The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts to Present Texas Debut of LOSERS CIRQUE: THE AUDITION

The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts will present Losers Cirque: The Audition, an engaging and contemporary cirque experience now touring for the first time in the U.S. Fusing acrobatics, dance, theatrical storytelling and a bit of sport, The Audition has wowed international audiences with its visually stunning exploration of the nature of competition. Tickets are on sale now for this limited one-show engagement October 12, 2024 in Zilkha Hall.

Touring with the support of the Czech Ministry of Culture, this contemporary circus troupe, who has premiered almost a dozen productions at venues and festivals in the Czech Republic and abroad, will wow audiences in the intimate theatrical environment of Zilkha Hall.

The brainchild of company founder and director Petr Horníček, The Audition is a study of human competitiveness, the obsession with victory, and the psychological and physical borders people are willing to cross to succeed. Fusing circus and physical theater, it poses such questions as: What price are we willing to pay for success? Is victory something to be jealous of?

The Audition revolves around an open competition for an undefined job. That means – no one knows what they're trying to achieve nor the necessary requirements. Therefore, the protagonists put all their effort into showing all their talents. From the beginning, the characters are reduced to the reference number they are assigned and become rivals. In an environment with no clear rules, the applicants start doubting they can achieve anything through fair play.

The production's primary means of expression are acrobatics, dance, and live music, and to a lesser extent drama, singing, and juggling. Duct tape represents an important visual aspect, used to define the space for the acrobats to move in, or as a tool to paralyze or to show the right way. And the audience itself also becomes a part of the audition; through direct interactions when they must fulfill various tasks and as the judges who are to decide the final winner.

LOSERS CIRQUE: THE AUDITION

Directed by Petr Horníček

The Audition is an over-the-top acrobatic show as a massaged CV –– and only the audience decides the winner.

“We'll call you back!” A sentence everyone has heard at least once. Today you're going to hear it again. They will call you back indeed – if you become the chosen one of the applicants armed with fine-tuned CVs who are just getting ready to fight for… for what? Does it even matter? The winner-to-be now has to hide their true self, their principles, and their self-respect to prove they're the very best. Or at least fake it until they make it and overcome the rest. Succeeding in the game with no clear rules is not going to be easy. Who is going to show the judges the most delightful cocktail of talent, pretense, and ambition?

Performers:

Karolína Křížková, Sára Stoulilová, Josefína Vandasová, Kirill Yakovlev, Petr Dlugoš, Adam Rameš, Lukáš Borik Polanský, Petr Dvořák, Jiří Bělka, Voice: Karel Mařík

Production Team

Direction: Petr Horníček

Scenario: Matěj Randár, Petr Horníček

Dramaturgy: Matěj Randár

Choreography: Tomáš Pražák

Supervision: Radim Vizváry

Music: Kirill Yakovlev

Costumes: Lucie Červíková

Scene: Petr Horníček

Light Design: Michael Bláha

Sound: Karel Mařík

Production: United Arts

Losers Cirque Company is a production project of United Arts Petr Horníčka and Zdeněk Moravce. A permanent ensemble of performers – actors, dancers, mimes and acrobats who embrace collaboration with artists from different disciplines and create unique projects that are lauded world-wide. Producing multi-genre shows for ten years, performances combine top-level acrobatics, live music, dance, and stand-up comedy. 

With its home stage is Divadlo BRAVO!, formerly known as a theatre Branické divadlo in Prague, the company's story begins with winning the first series of the TV show Czech and Slovak's Got the Talent. Then just an acrobatic duo: DaeMen, they performed at various events and slowly began to create new projects. The first show was a cabaret called Lidoskop allowing them to meet many talented acrobats and performers who became first members of the brand-new company: Losers Cirque, ultimately named after their first performance, TheLoser(s). For more information visit: loserscirque.cz.

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