The group participated in a homeless theater festival in Hungary during the summer. Next year the event may be held in Moscow.
For additional performances, please check out their Web site: http://www.jezekacizek.cz/ .
A Theater for Homeless
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A scene from “Faust na Petrine”, Courtesy: ‘Jezek a Cizek’, Prague - Prague's picturesque Petrin Hill was recently the site of a unique theater performance. Dressed in period costume, and mimicking the manners and speech of a far-gone era, thespians performed scenes from Goethe's "Faust." The performance of the German classic is from Jezek and Cizek -- a theater that cultivates the talents of Prague's homeless.
But, once on stage, they are homeless no more -- just actors.
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A scene from “Faust na Petrine”, Courtesy: ‘Jezek a Cizek’, Prague - The troupe has kept to the original goal of the project: to provide participants with inspiration and the opportunity for a fresh start, while also reversing some common perceptions of homeless among their audience. Goethe's "Faust" was the first joint project, involving the cooperation of the Majak Theater, an amateur theater company in Prague.
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A scene from “Faust na Petrine”, Courtesy: ‘Jezek a Cizek’, Prague - The troupe makes due without a stage, and the audience assembles near a large hollow set into Prague's Petrin Hill. Lights and statues are used to project the striking image of Mephistopheles, while the alchemists sit amid smoke and candlelight. Together, the effects contribute to the mysterious atmosphere of the show.
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Olga Cielarova, theater manager, Courtesy: 'Jezek a Cizek", Prague - The theater's project manager, Olga Cieslarova, said: "Our actors are homeless people or who were homeless, who have this homeless experience. First of all the aim of the project is to help them to start again, to give them motivation to go back to society and to help them to find work, but first of all to find motivation. And the second side of this, to give to society another point of view -- what it means to be homeless, that these are not just people who live on the street, but that they can do something, and to show society that they can perform. So it should work on both sides."
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A scene from “Faust na Petrine”, Courtesy: ‘Jezek a Cizek’, Prague - "Our Majak Theater is not a professional one, " says Jakub Chapka, the producer of the Majak Theater. "We like free play and we like to improvise. We share the same ideas of freedom with Jezek and Cizek. This time we improvised most of the time. It is interesting for us to work with people who are fully dedicated to what they are doing. A lack of experience is not important."
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A scene from “Faust na Petrine”, Courtesy: ‘Jezek a Cizek’, Prague - Nearly 300 people have participated in 12 performances since the project's inception six years ago. According to theater manager Olga Cieslarova, it is difficult to organize the actors. Many of the cast members don't have places to live, they spend nights outside, they drink hard, they are sick, and they just may disappear on the day of the show.
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Actor Petr Blaha Courtesy: 'Jezek a Cizek', Prague - Peter Blaha was a mechanic in a small Czech town before he lost his job at a local plant and headed to Prague. But instead of better fortune, he soon found himself living on the street. Today he is one of the stars of the Jezek and Cizek theater: "I like to perform here, I like to express myself, " said Blaha. "To tell the truth, that is not so important. What is important, this gives meaning to my life, a special feeling. I like that I can share something with the audience. Before coming to the theater I lived on the street. I sold newspapers. Then I heard about the theater. Thanks to them, I found a new job, I found a place to live, and my life is getting back to normal."
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The sound engineer of the “Faust na Petrine”, Prague - Professionalism is a goal for this theater company. This technician is helping to ensure the audience can see and hear the actors -- even as darkness settles onto the set.