TEACHING STAFF

Puppetry scenography and technology

• PROF. ANNA CIGÁNOVÁ – PODOBOVÁ
• ING. ARCH. MARKÉTA PLACHÁ
• MGR. ART., ING. ARCH. JÁN PTAČIN, ARTD.
• MGA. PETER ČISÁRIK
• MGA. MIROSLAV DUŠA
• MGA. EVA FARKAŠOVÁ
• MGR. ART. JOZEF KURINEC
• Mgr. art. Barbora Zamišková, ArtD.
• PhDr. Tomáš Surý, ArtD.
• Mgr. art. Eva Hasalová
• Prof. Uličiansky
• Prof. Ida Hledíková, PhD
• Mgr. art. Peter Palik, ArtD.

PROF. ANNA CIGÁNOVÁ – PODOBOVÁ (1944)

She graduated in puppetry scenography and technology from the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in 1966. Between 1977 and 1995 she worked as a stage designer in the Regional Puppet Theatre in Banská Bystrica and in the State Puppet Theatre in Bratislava. She cooperated with the director K. Brožek and the stage designer A. Tománek in several puppet theatres in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The artist has been working in the Department of Puppetry of the Academy of Performing Arts since 1990, teaching the courses Puppetry Scenography, Puppetry, Costume in Puppetry Scenography, and Stage Practice. She has achieved recognition and received several international awards, such as the prize for theatrical scenery at the International Puppetry Festival in Prague in 2001 (The Marriage of Figaro). Hana Cigánová is also concerned with costume design (SĽUK, SND, DAB Nitra L + S Theatre, Arena Theatre, Bratislava Chamber Opera, and others). Her works have been shown at solo and group exhibitions at home and abroad.

MGA. EVA FARKAŠOVÁ (1953)

She graduated in puppetry scenography and technology from the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in 1977. Eva Farkašová has been working in the Department of Puppetry at the Academy of Performing Arts since 1997, teaching the courses Puppetry Scenography, Puppetry, Costume in Puppetry Scenography, Stage Practice.
The artist is currently professionally involved in the activities on the Polish scene, working for puppet and dramatic theatres and cooperating with the independent theatre company Wierszalin run by its director P. Tomaszuk. She has worked in the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland, former Yugoslavia and Taiwan.
She actively participates in international exhibitions and has received many awards for her work: 2003 – the Golden Mask for Scenography of The Decameron in Bielsko-Biala in Poland; 2008 – ASSITEJ Prize for excellent long-term cooperation with Polish theatres in Warsaw; 2009 – Minister of Culture Prize for Scenography for the production About Little Brothers of St. Francis in Warsaw; 2010 – the Golden Mask for Scenography for the production Small Tiger Petrík and costumes for the production Ivona, the Princess of Burgundy at the Theatre of Puppets and Actors at Opole in Poland.

MGA. PETER ČISÁRIK (1958)

He graduated in puppetry scenography and technology from the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in 1983. After graduation he worked as a stage designer for the Puppet Theatre Košice until 1996. Since 1996 he has been teaching at the School of Applied Arts in Košice. He has been working in the Department of Puppetry of the Academy of Performing Arts since 2011, teaching the courses COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN, PUPPETRY, PUPPETRY SCENOGRAPHY, GRAPHIC DESIGN, STAGE PRACTICE.
He has created more than 40 theatre productions, illustrated 13 children’s books, had five solo exhibitions, seven international exhibitions and workshops and several group exhibitions in Slovakia and abroad. His work has won numerous awards: Prize for Scenography at the festival Bábkarská Bystrica (1986); Silver Dolphin, Varna (1988); The Most Beautiful Books of Slovakia (1990, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2010), Prize of the Minister of Culture of the Slovak Republic (1993, 2001); Ľ. Fulla Prize (1997) and was nominated for the H. Ch. Andersen Prize in South Africa (2014).

ING.ARCH. MARKÉTA PLACHÁ (1974)

She graduated in interior design, exhibition design and scenography from the Faculty of Architecture of the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava in 1999. The architect pursued her studies of artistic treatment of animated film at the Film School at Zlín and graduated in 2001. She has been working in the Department of Puppetry of the Academy of Performing Arts since 2011, teaching the courses – Puppetry Scenography, Puppetry.
Markéta Plachá made animated films, including Gloss (2001) and Solo Mutant (2002) and directed the animated film Tlučhořovs or the Poet Is Coming (2003). Between 2003 and 2007 she artistically collaborated with Slovak Television in the series of the children’s show ELA HOP! She cooperated with the Puppet Theatre Maribor in Slovenia and with the Bratislava Puppet Theatre. Since 2005 she has collaborated with Piki Theatre.

MGA. MIROSLAV DUŠA (1960)

He graduated in puppetry scenography and technology from the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in 1985. Miroslav Duša worked for Short Film (BAF) – Slovak Film Production (SFT) from 1979 to 1981. He also worked as an artist for the film studios Prometheus Ostrava, and Short Film Prague, Czechoslovakia, from 1984 to 1989; he was the head of Puppet Film in the film studio Atan, Slovakia, from 1991 to 1994. He was teaching in the Department of Puppetry of the Theatre Faculty at the Academy of Performing Arts between 1993 and 2002 and in the Department of Animation of the Film Faculty from 1994 to 1996. He currently runs the course Puppet Technology in the Department of Puppetry.
He is the co-founder of the Theatre Neline (1994) and of the Association of Friends of Puppet Theatre and Film. The artist worked for several Slovak puppet theatres, the Puppet Theatre Ostrava and the Puppet Theatre in Osijek. His work has been exhibited in the Museum of Puppet Cultures at Chrudim and the Puppet Theatre in Ostrava. In 1998 he designed and produced a computer-controlled figurine of Vasco de Gama for the World Exhibition EXPO’98 in Lisbon, Portugal.
His work has earned several awards: the prize at the Festival of Theatres of Moravia and Silesia for the production Beauty and the Beast (directed by Miroslav Duša, 2009), Puppet of the Year award (1998), Best Theatrical Poster (Orpheus, Teatro Neline) in Ghent, Belgium (2001).

MGR. ART. JOZEF KURINEC (1973)

He graduated in figurative sculpture from the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava in 1999. In the same year he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague and in 2002 he was an artist in residence in the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris. He has been working in the Department of Puppetry of the Theatre Faculty at the Academy of Performing Arts since 2000, teaching DRAWING AND PAINTING, and MODELLING.
He had solo exhibitions at the Galéria Prokop at Pezinok and the Považská galéria umenia in Žilina. He also presented his works at group exhibitions in Slovakia (for instance Sculpture and Object XV, Bratislava, Trenčín 2008 – Selection from Contemporary Slovak Sculpture) and in France, Italy, Austria and other foreign countries. He has participated in several art symposia in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria and France.