prof. Mgr. Jan Hančil

Vice-Rector for International Relationships, Artistic Activities and Graduate and Public Relations

Biography

dramaturge, translator and academic
* 1962, Trutnov

Hančil graduated from the Science Faculty of Charles University in 1985 and from the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts (DAMU) in 1993. He worked as a geologist (1985–1987), as dramaturge at the Trutnov House of Arts (1987–1989), as research secretary of Franz Kafka Society (1991–1993), and as manager of Ypsilon Studio (1993–1997). There, he established the Ypsilon Studio publishing house with Jan Schmid and Jaroslav Etlík, which he managed until 2002. He was a dramaturge at the National Theatre between 1997 and 2007.

Since 1994 he has been a lecturer at DAMU’s Department of Authorial Creativity and Pedagogy, where he teaches acting propedeutics, dialogue, and modern English and American drama. He was a member of the Academic Senate for six years and of the Arts Council for three. From 2007 to 2013 he served as the Theatre Faculty’s Dean and then became the Academy’s Rector.

Hančil translates plays and academic texts. He is interested in the training of acting, especially in the context of Michail Čechov’s and Ivan Vyskočil’s approaches, and is knowledgeable in modern Anglo-Saxon drama. His 2005 Docent thesis also investigated British modern theatre.

Dramaturgy:
National Theatre: The Master and Margarita (including its dramatization, 1998), Hamlet (1999), Bailegangaire (2000), Hippodameia (including text adaptation, 2000), The Weir (2000), The Entertainer (2001), The Dresser (2001), Finally, the end (2002), Howards End (2002), The Country (2002), “Nebyl jen Hamlet” (including co-authoring with R. Lukavský, 2002), Faust:: Mein Brustkorb: Mein Helm (2003), Krapp's Last Tape (2003), Some Voices (2003), Coriolanus (2004), Temptation (2004), School for Scandal (2004), One Thousand and One Nights (2005), Arcadia (2006), “Tři životy” (2006).
Play translations:
Conor McPherson: The Weir (2000), Conor McPherson: St. Nicholas (2001), Ronald Harwood: The Dresser (2001), Marina Carr: Mai (2001), David Harrower: Presence (2001), David Auburn: Proof (2001), Charlotta Jones: Humble Boy (2002), Joe Penhall: Some Voices (2003), R. B. Sheridan: School for Scandal (2004), William Nicholson: The Retreat (2005), A. Ayckbourne: Private Fears in Public Places (2005), Simon Stephens: On the Shore of the Wide World (2006), Stephen Jeffreys: The Libertine (2008), Edward Bond: Saved (2009)
Prominent works’ annotations:
P. Brook: The Shifting Point – translation of the second book from a prominent British director
Tom Murphy, Playwright – profile of the Irish playwright who was not staged in Czech theatres until 2002
D. J. as an Open Question – explanation of D. J. for beginners
British Drama of the 90s – Outline and Discussion (an article in the programme for M. Crimp’s The Country in NT, 2002) – a study of the recent developments in British theatre, in the context of modern British drama history
Stoppard’s Search for Order in Chaos (2006)
Editor:
Hančil has worked on several publications of Ypsilon Studio Publishing in the fields of theatre, social psychology and anthropology: E. Goffman: The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, R. Caillois: Man, Play and Games, H. Jurkowski: Aspects of Puppet Theatre, P. Brook: The Shifting Point, I. Slawinska: Wspolczesna refleksja o teatrze (Theatre in Modern Thought)