering with the educational public about the field of Drama Education or Theatre in
Education.
MOTAL, Jan. Existential Theatre of Dreaming (Existenciální divadlo snění). Brno: JAMU, 2016.
ISBN 978-80-7460-097-5.
The book contains documentation, reconstruction and analytical interpretation of the theatre
production Písek by Arnošt Goldflam and the HaDivadlo company, which was performed in 1988 in
Brno. A key chapter is the interpretation of the production which follows hermeneutic
phenomenology. The author of the study first presents an analysis of the most important formal
aspects of the production, which he then uses as a basis for the philosophical interpretation of the
work, classifying Písek under the tradition of the Hebrew concept of speech as a dynamic, acting
word. On the surface of this philosophical reflection, the author demonstrates how the meaning of
the term “drama” changes for Goldflam: it ceases to be a purpose-related conduct and becomes a
realization of the free creativity of dreaming. The book thus brings the original interpretation of
Goldflam’s works, which no longer need to be narrowly understood only in the context of the
historiography of studio theatres, but also as a continuation of the peculiar tradition of Jewish
thinking.
SLAVÍKOVÁ, Hana. Franz Cap. Brno: JAMU, 2016. ISBN 978-80-7460-108-8.
The book tries to portray a unique creative personality, whose story is also a prism through which to
view the turbulent situation of wartime and post-war Europe. A director who succeeded at both the
Biennale di Venezia and the Cannes IFF and in 1949 emigrated to Germany. He filmed in a bombedout
Berlin, in the ruins of the Reichstag, as well as with Marcello Mastroianni on the Adriatic coast,
shortly after the expulsion of Italians. He became the founder of modern Slovenian cinematography.
For half a year, he worked in Tel Aviv. His film and television works were widely distributed in
Europe, Asia and the U.S. Franz Cap was not known in the Czech lands, František Čáp was to be
forgotten. The text relies on the mutual interaction of factual passages and fictionesque areas,
resonating with the principles of film editing. It brings new knowledge resulting from several years
of creative research among witnesses and in archives in Czechia, Slovenia, Germany, Italy and
Israel.
ZDRÁHAL, Dušan. Alois Hajda: A Director’s Profile, Part II: Productions Staged in 1972–1991
(Režijní profil Aloise Hajdy II. Inscenační tvorba z let 1972–1991). Brno: JAMU, 2016. ISBN 978-
80-7460-103-3.
The second part of the monograph Alois Hajda: A Director’s Profile, Part II is devoted to the work of
this important personality of the Czech theatre of the second half of the 20th
century. Having been
expelled from the Mahen drama department of the State Theatre in Brno as a consequence of
normalization purges, in 1971, Alois Hajda found a refuge at the Workers’ Theatre in Gottwaldov
(today’s City Theatre Zlín). In the midst of the central institutions, this theatre was able to create
conceptual dramaturgical lines and outstanding productions. Alois Hajda made a major contribution
to this success. Dušan Zdráhal documents and analyses the director’s output, which is based mainly
on the works by William Shakespeare and Bertolt Brecht. At the end of the book he sums up the
results of his research and in a more general, theoretically focused chapter he describes the
principles of Hajda’s directing, which constitute a valuable contribution to unorthodox theatre
thinking and still serve as an impulse for current authors.
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BERGMAN, Aleš. A Study on Acting and its Pedagogy (Studie o herectví a jeho pedagogice).
Brno: JAMU, 2016. ISBN 978-80-7460-099-9.
The publication combines several partial studies dealing with the topics of acting, acting pedagogy
and the use of acting exercises in the creation of actual theatre productions. The author reflects a
part of his own activities as a teacher and director. He deals with the issues of interactivity of the
actor’s work, composition of the actor’s language and the actor’s compositional feeling. In specific
contexts, the publication presents his acting exercises and work methods, which are rooted in
Meyerhold’s biomechanics, specific acting psychosomatic drills using dialogical principle, which
were initiated by prof. Josef Karlík, while relying also on the method of using etudes in the socalled
analysis through action, elaborated on by K. S. Stanislavský. For the first time in the Czech
context, the publication mentions work with the so-called emotional patterns, used by some acting
educators especially in German-speaking countries. Among original solutions presented in the
publication is e.g. an attempt to design a model of the actor’s “mapping” of the structure of a
situation and of the behaviour of the character played, serving the needs of the actor’s preparation
for a theatre rehearsal.
2015
OSLZLÝ, Petr, et al. Am and Ea. Boleslav Polívka’s Clown Show at the Theatre on a String
(Divadlo na provázku) (1973) Am and Ea. Klauniáda Boleslava Polívky v Divadle na provázku
(1973). Brno: JAMU, 2015. ISBN 978-80-7460-091-3.
The publication identifies the foundations of Boleslav Polívka’s acting and authorial work, places his
own productions in the context of the overall dramaturgical concept of the Theatre on a String and
attempts to reconstruct the process of creating the clown show Am and Ea. The main part of the
publication captures the form of the show and its directing and acting components, especially the
play of both protagonists Boleslav Polívka and Dagmar Bláhová. At the end of the main text, the
publication deals with the domestic and foreign contexts of the clown show Am and Ea, which was
performed in 1973 – 1979 not only in Brno, but also in Prague, Bratislava and other cities of the then
Czechoslovakia. Following its great success at the World Festival in Nancy, France, since 1973 it
would be invited to the whole of Europe and represented Czech theatre culture at a number of
prestigious European theatre festivals and at cultural centres in France, Germany, Belgium, the
Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The publication includes a reprint of the work
script, a text-visual reconstruction of the show and a number of supplements. The photographic
supplement contains 63 snapshots in which important Czech theatre photographers Jef Kratochvil
and Jaroslav Prokop captured the clown show Am and Ea in 1973 to 1975. Moreover, the pictures
taken by these and other authors run across the entire publication.
REPAŠSKÁ, Lucia. Decomposition Principles of Creating Stage Productions (Dekompozičné
princípy v inscenačnej tvorbe). Brno: JAMU, 2015. ISBN 978-807460-086-9.
The work by Lucia Repašská responds to the nature and character of theatre productions within the
scope of independent performance activities and attempts to reflect, in professional terms, one of
the most recent streams of the current theatre. The author draws on her own work and on practical
research in the Brno-based D´epog ensemble, whose aim was to test the rather bold hypothesis of
the semantic autonomy of dramaturgical, directorial and acting components, which leads to a
higher reception engagement of the viewer. The author’s premise is understanding the viewer not
as the final recipient of the work, but as a creative consummator = the creator of the final meaning
of the “artefact”, i.e. the viewer as the receptive active component of the work. Lucie Repašská’s
work constitutes a very valuable interconnection between theoretically argued postulates of
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theatrical production and practical research, its detailed description and the clearly formulated
conclusions, which may serve as an inspiration not only for the methodology of acting, but also for
the perception of perceptive and receptive principles of theatrical work.
ROUBAL, Jan. Theatre as a Ladder Not Thrown Away. Texts on Authorial, Alternative and
Studio Theatre (Divadlo jako neodhozený žebřík. Texty o autorském, alternativním a
studiovém divadle). Brno: JAMU, 2015. ISBN 978-80-7460-085-2.
The texts collected in the first volume of Jan Roubal’s works covering authorial, alternative and
studio theatre are the essence of the author’s permanent thinking about theatre. They combine not
only the author’s lifelong captivation by theatre in its aesthetic categories, but also by theatre as a
place for meeting, sharing, mutually communicating, interacting and, last but not least, for returns
to the ritual roots of theatricality and overlapping into the extra-theatrical (paratheatrical) sphere
with social, psychological and therapeutic aspects. Jan Roubal became personally acquainted with
all the elements of this perception of theatre – as an actor, director, screenwriter, educator,
experimenter, theorist – and he also reflected on all these areas in his texts. Thus, the volume
presented is not only the sum of knowledge and a document testifying to the continuous theoretical
formulation of considerations reflecting the variability and processability of theatrical
phenomena/events or arte(f)acts, a term coined by Roubal, but, at the same time and as a whole,
it brings awareness of the contemporary conditionality and historicity of thinking, which were never
considered by Roubal to be the final definition of concrete phenomena, but as a constant
exploration of theatre space (especially in its expansion over the last twenty years), reflecting new
trends and tendencies, new forms, re-formulating and specifying previous views and attitudes in the
context of the current flow of theatre culture in European and global context.
STRAND, David. Method of Dance Education Using Lester Horton’s Technique (Metoda taneční
výchovy technikou Lestera Hortona). Brno: JAMU, 2015. ISBN 97880-7460-078-4.
