"You are only as good an actor as you are sincere, as much as you can really give and reveal your emotions, as much as you can bear some emotional burden and do something on stage," one of the most notable theater actors of the younger generation in Bosnia and Herzegovina tells Vijesti. Mak Cengic.
The audience of the Montenegrin National Theatre (CNP) was also convinced of his abilities when the ensemble of the Sarajevo National Theatre (NPS) performed “Hasanaginice”. The entire ensemble, led by Čengić, delighted the Podgorica audience, which greeted them with thunderous applause and standing ovations.
It was for this role that Čengić won the NPS award for best young actor, and the complete play for best artistic achievements in the 2022/23 season. The adaptation of the famous folk ballad brings a completely different context to the audience, raising the question of who and where today's Hasanaginice are.
Instead of a story about patriarchy and feminism, actor Mak Čengić chooses to talk about freedom, and thus observes the entire play.
The play was co-produced by NPS as an original project by the director. Danilo Marunović for which she wrote the text Ksenija Popović which also signs the dramaturgy. That the strange process, as Čengić remembers it, bore fruit is shown by the regional interest in the play and the sold-out tickets. However, it is especially important to him that the play encourages reflection, questioning, dialogue, and possibly change, which is all in one the task and mission of the theater.
The actor was born in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1994. He graduated from the Academy of Acting in Sarajevo in the class of Professor Senad Basic, to become one of the most notable regional theater actors of the younger generation to this day. Čengić points out that he would also like to try his hand at acting in front of the camera, although for some reason that engagement eludes him.
Mak Čengić speaks to Vijesti about the play and the numerous questions it raises, about theater, exchange, society, politics, and his own calling.
The play “Hasanaginice” is written by a team of authors from Montenegro - directed by Danilo Marunović, and written and dramaturgized by Ksenija Popović. Given that it is a well-known folk ballad, how did the process of working on this theatrical adaptation go?
I can't say that the process was demanding, but it was somehow amazing for all of us. We were all a little confused trying to understand what Danilo wanted from us. However, he explored who the Hasanaginice are today, how far liberalism has come, how far feminism has come, what it means today, what rights women have today, based on what they had a few years ago. While working on the play, we realized that we were actually living in that period, that it was part of our everyday lives, and somehow as an ensemble we agreed, bit the bullet, and Danilo guided us nicely. I can say that I personally did not expect such a boom and demand for the play, but this is definitely a play that is always sold out, that people always look forward to, and we always fill the halls, so everything turned out wonderfully.
It was performed in different environments and under different social circumstances, were there any specific reactions among the audience?
Of course it was, we had various reactions. At the end of the performance, my colleague Milan Pavlovic He asks a few questions, pushing a little earbud into the audience's ears to talk about it with their partner at home and share their opinions. That part of him really encourages people to think, to talk to their wives or husbands. I wouldn't reveal what the questions are...
Besides that segment, what do you think are the key topics that individuals or couples, and perhaps even a community such as a family or society on a general level, should discuss or think about after the performance?
What I can look back on is how much freedom women have today, how much women have achieved their goal, whether they have perhaps sidestepped it a little during all this struggle or whether they have succeeded in their intentions. I somehow think that this play is about freedom, and that we are a little better, a little more relaxed about this issue today. I think that we think in more directions, that we are not so rigidly bound by patriarchy, and I hope that all of this will continue to develop in some good and beautiful direction.
Patriarchy still exists and largely creates or directs both women and men. What position should we take in relation to this?
Yes, definitely patriarchy still influences everything. But today, morality is not what it used to be, values have completely changed and everything has somehow changed. Now, I would not like to talk about patriarchy or feminism, I always prefer to look back at that freedom. I think that freedom is the most important thing for a person and I think that when freedom is taken away from a person, then a person becomes a completely different being, maybe even something animalistic comes out of him, which I think should not be there, but is a consequence of threatened freedom. I think that freedom is the basic atom and unit for breathing of every person.
