THE 2020 REHEARSAL FOR TRUTH THEATER FESTIVAL | May 28-31, 2020
SPRING WEEKEND: THE UNIMAGINABLE OF REALITY
Coinciding with our reality amid a trying time, the 2020 Spring Weekend: The Unimaginable of Reality presented plays that delve into the human psyche subjected to unforeseen and unpredictable circumstances. The plays concern situations of hardship: unemployment in the 21st century (Mine Flowers), immigration in the 19th century (The American Emperor), fear and disconnection impairing relationships on a universal scale (Cost of Living). Nevertheless, life ultimately prevails as people hope for fairness and betterment. Using witty linguistics, irony and hyperbole, the Central European authors dissipate the gloomy clouds hovering above our heads, for the time being.
The 2020 Spring Weekend opened with a discussion on the challenges of literary translations. Four expert English translators of Vaclav Havel’s Czech plays joined in a conversation with New York City playwright Edward Einhorn, Artistic Director of Untitled Theater Company #61. Einhorn was the first ever to produce the complete plays of Vaclav Havel, all featured at The Havel Festival in New York City in 2006. >> watch video recording
Tyne Rafaeli, who has recently produced Ming Peiffer’s Usual Girls (Roundabout Theatre Company) and Sylvia Khoury’s Power Strip (Lincoln Center Theater), was one of the three female directors participating in the 2020 Spring Weekend.
The cast included superb theater, television and film actors, including Chris Carfizzi (Daredevil, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Shades of Blue), Uma Incrocci (Modern Family, How to Get Away With Murder), Kevin Sebastian (Waiting for the Bus, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Blue Bloods, Bull) Michael Turner (Shadow of Heroes).
“In the time when change is the only certainty, art goes on, and so does theater,” the festival director Pavla Niklova observes. “We believe in the power of theater to connect people despite the urgency of physical distancing. We have decided to take on the challenge of experimenting with live-streaming. With the stellar cohort of New York City actors, outstanding directors and the thrill of unknown, we believe each performance will leave a lasting memory. The unimaginable is now reality. All the world is a stage.”
Organizers
The Vaclav Havel Library Foundation (VHLF)
Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association (BBLA)
PARTNERS
Polish Cultural Institute
Untitled Theater Company #61
Promotion Partners
Consulate General of Slovakia in New York
Czech Center New York
GOH Productions/Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre
PACE.V4, Performing Arts Central Europe
MAIN SUPPORTERS
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
New York City Council Member Ben Kallos
CONSULTANTS
Attila Szabo, Deputy Director, Hungarian Theatre Museum and Institute
Vladislava Fekete, Director, Theatre Institute in Bratislava
Zuzana Ulicianska, Chair, the Slovak Center - International Association of Theatre Critics
Tomek Smolarski, Performing Arts Programming, Polish Cultural Institute New York
VENUE
Zoom.us
2020 PROGRAM
TRANSLATING HAVEL: THE TRICKY PARTS | panel discussion
Paul Wilson, Jan Novak, Stepan Simek, Edward Einhorn, Craig Anderson, Peter Brown, Uma Incrocci, Yvonne Roen, Richard Toth
MINE FLOWERS (HUNGARY) | READING
Playwright: Csaba Szekely. Director: Mary Linehan. Cast: Chris Carfizzi, Kendra Lee Oberhauser, Kevin Sebastian, Michael Turner, Stephanie Windland. Translated by: Paul Crowson.
The American Emperor (Slovakia) | reading
Written by: Michal Ditte, based on a book by Martin Pollack. Director: Jacquelyn Claire de Villiers. Cast: Elizabeth Andrews, Michaela Boruta, Jennette Cronk, Michael Frishman, Zane Gillion, Pierre Louis le Grange, Caren Skibell, Drew Valins. Translated by: Lucia Faltin. Zoom background design: Anna Niklova. Dialect coach: Michaela Boruta.
COST OF LIVING (POLAND) | reading
Playwright: Martyna Majok. Director: Tyne Rafaeli. Cast: Gregg Mozgala, Xochitl Romero, Felix Solis, Katy Sullivan.