The publication offers a view of the life and work of the American educator and choreographer
Lester Horton (23 January 1906 – 2 November 1953), who is regarded as one of the pillars of modern
dance. This brief biography of Lester Horton will inform the reader about his artistic life, way of
thinking, methods of working with dancers and choreographic creations. Lester Horton’s technique
has a specific nomenclature, which is outlined and explained in this publication. The publication
also analyses in detail the structure of Lester Horton’s technique and indicates the methods of
creating an effective training structure for dancer education.
ZOGATOVÁ, Lenka. Amateur Ensemble (Ochotnický kroužek). Brno: JAMU, 2015. ISBN 978-80-
7460-082-1.
The monograph by Lenka Zogatová (1956–2014) provides an insight into the existence and activities
of the Amateur Ensemble (Ochotnický kroužek) operating in Brno during 1985–1990. Made up of
personalities such as director and playwright J. A. Pitínský, dramaturge and scriptwriter Petr
Osolsobě, music composers Martin Dohnal, Luboš Malinovský, etc., the ensemble performed several
important plays, with which they succeeded at international competitions and festivals. The
productions staged by the Amateur Ensemble had become characterised by the poetics of
immediacy and emotionality, combined with elements of musical and artistic alternatives. The
publication presents many archive documents, photographs and contemporary reflections provided
for the purpose of this publication by members of the ensemble themselves from their private
collections. Some of the preserved audio-visual records from the activities of the Amateur Ensemble
are stored on the DVD that is included with the book.
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KOVALČUK, Josef. ROZRAZIL 1/’88 (ON DEMOCRACY) ROZRAZIL 1/’88 (O DEMOKRACII). Brno:
JAMU, 2015. ISBN 978-80-7460-090-6.
In its first part, the book presents a study by Josef Kovalčuk on the origin of the scenic magazine
Rozrazil 1/’88 (On Democracy) of the Theatre on a String and the HaDivadlo theatre (prem. 21
October 1988), an analysis of its genre and an analysis of its individual parts. The book also includes
a testimony to the authors’ struggle against the authorities’ efforts to ban this project, as well as
the characteristics of its social impact and significance. There is also a written reconstruction of the
premiere form of the project including numerous photographs. The following sections present an
overview of other editions of Rozrazil as well as important written documents associated with the
magazine. The final part of the publication consists of a study by Radka Kunderová on the audience
and review response to Rozrazil 1/’88 (On Democracy) in the context of the erosion of authoritative
discourse in Czech theatre criticism in the second half of the 1980s.
2014
SRBA, Bořivoj. The Awakening of Genesius (Prozření Genesiovo). Brno: JAMU, 2014. ISBN 978-80-
7460-043-2.
The monograph is the culmination of the author’s long-term research work focused on the Czech
theatre of the first half of the 20th
century. Bořivoj Srba followed up on the book For a New Theatre
– The Advent of New Developmental Tendencies in the Czech Stagecraft in 1939–1945 (Prague
1988), where, in the form of several case studies, he depicted mainly the productions created by
three leading figures of the theatre avant-garde and the activities of the up-and-coming young
generation. In The Awakening of Genesius he gives a comprehensive, synthetic picture of the
development of all drama theatres in Prague in the post-Munich period and during the Second World
War. This writing again documents and reaffirms Srba’s strong proficiency in the scientific research
of the history and theory of theatre. Each of his findings is the result not only of a thorough study of
sources and literature, but also of the author’s ability to see theatre in wider cultural and sociopolitical
contexts. Thanks to this publication, the reader can learn many new facts about the Czech
theatre of past times. With its content and with the way Srba views the subject matter at hand, the
publication also provides numerous impulses for today’s theatrical production.
SCHULZOVÁ, Eva. The Original Czech Radio Play After 1989 (Původní česká rozhlasová hra po
roce 1989). Brno: JAMU, 2014. ISBN 978-807460-064-7.
The author presents the first comprehensive work monitoring the development of the Czech radio
play since 1989. To explore this period, the book brings important factual information (an
enumeration of productions, lists of productions, personal details and the evolvement of Czech
Radio as an institution). The publication is valuable for its analytical approach, genre typology and
for examining radio plays in many contexts.
KREJČÍ, Hana. Specifics of Art Projects (Specifika uměleckých projektů). Brno: JAMU, 2014. ISBN
978-80-7460-050-0.
The publication deals with the application of project management in the field of art projects.
Besides defining the specifics of art projects, it contains two case studies focusing on living art
which demonstrate the possibilities of using project management in the field of culture and art.
JIRÁSEK, Pavel, JIRÁSKOVÁ, Marie. The Puppet and Modern. Prague: Arbor Vitae, 2014. ISBN
97880-7467-056-5.
