Photo: Michaela Říhová, ČTK
The Thália Awards are an annual ceremony that honours artists in the performing arts in Czechia. Awards are presented to both men and women in four categories – drama, opera, dance, and musical and operetta. This year, American-born performer Becka McFadden received the Thália Award in the category of alternative theatre for their performance in the production of Black Dress. I spoke with them in our studios about what this recognition means.
I’ll start by saying congratulations on the recent Thália Award win. I want to ask what this recognition means to you?
“It means a couple of things; it feels like an embrace by the Czech theatre community, that what I’m doing makes sense and has value, and is something people are glad is here. In my acceptance speech I said that I didn’t need the award to know that it was the right decision to change my life and move here permanently about five years ago, but the award makes me feel that the feeling is a bit mutual, and that’s a lovely way to feel. It’s also significant in the sense that Black Dress is an unusual show, it deals with non-binary-femme identity, and the fact that an establishment like the Actors Association was interested in this performance, and devoted a lot of time and attention to it says something about what is happening in the performing arts in the Czech Republic, how it’s becoming more open. It says something about the exciting things that are happening in queer performances specifically, so I think it’s really exciting.”
See the rest here.
Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt