Having studied Slovak language and aesthetics at the Faculty of Letters of the Comenius University, Ms Totiková went on to pursue studies in directing and dramaturgy at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. She held a number of international scholarships and sabbaticals abroad (Akademia Teatralna Warsaw, Institute Polonicum, EF International School in New York). She made her mark with a production of her own play Woman Overboard (having written the play under the pen name Ria Kotibal) that earned her a nomination for DOSKY for Discovery of the Season 2008/2009. Her productions feature regularly at local and international festivals (Word Festival of Children´s Theatre in Toyama, Japan; Jiráskův Hronov, Zlomvaz, Czech Republic; Week of Slovenian Drama, Kranj, Slovenia; Dia de Muertos, Cleveland, USA, etc.). As freelance stage director she collaborated with a number of theatres, including Theatre Aréna, Malá scéna STU, City Theatre Žilina, Studio 12, Bratislava Puppet Theatre, and Teatr Collegium in Warsaw. She has written stage plays (Woman Overboard, Hooray, Luxury! Or Those 1990s, Woman on the Edge) and scenarios for televised productions. Ms Totiková also translates stage plays from Polish (M. Walczak: Amazonia, Moose Hunting, The First Time; I. Villqist: A Great Girl Like You). She also works for film and television.
Her tutorial and lecturing portfolio includes a number of areas. In addition to being an acting couch, as lecturer she specialises in acting (workshops, lectures, masterclasses). She is author of the projects Child Actors that seeks and tutors child acting talents. She is also the author of the concept of learning module and course Actor in Front of Camera.
Adriana Totiková’s signature style
Ms Totiková is member of the young generation of Slovak female stage directors and authors. As director she focuses on her own stage texts (Hooray, Luxury! Or Those 1990s, Woman Overboard, Woman on the Edge) and contemporary plays (P. Quilter: The Morning After; S. Semenič: 5chalanov.sk; J. Murray-Smith: The Female of the Species), that present clear parallels and analogies to the current socio-political reality. She aims to make the master attractively comprehensible to the audience. Ms Totiková tends to focus on generational themes dominated by human-individual, their torments and dreams, human happiness. She turns ordinary stories into a realistic and live scenic image. Her directorial style is characterised by playfulness that can reach all the way to naïve folk art. She is not limited by genre, even though she tends to lean towards comedy not short of situational humour, bizarre situations and utmost physical engagement on the part of actors. Her works are epitomised by precise guidance of actors whom she coordinates into balanced performances and awakens in them playfulness and spontaneity.
She sporadically engages in puppet theatre for children (M. Rúfus – M. Babiak: The Rúfus Tales; P. Petrík: Violet the Purple and Maurice the Blue; K. Jánošová: Strange Christmas of Uncle Odral) making the most of her directorial potential, namely playfulness and stylisation.
A list of directorial works – productions:
2008 / Bratislava Puppet Theatre / Václav Šúplata: The Royal Detective
2009 / Studio 12, Bratislava / Ria Kotibal: Woman Overboard
2009 / Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava / Július Barč-Ivan: 3000 People
2010 / Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava / Adriana Totiková, Michal Baláž: Hooray, Luxury! Or Those 1990s
2010 / Bratislava Puppet Theatre / Milan Rúfus, Michal Babiak: The Rúfus Tales
2011 / Puppet Theatre Žilina / Pavol Petrík: Violet the Purple and Maurice the Blue
2011 / Theatre TUŠ, Poprad / Martin Kukučín, Adriana Totiková: The Game of Life
2011 / City Theatre Žilina / Ingmar Villqist: A Great Girl Like You
2011 / Bratislava Puppet Theatre / Katarína Jánošová: Strange Christmas of Uncle Odral
2012 / Theatre TUŠ, Poprad / Adriana Totiková, Barbora Krajč Zamišková: Amusement Park
2012 / Theatre Aréna, Bratislava / Peter Quilter: The Morning After
2012 / Studio 12, Bratislava / Simona Semenič: 5chalanov.sk
2014 / Theatre Aréna, Bratislava / Tracy Letts: Killer Joe
2014 / Theatre TUŠ, Poprad / Adriana Totiková, Michal Baláž, Petra Bečková: Woman on the Edge
2015 / The Andrej Bagar Theatre in Nitra / Joanna Murray-Smith: The Female of the Species
2016 / Theatre NoMantinels a Studio 12, Bratislava / Andrej Kuruc, Michal Hvorecký, Peter Scherhaufer: Identikit
2016 / Bratislava Puppet Theatre / Katarína Jánošová: The Snow Queen
2017 / The Andrej Bagar Theatre in Nitra / Táňa Kusá: Son or Daughter?
2018 / The Alexander Duchnovič Theatre, Prešov / Michal Baláž: Home
2018 / Slovak National Theatre, Bratislava; Juria Production / Radosław Paczocha: tRIP
2019 / The Jonáš Zaborský Theatre, Prešov / Ferdinand von Schirach: Terror
2019 / State Theatre Košice / Moliére: The School for Wives
Awards:
2012 / DOSKY for Discovery of the Season to the actress Ivana Kubáčková in the production A Great Girl Like You
2013 / The Bratislava Audience Prize at the Festival Nová drama / New Drama for the production 5chalanov.sk (Studio 12 and Theatre TUŠ, Bratislava)
Foreign languages: English, Polish, Russian, German
Contact: totikova@gmail.com
Videos from productions:
A GREAT GIRL LIKE YOU, 2011
archive of the City Theatre Žilina
The video can be found at the following link: www.youtu.be/PJ1RxkPo4kU
5BOYS.SK, 2012
archive of the Studio 12, Bratislava
The video can be found at the following link: www.youtu.be/1ZztQBGKP2A
THE FEMALE OF THE SPECIES, 2015
archive of the Andrej Bagar Theatre in Nitra
The video can be found at the following link: www.youtu.be/xEQ3ReAKWro