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The publication The Puppet and Modern extensively describes development of Czech puppet
scenography in the years 1900 - 1950. Czechoslovakia’s unique culture of puppet theatre reached an
apex between about 1900 and 1950, and its visual style was integral to the development of
modernist and contemporary theatre and animation. The Puppet and the Modern traces the
development of stage design and stage technologies in the context of avant-garde and modernist
currents. The Puppet and the Modern includes 750 colour photographs, archival images of
performances, sets, sketches, posters, programs, periodicals, illustrations.
KROČIL, Miloslav. The Art of Storytelling (Umění vyprávět). Brno: JAMU, 2014. ISBN 978-80-7460-
052-4.
The publication comprehensively deals with the issue of storytelling especially from the viewpoint
of acting. It outlines the history of the discipline and its current form, using the example of specific
genres such as fairy tale or anecdote. A special attention is paid to the issue of storytelling in folk
literature and in various Czech dialects.
(2) Overview of other professional outputs by the Theatre Faculty of JAMU (selection)
ZARODŇANSKÁ, Daniela. Repertory Theatres: Obstacles in International Cooperation. In Prof.
Joaquim Ramos Silva; Prof. Tamer Budak; Dr. Tanu M. Goyal. Conference Proceedings Rome 2018:
Full Paper Series. Istanbul: MIRDEC Publishing, 2018. pp. 97-111, 113 pp. ISBN 978-605-81247-0-7
The international cooperation projects are one of the best ways for cultural organisations to
internationally share their theoretical and practical experience, know-how, and research into
specific artistic areas. Thanks to many funds, these kinds of projects are easier to carry out.
However, there are still many internal and external factors that discourage cultural workers to get
involved in projects like these. Since 2015, Daniela Zarodňanská does a research on obstacles
(economic, legislative, processual etc.) which cultural workers have to face when dealing with their
international projects. Its main aim is to find the best solutions, compromises and recommendations
which will help overcome these obstacles. In 2015-2016, Daniela Zarodňanská worked on the
research which identified the fundamental barriers in taking part in the international co-operational
projects and provided recommendation for the Czech Creative Europe Desk as well as for the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. While proceeding from previous research, Zarodňanská has been
continuing with the topic on repertory theatres since 2016. This new research is based on
professional and research sources that have already dealt with the topic of international projects
and their obstacles. The main part of the research consists of interviews with cultural workers in
repertory theatres. The aim of these interviews is to describe specifically Czech theatre
environment, to find typical obstacles, and provide recommendations.
MOTAL, Jan. From Artistic Research to Radical Investigation, From Science to Diplomacy: A
Polemical Essay (Od uměleckého výzkumu k radikálnímu bádání, od vědy k diplomacii:
polemický esej). ArteActa, No. 1, Volume 1, pp. 18-33. ISSN 2571-1695.
In this article, the author presents critical arguments that point to the inadequacy of the concept of
artistic research. He mainly concentrates on the genealogy of the term in relation to the modern
demands on the artist as a bearer of progress, commodification of the university environment and
the ontological problem of the artistic method in relation to knowledge. The author offers a way
out through the prism of Bruno Latour’s theory.
ONDRUŠOVÁ, Jana. Where Did the Shop on Main Street's Screenwriter Disappear? What
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Happened to Ladislav Grosman during Years 1968-1973 and Uncle David's Rendez-vous Case
Study. Kino-Ikon, a film and motion picture science magazine, 2018, No. 2, Volume 22, pp. 27-56.
ISSN 1335-1893.
The study is a part of doctoral research focused on screenwriting work of Ladislav Grosman. Apart
from The Shop on Main Street, this dimension of his creative persona has not been explored so far.
The framework of the upcoming thesis is essayistic context of the author’s life, more specifically his
efforts in the field of screenwriting, based on archival research, contemporary written sources and
interviews with his family and co-workers. The core of the research is dramaturgical analysis of
Grosman’s literary scripts found in archives of the following institutions: Barrandov Film Studio,
Czech Television and The Museum of Czech Literature. The aim of the thesis is not only
understanding this complex creative person, but also potential of the literary script as an individual
work of art.
BURIAN, Vladimír. On Brightness (O jasu). Light (Světlo) – a professional magazine for lighting
technology, 2017, No. 4, Volume 20, pp. 48-51. ISSN 1212-0812.
The article presents a view of the stage lighting design from the viewpoint of an assessment of
luminance values. The article also uses several examples (performances staged within the Czech
Dance Platform 2017) that illustrate these issues.
