Texas Tech University at Prague Fringe Festival

UNYP has had a really strong connection with Texas Tech University for a very long time. TTU students are coming to Prague regularly every summer and this year wasn’t an exception. We hosted two summer programs organized by two different TTU departments – Rawls College of Business and School of Theatre & Dance. And the talented students from the latter brought to Prague their original show as part of the Prague Fringe Festival. 

Texas Tech University (TTU) is visiting UNYP since 2004 and both universities have deepened the cooperation in 2012 when they signed a reciprocal agreement to become formal educational partners. This year a group of 8 graduate students, joined by 2 UNYP students, took part in the TTU School of Theatre & Dance Summer Program at UNYP.  The one-month long program was led by Professor Linda Donahue and the topic was ‘The Arts in Prague,’ covering Czech culture, education, and art – mainly under Nazism and Communism. Students attended classes during the day and enjoyed various visits and exhibitions during the afternoons. Group visited many Prague museums like DOX Center for Contemporary Art, National Gallery, or the Museum of Communism as well as significant Czech places like Terezín, or Lidice.

What makes this year’s visit special was the group’s stunning performance during the Prague Fringe Festival. The show was called Shooting Blanks and was rehearsed by members of TTU’s WildWind Performance Lab , subsequently it was chosen as one of the 50 shows at this year Fringe Festival in Prague. This funny yet tragic theater play was written by Mark Charney, Chair of School of Theatre & Dance, and performed by four students, one faculty member and one community member. The show was played three times during the festival and it was a great success.

As always, UNYP students are more than welcome to join summer programs organized by our partner university and broaden their horizons and cultural exchange experience. Don’t hesitate to contact the UNYP Student Services Center for more information.