"Zvezdarište Theater", a festival of performances for children, is 20 years old, and the birthday celebration will begin on Friday, May 15, with a big carnival in front of the Vuk Cultural Institution in Belgrade
"Observatory" was initiated by the actress Olivera Viktorović, journalist Tanja Peternek Aleksić came up with its name and went down in history as the godmother of the festival, while Svetlana Velmar-Janković, Radmila Hrustanović, Željko Hubač, Nebojsa Romcevic…
Strong social engagement
One of them, Željko Hubač, tells "Vreme" that the group of people from Zvezdara who started this festival, "lacked everything except ambition and vision. The infrastructure of the Festival was based on the employees of the Municipality of Zvezdara, and as it developed, it became professionalized at all organizational levels, keeping enthusiasm and love for children as an important stronghold."
Hubač emphasizes that from the beginning, "Zvezdarište" was focused on "performances for children that were based on strong social engagement, i.e. the need to talk about all aspects of the contemporary challenges of growing up in an exciting and authorially impressive way, using stage language that will cause catharsis in the young viewer."
"That determination positioned this festival as an important regional festival, and the fact that the selectors paid equal attention to both dramatic and puppet expression made it extra specific in the festival offer on a broader level. Over the years, Zvezdarište has offered a significant number of quality performances for the often neglected teenage age, which we consider to be a certain contribution of the Festival to rethinking the repertory policy of children's theater in Serbia."
According to the selection of the selector Željko Hubač, the program of this year's jubilee festival will show 10 competitive and three revue performances. In the festival catalog, the selection is described as "a fine balance between stories about the ancient and the current in the most beautiful possible way, through play."
AI, climate change…
In the famous story about Ask and the wolf (Niš Puppet Theatre) storytelling faces a new challenge - artificial intelligence, and the miraculous power of language, freedom of imagination and authenticity is also dealt with by the unusual girl from the play I am Akiko. (of the City Theater Žar ptica from Zagreb).
Photo: PromoFrom the play "Akiko"
A performance Miracle (Pinocchio Puppet Theater, Belgrade) talks about how the foundations of love and security always bear good fruit, no matter how storms roar and rains fall.
A good part of the selection is dedicated to climate change. Giga (Giga makes the sea, Theater "Toša Jovanović" Zrenjanin) makes a refuge for himself and his friend by the sea, knowing that nature is always a good answer, as in the play Why don't they care? Pozoriste mladih, Sarajevo) in which ecology occupies a central place.
Knights, disease…
The play is about the old times in which the virtues of courage, self-sacrifice and solidarity were propagated The three musketeers (Theatre "Boško Buha", Belgrade). The heroine of the play The big world of little Zoe ("Pan Theater", Belgrade) meets his ancestors, those who are the bearers of wisdom from some old times and exciting family stories.
In the play The summer when I learned to fly (National Theater of Užice) are cathartic feelings, conflicts that need to be closed, but also illness. Another delicate performance The stars shine on the ceiling. (Malo pozorište "Duško Radović, Belgrade) talks about this topic, which is most often a taboo in creativity for children, and gives children the opportunity to face it indirectly.
Photo: PromoFrom the play "Star Shine on the Ceiling"
Review part of the program
In the review part of the program, baby show Dawn and Dream (Puppet Theater "Pinocchio" Belgrade), Laura makes clouds. (Mokoša, Belgrade), and Extinct objects (Cultural center Talas, Smederevo).
Photo: PromoFrom the play "Dawn and Dream"
The festival closes with a performance on May 20 Moon guest (Children's Theatre, Banja Luka) and, of course, awards. They are awarded by both expert and children's juries.
Admission to all shows is free.
Over the past twenty years, over 250 theater performances from Serbia and the region, from Italy, Hungary, Lithuania and China have been performed at the "Zvezdarište", and the members of the expert jury, workshop leaders and event moderators were the most eminent theater creators, actors, directors and playwrights. More than a hundred creative workshops, promotions, exhibitions, round tables, forums, meetings... were realized, and over 100.000 children and young people experienced the magic of the theater, with lots of emotions, friendships, applause, laughter...
All these years, Željko Hubač warned, the festival "regardless of numerous political turbulences, has always had exceptional support from the Municipality of Zvezdara, and I am of the opinion that the City and the Republic have not always properly understood its programmatic development and importance. I hope that will change in the future".
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