MOTAL, Jan. Anxious Affinities: How Theatrical Performance Can Generate a Platform for
Interpersonal Dialogue. The Slovak Theatre, 2017, No. 3, Volume 65, pp. 316-326. ISSN 0037-699X.
The article combines both philosophical and psychological approaches to argue that art and theatre
performance especially can be grasped as a revelation of the universal and basic human concern,
which is existential anxiety. The author presents an opinion, that via performative acts on stage,
spectators and performers/actors are interconnected in hermeneutic situation (Hans-Georg
Gadamer), in which they play their existential experience. Therefore, the universal death anxiety
(Irvin D. Yalom) can be understood as a possible platform for interpersonal and intercultural
dialogue (Martin Buber). The article concludes that archetypes (Carl Gustav Jung) are such a place
for mutual understanding, representing both mental and physical answers to the basic existential
experience of humankind.
KONÝVKOVÁ, Tereza. Falcon in Art (Sokol v umění).
The panel exhibition Falcon in Art (Sokol v umění) captured the close interconnection of the
dynamic development of the Sokol movement and Czech art, through which the Sokol movement
became an integral part of pre-war culture. Prague, National Memorial on the Vítkov Hill. 24 June –
4 September 2016.
MOTAL, Jan. Phenomenological Reduction as Naïve Consciousness of Dreamer
(Fenomenologická redukce jako naivní vědomí snivce). E-LOGOS - Electronic Journal for
Philosophy, 2015, No. 1, Volume 22, pp. 77-91. ISSN 1211-0442.
The goal of the study was to interpret the phenomenology of Gaston Bachelard’s imagination as a
phenomenological reduction of sui generis. The author of the article presents dreaming as a process
of returning to the naïve consciousness of primary (founding) and primitive nature in which it is
possible to attain a state of childhood, harmonizing an entity’s relationship with the world. Under
this concept, the world is revalued (valorized) and opens up as a home, both through memories and
through the reciprocal nature of imagination. The study shows phenomenological reduction in
Bachelard’s approach as oppositive yet complementary to scientific reason and emphasizes its
therapeutic character.
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ŠOTKOVSKÝ, Jan. Two Types of Strategies – Two Types of Tension (Dva druhy strategií – dva
druhy napětí). Theatralia, 2014, No. 1, pp. 315-329. ISSN 1803-845X.
Published in the professional journal Theatralia, this study deals with the construction of a
theatrical production from the perspective of narratology and the theory of audience reception. It
analyses strategies through which the director creates the conditions for the audience’s interest in
the performance and provokes the audience to active perception.
KOVALČUK, Josef. On the History of Theatrical Rozrazil (Several Ideas and Theses on the Role
of Theatre As a Catalyst of Social Movement) (K historii divadelního Rozrazilu (několik
myšlenek a tezí k otázce role divadla jako katalyzátoru společenského pohybu)) In On the
Theatre 2013 (O divadle 2013): Proceedings of the Theatrological Conference ‘On the Theatre in
Moravia and Silesia VI’, Olomouc: Palacký University Olomouc, 2014. pp. 61-74, 14 pp. ISBN: 978-80-
244-4010-1.
Presented at the theatrological conference About the Theatre in Moravia and Silesia IV, this paper
reconstructs the circumstances of the establishment and implementation of the political theatre
project of the Brno-based theatres HaDivadlo and the Theatre on a String (Divadlo na provázku)
which was presented in October 1988 on the 70th
anniversary of the foundation of Czechoslovakia
and which attracted considerable acclaim, especially owing to its social criticism.
JIRÁSEK, Pavel, JIRÁSKOVÁ, Marie. The Magic of Puppet Theatre – Family Puppet Theatres and
Puppets 1850-1950 (Kouzlo loutkového divadla - Rodinná loutková divadla a loutky 1850-
1950).
An exhibition of historical puppets and scenography with a critical catalogue. The Museum of
National Art and History of the Region of Jeseníky, Jeseník Water Fortress, Main Exhibition Hall
(exhibition area: 150 m2), 25 November 2014 – 29 March 2015.
JIRÁSEK, Pavel, JIRÁSKOVÁ, Marie. Puppets in the Chateau Salon (Loutky v zámeckém salónu).
An exhibition of historical puppets and scenography with a critical catalogue. The state chateau
Jánský Vrch (exhibition area: 250 m2), 1 May 2014 – 30 September 2014.