WE WENT TO AMERICA!
Part of our acting troupe together with the director, dramaturge and other members of the theatre went to the USA on 22 July to represent the Radost Theatre, the tradition of Czech puppetry and its current direction, to promote Czech cultural heritage and to strengthen Czech-American relations. One of the themes of this trip is the migration of Czechs and Slovaks to the New World at the beginning of the last century and the goal is, among other things, to build and maintain relationships with compatriots or their descendants and to visit the Czech and Slovak community in the USA. We were able to make this trip across the ocean thanks to the invitation of the Honorary Consul of the Czech Republic in Atlanta Monika Vintrlíková, the CEO of The National Czech & Slovak Museum and Library Cecilia Rokusek, the Honorary Consul Sharon Valášek in Kansas City, the Honorary Consul Brian Vaníček in Houston and the Czech community in Yukon.
From the Czech Republic to the distant USA we brought two of our productions - The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats and Buffalo Bill, which we performed a total of NINE TIMES! In addition, we created 2 workshops for the public especially for this tour - I, Puppet: Birth and Awakening and Show must go on! - and a lecture on the current state of puppetry in Bohemia and Moravia - Marionette: Tradition - Artifact - Partner. And we brought almost 60 puppets from the theatre's depository to the puppet exhibition It's a Joy! in Georgia. The oldest of the puppets is over 50 years old!
Our first stop and destination in the USA was Chicago, Illinois. Chicago, known for its Czechoslovak history, welcomed us with open arms. At the T. G. Masaryk Czech School we had our first lecture and then a discussion and meeting with our compatriots. Some of them even spoke Czech! We will remember them and the Chicago skyline for a long time!
However, the first 2 performances of The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats and 2 performances of Buffalo took place in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in the auditorium of The National Czech & Slovak Museum and Library. Buffalo Bill's central theme - emigration to the USA - resonated strongly with the audience, who couldn't resist tears and emotion and rewarded us with a standing ovation. Thank you! Each of the 4 performances was followed by a workshop where children and adults could learn about puppets and puppet management, and even make their own 2D paper puppet. It was hard to say goodbye to our Cedar Rapids compatriots, but the tour had to go on!
So we went to Wilber, Nebraska (by the way, called the Czech capital of the USA!) where the annual festival of Czech cultural heritage - The Wilber Czech Festival - was taking place. In addition to participating in two parades, we had the opportunity to set up our own booth of Radost, and to speak directly to festival visitors and meet prominent members of the Czech communities. On the last day of the festival, we performed a performance of The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats and after three days we left full of impressions and delighted to be keeping Czech traditions alive in the USA!
We headed to Kansas City, Missouri. Thanks to the Honorary Consul, we were able to see the workshops of fellow puppeteers from What if Puppets, with whom we exchanged experiences from our different backgrounds and cultural experiences. And on the same day, we performed our fourth performance of The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats at The Kansas City Public Library - Plaza Branch, again followed by a workshop. We had enthusiastic reactions from the adults and especially lots of smiles and laughter from the children! We thoroughly enjoyed our unfortunately short stay in this city and hit the road again!
Upon arrival in Yukon, Oklahoma, we were warmly welcomed by a representative of the local Czech community - Elaine Benda, who together with her team allowed us to present Buffalo Bill and The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats, including a workshop at The Czech Hall. In the Yukon, we felt the warmth of our compatriots who not only came to our performance, but also invited us to their regular Saturday night dance where our actors even sang on stage with the band! It was with heavy hearts that we left the Czech capital of Oklahoma to head to….
…Temple, Texas! After a warm welcome from the Consul, we performed a play, The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats, for the Texas audience in the theatre room of The Cultural Activities Center, followed by another workshop. After this ninth and final performance on U.S. soil, we said goodbye to the actors, technicians, and stage managers, who after nearly 4 weeks, embarked on a 12+ hour flight back to the Czech Republic. And the rest? The rest of us was still looking forward to another week in the USA.
In Georgia, we didn't slack off and in Gainesville installed the puppet exhibiton, which took place at The Arts Council Smithgall Arts Center. The opening ceremony for the exhibition was held later that day, accompanied by a guided tour and workshop. The exhibition was on display for a whole month and was a huge success! The following days were spent with our American colleagues in Atlanta at the Center for Puppetry Arts, the largest institution dedicated to puppetry in the USA! We saw their huge collection of puppets from all over the world and accepted an invitation to see a puppet show from their production - Owl at Home. Both were definitely worth seeing. We, in turn, had the opportunity to inform the American public and professionals about the state of puppetry in the Czech Republic and the activities and background of Radost Theatre during a panel discussion and to entertain the children during one of our workshops. And after a month full of American experiences, it was time to go home to Brno again.
In total 8 American cities, 6 states and 30 days! It was a ride! Thank you!
The tour took place thanks to the financial support of the South Moravian Region, the Statutory City of Brno and in cooperation with the Honorary Consulate of the Czech Republic in Atlanta, The National Czech & Slovak Museum and Library, Center for Puppetry Arts, Moravian Museum and ALBAform.
