Ráliš, Tomáš (Czech republic)
Tomáš Ráliš was born in 1997 in Kadaň and later graduated at the grammar school in the same town. He has been studying at the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. He has earned BA degree in directing and dramaturgy and now continues with Master programme in directing for dramatic theatre. He focuses on contemporary drama. The DISK Theatre in Prague has staged the pieces Perplex and Chladné dítě (Das kalte Kind, The Cold Child) by Marius von Mayenburg directed by him.
In 2020 he won the drama competition organized by the Vaclav Havel Library Foundation, New York with his work Bezpečnostní pásy (Safety belts). The prize involved scholarship residence in the USA and an internship at the Tisch School of the Arts in New York. In the same year he won the third prize in the International One-minute Play Contest organized by the University of Ljubljana, or more precisely by its AGRFT faculty.
During the second year of a drama workshop called An Author in the House (Autor v domě) organized by A studio Rubín he wrote two plays: Sorex and 20/21. His drama 20/21 (directed by Jan Frič) was presented for the first time as a radio sketch in the twentieth episode of the podcast Fade in Rubín in the season 2020/2021. 20/21 was later put on the stage by Kateřina Volánková with the theatre company Diverzario.
Another of his texts Sbírka pro mrtvého básníka (A Collection for a Dead Poet) was presented by the theatre company JEDL within their podcast. He also cooperates with the Czech centres as an author of shorts texts.
He writes for the radio and creates song lyrics. His cooperation with the Czech Radio started with a radio play Sleduj! (Check it out!) about the world of You Tube influencers directed by Ondřej Štefaňák. His lyrics can be heard at the DISK theatre in the piece Žebrácká opera aneb Kauza vyližmetr with the music by Robin Schenk (directed by Kateřina Volánková, dramaturgy by Adéla Čermáková).
He won the first prize in the Evald Schorm Award in 2020 for his play Sorex.
He won the first prize in the Evald Schorm Award in 2021 for his play 20/21.
He won the first prize in the Evald Schorm Award in 2022 for his play Spotřeba druhu (The Consumption of the Species).
In 2023 he won the prize of the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports for extraordinary students and graduates for his brilliant study results and many successful theatre projects that he had achieved not only with his own plays.
Tomáš Ráliš won the Talent of the Year at The Theatre Critics’ Awards 2023.