Dana Račková

Dana Račková is a theatre director and folk singer originally from Slovakia. She is the last graduate of the directing programme led by Prof. J. Krofta at the Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre at DAMU in Prague. For more than fifteen years, she has been devoted to theatre-making for children and young audiences in the Czech Republic. Part of her work focuses on classical theatre for children, particularly traditional fairy tales, in which she enjoys combining elements of folk sentiment with new theatrical forms. Another significant part of her work consists of productions for the youngest audiences, addressing topics that may initially seem difficult for children to grasp, such as the migration crisis, ecology and the climate crisis, racism, or sex education. As she herself notes, the simplified and stereotype-free perspective of young audiences not only suits these themes remarkably well, but is also a benefit to society as a whole. In her work for children, she never forgets the adult audience either. She also engages in theatre-making for teenagers, focusing on themes such as self-love, self-acceptance and acceptance of others, as well as ecology and the future. However, as she states, she has gradually begun to step back from this audience group out of respect, believing that young emerging directors are better suited to address it. Some of her productions can also serve as part of supplementary education for children and young people.