Self-discipline, Vision, and Shakespeare Under the Open Sky
74 ǀ POSITIV MAN
with actors and directors. But I was
someone who had no problem managing
a large-scale project.
How do you manage to maintain
the festival’s continuity and high quality?
How has it evolved over the years,
and what would you consider its greatest
successes?
Continuity is, of course, also linked
to popularity. If the festival hadn’t been
successful, it would have been difficult
to keep it going. I think the format and timing
of the festival are well chosen. The level
of comfort and services offered is above
standard for this type of event, and that
definitely helps keep the festival in good
shape. One clear success is that in two
years, we’ll be celebrating the festival’s 20th
anniversary, and that we’re not afraid to stage
performances in languages other than
Czech. This year, for example, we’re bringing
a production in English that is well worth
seeing – and to enhance the experience,
we’ve added Czech subtitles.
How do you select the cast for each
production? Do you work with specific
theatres or approach individual actors?
It’s always a challenge to choose the right
people, especially because the timing
coincides with a period when actors finally
have some time off after a demanding
theatre season. So there are several factors
to consider. From the beginning, we‘ve tried
to base our productions on actors from
the region, so that we can also represent
Ostrava in other parts of the Czech Republic
or even in Slovakia. Of course, the director‘s
opinion plays a significant role. We don’t
collaborate with theatres as institutions –
we approach artists individually.
Is it difficult to secure the participation
of actors from different parts of the
country? How do you manage
the logistics and rehearsal schedule?
That’s closely related to the previous
question – logistics are a huge challenge.
Some actors, though originally from
Ostrava, may switch engagements, and we
have to adapt. Sometimes certain parts
of the production are rehearsed in Prague.
There’s relatively little time, and it takes
a lot of planning.
What were the biggest challenges you’ve
faced while organising the festival – for
example, during the pandemic?
During Covid, it was obviously incredibly
stressful, but we did manage to hold
the festival. I’m not sure whether we were
just lucky and managed to fit the dates
outside of lockdowns, but that’s probably