It seems unbelievable, but 190 long years have passed since the first volunteer theater performance of the Swato-Mikulášské Diwadl Slovanský, which stimulated the creation of volunteer theaters in other Slovak cities as well. On August 22, 1830, mostly students and youth in Liptovský Mikuláš played Janko Chalupka Kocúrkovo. The organizer and central figure of this event was the local book publisher Gašpar Fejérpataky – Belopotocký. This year, we are commemorating this important anniversary with several events dedicated to the Slovak volunteer theater, and one of them is the exhibition Voluntary Theater in Liptov in photography, which takes place in the premises of the Culture House in Liptovský Mikuláš and will last until November 10, 2020.
The exhibition comprehensively captures the history of the volunteer theater in Liptov in preserved photographs from the archives of existing or already defunct theater groups from cities and towns in the Liptov region from 1830 to the present day. The aim of the exhibition is to map the history of the volunteer theater in Liptov, to recall the spirit of the old volunteer theater with its meshed backdrops, masked actors in large robes, and thus to return to theater actors and performances that took place in the past, to look into the faces of people who left us long ago. left and at the same time testify to continuity with the present. Some old photos are truly unique, because they copy a very ancient history, in which the Slovak amateur theater, which was also the basis for the creation of the professional one, was just being born. It is interesting that some of the theater groups have been working continuously for more than a hundred years and during this time they have staged dozens to hundreds of productions. They were replaced by a number of actors and several directors. Among the oldest ensembles are Diwadlo Slovanské Swato-Mikulášske, the Federal Theater or the Theater Ensemble of Gašpar Fejérpataky Belopotocký, where three generations of volunteers have already changed hands. Among the biggest regulars on the Liptov theater scene are the Hubová Theater, Bobrovec, Hybe, Ploštín, the Máj Černová Volunteer Ensemble, the ZO ZDOS Likavka Volunteer Ensemble and the Partizánská Ľupča Theater. In the 1980s and 1990s, alternative theaters appeared, such as the BODEA Theater Company from Liptovský Mikuláš, the Ružomberok City Theater or the one-actor theater of the famous Slovak mime Miroslav Kasprzyk. The good news is that the volunteer theater still works today. Probably the most famous active ensembles are theaters such as Matičná theater scéna, Theater Gasparego and Apostrop from Liptovský Mikuláš, Theater ensemble ŠAPO from Ploštín, Theater ensemble Úsmev from Veterna Poruba, Theater ensemble Rozmajrín from Smrečian, Theater 3GD from Závažná Poruba, Voluntary theater group Havránok from Liptovské Vlachov, Lublin Volunteer Theatre KO Urbana, Ľupčianske divadlo LUNETRDLO, Theater Ensemble OKNO from Liptovský Ján, NDS ATAK 9 from Dovalov, Divadlo f˙ACTOR from Liptovské Petr, ODS Klások from Pribylina, Voluntary Theater of Jakub Grajchman from Hyba and two Rosomber ensembles RND RosaThea and DS Fireball LDO ZUŠ Ludovit Fulla. But there are still theaters in other Liptov villages such as Kvačany, Liptovské Matiašovce, Žiar, Liptovský Ondrej, Liptovské Kľačany, Stankovany, Lúčky, Liptovská Kokava and Liptovská Teplička. The Puppet Theater is represented by the Children's Puppet Ensemble Halúzka from Hrboltová and the Puppet Theater by one actor OFINA from Ružomberok. This rich overview testifies to the strong tradition of volunteer theater not only in Liptov, but also throughout Slovakia. There are also other accompanying events connected with the exhibition, such as an exhibition of banners on street lighting poles in 1. Mája Street under the name Tribute to GF Belopotocke or an interior exhibition in the Janko Kráľ Museum under the name 190th anniversary of the Diwadlo Slovanský Swato-Mikulášský, where you can see the exhibition the oldest theatrical hand-painted laminated backdrops, props, theater furniture and theater costumes. Therefore, if you still go on a trip to the Tatras this year, don't forget to stop in Liptovský Mikuláš on the way. The organizers of the celebration of the 190th anniversary of the volunteer theater did a lot of useful work to reveal to lovers of theater and Slovak cultural history the greatest treasures that this sometimes underestimated artistic area in Slovakia has.
Vladimír Dubeň