By 1981, she and Jiri became co-artistic directors of the Wilma, known for their bold productions of the works of Bertolt Brecht, Eugene Ionesco and Tom Stoppard.
[1] In 1995, Blanka Zizka's Barrymore Award-winning production of Jim Cartwright's ROAD was presented at the International Theater Festival in the Czech Republic, the first American company to be invited.
"[2] Blanka and Jiri set up shop in a former industrial space on Sansom Street, refurbishing it themselves with the help of friends, creating what would become the Adrienne Theater, which for many years was a locus for new theatrical work in Philadelphia.
This ensemble of actors train together every month in European-style techniques as disparate as that of Greek director Theodorus Terzopoulos[3] and Jean-René Toussaint's Primitive Voice.
[4] Zizka has directed the following works: Paula Vogel’s Don Juan Comes Home from Iraq, Richard Bean’s Under the Whaleback, Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, Tadeusz Słobodzianek’s Our Class, Sarah Ruhl’s In the Next Room, and Macbeth.