THE 2022 REHEARSAL FOR TRUTH THEATER FESTIVAL | JUNE 12-25, 2022
UNDER PRESSURE
The 2022 Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival featured works from the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine, Hungary, and the US. Myriad formats of contemporary theater performances were accompanied by engaging discussions concerning individual actions during times of distress.
With modern life constantly presenting us with new challenges, the festival’s fifth edition, Under Pressure, offered a safe space for reflection and dialogue in order to inspire our New York City audience to find novel means of living in tolerance and peace.
The presented pieces examined the human experiences during war and under oppressive political regimes, telling stories of ordinary people responding to unprecedented circumstances in unexpected ways. These were accounts of people who counter pressure and distress by fighting and laughing at dictators as well as absurd ideologies.
Even during horrific times, art can bring joy, relief, and hope. The program invited participants on a journey into the space of an astonishing cultural community that persevered in a Nazi camp (Our Will to Live: Art and Music in Terezin) and to follow writer and philosopher Liu Xiaobo upon his release from a Chinese re-education camp (Stones of Tiananmen). Another edition of the series Havel Conversations—dedicated to the legacy of the former Czech president Vaclav Havel—shared the stories of creative individuals fleeing from Communist Czechoslovakia (Ticket to the New World).
The festival continued its tradition of Polish absurd theater with The Martyrdom of Peter Ohey, whereby a family deals with an unlikely guest in an unlikely place when a tiger suddenly appears in the bathroom. An extravagant celebration of creative freedom transpired at the performance of Radio 477! – In Concert, based on a Ukrainian avantgarde jazz musical and featuring New York City-based and Ukrainian artists.
“The festival has celebrated five years, and our mission—to address political circumstances and social trends—is even more pressing today than ever before in the face of the brutal war and genocide in Ukraine. We must continue challenging the status quo despite the pressure of unfathomable circumstances. Being under pressure offers one good thing: we can mobilize our energy and change our lives for the better. And that’s exactly what performing arts can do—create a space for the community to share emotions, experiences, and fears, and find new ways of living in tolerance, peace, and truth.”
Looking back to move forward, our program also offered a glimpse of the future with the play Permeation and a stage reading of Shelves, an absurd drama of a society under surveillance. Using propaganda for political means was central in two presented works: Body as a Weapon, a dance performance exploring female body as a tool for political domination, and Hungarian Acacia, which examined the exploitation of a plant in a post-documentary theater format.
All performances were followed by talkbacks.
>> About the Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival
Organizers
The Vaclav Havel Library Foundation
Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association
CO-PRODUCERS
Svanda Theatre
Czech National Trust
GOH Productions
Polish Cultural Institute
Terezin Music Foundation
Trap Door Theatre
Yara Arts Group
PROMOTION PARTNERS
Czech Center New York
Consulate General of Slovakia in New York
MAIN SUPPORTERS
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council
New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature
SUPPORTERS
Consulate General of the Czech Republic in New York
Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic
Ministry of Human Capacities, Hungary
Society for the History of Czechoslovak Jews
FESTIVAL TEAM
Pavla Niklova | Executive Director
Katerina Kyselica | Marketing & Communications
Bonnie Sue Stein | Production Manager
Marek Soltis | Technical Manager & Sound
Liljano Barjaktari | Lighting
Jiri Mirovsky | Technician
KADS New York, Katerina Kyselica | Festival Visual Identity
Madeline Windland | Photography
Tobias Nikl | Production Assistant
Katarina Mirovsky | Accounting
VENUE
Bohemian National Hall, New York City
2021 PROGRAM
AI: WHEN A ROBOT WRITES A PLAY (CZECH REPUBLIC) | PLAY SCREENING, WORKSHOP
Playwright: Artificial intelligence. Instructors: Daniel Hrbek, David Kostak, and Rudolf Rosa.
PERMEATION (CZECH REPUBLIC) | STAGE READING
Playwright: Artificial intelligence. Project author: Tomas Studenik. Director: Erwin Maas. Cast: Jade Radford, Christopher Domig, Joshua Echebiri.
our will to live: ART AND MUSIC IN TEREZIN (us) | concert, readings, book presentation
Directed by: Mark Ludwig. Performed by: Michael Ludwig, Beth Levin.
SHELVES (CZECH REPUBLIC) | STAGE READING
Playwright: Daniela Samsonova. Director: Ellis Stump. Cast: Stephen Bush, Sophia Caressa, Jake Fallon, Yasmin Pascall.
TICKET TO THE NEW WORLD | exhibition
Presented works by: Alex Hammid, Bedrich Grunzweig, Ladislav Sutnar, Adolf Hoffmeister, Antonin Pelc, Jarmila Novotna’s memorabilia.
TICKET TO THE NEW WORLD, EVA HEYD IN CONVERSATION WITH ALEX ZUCKER
From the series Havel Conversations.
RADIO 477! – IN CONCERT (USA, UKRAINE) | musical play
Text: Serhiy Zhadan. Music: Anthony Coleman. Director: Virlana Tkacz. Performed by: Yara Arts Group. Cast: George Drance, Darien Fiorino, Silvana Gonzalez, Akiko Hiroshima, Susan Hwang, Maksym Lozynskyj, Jeremy Kie Vance, Lesya Verba. Musicians: Anthony Coleman, Hannah Dunton, Frank London, Erica Mancini, Satoshi Takeishi, Francesca Ter-Berg, Doug Wieselman.
THE MARTYRDOM OF PETER OHEY (POLAND) | play
Playwright: Slawomir Mrozek. Adapted and directed by: Nicole Wiesner. Associate direction, choreography: Miguel Long. Additional writing: Stanislaw Witkiewitcz, Matty Robinson. Performed by: Trap Door Theatre (Chicago). Cast: Venice Averyheart, Dennis Bisto, Tia Pinson, Matty Robinson, Keith Surney, Bob Wilson, Carl Wisneiwski.
stones of tiananmen (USa) | stage reading
Playwright: C. L. Cooper. Director: Ralph B. Pena. Cast: Mia Katigbak, Karen Tsen Lee, Eric Yang, David Shih, Jo Yang, Henry Yuk. Stage directions: Jesse Jae Hoon.
BODY AS A WEAPON (SLOVAKIA) | MULTIMEDIA DANCE PERFORMANCE
Choreography and performance: Sandra Kramerova. Dramaturgy: Freek Duinhof. Music: Denisa Uherova. Video design, visuals: Alvaro Congosto. Lighting design, visual effects: Boaz van den Ban.
hungarian acacia (hungary) | post-documentary theater
Directed by: Kristof Kelemen, Bence Gyorgy Palinkas. Performed by: Angela Eke, Katalin Homonnai, Kristof Kelemen, Marton Kristof, Bence Gyorgy Palinkas.
Photographs: Madeline Windland
