Aminata Keita comes from Havířov, but her family has roots in the Republic of Guinea on the West African coast. She studied Theatre and Film Studies at Palacký University in Olomouc and Drama Directing at DAMU. She graduated in the DISK Theatre with productions of Višňový sad (‘Cherry Orchard’) and Bratři Karamazovi (‘Brothers Karamazov’).
During her studies, she founded the generational theatre ensemble Činohra 16-20, which performed in the Kolowrat Theatre. With the Kolowrat Theatre, and following her graduation, she co-created her original production Poslední zrnko písku (‘The Last Grain of Sand’) – a testimony of the young generation plunged into a world that is as inviting as it is inhospitable.
Her further artistic journey has led her to the National Theatre Brno. In Reduta Theatre, you can currently see Molière’s Amphitryon – a refreshingly rhymed, and stylistically and visually impressive comedy – and the production Feminista (‘Feminist’) by Marek Šindelka, which is currently resonating in the Czech society due to the burning topic of abuse of power in university environment. She has also collaborated with the Josef Kajetán Tyl Theatre in Pilsen, the East Bohemian Theatre in Pardubice and the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre in Ostrava.
Bálint Antal is a recent graduate of theatre director. He started his studies at the University of Theatre and Film Arts (SZFE) in Budapest. After the university was forcibly privatized by the Hungarian government, he spent his last year of studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, finishing his studies through the Emergency Exit program of the Freeszfe Association.
He now works as an independent theatre director in Budapest and actively seeks opportunities for international co-productions and collaborations between universities. He is mainly interested in public and political issues.
Sonia Murcia was the Principal of the College of Dramatic Art of Murcia from 2014 to 2022. She was co-author of the Technical Report of the Subcommittee on the Artist Statute and is currently a member of the European Higher Education Area correspondence commission for artistic education. Her doctoral thesis, which she did in the field of law, is titled ‘Social Security for Professional Artists in Public Performances’. She has collaborated on numerous works associated with the protection of artists. As a professor specialising in contemporary dance, theatrical dance, and musical theatre, she has exceptional publications on the subject, and her co-directions of the shows ‘Federico entre los Dientes’ and ‘Diferencias’, stand out. She received the RURALMUR Art and Culture Award in 2018 and is co-director of FESTUM (International Youth Theatre Festival of Murcia). Additionally, she is co-editor of FILAá, a scholarly journal devoted to performing and audio-visual arts.
After graduating in 2010, Sascha travelled through Scandinavia by bike for about a year, to come back to Germany to study Packaging Design. Then, he wrote and illustrated a children’s book series, and later started working in the theatre as Assistant Director. While studying Set and Costume Design, he designed sets and costumes for several films and stages for Arte, Canal+ and AdK Ludwigsburg. He eventually received his Diploma for Stage Design and Costume Design in 2023. Since 2021, he has spent most of the time working for Schauspielhaus Bochum.
Festival SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER is organized by students of Janáček Academy of Performing Arts.
The project is co-financed by the Governments of Czechia,
Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from
International Visegrad Fund. The mission of the fund is to advance
ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe.
