The Association of Professional Theatres in the Czech Republic(APD) brings together most of the professional ensemble theatres of the public sphere in the Czech Republic. It supports cooperation between theatres, advocates for better conditions for creating dramatical works, and represents theatres in communication with public authorities.
The Association aims to facilitate and maintain a wide range of cultural opportunities available. It stresses the importance of regional and municipal theatres for the public, the districts, and the state. By supporting these theatres the association helps the continuation of the rich tradition of Czech theatre within all of drama, puppet, musical, and other performative genres. The Association represents professional theatres before authorities in the pursuit of optimal conditions, both financial and administrative, for theatre productions.
In the course of its existence, the Association has represented theatres for example via its 2012 campaign “Help your theatre” (Pomoztesvémudivadlu) which fought for a change in the legislature and optimisation of the funding of regional theatres. The demand for a fairer distribution of public funds grew into an open protest across regional theatres as well as an educational campaign under the name “Help your theatre” which pointed out the neglected issue of regional theatre funding. 37 000 people signed the campaign petition.
Since the spring of 2020 the Association of Professional Theatreshas been actively working on issues arising from the coronavirus crisis. It has initiated a campaign under the slogan “Lifting the curtains” (Zvedámeopony) aimed to encourage audiences to visit theatres after the easing of health restrictions.
Organisational structure
The principal body of the Association is the General Meeting. The committee convenes the General Meeting as needed but at least biannually. The committee elects a Chairperson and a Vice-Chair.
Committee
prof. MgA. Jan Burian
MgA. Lukáš Průdek
MgA. Stanislav Doubrava
MgA. Daniel Hrbek
The committee manages the Association’s activities and represents it to the public. It is comprised of six members. The committee makes all decision by a majority of all its members, while each member casts one vote. In the event of a tie, the Chairperson has the casting vote. The term of office is three years. Both Chairperson and Vice-Chair can act on behalf of the Association.
Chairperson and Vice-Chair of the Association Committee are authorized to represent the Association before authorities and other bodies with the power to affect theatres’ operations, before natural and legal persons, and before state bodies. They are also authorised to act as partners to the executive bodies of the aforementioned organizations on behalf of the Association. The same applies to cooperating with foreign partner organizations.
APD Chairman: MgA. Stanislav Moša - Director of the Brno City Theatre
MgA. Stanislav Moša
MgA. Zdeněk Pánek
Audit Committee
The Audit Committee has three members who are elected and removed by the General Meeting. The Audit Committee answers only to the General Meeting.
Why become an APD member?
The association facilitates communication between
individual professional theatres so they can better help
each other and discuss various issues. It also advocates
on behalf of its members for the best possible conditions
for drama production via discourses with public authorities.
How to become an APD member?
Any public professional theatre can become a member of the Association, as long as it satisfies the conditions described in the APD Statute. The association decides on the approval of each applicant theatre. After joining, the theatre is represented in communication with the Association by its statutory representative or by another person with a power of attorney.