Is it possible to equate the democracy we are trying to achieve with freedom in any field, especially in neoliberal capitalism, a society of consumerism, egocentrism, and the like?
Yes, it's strange. As a theater, we really operate in a small field. What my older colleagues say is, if we manage to change one person in the audience, we have accomplished our task, that is always our goal and that is the mission of the theater. It is difficult to change people, it is difficult to talk about democracy, but I definitely think that there are people who are capable of changing, and I also think that a big change takes little. Because, if just one person changes, I believe that they can pull a series of other things, because that one person can be a snowball or a ball that can be untied, and on the basis of which we can always hope for a better tomorrow.
How important are theater and art for achieving these values and freedom itself, but also in contributing to and creating a better person and society?
I think that both art in general and theater are incredibly important in these aspects. I think that theater is like the only media that can completely change a person within two hours. It's a banal example, but people who don't come to the theater, once they come, fall in love with theater, start coming back and going to the theater again, realizing that it is primarily a cultural medium that changes you. In addition, the topics we deal with in theater are always "hot", those topics that are currently trending, that is, current at the moment, and we also learn about history, while often we ourselves predict a future that we are not aware of... Considering all this, the importance of theater is immeasurable.
When we talk about trends, current events, culture, and even changes, what is the relationship between theater and politics, or rather politicians?
I think politics is on one side, and theater is the opposite. I've always thought that way, I don't know if I'm wrong, but sometimes I even believe that people from theater who genuinely love this job would make very good politicians in an ideal world.
You are one of the more prominent theater actors of the younger generation in the former Yugoslavia. How do you see your position, and that of your colleagues, in this profession and the profession itself in general, whether on screen or stage?
I definitely see myself in both media, although, unfortunately, I don't have that much opportunity to work on films. I wouldn't say that it's my choice, because it's certainly not like I made a choice, but that's just the way it is... I have the feeling that people who are involved in film know how many plays I've acted in and how much I've been involved in theatre, so they might take me a little less seriously, but I'm definitely there and I don't make any distinction between the two expressions. For example, I don't have any particular affinity for theatre, except that I'm employed there. Speaking of which, I often say that when you're in theatre and on stage, as an actor you only have one chance to show your emotions, feelings, skills, to show who and what you are. In film, all of that can be done multiple times, each frame can be repeated, another take can be taken, done again... Of course, it's a kind of training that I would definitely like to try my hand at, and in the future I would like to be present in both expressions.
Speaking of emotion and what an actor gives to the performance and the audience on stage, how much of it is true and honest, emotion experienced in the moment, and how much is it acting and a manifesto?
I've worked with people who think that acting is a lie, that acting is, in fact, the most skillful lie in the world. I absolutely disagree with that. I think that you are only as good an actor as you are sincere, as much as you can really give and reveal your emotions, as much as you can really pull some emotional weight and do something. That's why I don't agree that acting, let alone theater, is a lie, but I think it's true. Also, the more credible you are as a factor and participant in all of this, the more power you have - the power to influence and change the people around you, and ultimately the power to change the people, to change culture, politics and everything else that goes on.
Regional connections important for young actors
For the sake of personal development, but also for the development of theater, society and culture, for the sake of man, the state, the region, how important are exchanges and guest appearances?
They are definitely of great importance. Yesterday I was with my actor friends from Montenegro, Pavlo Popović i Omar Bajramspahić, talked about it... By chance, Pavle Popović and I had the opportunity a long time ago to be part of an omnibus on which a regional team worked, artists from Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and so on were involved, so we worked in such a mixed way and we made a show. It was a great experience, and I think that way of working is very important. For example, today when I ask my younger colleagues if they know any colleagues from Croatia or Serbia, they don't know them, which I'm sorry about. For me, it's lucky that I know colleagues from Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, who are part of my generation. We all keep in touch, we help each other, we support each other, we call each other for castings, we make arrangements... That's art and that's why I think that regional connections are very important for our work, so I hope that the younger team will also have the opportunity to experience it and see for themselves.
Bonus video:
