Creative team

David Zelinka

Director, performer, publicist, translator, founder of the ensemble Teď nádech a leť. A graduate of the Academy of Theatre Practices at the Gardzienice Theatre, he developed his understanding of theatre and acting in workshops (Andre Jolles, Ryuzo Fukuhara, Sumako Koseki, Natalia Polovynka), and his philosophical approach through the study of classical and village forms of Indian spiritual theatre. He focuses on creating original documentary productions with personal motives and a humanistic dimension. What interests him most in the world are social and geographical peripheries, stories from these places, and, more generally, everything that lies beneath the surface in any sense of the word. With the theatre Teď nádech a leť he has created 12 large productions and many smaller performances. Since 2023 he has been working with Ukrainian actresses in Prague and organizing theatre trips to Ukraine. He created the production “Absolutely Free” at the Ivano-Frankivsk National Academic Drama Theatre of Ivan Franko, which premiered in June 2025 and dealt with the theme of the return of emigrants. In 2024 he took part in the residency “Ukraine's Artistic Response to the Russian Invasion” in Lviv. In 2025 he spent ten days on a scholarship stay in Kyiv, where he mapped theatres reflecting contemporary themes and the war (Teatr na livomu berezi, Zoloti Vorota, Malyj teatr, Teatr Veteraniv, etc.). He leads workshops in documentary and devised theatre and in authentic presence on stage: the Czech-Polish-Ukrainian workshop of engaged and devised theatre “Visions of a Better World” and the “Metamorphoses” workshops in the Czech Republic and Ukraine. He occasionally writes for the magazines and websites “Taneční zóna”, “Divadelní noviny”, “divadelni.net”, “Podhoubí”. He translates from Polish, including the books “Holy Artaud” by Leszek Kolankiewicz, “On the High Polonyna” by Stanisław Vincenz, and works by Edward Stachura.

Kapitolina Kolobova

Professional theatre and film actress from Kharkiv. She studied drama and film acting and directing at the Kotlyarevsky Kharkiv National University. From 2020 she worked as an actress at the Kharkiv Academic Theatre of Kvitka-Osnovyanenko. In 2022, as a result of the war, she was forced to leave Ukraine; in Prague she completed the master’s programme KATAP at DAMU. In Prague she also performed in the productions “The Bacchae” (directed by Jan Frič), “The Trojan Women” (directed by Jakub Čermák), “Café 1933” (directed by Anna Turlo), “Language Barrier” (directed by Karol Filo and Tobiáš Nevřiva), and “People Live Here” (Lucie Ingrová). She directed the performance “Cosmic Memory” as part of her studies at DAMU and the opening performance of the festival “Nablízko 2023”. Together with David Zelinka she directed the performance “Normal Life” with Ukrainian interns at DAMU. She led theatre courses for Ukrainian teenagers at the theatre “Na Zábradlí”. With D. Zelinka she created and led the Czech-Polish-Ukrainian workshop of engaged and devised theatre “Visions of a Better World” and the “Metamorphoses” workshops in the Czech Republic and Ukraine.

Valeria Lobachova

Professional actress from Ukraine. She graduated from the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts and the KATAP master’s programme at DAMU. In the Czech Republic she also collaborates with the NIE Theatre and the theatre Na Zábradlí, and performs in Viktor Tauš’s projects Amerikánka, Snowflakes, and Human Zoo.

Marie Reslová

She graduated from the Faculty of Science at Charles University and completed the Creative Pedagogy course at the Department of Authorial Creativity and Pedagogy at DAMU. She has been collaborating with the theatre Teď nádech a leť for a long time.

Radim Klásek

He graduated from the Duncan Centre Conservatory and completed a dance internship at the Stockholm University of the Arts. Through workshops, he explored a wide range of dance techniques, including Limon technique with Mariko Tanabe, Butoh with Somako Koseki, and improvisation with Julyen Hamilton, among others. As a performer, he has collaborated with Czech and international choreographers and directors, including Martin Talaga, Luis Marrafa, Mirka Eliášová, Petr and Matěj Forman, Lenka Bartů¨ňková, Michal Záhora, Marie Gourdain).