About the festival
Soukání Ostrov is a biennial international theatre festival of children and youth organized by Základní umělecká škola Ostrov, the Ostrov school of arts. Youth theatre groups from all over the world apply through AITA/IATA, the world organization of amateur theatre.
Groups are selected by the festival's artistic committee from the applications and the videos of their productions. Alongside the performances the festival runs seminars: an analysis seminar for group leaders and seminars for young actors that develop skills for the stage.
The festival is known for its atmosphere: everyone can see every production, discuss it and share experience and working methods. The side programme adds a trip around the Karlovy Vary region, a parade through the town, country stands, the "Group entertains group" evening and a tasting of regional food.
Seminars take place in the mornings, performances in the afternoons, and the evenings belong to the side programme. The penultimate day is reserved for seminar presentations, the parade and the country stands.
Where the name comes from
The festival is named after a production about a little spider who pulled ("soukal" in Czech) his friends to himself with threads. The HOP-HOP ensemble performed it at the first, still informal meeting with a theatre group from Brixen (Bressanone) in Italy around 1995. The festival grew out of that meeting and has been held every two years since.
Who has performed at Soukání
Over the years the festival has hosted groups from Italy, Slovakia, Lithuania, Estonia, South Korea and many other countries in Europe and beyond, alongside Czech ensembles.
Venues
- Performances: Kulturní a kreativní centrum Ostrov (the Ostrov house of culture), Mírové nám. 733
- Seminars: Základní umělecká škola Ostrov, Masarykova 717
- Side programme: the town of Ostrov and a trip around the Karlovy Vary region
The festival and Ostrov schools
Young people from Ostrov schools take part in the festival: as part of their language classes they attend the performances of the foreign groups. Before a performance, the seminar "Než půjdeme do divadla" ("Before we go to the theatre") prepares the young audience for the production they are about to see, together with drama teachers.