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Spotlight Croatia: New Voices in Croatian Drama Highlighting the first-ever playwrighting exchange between Croatia, and the United States, this evening will showcase the work of young Croatian dramatists Ivana Sajko and Tena Štivi?i?, featuring a brief presentation of contemporary theatre from Croatia, and excerpts from both author’s plays in both Croatian and English, followed by a discussion with the participants in this exchange. The event is hosted by the organizers of this international initiative, Ivan Talijancic from WaxFactory (USA) and Jasen Boko (Croatia). WaxFactory’s USA/Croatia playwriting exchange is supported by FACE Croatia foundation (New York); the New York State Council on the Arts; Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia; Department of Education, Culture and Sport – City of Zagreb (Croatia); ZKM / Zagreb Youth Theatre (Croatia); Doors Art Foundation (New York); and the Consulate General of the Republic of Croatia in New York. Tena Stivicic - Information here Ivana Sajko Ivana Sajko was born in 1975 in Zagreb, Croatia. She graduated dramaturgy from the Academy of Drama Arts and took a master's degree in literature from the Faculty of Philosophy, Zagreb. Apart from being an obsessive writer, also a dramaturge, director, performer, theatre theoretician and author of radio broadcasts and multi-media projects she won several prizes for drama literature. Her plays are translated into English, German, French, Spanish and Italian and staged in theatres and radio broadcasted throughout the world. She performs her plays through musical form of ”auto referential reading” in which she explores the problems of drama writing and performing. Sajko's interdisciplinary approaches brings her close to the contemporary performing arts and that has strong influence on her playwriting. Those experiences are visible on structural levels of her plays, where she can easily transform a long introspective monologue into rap chorus, or almost sentimental dialogue into filmic parade of unknown lost characters. Her last plays were commissioned by Steirischer Herbst Graz, Austria (Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose, 2008) and Stadttheater Bern, Switzeland (Scenes with Apple, 2009). She recently directed and performed her play Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose with the improv rock band. Her books include collection of plays Executed Faces (2001), trilogy of monologues Woman-bomb (2004), novel Rio bar (2005) for which she won national award, theory book Towards the Madness (and Revolution) (2006) and the novel History of my family since 1941 until 1941, and after (2009). Her other co-operations in publishing projects include the artists from different fields: American composer David Simons (CD Mass for election day silence, 2004), opera singer Dunja Vejzovic (Documenta, 2003), visual artists such as G. Petercol (Working monograph, 2002; Unplugged 2007, Landscapes 2009) and G. Trbuljak (the Venetian Biennale 2005). She is member of the editorial board of the theatre journal Frakcija and the literary journal Tema. Edited and presented the first broadcast about contemporary theatre V-efekt on the Croatian Television (HTV). Co-founded the theatre group BAD co. Visiting lecturer at the Academy of Drama Arts, Zagreb. Ivan Talijancic Ivan Talijancic is a multidisciplinary artist: director, choreographer, visual and graphic designer, video- and film-maker. As a co-founder and artistic co-director of WaxFactory, he directed LULU, QUARTET V2.0, and a site specific installation/the performance LADYFROMTHESEA, staged in thirteen interconnected indoor and outdoor locations (Old American Can Factory in Brooklyn, New York,) and praised by Ballet-Tanz International’s worldwide critics survey as one of “most innovative productions in 2001.” Ivan also directed Sarah Kane's CLEANSED at Exodos Festival, and …SHE SAID based on the work of Marguerite Duras, which premiered in 2005 in co-production with Cankarjev dom center for the the performing arts in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and was subsequently presented at the ICA/Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, Act French festival in New York and FIT/International Theatre Festival in Caracas, Venezuela. Ivan has worked with Robert Wilson on HAMLET: A MONOLOGUE at the Alley Theatre in Houston and on PROMETEO La Monnaie Royal Opera House in Brussels, Belgium and with Julie Taymor (THE FLYING DUTCHMAN) at the Los Angeles Opera. He studied theater at the University of California, San Diego, and received his MFA in Directing from Columbia University. Most recently, Ivan staged X, a video-opera he created in collaboration with the composer Katharina Rosenberger, which premiered in August 2007 at the Zürcher Theaterspektakel in Zurich and performed at La Batie festival in Geneva, Switzerland, and MALFI, an adaptation of John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi in collaboration with Simona Semeni? at Mladinsko Theatre in Ljubljana, Slovenia (May 2008). In Fall 2008, he staged BLIND.NESS at Performance Space 122 – also presented in Ljubljana later that year in co-production with Cankarjev dom, and currently touring internationally. Most recently: QUARTET v4.0, as part of Performing Revolution festival (as featured in the current issue of American Theatre magazine). Upcoming projects: as a curator – X-YU Festival on new dance from Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia at Dixon Place (May 26-29, 2010); and a new as-yet-untitled project at the Japan Society (Spring 2011). . Jasen Boko Jasen Boko was born in Split, Croatia and graduated in Dramaturgy, Playwriting and Comparative Literature from the University of Belgrade. He is currently preparing his PhD at Zagreb University on subject of Drama and Theatre in Croatia during Transition Years. He worked at the Croatian National Theatre in Split as Dramaturge and at the Croatian daily newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija, as editor of the Arts and Culture section and theatre critic. He is currently freelance dramaturge, publicist and theatre critic, an Artistic Advisor of the several Croatian Theatres and Artistic Director/Selector of the International Theatre Festival in Rijeka, Croatia. He was for several years artistic advisor for international theatre festivals in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (MESS) and Ljubljana, Slovenia (Ex Ponto). In 1993/1994 he was Fulbright scholar in Playwriting and Screenwriting at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. During the last 15 years his plays for children and young audience, had over 30 stage and radio productions in Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and were awarded several times at different international festivals. Since 2000. he has been working as a part time professor at the University of Split, teaching Drama and Theatre in Education. He has published six books, The Theatre Class and Other Plays (1994), New Croatian Plays, Tin – Thirty Years of Travel, biography of famous Croatian poet Tin Ujevic (2005), Fifth side of the World, travel essays (2006), book of theatrical essays Writings from the theatre darkness (2007) and Following the Silk Road – in the traces of Marco Polo (2009). From 2005. Jasen Boko is a President of the International Playwrights Forum (part of International Theatre Institute, UNESCO), member of The Croatian Guild of Drama Artists and The International Federation of Journalists. He lives in Split, Croatia. In 1993/1994 he was Fulbright scholar in Playwriting and Screenwriting at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. During the last 15 years his plays for children and young audience, had over 30 stage and radio productions in Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and were awarded several times at different international festivals. Since 2000. he has been working as a part time professor at the University of Split, teaching Drama and Theatre in Education. He has published six books, The Theatre Class and Other Plays (1994), New Croatian Plays, Tin – Thirty Years of Travel, biography of famous Croatian poet Tin Ujevic (2005), Fifth Side of the World, travel essays (2006), book of theatrical essays Writings from the Theatre Darkness (2007) and Following the Silk Road – in the Traces of Marco Polo (2009). From 2005. Jasen Boko is a President of the International Playwrights Forum (part of International Theatre Institute, UNESCO), member of The Croatian Guild of Drama Artists and The International Federation of Journalists. He lives in Split, Croatia. 6:30 p.m., Thursday, May 13, 2010 Martin E. Segal Theatre. Free! |