The atmosphere in which theater creators in Montenegro welcome March 27, World Theater Day this year, is unchanged and generally in a downward trend, the theater director assessed in an interview for "Vijesti" Zoran Rakočević, while the actress Jelena Simic points out that the feelings are mixed: sadness, disappointment, wonder, determination to act and not sink, and the like...
"Theater employees are constantly misunderstanding, not to mention those in the independent scene and the unemployed, who are left to wait for the results of the competition, and the competitions are known to be delayed for more than a year, or to be canceled just like that. In an immature society, it is not even to be expected that an artist has any special status, as neither a doctor nor a judge does, for example, because corruption is the modus vivendi", says Rakočević, summarizing the position of the Montenegrin theatre, but also of those who are its core - the artists.
Bad conditions, lack of continuity
On World Theater Day, Rakočević refers to its power.
"The theater is powerful because it offers the widest mimetic possibilities. I think the elites are particularly aware of this, as they have been shown to be prone to censorship. In any case, I come back to the same thing - a strong theater means a strong social consciousness, and I think that's why it tries to keep itself under control," says the director.
Simić, a member of the acting ensemble of the City Theater Podgorica, points out that the Montenegrin theater scene lacks careful planning, taking into account the conditions in which it is created.
"I understand the desire and ambition to do more, but often in that desire we get results that are hardly sustainable, not because someone doesn't want to work, but because, in our case, we don't have a building and we don't have money, neither to play enough, nor to let's hold the festival properly, we don't even have the budget for everything we want. And it's natural that we want, it's completely natural to aspire to be in the ranks of similar theater houses in the surrounding area and beyond and to offer our audience the best possible," says Simić.
Rakočević says that he has never followed the theater less than in the past year.
"But I know that 'Anna Karenina' by Drama Studio Prazan was simply a blast at several major festivals. That's how our 'Iphigenia' (Corifej Theater) shined at several festivals in the region", Rakočević proudly points out, and sees the lack of continuity in the field of culture as one of the problems in the field of theater.
"Let's say, the Montenegrin Theater Biennial will take place if someone who is currently running the national theater can do it. If he doesn't care, no one will even bother with the issue. Then they'll go for something new and create a biennial, but that biennial will essentially not take the shows created in the last two years, but let's say five, but they will keep the name 'biennial'. The same applies, for example, to the scene in the atrium "Buća" in Tivat. You've had an important festival for ten years, and then they were a bit embarrassed to accuse the theater staff of devastation and to shut it down, then they were embarrassed to move it all to the market, so now I guess not anymore. The same applies to the new building of the City Theater Podgorica. However, the government, which has the habit of censoring performances (and its own), fundamentally does not understand the essence of culture, and perhaps it is good that the anticipation of that building remains in the Beckettian genre. The independent scene is so suppressed that it essentially does not exist, there are only individuals who do something guerilla and that's it," sums up the theater director from Kolašin and the artistic director of the international festival of alternative theater Korifej.
The symbolism of the City Theater building
Mentioning the long-awaited and still unexpected building of the City Theater Podgorica, the stage "Buća" in Tivat that almost did not disappear, along with the fact that many cities in the country do not have adequate theater stages, raises the question of a complete theater infrastructure, both in Podgorica and in smaller areas. Jelena Simić, as Gradski's actress, says that it would be high time "for those in charge and responsible for what is happening with our building to stand in front of her and in front of us and explain to us".
"We are the theater of the capital Podgorica. You can easily find information on how many premieres, performances, guest appearances, festivals, awards we have had and provided to our city and country. We are proud of that, and we work in absolute bad conditions, we wait, we create, we wait, we believe, and now I don't know anything or anyone anymore. I wonder if the authorities and those responsible are ashamed and what they will do about the fact that who knows how many more years will pass before we enter the building, and even if we do enter, in what condition will it be handed over to us and will it ever be done at all happen, given the information that it is highly questionable whether any mistakes made in the construction can even be corrected. Who is responsible?" asks Simić and adds:
"The same question applies to what is happening to the Montenegrin National Theater (CNP), did anyone in charge come out and declare themselves, say how, why and who procedure for connecting a private building to a substation decided to carry out by demolishing the courtyard, staircase and foundations of the national theater without any expert assessment, caution and supervision? Kudos to my colleagues for coming out and reacting as much as they could. Kudos to those whose duty it was to react, but they didn't, and that takes a lot of... talent," says Simić.
