AMERIKÁNKA, Etc...

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How It Happened…

The theatre production Amerikánka, directed by Viktor Tauš and performed by Eliška Křenková and Tereza Ramba, captivated me from the very first time I saw it. The raw intensity and emotional force of the story—one I first experienced and photographed inside a hyena enclosure at the zoo in Dvůr Králové nad Labem in April 2020—completely floored me…

At the time, theatres were closed and Covid-19 was in full swing. Director Viktor Tauš was searching for alternative ways to reach audiences through live broadcasts of Amerikánka. Over time, as I kept returning to photograph the production again and again, I gradually became part of it—moving like a shadow behind the camera operator, capturing unpredictable moments that made each performance unique in some new and unexpected way.

Without realizing it at the beginning, I was documenting the evolution of a phenomenon. Other theatre ensembles joined the live broadcasts—Cirk La Putyka, Vosto5, Losers…—and this led to the founding of Televize NAŽIVO and the Film Naživo platform. These artists and productions are the Etc. in the book’s title, and the images in this book are their visual testimony. The photographs don’t just tell the story of Amerikánka, but the larger story of live culture during a time of crisis.

In the midst of this intense and chaotic period, I suggested to Viktor that I would create a book. I called it Amerikánka, Etc. The Etc. stands for all the other productions I had the chance to photograph, mentioned above. Creating the book was a painful process—everything we had planned was turned upside down due to Covid-19. The release was delayed. There was no paper. I had no energy. I was physically and mentally exhausted.

But despite the delays, it came together. The book remains a memento of the effort to keep culture alive, to bring it into people’s homes at a time when they couldn’t go out to experience it. Amerikánka, Etc. is a testament to the fact that even during that dark time—when people were locked away in their homes—there were passionate individuals who didn’t give up, and who delivered cultural experiences in new and imaginative ways.

Half of the book’s proceeds go to support people in need in Ukraine.