14 January: The first rehearsal
It’s all guys today. Martin, Pepa, Patrik, Aleš, Kuba and Robert. All of them on time and full of enthusiasm. The only one missing is Jaruška, who’s sick. Štěpán is joining us today for the first time. He’s a great support to me because he helps me direct all that incredible outpouring of ideas. It’s no easy task trying to keep up with excited actors.

The main activity today is to find themes and scenarios. We already know that we want to do a pantomime.

Pepa suggests working with stories from the olden days of , like the tale of the Golem. Aleš suggests exoplanets and life on Mars. Patrik tells a love story about a dancer no one believes can dance. But then a beautiful girl comes along and they start dancing together and win a prestigious competition. Kuba wants a story about Santa Claus, who leaves presents for children under the Christmas tree. Martin wants to see a werewolf devouring the White Lady. We vote on what story to work with. The love story wins, followed closely by the Golem. In the end, the group decides to combine the two stories. A brainstorming session ensues, with an endless list of ideas. One idea quickly replaces another. For a while we’re here and then we’re there. At one point the ghost of a deceased dancer hides inside the Golem and tries to teach our story’s hero to dance. A little later the Golem is looking for a clay lover, and in the end we find out that the Golem was, in fact, sent to Earth by Martians. In any event, everyone gets a piece of his story into the play. Only Santa is left out of today’s planning. Kuba is more interested in the pictures on the walls than in looking for themes.

It’s best to end when things are going well. Heeding the advice of an expert, Mr Koert Dekker (who has been heading Maatwerk, a professional and very successful theatre for people with mental disabilities in the Dutch city of , for more than 25 years), I call a halt to the endless outpouring of fantasy. To be continued. Whatever we remember in our next session will be what we can build our story on. Whatever we forget, we can leave out. Those are his words. We’ll see. We’ll try it out.

We’ve been sitting down for long enough now. So it’s time for movement, working with the body and, to close things off, a small group improvisation. That’s become our ritual. For the actors of Inventura Theatre, this is the icing on the cake. Everyone looks forward to it, and usually there’s a great deal of laughter.