The most important thing is that the audience laughs.

The Montenegrin stand-up festival Opuč started last night in the Great Hall of the KIC “Budo Tomović” in Podgorica, with performances by Dušan Varničić and Srđan Olman from Serbia, Josip Škilj and Saša Turković from Croatia, as well as the event organizer Andrija Dabanović. The eighth edition of this festival continues tonight, when stand-up comedians Srđan Jovanović, Nikola Radojlović and Neša Bridžis from Serbia, Ante Travizi from Croatia, as well as his colleague Vlatko Štampar, for whom this is not the first performance within the framework of Opuč, will appear before the audience.

Štampar and his colleagues will also perform in Nikšić, on October 3rd and 4th, in the Multifunctional Hall of the House of Revolution, and in Tivat, on October 5th, at the Cultural Center.

In an interview with "Vijesti", the Croatian comedian hinted at his repertoire for this year's edition of Opuče, revealed whether comedians have the right to be in a bad mood, but also that he only knows one thing about the people of Nikšić - that they have good beer.

This is not your first participation at the Opuč Festival. You did not bore the Montenegrin audience, but did they bore you? Also, several other participants, colleagues, complained that their colleagues bored them - did you get bored of their jokes that you listen to for several days in a row in such situations?

Well, it's not. The audience absolutely didn't get bored, I've only been to Podgorica a couple of times. My colleagues absolutely didn't get bored, it's always nice... even when you know a joke from a fellow comedian, it's very nice to watch how the audience reacts to the joke, because you know when the funny part is coming, you know which part will break them, it's great to analyze and observe... so, I'm absolutely looking forward to the festival and no one got bored, except for Srđan Olman, but that's for some other reasons...

What have you prepared for this visit to Opuč, can you give us a hint about the material?

I have everything, except politics. I always try to stick to some happier and more cheerful topics, so we can complicate it a bit with some more bizarre comparisons or with dark humor, but those are more or less male-female relationships, general problems that bother each of us, then there's also 40, so maybe there are some health problems and systematic, I don't know... light things at my expense... that's some kind of general plan.

Some stand-up comedians prefer to recount family relationships, some generalize certain types of people, some like a bit more provocative humor, which is your favorite? Is there an area where you draw the line?

If I had to choose a type of humor that I like and love, I like it a little weirder, more offbeat and darker. Like in any society where five guys and five friends meet, they will laugh at sick and strange things, I don't think we comedians are anything special, maybe we have a slightly more refined palate for some jokes, but I love playing roles, inanimate objects and animals... I like to tell stories about some family relationships, the relationship between a girl and me, but I draw a line in some private things. I really value my privacy, influencing, advertising my apartment, this is me, these are my children... I don't know, I'm a little allergic to that and some things that I know could be genius jokes and funny material in themselves, it's just that my head already has a veto. Maybe some private family thing of ours, the relationship between a girl and me, but I draw a line in privacy.

In previous conversations with stand-up comedians, they admitted that passersby often ask them to make them laugh on the street. Does this happen to you, and do stand-up comedians have the right to be nervous or moody?

I think that if we only do stand-up comedy, we are in a perfect limbo, where you are not even a famous person, so you don't have those problems where people take your picture or ask for an autograph, so you can't go to a restaurant. We comedians are not even close to that, and yet people know us well enough, because if you have been building a career for years, 10, 15, 20 years, it is normal that there are people who will recognize us. But these are always very nice recognitions, it's not voyeurism, they are not weirdos, but someone laughs from 20 meters away, from the other side of the street and you can tell by the look on their faces that they remembered some joke, some performance... But yes, people often think that we are always funny, always entertaining, but we are normal and when we are socializing if someone talks, we are silent, and then maybe because we are silent for a long time that we may be in a bad mood, but we are not, we are already socializing, now one person talks, then the other, then I will, maybe I will throw in some joke, but maybe...

On the other hand, have you ever used humor to get out of an unpleasant situation in your private life?

Ugh, yes. There are so many situations - defending my thesis, I got a good grade because I made the committee laugh, simply if humor has helped me anywhere, it's in everyday situations. Relaxing people a little, simply leaving the impression of a good, nice, down-to-earth person, no one will get angry if you have a joke, if you make a joke. I love messing with saleswomen, with grandmothers at the market... It's great, because people don't expect it, everyone is busy with their own problems, their own work, they only look straight ahead and then it's a very pleasant surprise when you make someone laugh, and they weren't expecting it. And everyone is happy...

This time you will perform in three cities in 5 days - Podgorica, Nikšić and Tivat? How demanding and tiring is it to have so many performances in such a short period of time?

It's very stressful and tiring, and I need a lot of cream and massages to come to my senses, and long walks on the beach to calm down... It's not, really, if you love your job, it's absolutely not a problem. Sometimes the drives can be tiring if the schedule isn't well-planned, so you drive from one end of the country to the other, and then the third day from the third end of the country to the fourth, but I think there's zero fatigue, zero fatigue and it's not a problem at all. This whole festival is a really wonderful gathering of comedians, we have some networking, an audience that has come to laugh on purpose, in each city the audience is different and it will be specific, so it's not tiring at all. I know the organization will be on a high level again because of Andrija and his entire team, so I'm really looking forward to it.

This will be your first time performing in Nikšić. How familiar are you with the stereotypes surrounding the people of Nikšić and will you adapt your jokes to that audience?

I always have some little things and some references and motifs that I change, they simply wouldn't be read if they stayed the same, local or semi-local. So - yes, some little things will change. I don't know some stereotypes about Nikšić, I know they have good beer... But I have prepared some little things, I won't reveal them now. I try to stay myself, to have my material, my character and maybe a little bit of off-kilter humor in some segments, but the most important thing is that the audience laughs and that they have a great time. I don't want to change things too much and adapt and pander to the audience, but to do the best stunts and the best material that I can with some stunts that haven't been in Podgorica or Tivat yet, and no stunt has been in Nikšić so far, so in general I can't wait for the whole festival.