"The fact is that the vast majority of work on that building has been completed, and the reasons for the delay in moving in are not my responsibility, but the Agency for Construction and Development of Podgorica and the institutions that did it. In any case, I am sure that this building and this theater will serve the citizens, the city and the country with pride. It is being waited for, and what is being waited for is worth waiting for. Of course, the value is not made by the buildings themselves, but the essence of the people who work there and the repertoire that is played. It should be borne in mind that the construction of a new theater is the cultural and civilizational pride of every country, so the building of the City Theater should be viewed in that context," he said on that occasion.
Despite this long wait for one building, Rakočević believes that there should be more professional theaters...
"I have more hope than expectations that a few more professional theaters will open in Montenegro. But that also requires awareness, because it's not like opening a street, a park or some facility. That requires a huge human understanding of our needs and the provision of endless freedom to the creators, and I think we're a little bit short on both of those fronts," says the director.
The fight for equality, artists should be supported
Simić emphasizes that the struggle of cultural and artistic creators for their labor rights was also relevant in the previous days, so he points out that this also speaks volumes about how they welcome this year's World Theater Day, which is usually an occasion to celebrate theater, summarize work, but also point to bad practice. Particular dissatisfaction was caused by the Branch collective agreement for the field of culture, which was adopted by the Government of Montenegro at the proposal of the line ministry, and based on which the wages of employees in the field of culture will be increased by about 25 percent, but not for all. Creators, artists get about 3,5 percent, unlike the others.
"The attitude of managers and decision-makers towards the theater and theater workers is, to put it mildly, bad. We will choose to point out clearly and loudly what this treatment of culture and artistic creativity leads to and to change it. "They probably think that artists enjoy who knows what benefits and supplements to their basic salary, and they don't know that we have been waiting for years for the categorization that was prescribed and guaranteed by the previous GKU", says Simić.
She reminds that there is no salary supplement for completed master's and doctoral studies, but also that there are few artists who have temporary or permanent employment at all, and that the majority of colleagues are engaged exclusively on a project basis, without seniority, regular salary or the opportunity to play in continuity. Rakočević is also among those who are not engaged in work.
"As unemployed, I do not belong to workers in culture. I didn't get the hang of it. Basically, I support my colleagues to persist in the fight for their rights, because those rights are a fight for equality. The actor and the other collaborators around him, the director, the playwright and others are, above all, the first line of battle. Forwarded department. You should always support the artist, even when it comes to salary, and censorship, and a bad contract, and a small fee, regardless of all other circumstances... And can a theater artist make a decent living in Montenegro from his work - it can be great, if he manages if he knows people," he says.
Simić adds that the entire attitude towards cultural and artistic creation is the result of the fact that as a society "we are drowning in political, national, religious and other numerous divisions".
"Less black chronicles and politics, more cultural events available to everyone, love and understanding, so we will live in a better society," she is clear.
The prices are affordable, and the circumstances are discouraging
In society, there is an audience that is a consumer of content, but also one of the main factors for which plays are created. It is of crucial importance to have an audience, says Rakočević, and although the halls are often full, the situation is not always encouraging.
Recently, the data of the research on media literacy among parents and children in Montenegro, which was carried out by DeFacto Consultancy for the Agency for Electronic Media of Montenegro, in cooperation with the OSCE Mission in Montenegro, was presented on a sample of 1.050 parents and 655 children. Part of the research also concerned the theater, and the result shows that more than 60 percent (62,7) of parents of children between the ages of 4 and 17 never went to the theater during the past year. Among the respondents, 14,5 percent visited the theater only once in the past 12 months, 11,6 percent visited the theater two or three times, and 11,2 percent more than three times.
Such results are surprising for Rakočević, who considers them optimistic.
"It is crucial to have a theater audience. Just as it is crucial to have a healthy civil society, which Montenegro, unfortunately, does not have. However, as the social elites have enjoyed the fruits of maintaining our non-citizen non-society at the bottom of the ladder of development and awareness for the last 30 years, as they failed to build healthy foundations, because they did not even need them to produce capital, so the theater also failed to build better standards . Certainly, I think that the theater was even the best for us in relation to society and that there were also bright examples, but without a foundation in general healing, it cannot be done anymore, and hence this great unstoppable decadence. So the figure of 60 percent surprises me, I have a subjective feeling that it is about 90. In the north it is certainly 95", he says.
Simić believes that people's desire to go to the theater is not in question and he finds the problem deeper in the system, reminding of the generally poor standard of living.
