Bitef

MAJA PELEVIC, playwright Born in Beigrade in 1981, Maja graduated Dramaturgy from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Beigrade in 2005. She is nowdoing her PhD studies of'The Theory of Art and thè Media' at thè interdisciplinary studies ofthe University of Arts in Beigrade. In July and August 2005 Maja took part in the Royal Court International Residency atthe Royal Court Theatre in London with her drama The Orange Skin (Pomorandzina kora) which saw its public reading atthe Royal Court Theatre and was later published in the Anthology of Contemporary Serbian Drama 1995-2005 - Premortal Youth. Maja is a member of the NADA project (New Drama) for development of Contemporary dramatic text and one ofthe founders ofthe Web site dedicated to Contemporary Serbian drama promotion www.nova-drama.org. Since October 2005 Maja has been a member ofthe Editorial Team ofthe "Scena" magazine for theatre. She has received the"Borislav Mihajlovic Mih¡z"Award for her dramatic works and the"Slobodan Selenic"Award forthe Best Graduation Drama. Her dramas have been translated in English, French and German. Staged dramas ESCape - Bitef Art Café, directed by Jelena Bogavac, 2004. LER-The National Theatre, kazaliste Népszínház Subotica, directed by Sladjana Kilibarda, 2005;The National Theatre Mostar, Studio 64, as graduation play of Unversity "Dzemal Bijedic" Department of Drama - Acting, directed by Milos Lazin, 2006. FakePorno (in collaboration with M. Bogavac, J. Bogavac and F. Vujosevic) directed by Jelena Bogavac, BITEF 39, Bitef Art Cafe 2005. Be a Lady for a Day- drama inspirad by thè life story of Billie Hoiiday, directed by Ksenija Krnajski, BITEF 39, BitefTeatar2oos. Belgrade-Berlin - Zvezdara Theatre, directed by Ksenija Krnajski 2005. Belgrade-Berlin -VolksbuehneTheatre, Berlin, directed by Predrag Kalaba 2005. Operation Emotional Verbalization -WestYorkshire Playhouse (England, Lids), May 2004 at the 'Northern Exposure' Festival (SUMMERSHORTS), directed by Svetlana Dimcovic; Operation Emotional Verbalization - radio drama premiered on Radio Belgrade, in March 2004 directed by Iva Milosevic The Orange Skin - Atelier 212 Theatre, directed by Goran Markovic, April 2006. THE FOURTH WALL OF SILENCE Is there any segment in our Contemporary media oriented society in which a human is truly free? And has the so often used word"freedom"changed or lost its meaning, stepping from 20th into 21 st Century? That was my metaphysical starting point for writing Me or Somebody Else. A subject walking from one picture into thè other, from play to play, in search of identity. In this network of media constructions, it always finds itself between two realities - its own and somebody else's, intimate and public, constructing itself or somebody eise. An intimate starting point for writing the drama I discovered ¡n that part of myself which still resiststhesaid influence- in my fears. I am afraid ofthe unknown. I am afraid of losing control. I am afraid of confined spaces and closeness. I am afraid of myself without masks imposed upon me by Contemporary society, which often make me feel so powerful. I am afraid i could lose that power which vanishes with Isolation. The story of an Austrian girl who had been held captive by her kidnapper for eight years set all these questions in motion, but in a subjective way. Trying to avoid getting too attached to somebody else's biography, I turned to mine.That is where I found a form in which 1 can express my story about somebody else's experience - a poem. The first hand ofthe drama is my bailad about Contemporary society. The world ¡n which we can no longer clearly differentiate between right and wrong, who is the culpritand who is not, who is the kidnapper and who is the victim. In this world we often wonder where the boundaries offreedom are and if it really ceases to exist in thè confinement of four walls. Or our imprisonment is even greater in thè open, in the space where advertisements and billboards rule, where possibilities grow with every step we make? Only ¡n ¡solation we are able to comprehend to which extent we have lost thè connection with our seif. While I was writing I decided to go into ¡solation from the outside world for two days. All 1 could do was write. When l"returned"to"reality", 1 was surprised atthe reading I found before me. The first thought in my mind was:"ls it possible that this is me... and this and this... as if it had been somebody else". And it is horrible when Branko Miljkovic says:"The future is not what is coming, a lot of it will only be repeated."When society imposes a certain kind of behaviour upon you, a certain kind of worldview, everything becomes a construction. And the construction is the one that makes our lives resemble simuiations. This story was born spontaneously and as a result it took on this form it has now. Director Kokan Mladenovic told me he had an idea. The ¡dea was a story about the kidnapped Austrian girl. And when we talk about freedom -he gave me full freedom to do with thè story wh ate ver I wanted.The important thing was that our recipes for perception of Contemporary society coincided anda drama, or something eise, was born.

Maja PELEVIC