Fast confession - Anna Julie Slováčková: I am a sort of Ferdy the Ant

I would be interested to hear what your normal day is like?

That of course depends whether it is the weekend or a working day. On working days, I wake up and have breakfast – mostly quite a large one, because breakfast is the most important meal of the day, isn’t it. It is probably the only meal I regularly manage to fit in during the day. I then feed the cats, get dressed and put some make-up on if I am going out anywhere – if not, I don’t put any make-up on. I go and deal with the things I have to deal with that day, then I head either for the gym, or to see a friend and then home, cook dinner and go to sleep.

When you are working, what time do you start and what time do you finish?

It depends what sort of work it is. If it is performing in a musical, it depends whether it is the morning or afternoon show. You mostly have to be at the theatre at nine o’clock and that means getting up at eight. If it is a “double show” then I get home around eight o’clock in the evening.

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You are performing in the musical version of Alice in Wonderland, every girl’s dream.

I have really loved that fairy-tale since I was little. I mainly watched the Disney version of Alice in Wonderland – that pretty blonde one who falls down a hole, but I have also read the book. I read it all the more before I went to do the musical and I really do enjoy performing in it. It is really nice, everyone is really talented – from the “extras” to the main roles, it really is a wonderful musical.

You were one of the distinct faces in the show Tvoje tvář má známý hlas. Did some of the transformations you saw in the mirror surprise you?

To be honest, I was surprised by absolutely every transformation, because you really do see somebody else in that mirror all of a sudden. Although you do still have your own features, if you aren’t wearing a big mask that is, but the mere fact that you are trying out various voice changes, hairstyles, eye colours and skin colours, it really is great. It is an incredible experience which you will certainly remember for the rest of your life. As far as music is concerned, that of course depends on taste and style, what I liked and what I didn’t, but I did like most of them.

Did you for example change your attitude to any specific type of music? Did you not start to enjoy something more?

I have always been open to all styles. The only thing I have never been too keen on – and now I will probably offend the mettalers out there – is heavy metal. But I do like all of the styles I went through there, so I didn’t have a problem with anything.

You are in general very creative, you paint, you dance, you take photographs... What is something you enjoy that you would like to spend more time on?

To tell the truth, I would like to channel my efforts into absolutely everything I do, which is terribly difficult and in the end I don’t devote my efforts to anything other than singing and acting. I would like to spend more time on photography. I haven’t had any time for that at all recently and the same goes for painting. And more than the time factor, I couldn’t be bothered. I have no inclination to create anything. I have always had two sort of dreams – the first is that I would like to open a restaurant or a café and the other one: to publish a book. Those two things are the way my life is going at the moment. Admittedly I am not doing anything to help them on their way, but I hope that some sort of impulse will appear which will start to get me into action a little.

I assume that the book is something more for your desk draw, you are already writing something, aren’t you?

I am. I have been writing for absolutely ages already. It is a story which I thought up when I was thirteen years old and keep re-writing. I always write it, am sort of happy with it, but then I open it a month later, delete it all and write it again. But now that version of the story which I am trying to develop sort of, this is the fifth time I have written it and I think it is the final version which I might like to show to somebody – be this to friends or somebody who might like it so much that they suggest that someone publishes it. But I haven’t really got my hopes up all that much, so if my friends and family like it, that will be enough for me.

And is that story more of a fairy tale, a love story, a horror or a detective story?

I would say that it is a sort of psycho novel. Really psychological and also psycho, there is quite a lot of blood there and of course also love, because I think that should be everywhere. So there is some love there, but maybe completely different from the way it should be.

I think that dream is not completely unrealistic?

I think it certainly isn’t, only I would have to not be so lazy and would have to write more than one page every day. I also want to have my own café or restaurant one day, but not for twenty years or so, once I have lived a little and gained more experience.

It is said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach – is that your case?

In our case, it was sort of mutual, because my boyfriend and I cook together or we take it in turns.

What do you like in men and what do you hate?

I like it when they are responsible, ambitious, funny, when they know how to cook – I like that a lot. And also when they are practical in life – when they don’t ask me how to open the sunroof. On the contrary, I don’t like indecisiveness, because I think that should rather be a female characteristic. And that sort of typical Czech style when the women comes home after work, the man goes and opens a beer and it’s “see you later”. I am a little worried about that when I get older.

Are you able to describe what you are like in a few words?

There would be more negatives than positives there. Anička is an extremely bossy person. She is not quick to take offence so no comments can make me angry – they annoy me, but don’t make me angry. I think she really likes fun, she loves music, she loves all of her friends and would do anything for them. I think she is also responsible. Now I will finish off with some negative points: she quite often doesn’t want to get out of bed in the morning, she likes eating just a little too much and sometimes there is a little too much of her.