WAVE magazine researching the future of
the Serbian scene (1): who is teaching actors?
Arts
on the Market
All
academies of arts work for prestige and good reputation, because everything is
about business today, and the competition is very fierce. Numerous students are
happy and sad at the same time, because of the fact there are more artistic high
schools and because, allegedly, that offers them a bigger "spot under the
sun". The real actors rely upon their talent, quality and hard work, the
recommendation of their professors, casting partners and stars. Many ambitious
young people are founding their own bands after graduation. The worthy don't sit
at home, they are practicing their skills by appearing in ads or as TV speakers
and presenters, and usually being underevaluated for that
By NEVENA
SARCEVIC
from Belgrade, SERBIA
Acting
has always been an attractive profession, and being an actor brings popularity
as well as public and media attention. But the road to the scene is not easy at
all. There's a long period of work and self-sacrificing, closer to someone and
unreachable to the others. As we are talking about arts, without mathematical
precision, there are often discussions and fights about criteria, the quality
of work and the people. That's why WAVE magazine decided to present the academies
of arts in the first part of this big research. You will read about the way that
one should go on to become an actor. The facts say there is more than one university
in Serbia preparing the future artists: the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade
(FDU) and the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad are public ones. The private ones are:
the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade (ALU) and the Academy of Arts BK. And this
is how everything started...
The Lectures on the Academy of Theatre
Arts started on February 12, 1949. The first acting professors were Mata Milosevic
and Jozo Laurencic, their assistants - Miroslav Belovic, Stevo Žigon and Soja
Jovanovic, and the first professors of direction - Bojan Stupica and Dr. Hugo
Klajn. The first rector and dean of the Academy was Dušan Matic. The government
of Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia in 1950 brings the decision about merging
of Academy of Theatre Arts and High School for movie acting and directing into
Academy of Theatre Arts. In the beginning of the 60s, according to the orientation
of widening teaching programs - depending on media development, there are new
studying groups founded. In December 1962, Academy of Theatre Arts was changing
its name into Academy for theatre, film, radio and TV, and on 1973 it becomes
Faculty of Dramatic Arts, today popular FDU. The new students have just
come to Gordana Maric, second year is leaded by Dragan Petrovic Pele, third Vlada
Jevtovic, and fourth Biljana Mašic.
Academy of Arts, one of the
faculties of the University of Novi Sad, was founded in 1974. Its founder
is the Assembly of the SAP Vojvodina. The Academy of Arts consists of three departments:
Department of Music, Department of Fine Arts and Department of Drama. Professors
of acting are Djerdj Hernjak, Boris Isakovic, Gabriela Jonaš, Ivan Klemenc, Ljuboslav
Majera, Vida Ognjenovic... A high level of criteria in the entrance examinations
and mostly individual programming and teaching in the basic artistic disciplines
supervised by distinguished artists from home and abroad, ensure success in the
completion of the study programmes, very good advancement, a relatively short
duration of basic studies and high average grades. Artistic projects are a significant
area of Academy's activities.
Almost half-century after the first artistic
high school in Serbia was founded, someone came up to idea that state is not the
only one to "produce" new actors, so along came private faculties and
universities that brought competition to the market. All the academies of arts
work for prestige and good reputation, because everything is business today, and
the competition is very hard. Numerous students are happy and sad at the same
time, because of the fact there are more artistic high schools and because, allegedly,
that offers them more "place under the sun". As they claim to be, on
the Faculty of Dramatic Arts (FDU) it's hard to come without good connections,
well-known people or at least some luck, and for the private school you have to
have enough money which means being strong to work and study or having rich parents.
Academy
of Fine Arts in Belgrade (ALU) was founded on May 28, 1997. In ten years of
work, from the classes of Petar Zec, Ivan Bekjarev, Olivera Ježina and others,
came up many young artists that already work in theatres and movies, and some
final graduaton plays have come to be played regularly in professional theatres
in Belgrade. Studies of acting in ALU are traditionally characterized with dedication
to every student, modern teaching programmes and eminent professors. Chief of
the classes are Nebojsa Bradic, Svetlana Ceca Bojkovic, Anja Suša... Students
that we were talking to, expressed the most satisfaction with the lectures of
acting, acrobatics and scene play, and they don't think scene move is well done.
Professional directors are very usually guests on the exams (final plays) in this
academy and they are sometimes positively surprised with the young actors.
Academy of Arts BK in Belgrade is one more private school, founded
with the aim to keep updated with modern arts, needs and challenges that brings
nowadays, characterized with media and creative multidisciplinarity. This academy
is successfully teaching new artists for more then ten years. According to elitistic
artistic academies around the world, Academy of Arts BK offers to its students
maximum to express their abilities and talent, as well as developing their personal
initiatives to realize different artistic tasks. These are just some of the reasons
that enabled to BK students to work during their studies, to play in respectable
theatres, shoot radio-dramas, movies and TV shows, to have their screenplays on
the professional scenes or to have their paintings exhibited in the most famous
galleries. The professors' squad at the moment is: Mirjana Karanovic, Predrag
Ejdus, Ivan Bekjarev, Nebojša Dugalic. And earlier there were numerous big names,
like Petar Banicevic, Zoja Begoli, Biserka Cvejic, Branislav Ciga Jerinic, Petar
Kralj, Rade Markovic...
Finally, the success and luck of one person always
depend only on his/her way to fight on the road to the professional actor. For
lazy and not-talented there is no academy with the miracle, and also sponsors
for new projects will not be of any help because the reality is always coming
at the end. The real actor rely upon his talent, quality and intensive work on
himself, recommendation of his professors, castings and stars. There are many
people expecting that Pink Company and its owner Zeljko Mitrovic will take care
of the young newcomers of the scene and he will employ them in his series and
movies production.
Many ambitious young people are setting up their own
bands after graduation. That's the way that Branko Milicevic, known as Kockica,
started his career, and founded Puz theatre. The worthy don't sit at home, they
are practicing their skills by appearing in ads or as TV speakers and presenters,
and usually being underevaluated for that. A naughty way to support the ambitious
young people. Then it's very important for actors to fight for the attitudes and
defend their actions.
One of the most important questions is - how much
the general managers of theatres in Serbia work with young actors? By always choosing
the same actor through many and many plays, they send us the message that could
be read like: this is my actor for all my plays! It's similar with the movies.
The audience understands very well that someone is obviously talented, but it's
hard to believe he is the only one. There are many boring faces, although some
of them have already become legendary.
Actuality is very important in
the arts, not only in journalism. Following the wish to get known with the work
of young actors, students of final years of theatrical academies from Belgrade
and Novi Sad, The National Theatre from Belgrade did a project named Open Door.
From July 2 to 9, on the Raša Plaovic scene, the most interesting students plays
of Serbian academies had an opportunity to be presented to public, so it can see
the future of Serbian scenes. To the best of them, National Theatre will offer
a place in its team for the forthcoming season.
(Published:
10.07.2008.)