"The question is what the life of parents of children of that age (4-17 years) entails. They often work two jobs to provide for the family, so at the end of the day they probably choose whether to spend that hour and a half with their child or go to the theater/cinema/exhibition/concert. Will they pay for themselves 2-3 tickets per month for cultural events or a language, art or training course for their child... Let's keep in mind that the overall state of society affects these results... Bearing in mind how many people participate in the preparation and performance of the play we have to admit that tickets in the amount of three to ten euros are not expensive, but they are the minimum of the minimum. Compare them with ticket prices in the region, not to mention Europe and the world," she says.
Simić adds that the auditorium at the "Budo Tomović" Cultural and Information Center, where Gradsko plays its plays, is almost always full, but she is aware that the audience consists mostly of the same people, and the audience needs to be expanded and attracted.
"I would like a stage for young people - teenagers in my theater. They are completely neglected, as a society we do not respect their needs and that sensitive period of life. We don't nurture them, we just judge them for what they are and what kind of people they grow up to be, as if everything they live in isn't responsible for that. I think that the theater can help a lot in this sense, to enable young people to learn that all feelings are fine, you just need to know what and how to deal with them, to include them and give them the opportunity to express themselves in healthy circumstances", emphasizes the actress.
More courage and awareness
Zoran Rakočević has a clear message: "Since we are being eaten up by snobbery as a trend, then I recommend as much good literature as possible, and quality nonsense", while Jelena Simić wishes the Montenegrin theater scene "more courage, more awareness of what is most important at this moment, just like us that we do and to those who come to watch".
Usual repertoire in several cities, performances and conversation
Although several events have been announced to mark the World Theater Day, it is noticeable that the repertoire at the national level is not so rich, but not much different from the usual one.
At CNP, on the Studio Stage at 20 p.m., the play "Policemen" based on the work of Slavomir Mrožek and directed by Aleksandar Jovanović will be performed, and before that, actress Tihana Ćulafić will read a message from Egyptian actress Samiha Ayoub.
The repertoire of the City Theater includes the award-winning play "Without a Portfolio", directed by Branislav Mićunović, based on the text by Stevan Koprivica, and performed at the "Budo Tomović" KIC at 20 p.m.
On this occasion, the Royal Zetski Dom Theater announced the play "The President", which she directed Radmila Vojvodić according to the text Werner Schwab, and the program is at 20 p.m.
In the large hall of the JU Center for Culture "Vojislav Bulatović Strunjo", the Bjelopolska Theater will perform the play "Blacksmiths" at 20 p.m., which according to the text Miloš Nikolić directed Petar Novakovic.
The conversation on the topic "Theatre Today" will be held in the Podgorica Bookstore in Slobode Street, tonight at 19 p.m., on the occasion of World Theater Day. Speaking at the event will be: Stefan Bošković, Mišo Obradović i Tijana Todorovic.
In the Nikšić Theater, the performance of the play "People's Representative", which they planned to mark the theater holiday, was postponed. From that institution, they state that the play was canceled for justified reasons and that the refund of the purchased tickets is possible today from 20:XNUMX a.m. to XNUMX:XNUMX p.m., at the ticket office.
By the light of art vs
ignorance and extremism
An invitation to colleagues to stand together and shout at the top of their voices, in order not to awaken the conscience of the whole world, as they do on the stage, was sent by the Egyptian actress Samiha Ayoub, who this year signs the traditional message that for World Theater Day, at the request of the International Theater Institute every written by prominent theater artists. "To all my friends, theater artists from all over the world, I am addressing you today, but not only to say something, or to celebrate the father of all arts, 'theatre', on his world day... Instead, I invite you all to stop together, hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder, to shout at the top of our voices, as we are used to on the stages of our theaters, and let our words come out and awaken the conscience of the whole world, searching for the lost essence of humanity. A free, tolerant, kind, sympathetic, gentle and accessible man, able to reject this vile image of brutality, racism, bloody conflicts, single-mindedness and extremism", Ayoub said.
She reminded that one enters the theater stage "with only one life", but which has the ability to be shared and reproduced "turning into many other lives that we perform in front of the world". "I am not exaggerating when I say that what we do on stage is the act of life itself and its creation from nothingness, like an ember that sparkles in the darkness, illuminating the darkness of the night and warming its cold... We are the ones who use the light of art to oppose the darkness of ignorance and extremism," the Egyptian actress wrote, among other things. In her career, Ayoub has about 170 theater performances, she has made a significant contribution to film and television, and is the winner of numerous important awards.
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