In an interview with Vijesti, the founder and artistic director of Exit Theater points out that theater lives on imagination, but also that excellence is the most important thing in the work process. Matko Raguz who with the award-winning play "Realists" was a guest in Budva at the Grad Teatar festival.
Directed by Raguž and produced by Exit Theater from Zagreb, the play delighted the Budva audience with its original approach and performance.
"Realists" show a set of characters whose lives intertwine through a series of scenes that explore the everyday problems and absurdities of modern life. The play deals with topics such as everyday struggles, social relations and existential questions. Through humor and satire, "Realists" remind us of the importance of introspection and critical thinking about our place in the world. The text is imbued with sharp humor and satirical comments, which makes the play dynamic and interesting.
"The world is rushing to ruin, and people to shopping centers. The reality show becomes more real than the news. We look for jobs where there are none, and only death and credit are inevitable. The unbearable ease of superficiality allows us to think that we can achieve our dreams without the slightest investment of effort or resources of any kind. Discrimination, prejudices, maladjustment, disturbed various interpersonal relationships. The realists laughingly tell us about the chaotic reality and absurdities of the time we live in in the manner of a cabaret through parody and musical comments", the description of the play states...
The cast in Budva stood out in particular, showing their ability to transform and interpret different characters through acting, dancing, singing and playing different instruments. The ensemble consists of: Domagoj Ivanković, Nika Ivančić, Nikola Nedić, Rok Juričić, Fabijan Komljenović.
The director of the play, founder and artistic director of the Exit Theater, Matko Raguž, talks to Vijesti about the play itself, challenges, regional cooperation, but also about the current position of the theater in the world and its future.
Can you tell us something more about the play "The Realists"? How did you come up with the idea for this production?
Since I am also the director of an independent theater, I therefore think about the repertoire, watch, read, write, delete, cross out... Sometimes you get an idea and realize it in ten years, you don't have to realize it right away, sometimes you create a show from an idea through acting improvisations , once according to a certain text... As for the "Realists", I came across a story about the Realists quite by accident on the Internet and it seemed convenient. He is the author Jure Karas, which I honestly had not heard of before. He is a Slovenian author, and since I have some friends who are actors in Slovenia, I called them and said that I would like to receive that text. I asked them if they knew Karas, of course they knew him. He is a musician and writer and writes for television, he has worked on some shows. They connected me immediately within a couple of days, he sent me a text and that's how it started. I didn't wait long with that because I saw an opportunity for a very interesting performance in the Exit style, whatever that means to whom, but in the style that we at the Exit theater like to do. It is, among other things, a kind of stylistic acting exercises in almost every performance, where, since we are an independent theater and cannot have an ensemble of 10 to 20 actors, a smaller number of actors always play a large number of roles.
How did you choose the actors for this play and what was the cooperation with them like during the work process?
In order for the show to be of high quality, the work with the actors must be long-lasting and very precise. Characterization is done using various methods. Basically, I saw an interesting opportunity here to talk about some topics, as well as what we do and the way we work. Then I thought about the division of actors, of course, it largely starts from that, which actors could play in the play. It was a dilemma whether to hire established actors or younger ones. I decided to give the youth a chance. Namely, one of the missions of Exit from the very beginning when I founded it, was my desire to give a chance to some young actors who then leave Exit, prove themselves and continue working. Over the years, it has happened that, for example, at this moment some, perhaps the strongest names of the Croatian theater and film industry, started in Exit. I wouldn't list all those actors, but it's an enviable number, so it seemed to me that it was also an opportunity to give this completely new generation a chance. I knew some of them from before, but I auditioned and selected through the audition. As there are several acting academies in Croatia, it somehow happened by chance that actors from the Rijeka Academy from the class Rada Šerbedžija i Lenke Udovicki, Osijek Academy and Zagreb Academy, of course. I chose actors from those three academies, of course people flock to Zagreb, study in Rijeka, study in Osijek, but Zagreb is the center and people are looking for their chance in Zagreb. One of the actors had already arrived in Zagreb, the actress Nika Ivančić decided to move to Zagreb after this premiere and now she is moving from project to project. So I'm especially glad that people who graduated from other regional academies also got a chance. So let's say it's a nice story from that side, but they got a chance and roles through the audition.
What was the main challenge in directing this play?
