She received her master’s diploma in theatre direction and dramaturgy from the Academy of Performing Arts in 1999 and completed her doctoral study in theatre art in 2009. As a dramaturg, she participated in several projects produced in Slovakia and the Czech Republic (Ludus Theatre in Bratislava, HaTheatre in Brno, Petr Bezruč Theatre in Ostrava, Studio Rubín in Prague). At present, she is working as a theatre director, writer of theatre texts together with Roman Olekšák, translator of plays from English, and author of scripts for several Slovak and Czech television projects (Behind the Glass, Doctor Kellerová, Detective Dušo, Hot Blood, The Innocent, The Convicts). She worked as a director with quite a few theatres (the Drama Department of the Slovak National Theatre, the Slovak Chamber Theatre in Martin, the City Theatre of Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav in Bratislava, Theatre on the Balustrade in Prague). Her professional debut as a director was Electra (Academy of Performing Arts, Bratislava) which participated in the International Festival of Ancient Greek Drama in Cyprus in 2001. The productions she directed were presented at the Touches and Connections festival in Martin and the Bursa International Balkan Countries Theatre Festival in Turkey.
Description of her work:
Director Valéria Schulczová is a member of the middle generation of contemporary Slovak directors. In Slovakia and the Czech Republic, she is perceived as an artist with a broad focus, which is the result of her systematic work in all kinds of theatre and television genres. She mostly directs the plays she wrote herself in tandem with Roman Olekšák (Leni, Doctor Macbeth, Countrymen) or with Iva Volánková (Barbies, (You) Play!). In addition to producing her own texts, Schulczová is focused on contemporary international plays (Blackbird, Carnage, Popcorn, Extremities) and marginally also on world classics (Electra, The Woman of Rome, Enough Stupidity In Every Wise Man) in which she tends to make the content as up-to-date as possible while reflecting the current social and political reality. The themes she works with when writing and directing plays usually reflect the current social situation, or highlight big issues in world history. Simpler genres are not part of Schulczová’s working portfolio.
A typical feature of her direction is staging big themes in intimate theatre spaces or studios, using small acting ensembles. She is sensitive in her working approach to actors and makes use of their personality and physical disposition. Under her direction, actors do not indulge in a showy performance, but keep thoroughly to the production’s theme, acting with deliberate motivation and making a natural, even civil, impression. Such professional approach results in productions that are fixed and solid in terms of the presented ideas. It is a directorial choice with which the audience is never forced to argue. As a director who also writes scripts, Schulczová can very carefully use punchlines in dramatic situations, knows how to gradate the plot and keep control over characterization. She is an artist who does not like to expose her productions to risky directorial or visual exhibitions – on the contrary, she builds her projects on well-executed and professional work that synthesizes a high-quality dramatic text, clearly defined concept and sensitive choice of the cast.
List of directed productions:
2001 / Academy of Performing Arts, Bratislava / Sophocles: Electra
2002 / Studio 12, Bratislava / Iva Volánková: Minach
2002 / HaTheatre, Brno, Czech Republic / Knut Humsun, Šimon Dlouhý: Hunger
2004 / HaTheatre, Brno, Czech Republic / Iva Volánková, Valéria Schulczová: (You) Play!
2004 / HaTheatre, Brno, Czech Republic / Witold Gombrowicz: Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy
2004, 2006 / Petr Bezruč Theatre, Ostrava, Czech Republic / Ben Elton: Popcorn
2005 / Theatre on the Balustrade, Prague, Czech Republic / Iva Volánková, Valéria Schulczová: Barbies
2009 / West Bohemian Theatre Cheb, Czech Republic / William Mastrosimone: Extremities
2011 / West Bohemian Cheb, Czech Republic / Yasmina Reza: Carnage
2013 / Drama Department of the Slovak National Theatre / Roman Olekšák, Valéria Schulczová: Leni
2014 / City Theatre of Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, Bratislava / Roman Olekšák, Valéria Schulczová: Doctor Macbeth
2014 / City Theatre of Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, Bratislava / Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky: Enough Stupidity In Every Wise Man
2015 / Slovak Chamber Theatre, Martin / David Harrower: Blackbird
2016 / State Theatre Košice / Alberto Moravia, Roman Olekšák, Valéria Schulczová: The Woman of Rome
2016/ City Theatre of Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, Bratislava / Petr Zelenka: Job Interviews
2017 / Theatre in Řeznická Street / Valeria Schulczová, Roman Olekšák: Velvet Night
A list of theatre plays:
You Just Have to Say NO! (1999, with Peter Kuba)
(You) Play! (2004, with Iva Volánková)
Barbies (2005, with Iva Volánková)
Leni (2013, with Roman Olekšák)
Doctor Macbeth (2014, with Roman Olekšák)
Countrymen (2016, with Roman Olekšák)
Translations:
David Harrower: Blackbird
Nicholas E. Baehr: Incident
Simon Stephens: Herons
Iva Volánková: Minach
Petr Zelenka: Job Interviews
Awards:
2003 / the MAX Award at the Prague Theatre Festival in German Language for the production Top Dogs (dramaturgy: Valéria Schulczová)
2014 / the Dosky Award in the Best Female Performance of the Season category for Zdena Studenková in Leni
2016 / 1st Prize in the Beverly Hills Screenplay Contest in the Theatre Plays category for Leni (written by Valéria Schulczová and Roman Olekšák)
Foreign language skills: English
Videos from productions:
Leni, 2013
archive of the Slovak National Theatre, Bratislava
The video can be found at the following link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVFj999jZow
Blackbird, 2015
archive of the Slovak Chamber Theatre Martin
The video can be found at the following link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uljG9GeYhUY
Job interviews, 2016
archive of the City Theatre of Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav
The video can be found at the following link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2iqkd9drBQ
