Two friends, Maša and Milica, after a long break in their friendship, decide to meet every Wednesday over coffee (beer) to share the burden that has been hanging over their heads and shoulders for years...
This is how the play "Safra" by young Montenegrin actresses was announced Milice Šćepanović i Marija Maša Labudović which will premiere tonight in Podgorica, in the hall of the Dodest Cultural and Information Center "Budo Tomović", at 20 p.m.
The piece was created based on the motifs of the text "The Important Half" by Croatian writers Beatrice Kurbel i Mirne Rustemović, adapted and directed by Šćepanović and Labudović, while he writes the music Irena Popović Dragović. In the description of the play, it is revealed that the audience will find a touching story about friendship, love, career, childhood and motherhood, which in an ironic and satirical way points to all the problems of the society in which the heroines grew up.
The story of friendship was born out of friendship, points out Šćepanović announcing the premiere of "News", so through song, joke, tears and honesty, two actresses share with the audience their confessions and experiences that are close to them.
"Maša and I adapted the text of Beatrice Kurbel and Mirna Rustemović, and we kept maybe ten percent of the original text, while everything else is our own. We have been friends for many years, we have some common interests, we have intimate conversations, and we lived together, so from our internal topics and things that touch and trouble us, we started this whole story, which we called 'Safra,'" explains Šćepanović.
She points out that the play corresponds well with the latest events that are shaking the region, but also that the story is constantly current, and that different generations can be found in it.
"First of all, this is a comical way to defend ourselves from things that have surrounded us and the sea as a generation for years. We believe that this piece is intended for our generations, those younger than us, but also for our parents' generations. The performance is made up of several excerpts, and we believe that at least one person from the audience will be found in each of them, which is actually the goal," points out Šćepanović.
She adds that the audience in the intimate and warm atmosphere of the Dodest hall can expect a whirlwind of emotions, serious topics, but primarily humor and openness as the main assets of these actresses and something the importance of which they especially want to point out.
"The audience can expect tears and laughter, and hopefully some kind of catharsis after watching the play, after which everyone will think about the things that surround us, with the conclusion that everything should be discussed. Recently, we are witnessing precisely that the lack of conversation, in a closed functioning system such as ours, but also within ourselves, leads to nothing but collapse, both socially and psychologically", says Šćepanović and adds:
"And as for the ironic and satirical way of telling, I can say that I myself grew up in an environment where we faced various things with laughter and humor, which, in my opinion, is one of the healthy ways for everyone. "I'm currently reading a book that says that joking is a neglected form of treatment, and I agree with that," says the actress.
She says that they deal with difficult topics quite transparently, she reveals that the story brings autobiographical elements as well as true stories of people close to them.
"There are a lot of autobiographical elements in the play, but also the stories of our friends, family and close people. We wanted to touch on some confessions that many of us hear on a daily basis. There are also things that truly move and motivate us. As Maša once said: 'Courage lies in coming forward with an attitude and sometimes bringing some things to light without any inhibitions'. That's why I think that this kind of process and projects like this are necessary for us today", says Šćepanović.
She points out that during the performance she enjoys the work and that this play, as an actress, brings her great joy, which she considers the point of the play. The interview for "Vijesti" concludes with the desire to work on more theater projects like this with colleague Marija Maša Labudović.
"I hope that we will do plays together that will break barriers, and at the same time I want to encourage all actresses to come forward... We are used to men being funny, free and open on stage, and with this play, the two of us are showing that women can be too such, that they are and can be brave, their own and unique, so whoever recognizes - recognizes", she says with the message:
"Just bold and transparent, with taste and measure in everything, but also original, with your own stamp on everything, so that things would be as good as possible".
In the hope that after the performance we will all hug each other a little tighter
The play "Safra" is also their master's thesis at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, in the class of Professor Marija Milenković, who was their mentor, and it brought joy and enjoyment to both of them.
"While we were creating, we gave each other space to be free in creation, to propose and work. We created the text in the apartment, in the park, while walking, training, riding bicycles. I will quote Maša and repeat her words: 'This work must take hold of you. You must be absorbed by the topic you are dealing with in order for it to be successful,'" says Šćepanović and adds:
"I think that this is what drove us during the previous four months and I believe that this is the only way to achieve successful results and performances: with constant thinking, research, talking to people, and sharing opinions for the sake of a quality result. We hope that the audience will recognize our sincerity, our humor, openness, courage, vulnerability, but also the idea and the theme, and that after the performance we will all hug each other a little tighter", wishes Šćepanović.
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