Pavol Liska und Kelly Copper / Nature Theater of Oklahoma
Pavol Liska, born in 1973 in Skalica, Slovakia, and Kelly Copper, born in 1971 in Gainesville, Florida, are the heads of New York's Nature Theater of Oklahoma. Named after an itinerant theater group in Kafka's novel Amerika, they carry out that group's promise: "If you decide to join us, we congratulate you here and now!" Their performances have been some the most fulfilling theater events of the last decade.
Their works, including Poetics: A Ballet Brut (2005), Chorégraphie (2008) and Rambo Solo (2008), have been shown at numerous international theater festivals. In 2008, they were awarded the Off-Broadway equivalent of a Tony, the Obie Award. At the Salzburg Festival, they received the Young Directors Award for Romeo and Juliet (2008) that same year.
The first four episodes of the biomusical Life and Times were premiered at Vienna's Burgtheater: Episode 1 was invited to the Berliner Theatertreffen in 2010. For Ruhrtriennale 2012, Episode 2 will be staged with performers from the Ruhr metropolitan area.