Workshop with Jana Svobodová and Ondřej Hrab
Documentary Theatre Laboratories
About this workshop
‘Laboratórios de Teatro Documental’ (Documentary Theatre Laboratories) is a training activity run by the Hotel Europa company for theatre professionals who regularly collaborate with the company and is also open to other professionals and people involved in artistic creation. The aim of these laboratories is to work on documentary theatre from a multidisciplinary point of view, exercising the company’s creative disciplines, such as theatre, movement and sound. With these laboratories, we want to continue pushing the boundaries of what documentary theatre can be, as well as disseminating the knowledge gained over almost a decade to other performance professionals who are interested in this area of artistic creation.
In this third workshop, participants will explore the creative methods of the Archa-Centre of Documentary Theatre. Through interviews, improvisation and stage compositions in small groups, they will cultivate the skill of “extreme listening”, that is, the ability to see their presence on stage from the position of the performers, authors, playwrights and spectators.
The workshop will be led in English, but participants will be able to work in Portuguese during the exercises.
For application and more information, send an e-mail to gestao@hoteleuropateatro.com
Deadline for applications: 7th March
Coaches
Dates
10th – 14th March 2025
Time
9h – 17h
Location
Recreios Desportivos da Trafaria (Casino)
Rua Guedes Coelho n.º 7, 2825-854 Trafaria
Price
Free
About the coaches
Ondřej Hrab
Ondřej Hrab studied economics in Prague and worked as a sociologist. During the communist regime, he organised clandestine shows by foreign artists.
In 1991, he became the director of the E.F. Burian Theatre, transforming it into the Archa Theatre, a centre for contemporary performing arts. Since 1994, he has presented artists such as Robert Wilson, Peter Brook, Min Tanaka, John Cale, Allen Ginsberg, Laurie Anderson, Lola Arias, among many others.
Active in promoting interdisciplinary projects and cultural exchange, in 2023 he founded Archa – Centre for Documentary Theatre with Jana Svobodová.
Jana Svobodová
An internationally recognised theatre director and teacher, Jana Svobodová is the artistic director of Akcent – International Documentary Theatre Festival and founder of the International Summer School of Documentary Theatre. Her work connects professional artists with specific social groups, and she has collaborated with diverse communities, from South African townships to the hip-hop scene and immigrants in Czechia.
His productions have been presented at international festivals, including the Festival d’Avignon and the Festival d’Automne. He has created shows such as Why Not Me? and Eight Compositions on the Lives of Ukrainians, about the impact of war.
In 2025, she founded STODOLIO – Centre for Encounters and Creation with Ondřej Hrab, premiering the play Radio Dvaka with local children.