The fact that the management of the Montenegrin National Theater, led by artistic director Željko Sošić and business director Milica Tomović, never directly addressed the acting ensemble, which expressed dissatisfaction and publicly stated the problems they face in their parent theater house, clearly shows what kind of relationship management according to the acting ensemble, the actors point out for "Vijesti". Aleksandar Gavranić, Ana Vučković, Ana Vujošević, Andrea Mugoša, Danilo Čelebić, Dejan Ivanić, Gorana Dragašević, Jadranka Mamić, Jelena Minič, Jelena Nenezić Rakočević, Kristina Obradović, Nada Vukčević, Radmila Božović, Slavko Kalezić, Žaklina Oštir, Žana Gardašević Bulatović and Zoran Vujović who, for the most part, are the signatories of the previous letters they sent to the media.
When asked by "Vijesti" whether Sošić or Tomović invited them to a meeting to discuss problems and possibly solve them, the actors answered: "No!". “No! After several weeks of rehearsals, which often included ten or more people on stage, the director Milica Tomović, whom we only saw as much as the public - through the media, and "got to know" her through the complaints she sent to the Labor Inspectorate and other actions directed against the artistic ensemble of the CNP , she didn't show up for any of the rehearsals. The artistic director also never showed up for rehearsals after the first of September. The statement 'we tried so that there were no big divisions on stage in order to protect the health of the actors', as well as not finding it necessary to address the acting ensemble regarding the publicly presented problems, clearly demonstrates the attitude of the administration towards the acting ensemble of the Montenegrin National Theater", say the actors.
They also questioned the fact that neither the Minister of Culture, Aleksandar Bogdanović, nor the Theater Council of the Montenegrin National Theater "as the highest governing body, which was obliged to respond to violations of the law in a timely manner and participate more clearly in solving ongoing problems the management is not able to rehabilitate and solve". The council consists of Blagota Eraković, Goran Bulajić, Edin Jašarović, Bojan Martinović and Božidar Nikolić.
"We use the opportunity to welcome the interest of the State Audit Institution, which came forward after the public appeal, and we expect them to do their part. Although the Ministry of Culture has not announced, although Minister Bogdanović during our earlier meetings seemed interested in solving the problem, we do not lose hope that their reaction will be adequate for the purpose of preserving culture and cultural progress. We also conclude that the Theater Council of the CNP, as the highest governing body (Blagota Eraković, Goran Bulajić, Edin Jašarović, Bojan Martinović and Božidar Nikolić), must also take great responsibility for all of the above, which was obliged to respond promptly to violations of the law and to participate more clearly in solving ongoing problems that the administration is unable to rehabilitate and solve. We believe that this current situation indicates that the theater can function, but also that we must be constructive and open to cooperation.
Part of the acting ensemble has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the accumulated problems in letters to the media, and nothing is being done about them.
"The situation in the theater is bad because there is a lot of dissatisfaction due to accumulated problems that are not being solved. In order for the problems to begin to be solved, it is necessary, to begin with, for the relevant ministry (which is in charge of appointing the director of the national theater) to free the theater from individuals who, through ignorance and carelessness, are completely degrading and destroying one of the most important cultural institutions in the country. We emphasize that our activities are completely devoid of politics and politicking and that they are aimed at regulating the basic professional segments for a healthy and functional national theater, both for us today and for future generations of Montenegrin actors and artists", agreed the interlocutors of "Vijesti".
When asked on the basis of which they believe that artistic director Željko Sošić and business director Milica Tomović are incompetent for the functions they perform, and whether they expect their resignations or dismissal from those positions, they answer: "First of all, Mrs. Milica Tomović was illegally appointed to that position function, which we explained in the appeal of September 15 and stated the articles of the law and the Statute of the theater that do not recognize the concept of business director in the sector of managing the national theater. In addition, by looking at her professional biography, there is evidently no connection with theater knowledge, experience and competences that would recommend her for the director of such an important institution. The biography of the artistic director Željko Sošić is rather modest in the theater part. And in practice they proved all that. A series of their decisions and actions that threatened the actor's position (decisions on non-renewal of employment contracts, discrimination...), and the new draft on systematization, in which the number of jobs for actors was reduced to 30 from the previously planned 50, point to the truth of our claims. . The fact that the CNP has about 150 employees, and that the production staff has been reduced to 30 jobs, also calls into question how the Council, which also did not announce itself regarding our appeals, adopted it. All of the above speaks in favor of the actors' cries for the survival of the culture, the nation, which is nurtured and maintained through the essence of a theater," the ensemble said.
A team that works in one theater to have no contact with other theater companies
When asked if the situation within the Montenegrin National Theater has changed since the actors first came forward, they explain:
"The situation has changed, unfortunately, only with regard to the increase in the number of infected people in our team. It was only on October 20 that we received the first official information about the case of an infected co-worker, although we were unofficially aware that the first case of the disease was 12 days ago in the CNP. In this regard, with this letter we would like to again deny our administration, which on October 9 in an address to the public stated that 'the last testing that was carried out on Friday, October 9, followed information from the Royal Theater Zetski dom...' and we ask them the question of why testing was not carried out when a member of the CNP collective who was in direct contact with a member of the artistic collective of the play 'Visit of the Old Lady', and at the same time the Zetski dom, fell ill, much earlier than October 12? "Only after our public letter from October 10 was the collective testing of CNP employees and associates done (October 2020, XNUMX)," they state.
In the latest statement, part of the acting ensemble of the CNP claims that the measures in the fight against the corona virus are not respected in that theater.
"At the first rehearsal for the play 'Visit of the Old Lady', held without adequate measures taken by the Institute for Public Health and the National Coordinating Body, it was suggested to the management that it is inadmissible to do an ensemble play and a piece with 33 roles at such an epidemiological moment. In this context, we also suggested to choose texts that do not include a large number of actors. However, artistic director Željko Sošić was adamant that 'the text will not be changed', that CNP needs an 'ensemble performance' and that 'repertory policy is above the epidemiological situation'. The number of actors was reduced from 33 to 19 (plus stage staff). Ignoring the high degree of possible infection in such a large division of the rehearsals, which are our work task, were held thanks to the great desire of the actors to return to their work after a long break, and especially with the pleasure of working with a director like Aleksandar Morfov," said part of the ensemble for "Vijesti", adding that "that figure indicates a large performance with a much higher risk of illness compared to all performances that would be of the camera type".
"Therefore, the strategy of the CNP administration is, in common sense, very questionable. And that same strategy led us to cancel rehearsals and repertoire, and there is a possibility that the theater will be closed, to our great regret," they state in their response to "Vijesta" with the recommendation:
"As a possible solution, we suggest respecting the measures of IJZ and NKT, with the proposal that the team working in one theater does not have contact with other theater houses during the process. This reduces the number of communications and reduces the risk to a minimum. In the hope that for the benefit of all of us, and above all the culture of Montenegro, this painful situation will be resolved as soon as possible, best regards". they conclude.
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