Third Thalia Award! No actress has achieved this before. What went through your mind when your name was announced at the theater awards ceremony last year?
I was very surprised and mostly focused on not falling on the stairs. (laughs) I have to say I still don’t sense like I have any experience with ceremonies like these. I think few of us really enjoy it during the broadcast. So, of course, I was overjoyed, but in that moment I was more focused on remembering everyone in my thank yous and not falling.
Tereza at her first Thalia in 2012 and Tereza at her third – is there a big difference?
That’s a tough question! There are definitely big differences. I think I only had genuine joy after the third award. Before that, I tried to hold back success, afraid of resting on my laurels. That was a phrase that shaped me at the beginning. I think now it’s a bit toxic.
I kept telling myself it was a success, but you have to keep going, it doesn’t mean anything. And the truth is, no acting award will save an actor. It doesn’t mean you’ll never make mistakes again. After all, with every rehearsal, an actor becomes a modern character, building them from scratch.
So, as an actress, you’re still starting out?
Yes, no award can ever function as a promise for the future. I lived with that for a long time, so I really enjoyed it the third time around, at the age of thirty-seven. That’s when I was able to recognize that awards are acting celebrations of life and creation and everyone who contributed to the work. Most recently, it was for the one-woman demonstrate *Máma* (Mom). I had genuine, 100% joy about that.
I no longer define myself against anyone older in my family, because the times are completely different today.
*Máma* is a raw and emotional confession of a young woman. What does this role mean to you and how psychologically demanding was it?
I can’t separate whether it was psychologically or physically demanding. It was difficult in terms of the subject matter, but I think for me the performance isn’t as demanding as This proves for the audience. For the viewer. I tried to approach the situations as my character Olja would. She tends to keep traumas at arm’s length and downplay a lot of things. It was a strange mix of feelings, where the body knows these are traumas, but the head thinks everything is okay. That was our main theme, which we tried to stick to, and I hope we succeeded.
Photo: Divadlo pod Palmovkou – Martin Špelda
The third Thalia was awarded for her role in the one-woman play *Máma*.
The theme of mothers and daughters often appears in art, and literature. Are you a very different mother than your own?
I think we belong to different generations, which shaped both of us. But I think in the end it’s the same all-encompassing love that we both strive to give. That’s what we have in common.
Do you promise yourself not to be like your mother in some way – and then find yourself in the same situation?
Yes. Yes, I know it. It often happens, but I have to say that I no longer define myself against anyone older in my family, because I think the times are completely different today. Our generation has access to much more information, which generates completely different problems than our parents had. That’s where we differ a lot.
Each generation has its themes and each generation avoids some of the mistakes of the previous one. Those then roll over a hypothetical dam and continue into the next generations, and it repeats over and over. I think that’s a normal course of evolution.
You started teaching students at DAMU. What’s it like, from the stage to the lectern?
It’s great, it really fulfills and energizes me. We have amazing students who are highly motivated and want to develop, which is absolutely wonderful. Their enthusiasm is incredibly contagious. Thanks to them, I’m much more enthusiastic about what I do, so it’s a kind of exchange. I pass on information and obtain a lot of energy in return.
In *Kriminálka Anděl* (Angel Forensics) you play a pathologist. How do you handle the medical jargon?
There’s a lot of those technical terms in the text, which is quite difficult for someone who doesn’t understand them in depth. In such a text, it’s hard to improvise or replace a word with another. I have to spout terms I’ve never heard before, as if I’ve been familiar with them for a long time. It’s a professional text, but I like it and hope I never get Alzheimer’s because of it, because it’s a great brain workout.
You currently have the play *U Kočičí bažiny* (By the Cat Swamps) in your repertoire, a variation on Euripides’ famous tragedy *Medea*. Are there still a lack of strong female characters in contemporary theater?
I think it’s much better than it used to be. At the same time, this topic hasn’t left us yet. It’s definitely harder to find strong female heroines than male ones. It’s a lot of work for dramaturgs who should know that at a certain age, women often only play grandmothers, aunts, or mothers-in-law. It’s incredibly sad if the theater doesn’t offer them anything else. I think that generates a lot of life skepticism.
Do you think women are no longer interesting to society after a certain age?
I don’t think that’s actually ever the case. It’s just an outdated perspective, and I hope it will die out soon and we won’t have to deal with it anymore. Women have something to say at every age. Just as people have something to say at every age.
There’s still a lot of work to be done in terms of leveling the playing field for parenthood and salaries.
You hosted the podcasts *Branky, Body, Kokoti* (Goals, Bodies, Cunts) and the television series *Protivný sprostý matky* (Nasty Rude Mothers), where you spoke out against gender stereotypes. How do you feel about the label of a brazen feminist?
It doesn’t offend me, but on the contrary, it pleases me. Those shows came my way and I was happy about that because at the time I was looking for some kind of impact beyond theatrical stories. I wanted to enter the public space more quickly and sharply. I really enjoyed it, I love satire and gender issues lend themselves to it.
Do you perceive a change in society’s approach to issues of gender equality in recent years?
