English Student's Club

ESCape presents the
Spring 2008 Film Club Tuesdays at 18:20 in room G 03 (Gorkého 7) Feb 26 Eastern Promises (2007) Mar 4 Scarface (1983) Mar 11 Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) Mar 18 Leaving Las Vegas (1995) Mar 25 The Crying Game (1992) Apr 1 Boys Don't Cry (1999) Apr 8 Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) Apr 15 Dead Man (1995) Apr 22 Lilies (1996) Apr 29 The Baby of Macon (1993) May 6 Ed Wood (1994) May 13 Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) Program subject to change.
You can read more about the film club here.

Creativity Night 2006 Report

Hopefully, writing this article has been a waste of time, as each and every student in the English Department came to witness the event of the semester: Creativity Night.

However, in case there are such students or teachers who did not find the time a brief summary of what the evening had to offer follows.

No show starts on time and ours was no exception. However, by eight o’clock our ‘moderator’ Matthew took his stand and introduced the first stars of the night: Lilly’s Limits.
The band was great and provided ample time for the latecomers to arrive. Forty minutes and a couple of rounds of applause later Matthew welcomed the audience, thanked the sponsors and told a couple of jokes (no rude ones yet), thus officially opening the event.

By the time Creativity Night really started, no less than 300 people had gathered in Fléda to witness the performance of ‘those by muses blessed’.

The first number on the program was a stage reading by Míša Pňačeková – a provocative play about a lesbian relationship full of interesting twists and turns and some pretty strong language. Petra and Lucia acted out the whole play so well that most people hardly realized they were supposed to be reading!

Next, Jana Severinová offered a selection of her own piano pieces; some of the recital was accompanied by guitar.

Our Fulbright scholar Thomas McConnell then read a selection from his recently published book – A Picture Book of Hell and Other Landscapes, so that those who had not been able to make it to his previous reading got the chance to hear his stories now – I wonder whether his creative writing courses will make us all write like that!

Sound theater group Cyranovy boty finished off the first part of the evening with a very unusual performance – suitcases taking the place of drums in a rhythmical waiting-for-the-train skit. Real drums were also to be seen, however: after the break, they were back with an African bongo-beating session!

Everyone who knew the man couldn’t wait for Mark Ajero to appear and recount his terrifying experiences he had to go through in the Czech Republic so far. (Well, I think anyone flying on a September 11^th would assume that nothing good awaited ahead!)

Three Shakespearean plays were then performed by the Gypsywood Players: an amusing extract from The Comedy of Errors, the most famous scene from Romeo and Juliet (who had to settle for a stepladder instead of the traditional balcony) and last but not least an abridged version of Titus Andronicus, which – although subject to rather drastic text cuts – still succeeded in providing the audience with a sufficiently bloody sample of Shakespeare's most brutal play. The notoriously known sonnet No. 18 then abruptly cut off the sequence of gruesome murders which terminated the play.

Shortly before the stroke of midnight our beloved ‘moderator’, who had successfully guided us through the evening, retired and left the stage to the second band: Psychopornopes. Jirka Goláň introduced a new funky album and the band only stopped playing when – at half past one – most of the audience had left and those still present could dance no more…

Those who came hopefully enjoyed it, those who didn’t come should regret it – and come next year!

David K.

P.S. More higher quality photos and video are in the Photos section.

Film Club
Click for poster download The Fall 2008 Film Club organized primarily by the English Students’ Club (ESCape) is the eight successive film club run taking place at the Department of English and American Studies. The film club began with a chronological, genre and director-based exploration of predominantly British and American cinema and subsequently went on to explore certain areas in greater detail, e.g. independent film. “This film series offers Hollywood's reflection of the American political process. Using several classical representatives of the genre of political film the series allows the viewers to assess how the filmmakers represented the opportunities, challenges - and severe problems - of the American political system. By means of a string of notable characters their creators have set an example how to proceed as a politically involved individual as well what should be avoided if one were striving for a political career. This series represents a most timely topic at a time of an important American election!” doc. PhDr. Tomáš Pospíšil, Dr.

Irish Drama and Theatre
For more information see department website.

ESCape Seminars
Week 2: ELF & IS Week 3: Postponed Week 4: SAC Week 5: Writer/Word, Impress/Power Point Week 6: Writing Essays Week 7: Poetry Analysis Week 8: MLA Every Monday at 18:20 in G32

American Classics
ESCape and PhDr. Tomáš Popíšil, Dr. present American Classic Series (every Wednesday at 6:20 p.m., Gorkého 7, G01) Sep 27 Stanley Kubrick – Shining Oct 4 Mike Nichols – Who Is Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Oct 11 Woody Allen – Annie Hall Oct 18 Oliver Stone – JFK / Nixon Oct 25 Jim Sharman – The Rocky Horror Picture Show Nov 1 Terence Mallick – Days of Heaven Nov 8 Robert Altman – McCabbie and Mrs. Miller Nov 15 Lars Von Trier – Dogville Nov 22 Ridley Scott - Thelma and Louise Nov 29 Terence Mallick - Thin Red Line Dec 6 Vincenzo Natali - Cube Dec 13 Roman Polanski - Chinatown Dec 20 The Coen Brothers – Brother Where Art Thou / The Man Who Wasn’t There Please note that the program might be subject to changes.

