After six days during which six sold-out performances of the great director's plays were held Jagoš Marković, four interesting panels and a round table, last night the curtain was lowered on the first edition of the International Festival of Directing "Jagoš Marković" with the performance of the play "The Wizard of Oz", in front of a full audience in the large hall of the KIC "Budo Tomović", accompanied by children's laughter and thunderous applause.
The director of the City Theatre Public Institution expressed satisfaction with the way the entire festival went. Sandra Vujović.
"Almost every night, many more tickets were requested than were available, which tells us that the festival was more than successful and that the Podgorica audience is really crying out for quality content. This festival is not just a review and not just a tribute to Jagoš Marković and a retrospective of his work, but it is also a giving of new life to that great director so that we can save him from oblivion, to continue to hang out with him at least in this way, to be good hosts like he himself was in his private life, so that Podgorica becomes a new gathering place for the profession and, above all, a place where the audience will be able to enjoy the highest quality and best performances and directorial performances from the international scene continuously throughout the festival," said the director.
Although the first edition has just been completed, the City Theatre is already announcing the second International Theatre Directing Festival "Jagoš Marković", which will be competitive. Former selector of Sterijino pozorje and permanent theatre critic of the daily newspaper Politika Ana Tasić will be selector at the second International Theatre Directing Festival "Jagoš Marković" in December of the following year.
"The establishment of the international theatre festival of direction 'Jagoš Marković' in Podgorica is important because it establishes a special space for the affirmation of theatre direction, which, although perhaps the most important element in contemporary theatre, has not yet had a specially designed festival that would map the paths and achievements of theatre direction. In connection with this previous deficiency, the festival has the opportunity to gather significant directorial poetics in one place, positioning Podgorica as a theatre centre, first in the regional, and then perhaps in the wider cultural space. Of course, this positioning is a process, it cannot happen overnight, it requires continuity, perseverance and patience, but the first step has been taken, the foundations have been laid.
The festival program will follow the path of Jagoš Marković's directorial vision in terms of searching for creators who go beyond the expected, school, mortuary theater, for poetics that have stage authenticity, which stand out for their distinctive expression, effective encounters, magical combinations of words, visual and musical poetry. It will also strive to follow his path in terms of exceptional communication with the audience, dedicated acting work, as well as strong emotionality, sensuality of the play, which significantly characterized Marković's work in the theater. These are my guiding ideas that will certainly not be easy to achieve, but we will embark on this path with great dedication and principle," Tasić said.
The first edition of the "Jagoš Marković" festival symbolically ended last night with the City Theater's production of "The Wizard of Oz". The exceptional acting of the entire ensemble, accompanied by imaginative set design, lavish costumes and special effects, brought the story of Dorothy and her friends from Oz to life in Podgorica.
The following played in the play: Kristina Obradovic, Jelena Simic, Dejan Djonovic, Bozidar Zuber, Sanja Popovic, Milos Pejovic, Vukan Pejovic i Filip ĐuretićThe text is based on the cult novel L. Frank Baum, wrote Aleksandra Glowacki, and directed by Jagoš Marković, who with this play showed his directorial virtuosity when it comes to children's theater.
Numerous children enjoyed every moment of the performance, and showed their enthusiasm with thunderous applause at the very end.
This performance of "The Wizard of Oz" was particularly emotional for actress Kristina Obradović, who excelled in the role of Dorothy.
"Tonight I played The Wizard of Oz with special emotion for many reasons, and one of the most important is that together with my team from the play, I intimately decided that the time has come for a generational change and that I should leave the silver shoes for walking on the yellow brick road to a new, younger Dorothy. Plays stop being played without us having any major influence on such decisions by the management, but this is Jagoš's play and unfortunately there is no longer any possibility for a completely new flight. I did not just leave a play, but I will be in the auditorium with immense pleasure, happiness and emotion to watch a new Dorothy," said Obradović.
Obradović also recalled the special collaboration she had with director Jagoš Marković.
"It's an incomparable joy. Even when it was difficult or when we were at a dead end, it caused such a need to find a way out of a seemingly hopeless situation, but even then that joy of creation did not diminish," said the actress.
Actress Jelena Simić also shared her memories of working with Marković.
"We did The Wizard of Oz 11 years ago, and I've been working at the City Theatre for exactly that long. It was my second play with Jagoš, after the play Lucrezia or The Devourer, and I can freely say that as much as my professor at the Academy taught me about acting, Jagoš taught me what it looks like in a theatrical process. Every process that I went through without him was somehow different for me, because I understood very well his suggestions, his energy and his unique way of conveying to us the essence of our task. I remember working with him, because it was always easy with him. Everything you saw in The Wizard of Oz is very challenging for the play, but understanding what Jagoš is asking of us was really easy," said Simić.
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