A fistful of empty hands
A FISTFUL OF EMPTY HANDS
By Rok Vevar & Simona Semenič
A Fistful of Empty Hands has been post-produced by Maska Ljubljana.
PREMIERE & RERUNS
ZADAR, HKK, CROATIA, 30. 11. 2001
LJUBLJANA, PTL, SLOVENIA, 04. 12. 2001
LJUBLJANA, PTL, SLOVENIA, 05. 12. 2001
LJUBLJANA, PTL, SLOVENIA, 06. 12. 2001
TREBNJE, SLOVENIA, 08. 01. 2002
VIPAVA, SLOVENIA, 11.02. 2002
LJUBLJANA, PTL, SLOVENIA, 13. 02. 2002
LJUBLJANA, PTL, SLOVENIA, 14. 02. 2002
NOVO MESTO, KULTURNI DOM JANEZA TRDINE, SLOVENIA, 15. 02. 2002
NOVA GORICA, SNG NOVA GORICA, SLOVENIA, 23. 03. 2002
AJDOVŠČINA, SLOVENIA, 11. 04. 2002
DORDRECHT, INTERNATIONAAL POPPENTHEATER FESTIVAL DORDRECHT - MICRO, HOLLAND, 13. 06. 2002
KOPER, PPF, SLOVENIA, 19. 07. 2002
KOŠICE, INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF INDEPENDENT EUROPEAN THEATRE, SLOVAKIA, 27. 11. 2002
GIESSEN, DISKUSR 04, GERMANY, 13. 10. 2004
ABOUT ...
Starring in the performance »A Fistful of Empty Hands« are four pairs of hands. Every pair has it’s owner, and every owner his or her story: the first is limited by rules and regulations, the second tries to brave his studying efforts, the third get acquainted with the deceiving clatter of gold pieces, and the fourth is faced towards remembering. Two of them never manage to touch each other, the other two do not even try so. The only thing they have in common is diffuseness, and the fact that they have taken their stories into their own hands. When they manage to hang on for once, they do so with their bare hands. With their fists full of rules, studying tools, gold pieces and memories, however, they will end up empty-handed as a rule.
»A Fistfull of Empty Hands« has been criticaly characterized as »a squandering gift of pure and unpretentious beauty« as well as »a promising debut of the upcoming generation« by leading Slovenian dance and theatre critic Blaz Lukan in newspaper »DELO« and that »extraordinary expressive and creative power has been demonstrated in a gesture material which because of its pureness works by itself (as skecth for the viewer’s own associative actions)« as written by Anja Golob for newspaper »VECER«. - A Fistful of Empty Hands has been also proclaimed for »Slovenian theatre debut of 2001« and been voted for as one of the »6 best Slovenian theatre and dance performances of 2001« by editorial board for art & culture programme of a »Studio City« on The Slovene National TV.
CAST & CREW
Performed by: Miha Arh, Lucija ?irović, Alenka Kozolc, Nana Milčinski
Concept: Rok Vevar, Simona Semenič
Directing: Rok Vevar
Dramaturgy: Simona Semenič
Music and sound: Peter Kus
Lighting design: Andrej Hajdinjak, Davor Balent
Produced by: Museum Ljubljana
In co-production with: Dance Theatre of Ljubljana
Post-production by: Nataša Zavolovšek, Simona Semenič and Rok Vevar for Maska Productions
Premiere: 3. 12. 2001, Dance Theatre Ljubljana
BIOS
ROK VEVAR
Rok Vevar (1973) studied comparative literature at Faculty of Humanities and theatre directing at Academy for Theatre, Radio, Film and TV in Ljubljana. He is a publicist (DELO Daily, VECER Daily, Radio Student, MASKA, Lutka, Frakcija, Catalogue of Slovene National Theatre Drama Ljubljana, Catalogue of City Theatre of Ljubljana, editor of various Festival Catalogues, Literatura etc.) theatre director and member of the editorial board of Maska magazine. Worked on various projects as a dramaturg (Dance Theatre Ljubljana), an assistant director at Slovene TV (documentary programme), author of lyrics for a cinematic band Pavel Vlasov Sextet (Slovene Cinematheque) etc. and has been a member of various editorial boards of theatre magazines (Lutka, Maska). Currently he works as a selector for Gibanica/ Moving Cake, Slovene Dance festival (selection 2005) and as a executive producer and author of Slovene Contemporary Theatre and Dance Archive Project.SIMONA SEMENIČ
SIMONA SEMENIČ > Simona Semenič (1975) studied law at Facultas Iuridica and dramaturgy at the Academy for theatre, radio, film and TV in Ljubljana. As an assistant dramaturg she worked in the City Theatre of Ljubljana (with director Zvone Sedlbauer), Slovene National Theatre in Nova Gorica (with director Lary Zappia), as a dramaturg in a dance/ performance art project 'What A Feeling' (dancer and choreographer Nina Meško) (2003). In 2003 she started working with director Ivan Talijančič and his theatre company Wax Factory, New York. Their first mutual project was 'Cleansed' (2003) at the Exodos, Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, in Ljubljana, currently they are working on a new project (4.48 Psychosis), which is to be premiered at Cankarjev dom in February 2005. She has been a member of the artistic board of Exodos festival, Ljubljana. She is writing short stories, which are being published in various Slovenian magazines. She also works on the reaserch projects at the Peace Institute, Institute for Contemporary Social and Political Studies in Ljubljana. Currently she is dramatizing stories for children, which are to be presented at MiniTeater Ljubljana in fall 2004.Solo No Peek, that was premiered in November 2003, is a second theatre work of Rok Vevar and Simona Semenič – a young directors' team that started to work together at Academy for theatre, radio, film and TV in Ljubljana, Slovenia in 1998 – and was extremely well received both by the public and by critics. Co-produced by Maska Ljubljana and GLEJ Theatre, Solo No Peek has been recently compared to the work of Richard Maxwell, a rising star and a promise of a contemporary american theatre.
After the theatre debut of Rok Vevar and Simona Semenič, 'A Fistful of Empty Hands' that was premiered in Dance Theatre Ljubljana in December 2001 and characterized by critics as 'a splendering gift of pure and unpretentious beauty', in Solo No Peek authors – as an opposite to 'A Fistful of Emty Hands' that was based on the storytelling hands' gestures – decided to use a text (written by themselves). Staged as a delicate, minimal 'full-length situation' for 5 actors and persona in absentia, Solo No Peek deals with an ethical, existential state of generation that German philosopher Robert Kurtz described with a term – 'The World as Will and Design'. In March this year both attended a young playwrights workshop with Slovene dramatists Draga Potocnjak, Matjaz Zupancic and Graham Whybrow of Royal Court Theatre at the Festival of Slovene drama in Presernovo Theatre in Kranj (Slovenia). 'Solo No Peek' has been chosen to the 2004 selection of the same festival as well.
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