In March 2014 we started an interview series in which our supporters have the chance to talk about their relation to Maladype Theatre.They are the ones who promote our performances, projects and everyday work by their loyalty, attention and often by financial support as well. We would like to introduce them to you through their thoughts and motivation.
This time you can read an interview with Krisztina Horváth, head of Cisco Hungary, project manager of Maladype Theatre.

Once you said in an interview it would be happy to support independent theatres even as being part of the team. This dream came true in a short time, didn’t it?

I wanted it so much that I was looking for the opportunity all the time, talked about it with many people working in theatre. But I didn’t really know how to start, what to do exactly. When people asked me what I really want to do in a theatre I never knew the perfect answer. I thought it was a good idea to connect art and business because both of them would have the chance to learn something from the other that is needed for their development. And I wanted to do something creative besides the pragmatic work in business. The answer became clear when Zoltán Balázs and me started to talk about it.

It’s quite unusual that the patron and the institute supported have such a strong relation. How did it start and what shall the future be?

I had some discouraged tries but – as I later realized – they were almost unnoticeable. I was quite disappointed but decided to ask Juli Király wether she had any idea how to start. She suggested me Maladype and I thought this was not by chance. I had seen all their performances so far and their attitude, way of thinking was very familiar for me.

What did you like so much? What is the difference between Maladype and the other theatres you know?

It’s hard to explain but I feel that every word, gesture, move, joke is well-thought-out, there’s much work in it, and I always bring the experience home. It always makes me think… Any time a scene comes to my mind, it brings a different meaning, and I can’t help thinking about it…

Working in business must be very different from working in the „irregular” underground world of independent theatres. Is it difficult to harmonize them?

I’m not sure I have to, they are rather complementary than controversial. My personality is not „regular” or „irregular” but both of them at the same time, and the ratio is ever-changing. The atmosphere of independent theatres is good for my desire to make something extraordinary, the hard and fast business side makes my life predictable which is also important.

Supporting an independent theatre like Maladype is a serious vocation and a huge responsibility. Do the generally known difficulties inspire you as a project manager?

I believe that pressure makes diamond. Difficulties make me strong and creative. It’s not easy, but I’m continuously thinking about the solution and finally I always find out something that works.

Have you changed anyway since you started working at Maladype?

I don’t think so. Those traits which have emerged and strengthened while working for Maladype were inside of me, I just didn’t have the opportunity to show them. We rarely make decisions spontaneously in business, calculability, repeatability, and working according to the system are very important things. Theatre is unreproducible – that’s why I love it. It means different things to me than to the others. And tomorrow it’s completely different again.

You and Zoltán Balázs come from Northern Transylvania. Does this have any additional effect on your relationship?

There are similarities in our way of thinking but the origin does not explain the similar values. This is just a joyful coincidence.

What are the common plans on the long run?

Zoltán and Zsolt Oláh talked about 5 projects when we first met. It was a common decision to start with Don Carlos – Story on the move, the first performance of which was in Ludwig Museum in December. It was not just a performance in a modern artistic environment, but György Csepeli’s presentation titled The anatomy of power made the whole thing complete. We are planning to continue this abroad, in the most famous museums of Europe. Now we are preparing the adaptation of a novel by an extraordinary writer and hope it will be an international success in the interpretation of Zoltán Balázs. Besides we are working on smaller projects, we have many opprotunities to make something awesome, so it depends on us how far we can reach.