Dies Academicus
Although ESCape won't be able to actively participate, please feel free to come there. Dies Academicus

Creativity Night 2006 - Summary
Creativity Night 2006 Report Hopefully, writing this article has been a waste of time, as each and every student in the English Department came to witness the event of the semester: Creativity Night. However, in case there are such students or teachers who did not find the time a brief summary of what the evening had to offer follows. No show starts on time and ours was no exception. However, by eight o’clock our ‘moderator’ Matthew took his stand and introduced the first stars of the night: Lilly’s Limits. The band was great and provided ample time for the latecomers to arrive. Forty minutes and a couple of rounds of applause later Matthew welcomed the audience, thanked the sponsors and told a couple of jokes (no rude ones yet), thus officially opening the event. By the time Creativity Night really started, no less than 300 people had gathered in Fléda to witness the performance of ‘those by muses blessed’. The first number on the program was a stage reading by Míša Pňačeková – a provocative play about a lesbian relationship full of interesting twists and turns and some pretty strong language. Petra and Lucia acted out the whole play so well that most people hardly realized they were supposed to be reading! Next, Jana Severinová offered a selection of her own piano pieces; some of the recital was accompanied by guitar. Our Fulbright scholar Thomas McConnell then read a selection from his recently published book – A Picture Book of Hell and Other Landscapes, so that those who had not been able to make it to his previous reading got the chance to hear his stories now – I wonder whether his creative writing courses will make us all write like that! Sound theater group Cyranovy boty finished off the first part of the evening with a very unusual performance – suitcases taking the place of drums in a rhythmical waiting-for-the-train skit. Real drums were also to be seen, however: after the break, they were back with an African bongo-beating session! Everyone who knew the man couldn’t wait for Mark Ajero to appear and recount his terrifying experiences he had to go through in the Czech Republic so far. (Well, I think anyone flying on a September 11^th would assume that nothing good awaited ahead!) Three Shakespearean plays were then performed by the Gypsywood Players: an amusing extract from The Comedy of Errors, the most famous scene from Romeo and Juliet (who had to settle for a stepladder instead of the traditional balcony) and last but not least an abridged version of Titus Andronicus, which – although subject to rather drastic text cuts – still succeeded in providing the audience with a sufficiently bloody sample of Shakespeare's most brutal play. The notoriously known sonnet No. 18 then abruptly cut off the sequence of gruesome murders which terminated the play. Shortly before the stroke of midnight our beloved ‘moderator’, who had successfully guided us through the evening, retired and left the stage to the second band: Psychopornopes. Jirka Goláň introduced a new funky album and the band only stopped playing when – at half past one – most of the audience had left and those still present could dance no more… Those who came hopefully enjoyed it, those who didn’t come should regret it – and come next year! David K. P.S. More higher quality photos and video are in the Photos section.

Creativity Night 2006
Hearken to me, ye that would like to bear witness to the performance of those by Muses blessed! All who wish to attend a most spectacular show organized by ESCape are encouraged to join us at 7:30 PM on the 11th day of April in Fléda (Štefánikova 24, Brno). The tickets are available for a mere CZK 50 in Krmítko and in SAC or for CZK 70 on the spot. Get them NOW. You can expect: Lilly's Limits Stage Reading by Míša Pňačeková Piano recital by Jana Severinová Reading by Mark Benjamin Ajero Cyranovy boty sound theater Reading by Thomas McConnell Weird Shakespearean Scenes Psychopornopes (featuring RS Band guest star - the Rastaman) and last but certainly not least our excellent moderator Matthew Nicholls The poster is available at our web site, as well as the program. We would like to express our gratitude to the Department which supported us in every way imaginable - without its support there could be no such event as Creativity Night.

Research in canada
Dear students of English interested in Canadian Studies, The Canadian Embassy's Public and Academic Affairs Officer Magdalena Firtova, in cooperation with the Masaryk University's Office for International Studies, are proposing an opportunity to visit Canada, work there and do research. For more information see: http://www.phil.muni.cz/angl/SWAPCR.doc

Creativity Night - Performers Wanted
Hearken to me, ye that are by Muses blessed! Let it be known far and wide that another Creativity Night shall take place on the 11th day of April in Fleda. Though everybody will be welcomed in the audience, now is the time to choose the most gifted of you; those who wish to demonstrate their arts on that very special night. Anyone who composes or performs poetry, prose, drama, music (bands included), or any other creative art is hereby encouraged to contact the ESCape organization committee to present her, his or their possible contribution. The most convenient way to contact us is by email (ESC_ape@centrum.cz) or via our web guestbook; click “add topic” button); there are of course other less convenient ways to contact us, such as carrier pigeons or telepathy... just be creative. The preferred language of the performance is English, though especially in the case of translations and bands (but not limited to) Czech or Slovak are also allowed. Please bear in mind that the deadline for contacting ESCape is February 28th. Creatively Yours ESCape

Revenue Office registration and Bank account
ESCape is now registered at the Revenue Office, our tax identification number (DIC) is CZ27005003 and we also have a transparent account provided by eBanka, it's number is 2247529001/2400 and it's transaction history can be viewed by anyone.

