Free As Birds

Developed by Tereza Dobiášová (Krejčí) together with the Italian theatre company TPO and its artistic director, David Venturini, for the Czech "gallery play" Sladovna.

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Inspired by a 13th century Persian mystical poem about a flock of birds flying through seven valleys to find their king. In the poem, in which only the bravest of the birds reach the end of their journey to the one who will rule them, they will find only their own reflection in a mirror.

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On an individual level, the "king" can be understood as the soul, on a community level, the one who is asked to lead turns out to be themselves.

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The performance was created as a form of shared journey - as a ritual primarily for teenagers and preteens, which they go through together to discover who they are - a transition that requires emotional and physical participation - a shared experience to overcome one's own boundaries. In order to be rewarded - at the end - to see oneself and others in the mirror with newly opened eyes.

A ritual that mixed art, offering the possibility of personal development, with something that can be called "education of the heart".

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"Biological transitions such as puberty and parenthood have always been shrouded in ceremonies and rituals in every culture. These ceremonies provide containers for the feelings that surge when we say goodbye to childhood and take on the mantle of adulthood. Today, we no longer practice transition rituals as the sacred transformations they were meant to be. We leave childhood kicking and screaming."
Alberto Villoldo in The Illumination Process

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The performance was created in collaboration with TPO, the MUBA Children's Museum in Milan and the Da'de'ce Foundation in Romania. It was realized in Italy (TPO), Sladovna Písek (Czech Republic) with children, teenagers and adults 10+ (in various combinations).

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During Covid, it was transformed into a similarly participatory online format, with more than 120 performances (for MUBA and the National Theatre, Prague).

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Theatrical version

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Written by: Tereza Dobiášová
Concept and its directorial implementation: Tereza Dobiášová and Davide Venturini
Visual and scenic design: Davide Venturini (TPO)
Technical design: Rossano Monti (TPO)
Music: Lukáš Urbanec
Performance: Anna Balducci, Ambra di Bartolomeo, Marek Menšík, Běla Dobiášová, Margherita Luccini, Petra Pešková, Tereza Dobiášová, Adam Langer, Pavel Brůžek, Tomáš Novotný, Linda Mezrová.
Costume collaboration: Silvie Urbancová
Producer: Sladovna Písek o.p.s.

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Online version

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Concept and direction: Tereza Dobiášová and Davide Venturini
Text: Tereza Dobiášová
Online direction: Lenka Hubáčková / Davide Venturini
Performance: Běla Dobiášová, Ambra Bartolomeo, Naďa Kabelová, Anna Homola, Lucie Hrzalová