Bye! I'm Off: Theater Performance featuring Hungarian Artists Borisz Kucsov and Árpád Szerda

Once upon a time, across the Atlantic, an aspiring artist from the countryside goes on a journey. "Love makes the soul weary..." he sings as a bon vivant, and in his mind he is far away. Far away from himself. Far away from the quiet, reserved student, far away from the heroic knight in love... close to existential fears. Torn apart. Gasping for air... Searching for a more hopeful world. Because that is not how he imagined order... His soul is not so patriotic. He did not believe it was easier to live insidiously. So he rises and goes on his way. To another world. To America. To the land of rock... Because he has the right! And his hide is not so precious that with a mature head he would stand it without a word. A word or two forgotten... A lonely mother left behind: "Take care, my son!" The empty children's room. It is all there in the suitcase... He takes it with him. Carries it in a bundle. He has found his (new) home... For he knows that if he remains close to home at heart, the child inside him shall not be lost. But he shall be captured by a different thrill, in a faraway land over the Seven Seas.

Please, note that the event will be conducted in Hungarian!

About the Performers:

Borisz Kucsov

Boris Kučov was born in Subotica, Serbia. He finished primary school in Subotica, and went on to study at the drama department of ‘Horváth Mihály Gimnázium’ grammar school in Szentes, Hungary. During this time he participated in numerous student drama festivals and professional camps. After high school he moved to Budapest, where he spent two years studying and working as an intern actor in the New Theater group.

After graduating from the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, Boris worked one year at the Hungarian Theatre of Zenta (Serbia). For a year he was working as a freelance artist, acting and assisting at several theatres such as the Szabadkai Nepszinhaz (National theatre of Subotica) and the Kosztolányi Dezső Theatre in Subotica. In the past few years he has been directing annual student-plays for high school students.

Together with his colleague Boris has writing, editing and hosting a radio show that has aired more than 470 episodes since 2014 on the Újvidéki Rádió radio station in Novi Sad, Serbia. Since 2015, when he also started trying himself at playwriting, two of his plays have been put on stage. One of them was also directed by him. Boris has been a full-time member of the Kosztolányi Dezső Theatre group since 2015.

Art, theatre and acting are a very important part of Boris' life. It can provide him with an abundance of experience and faith, both professionally and personally. He loves what he does, and he believes in it.

Árpád Szerda

Musician, composer and multi-instrumentalist Árpád Szerda started his music studies at the Petar Konjovic primary music school in Óbecse, majoring in piano. In the meantime, he started learning to play several other instruments also: his passion and love towards Moldavian folk instruments and Transylvanian folk music scored several 1st places and special prizes for him at one of the largest folk music competitions in Vojvodina, called "Speak whistle, speak!". He started singing when he was about 10 years old, he won several singing competitions in Serbia, the biggest recognition in this field came in 2006, in Hungary, at the "Europop Song Festival" in Dömsöd, where Árpád won the 1st place, as well as the special award of the Hungarian Radio. Thanks to this, he was able to be a guest at the "Annie Jantar Festival" in Poland that year. After graduating from elementary music school, he enrolled in the SZTE Vántus István Zeneművészeti Szakközépskola (now: SZTE Vántus István Gyakorló Zeneművészeti Szakgimnázium) in Szeged, where he graduated in 2007 and in 2008 he obtained an OKJ degree. Árpád plays more than 20 different instruments.

He has also collaborated with one of Serbia's most famous composers, Kornelije Kovac, and he has been composing theater music for several years. Árpád worked in some of the largest theaters in the region and neighboring countries (Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, etc.). His most successful theater musical/operetta is the "Knights of the Kissing Lady". The play's music was nominated for the "Best Theater Music" award by the Budapest Theater Critics' Guild in 2022 and won the award for "Most Original Stage Music" at the 'Crossroads' festival in Nis.

Co-Organized with Liszt Institute New York