I have to admit that working on this play was without much stress, it was somehow very creative and cheerful. The condition was that these actors must all sing well. Of course, I chose them acting wise, but they had to sing well, which a good actor doesn't need to know. He can be a brilliant actor without knowing how to sing. For this show, the actor had to know how to sing, after all, this is a new cabaret show. I had an idea, which the original author did not have, and I actually wanted them all to play. So I was actually choosing multi-talented people. It was really fun and easy to work with. Sometimes you work hard and make a good show. But it also happens that you work lightly so you can make a good show. The division is absolutely very important.
What advice would you give to young directors who are just starting their careers?
I advise them to invest in themselves, not to think that they have learned everything, but to study and not to be impatient, but to go "step by step" and to ask a lot of themselves. That they demand a lot from themselves first, and then from others. But, in fact, their goal should be that everything they do leaves a mark. Of course, name is important, fame is important, money is important. It's all important. But nothing will be more important than leaving a mark. I advise, in fact, idealism and a dream. To keep the dream and to be idealists in the theater.
How has the play "Realists" developed since its premiere until now? Were there any significant changes or adaptations?
It first changes from city to city. Regarding that, we have some moments in the play where we agreed to have some freedom. From the actress asking before the show which is the most famous pizzeria here, or which city is said to have the worst drivers, and so on. Sometimes you get a great reaction, sometimes you get a less great reaction, but it's live theater and that's how it is. But he leaves him alive, because you don't know what will happen. What you have, you have already checked and that's it. But if you introduce some new things, you expect a reaction for what you tried. But then it is more interesting for the actors and the audience.
How do you see the current position of the theater in society and what is its role in the modern world?
It's easiest to whine. Most of the people you talk to are mostly from institutions and whining. I created the institution Teatra Exit, where this year we are celebrating 30 years of work. We have endured for 30 years, but I will tell you only one fact, and that is that the Ministry and the city support us, without that it would really be very difficult, but if this support is taken in relation to an average city theater, I would be happy when Exit would get one percent of what they get in one year. I would be overjoyed if we got even that one percent, because we get significantly less than that, but we still survived for 30 years. Therefore, speaking of whining, I say, but I don't whine. You have what you have, you nod with it and do the best you can with it. Our scenographies are not rich, but they are functional and often ambiguous. So, less is more. When we work, we work so that we can put things in the van, that we can travel, and that we don't drag 300 people with us, that we don't burden the budgets where we arrive with 20 rooms and the like. So, we try to do business very rationally, but what we have is our time, our knowledge and our accumulated talents. Excellence is one of the words that is essential in our work process. Excellence, in fact, is a word that we often mention somewhere. We cannot have a rich scenography, but we can be excellent. Let's try to be excellent.
How do you see the future of theater in the region and what, in your opinion, are the main obstacles it faces?
As for cooperation in the region, I think it is good (although it can always be better), after all those years of the unhappy nineties, which, thank God, have passed. I think that theater people were among the first to extend a hand, they didn't even take away the greeting from each other. Times were what they were, but collaborations started. I think that these collaborations are very important for a million reasons, including those, let's be honest, and economic ones. We understand each other, what do you do better. And the theater needs to be understood, the audience must be able to understand it, and since we mentioned that the theater still needs finances, because it cannot finance itself, pooling finances for the creation of productions makes it easier for everyone. Then we all move on together and exchange experiences along the way, what better way to do it. I think that is the way in a way. Of course, there will always be those giants who will spend and those who will work to keep culture alive.
Can we then expect some kind of co-production with the Grad Teatar festival?
There are always stories, but we haven't opened them yet, maybe we will open them...
Theater lives on imagination
How do you see the evolution of theater in the digital age? Can technology help or hinder the theater?
It is a very current question, and it is not easy to answer. Theater lives on imagination. It fits well, theater-of-imagination. And no matter how you turn it, no matter what happens, the imagination does its thing and tries to translate every opportunity into making the theater survive and be more creative and better. Cinemas are currently empty due to technology taking its toll. A hundred years ago, theaters closed and cinemas moved in. Now the cinemas are closing and the theaters are going inside again, because a living word is a living word. Like a living word and a dangerous word, but that's a different matter now.
One of the most important festivals in the former Yugoslavia, whose invitation means
How important is it for you as a director that your play is a guest at festivals like Grad Teatr?
I think this is one of the most important festivals in the former Yugoslavia. I mean, it is one of the biggest and most important festivals, it has a long tradition and big plays were played at this festival, big directors made plays there. So that's a line that you write as very important for the theater. We are not here for the first time, we played from "Cowboy", to "Kako milis mene nema", SHAKE on EXit, "Njuške" and many others, we must have played six or seven times. This continuity is important and the fact that we are not forgotten, the invitation from the City of Theater means absolutely to us.
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