József Czajlik
Profile

After graduating from Secondary Technical School in Košice (1993) József Czajlik worked as an actor in the Thália Theatre in the same city (1994, 1995–1997) and in the Jókai Theatre in Komárno (1994–1995). He has won several theatre awards for his acting achievements. In 1997, he started his studies in theatre direction at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, in Juraj Nvota’s class. In 2002, Czajlik graduated from the Academy with his production of Pablo Neruda’s play The Splendour and Death of Joaquín Murieta. As a director, he enjoyed extraordinary success with Alexander Ostrovsky’s play The Poor Bride (Academy of Performing Arts, 2000) which won several awards at international festivals (UNIVERSITAS in Pécs, ZLOMVAZ in Prague, and the International Theatre School Festival in Amsterdam). After graduation, he cooperated with a number of theatres in Slovakia (Andrej Bagar Theatre in Nitra, Jókai Theatre in Komárno, Thália Theatre in Košice, State Theatre in Košice), in Hungary (Bárka Theatre in Budapest, Stúdió K Theatre in Budapest, Jókai Theatre in Békéscsaba), in Poland and Serbia. In 2002–2006, he worked as a full-time director for the Bárka Theatre in Budapest. In 2007, together with actor Tamás Gál and dramaturg Peter Pavlac, Czajlik founded the EPOPTEIA art studio where the three artists have organized independent theatre productions and workshops ever since. At present, he works as the director of the Thália Theatre in Košice where he is trying to find a new model of communication with both Hungarian and Slovak audiences.