Merry Christmas

Mock Elections Results
Click for download

Join Us

Mock Elections

Nightmare before Christmas
We would like to invite you to the projection of which will take place at 18:30 on Wednesday (December 14th) in Room 31.

Halloween Party - Aftermath
Photos and video from the Deadpartment Halloween Party 2005 are now available on the ESCape web in the "Photos" section. You can also send your comments regarding the party via this forum (it requires a top secret registration key, which is “ESCape!”)

Halloween Party
Dear teachers, students and other monsters, don’t be scared by the Department Halloween party, which will take place on the macabre 31st of October at 7 PM in Club 14 (Janska 14, Brno)... see this leaflet.

Reading Night
invites YOU to the Reading Night taking place in Krmítko on Monday October 17th at 6:20 p.m. We will be readidg An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde. The play is available here.

Meeting with the first year students
The meeting will be held on the 3rd of October at 18:20 in room G32. You will have the first week of school behind you, so there could be new questions you might want to ask. This meeting will be rather informal, so you can ask anything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask. After the meeting we shall probably continue discussing various pressing matters in a nearby pub.

ESCape is finally official!
Since the 18th of July English Students’ Club is a nonprofit civic organization registered at the Ministry of Interior. Our registration number is 270 05 003. If you are interested in our statutes, you can download them here.

Towel Day
Don't forget to take your towel with you on next Wednesday!!! ESCape would like to invite you to the celebrations connected with the passing of Douglas Adams from our reality, or so called Towel Day (for further information see below) which will occur on Wednesday May 25th. Moreover on Tuesday May 24th there will be a projection of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Galaxy by Douglas Adams in the room 32 from 15:30 till the evening - discussion in a nearby pub will surely follow. All you have to do in order to celebrate this wonderful event is to take your towel on Wednesday and let others see it :). Please read some information on Towel day written by Filip or visit some of the links below. DON’T PANICPeople of Earth, your attention please. Since the year of 2001, many of the more relaxed civilisations on your planet celebrate Towel Day – a tribute to Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It always takes place on May 25th and all you have to do in order to join the hitchhikers is to carry a towel all day. Why a towel? Because it is a tough universe. All sorts of people trying to kill you, rip you off, everything… If you are going to survive out there, you really have to know where your towel is. Understand? Besides carrying your towels, you can also enjoy the whole 1982 BBC TV series in room 32 (building B) on May 24th. The show starts at 3:30 p.m.; running time of each of the six episodes is about 30 minutes. And if you are very lucky, Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz might read you some of his wonderful poetry first. So remember, May 25th – Towel Day. Thank you. Filip Bul Krajník, The Galactic Hyperspace Planning Council Explanation why towel is so important taken from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitch hiker can have. Partly it has great practical value - you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindboggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you - daft as a bush, but very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough. More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitch hiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitch hiker might accidentally have "lost". What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is is clearly a man to be reckoned with. Towel Day links: http://contemporarylit.about.com/b/a/2004_05_24.htm http://greatzarquon.tripod.com/ http://www.towelday.kojv.net/

Limerick Contest
Writing a limerick can be extremely rewarding, if you are interested in how to do it, please follow this link: Limerick contest rules

ESC Logo
Behold, thanks to Pavla ESCape finally has its own genuine logo.

ESC Magazine
Hello monkey, the new monkey junky ape-magazine escape with the world-best pics of monkeys you can get will get into your little hairy monkey hands soooon. yes, best chimpanzee pubs and places to eat bananas and drink staromonkey beer in brno, orang-utan experiences from erasmus exchange programs, the most favorite gorilla of the department and many other cool monkey stuff to be found in the ESCape magazine next week. why monkeys? why escape. because everybody needs to escape sometimes. and even though the ape-magazine ESCape is also about school, we must keep it balanced and have fun, ain’t that right? do you feel you have some good monkey story, or some old gorilla materials that are of no use for you anymore? do you think that you are the best baboon photographer of the jungle only not yet known because of the thick foliage and lianas prevent the public from discovering your talents? you want the wide monkey public to see your most amazing pictures /or drawings, paintings, any piece of art/? have you been to socratesape or erasmusape exchange program? do you want to share your experience with others and maybe help the monkeys with deciding which euromonkey university to choose? then take the quill pen and a few drops of blood and write to us. we are honestly looking forward for your mail. ESCape dh

The Series of American Classics

Another Reading Night
Dear students, there will be another Reading Night on the twenty-first of March. We will meet at 7 P.M. in SAC to read Rez Sisters by Thomson Highway. We would like to invite not only ESC members but all the students interested in reading.