I think people are talking about it much more. There are more organizations dealing with the problem, which is absolutely great. But there’s still a lot of work to be done in terms of leveling the playing field for parenthood and salaries. I don’t think we’ve reached a systemic change that we can celebrate. But the fact that we know more about the problems and can name them is true. Now we just necessitate to actually change them and we’ll be fine.
Photo: Divadlo pod Palmovkou – Martin Špelda
In 2017, she received her second Thalia for Best Female Performance in the production of *Nora*.
How should ideal motherhood look like in today’s world?
Ideally, everyone should be able to set it up as they need and want. It’s not wrong if someone wants to stay at home for four years. At the same time, it’s not wrong if someone wants to return to work after two months.
We actors are lucky in our profession that it’s free. The question of returning after maternity leave isn’t as dramatic as elsewhere. We can afford a month of shooting or recording an audiobook, rely on the help of grandparents, and then take two months off. Whereas in regular jobs, it’s either/or – and you can’t go back. That creates huge pressure. The path of part-time work would solve it, but unfortunately, it’s not often offered.
And what about paternity leave? Should men stay at home with the child?
More and more men are taking paternity leave, and there could be even more. Alternating parents seems perfectly fine to me. Of course, the woman carried the child for nine months, but that doesn’t mean she has to stay with him forever. It should be a decision of both partners according to their preferences. The younger generation doesn’t want the classic model where the man works for four years and the woman sits at home. In developed countries with flexible parental leave, where parents can alternate, it works great and doesn’t harm anyone. On the contrary, it harmonizes relationships.
Isn’t it important that the mother, who carried the child for nine months and gave birth, has a different relationship with him from the beginning?
It’s vitally important. At the same time, I don’t think it’s a good idea to put too much emphasis on that, because it’s advantageous. That hypothetical umbilical cord doesn’t have to function as a chain around a kennel.
I grew up in the Beskydy Mountains. We lived in an apartment building, but there were meadows, hills, mountains and forests all around.
Your partner is dramatist Tomáš Dianiška. How does that work? Two theater artists, one child…
We decided that our children would grow up in an extended family and a community of friends. We surround ourselves with people we can rely on, who are great people for occasional babysitting and we as well have wonderful grandparents. Our daughter Berta is used to spending a week with her grandparents at a time. It doesn’t cause her stress, on the contrary, it makes her very sociable and communicative. This support network is ideal for us. I’ve started to appreciate the people around me more, and the arrival of a child has deepened many relationships. Everyone has their own path, but this brings only positives for us.
You took your daughter to the Tim Burton exhibition twice. How do you approach her upbringing? Is she very independent?
In one word, yes, independent. I try to evoke joy and play in her. I give her love and stimuli that might entertain her, I pass on what entertains me, and at the same time I find out what starts to entertain her so that I can support her in that. The child’s world is close to art. If you want to keep developing, you must never forget or suppress your inner child. Often you return to your childhood and the games and imagination that were created there. Thanks to having a child, I can practice that much more often and I don’t have to be ashamed of it. The child’s world is incredible inspiration and I really enjoy it.
What was your childhood like?
Wonderful. I grew up in the Beskydy Mountains. We lived in an apartment building, but there were meadows, hills, mountains and forests all around, and every grandmother’s forest was a little different and we played outside all the time.
That’s something that can’t be repeated, and it’s a shame, because my imagination was greatly helped by the connection with the landscape or nature. It’s something imprinted in my mental landscape, and I’m incredibly grateful for it.
You and your partner are both involved in theater. Is that an advantage or a risk?
It’s always been a lot of fun for both of us and I think it will always be. I think we naturally keep it separate – we don’t talk about it much at home because we try to rest. But when we rehearse together, we’re in it together and I think we both enjoy it and will continue to enjoy it. I don’t notice any friction there.
Do you discuss theater at home?
Yes, we both do it somehow, but we don’t actually sit down and spend an hour discussing Czech theater. We both like series and movies – I like series more and Tomáš likes movies, so we often talk about what each of us has seen. I think we have it pretty well tuned so that we don’t need to discuss work at home. We’re not activists in that regard.
Your partner is a renowned author of plays. Does he write roles specifically for you?
You have to ask him. He already knows all of us from the company and knows us well, so when he writes for Palmovka, he already has an idea of who will play what. At the same time, I don’t think it’s a rule, because Tomáš is carried away by the story and often doesn’t decide on the casting until the last minute.
Photo: Petr Kozlík
“If you want to develop, you must not forget your inner child,” says the actress.
Actress, host, teacher… What else do you want to try?
Many people have asked if I would ever like to try directing, if I have such a dream. I haven’t really figured that out yet. I enjoy creating, but at the same time I know that my angle is very focused on details, and I think that in directing, a person has to be able to overlook the whole landscape of the play and somehow proceed from that. And I’m not entirely convinced that I can do that yet.
Are you a perfectionist?
In my roles, everything is perfectly tidy. It’s not so glorious in the household. (laughs)
Can you praise yourself?
I can now. And that’s something my daughter taught me. She can do it. She can say: today it’s good.
You’re thirty-seven. How do you feel looking ahead?
As for visions for the future, I’m not very
