For almost 18 years, the Altteatar has gathered a large number of drama artists and activists. During its many years of activity, as part of the Association of Drama Artists Altteatar, more than 15 premiere performances were held, some of which are very well known to the Bosnian public. Representatives of the Association especially emphasize that they believe in the strength of young people, but that great responsibility is often transferred to them. Through their performances, they want to encourage critical thinking and a sense of hope, because young people need faith in a better and just society.
Slaven Vidak, president of the Association of Drama Artists Altteatar, says that at the end of his studies he talked with several of his colleagues about future professional development. He says that even then they realized that the institutions would not provide them with enough support to express themselves through culture and art, so they decided to establish the non-governmental organization Altteatar.
From their beginning until today, they have realized many plays throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina and beyond.
“Dame biraju” is a play that is especially known to the public in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and now we have a new play “Prah”. I would also like to point out the play “Hoćemo’l VIŠE?”, which is a result of a project that is currently relevant to us,” explains Slaven.
The play “Dame biraju” was created within a project dedicated to young people. The goal was to empower them, but also to ask young people what it means to leave and what to stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The play is about five young men who, when they find themselves in a hopeless situation with no money, decide to do striptease. Slaven believes that the key element of the play’s success is that it is optimistic, witty, and that authentic Bosnian humor is popular in the region.
“Our play “Dame biraju” surpassed the entire project, because in the beginning it was planned to be performed six times, and later 10 times. However, we are currently approaching the 300th performance“, Slaven proudly points out.
The play “Dame biraju”, Altteatar
The play “Hoćemo’l VIŠE?” was created within the project with the same title, which aims to inspire youth participation in society through dramatic art. The play is about young people in a small community, who want to make a change in order to have more culture in their lives.
“I especially want to point out that we have eight young actors in the play, who have just graduated from the Academy. The text for the play was created by visiting nine local communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, meeting with young people, who then gave us information about the specific problems they face. After the show, it was extremely interesting to see how they see themselves and their story in the audience“, explains Slaven.
In addition to plays for adults, Slaven points out that they have been doing plays for children for many years and that they have been dedicated to it for almost a decade. They had many successful plays such as “The Little Prince”, “The Little Match Girl”, as well as the play “Stories of the Old Tram” which talks about the history of Sarajevo.
Before the start of the pandemic, in cooperation with the Puppetry Studio in Sarajevo, they planned to renew children’s performances.
“Unfortunately, the Sarajevo Puppetry Studio is closing down these days, so they decided to donate all their puppets and scenography to the Bugojno Puppetry Festival. We will see how the situation unfolds, but we would like to return to children’s performances“, says Slaven.
The difficult position of drama artists in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Altteatar is one of the few organizations that has almost completely self-financed itself from playing plays and drama workshops. The pandemic caused difficulties in their work, because all cultural were stopped. Slaven says that if they did not have other projects that they were implementing, they would literally stop working, because they would not be able to continue due to financial difficulties.
The position of artists in Bosnia and Herzegovina is extremely difficult, and a large number of artists have left the country in the last two years or changed professions.
“We are currently working on a large project where we need a lot of associates, but there are fewer and fewer people we can cooperate with. There are really a lot of people who left and found some “safer waters” outside Bosnia and Herzegovina“, adds Slaven.
Slaven Vidak, President of Altteatar
He points out that a large number of artists, actors, writers, set designers and others have contributed to the development of the Altteater.
“It is sad that criminals are holding this country a hostage and they created problems that do not exist. That is how they diverted attention from what they are doing, so neither they nor we are dealing with the essential problems“, says Slaven.
The system in Bosnia and Herzegovina is designed to make young people passive bystanders
Jelena Soldo is the project coordinator at the Altteater and is currently coordinating the project “Hoćemo l’ VIŠE?”. The project is in a phase where they want to dedicate themselves to young people from local communities. She points out that it is crucial that citizens understand the importance of taking responsibility for building a better society.
“When I work with young people and see what potential they have, and how much energy, passion and perseverance they have, that is the moment when my faith in brighter future returns, to stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina and fight in this country,” Jelena said.
Jelena Soldo, project coordinator of Altteatar
She has been working with young people for 15 years and believes in their strength.
“But I also believe that we, as a society, transfer too much responsibility and guilt to young people, calling them apathetic and passive. I sometimes get angry at how much young people are considered to be passive, and we do not have an education system that makes them empowered and ready for the labor market. The system is designed to make young people passive bystanders, but also the citizens as a whole, and when the time comes to blame someone – then we usually blame young people sitting in cafes,” explains Jelena.
Congress of Artivista 2021, Altteatar
Jelena says that leaving Bosnia and Herzegovina can be good because then we face differences, from which we are often isolated in this country. When young people go beyond the borders of this country, they begin to question their identities, their beliefs and the ways they view the world and their role in the community.
“Whoever has the opportunity to leave this country – should leave. But not because this is the worst place in the world, but because the world is a beautiful place. If young people decide to return, I will be the first to support them“, says Jelena.
The primary focus of the Altteatar in the coming period are socially engaged performances, which aim at personal and collective development of young people. They plan to continue with drama workshops in local communities, but will also focus on socio-emotional learning, in order for young people to develop a healthier attitude towards themselves and others.
Mirnes Bakija, snagalokalnog.ba
