Internationally known Czechoslovak puppeteer, storyteller, and author Vit Horejs performs Czech & Slovak Tales with Strings, a one-man marionette show of fairy tales replete with kings, clever village maidens, witches, and spirits. Horejs’s century-old, hand-carved puppets speak in a dozen voices, dance, play violin, swim, and fly.
Director: Vit Horejs. Performed by: Vit Horejs. Running time: TBA. Presented by: GOH Productions, Czechoslovak American Marionette Theatre, Consulate General of the Czech Republic in New York.
The program consists of beloved Czech and Slovak fables such as Salt over Gold (a banished princess who values her father "only" as much as salt returns to save her father when salt disappears), The Stingy Tailor (a water goblin teaches a lesson to the egotistical tailor), and Kacha and the Devil (a shepherd outwits the devil who is pursued by a dance-loving shrew).
For fifty years, a set of 24-inch marionettes crafted in traditional Czech style sat in a dusty closet at Jan Hus Church, in the heart of Yorkville, New York City's Czech and Slovak neighborhood. After Vit Horejs discovered these antique puppets, a troupe was born. Horejs has toured with the marionettes across 34 continental states and performed for thousands of spectators young and old. Czech and Slovak puppetry was declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2016.
For more information about this performance and the 2021 Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival program, visit www.rehearsalfortruth.org.
Free and open to the public. Suggested donation $10. RSVP through Eventbrite is required.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions for indoor events, seating capacity is limited and on first-come first-served basis. Reservations must be made in advance. Wearing a face mask is required. No tickets will be available at the door, and anyone who has not received pre-event confirmation will be turned away. Read about Festival Safety Protocol.
ABOUT THE 2021 REHEARSAL FOR TRUTH THEATER FESTIVAL
The 2021 Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival honoring Vaclav Havel is organized by the Vaclav Havel Library Foundation and Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association. The program is co-produced by the Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre, GOH Productions, Czech Center New York, Polish Cultural Institute New York, One-Eight/Daniel Irizarry Theater, Slovak Consulate General in New York, Palissimo Company, and Arts and Theatre Institute in Prague, Czech Republic.
The 2021 Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and Council Member Ben Kallos. Additional support is by the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in New York, Ceskoslovenska obchodni banka – Member of the KBC Group, PACE.V4 – Performing Arts Central Europe, Visegrad Countries Focus, and International Visegrad Fund.