Fifth day of the 29 th International Children's Theater Festival Subotica

Dimitar Stefanov: If there is a higher power, its name is love

On Thursday, September 22, the fifth day of the Subotica International Children's Theater Festival, three plays were performed in the Competition Program: "Up and Down Story" by the Koom-Koom Theater from Israel, "Paper Stories" by the Theater Corsair Foundation from Bulgaria" and "Princess Rose and the Enchanted Eagle" by Tik Tak Nto Theater Company from Greece.

The play "Up and Down Story" was performed on the "Jadran" Stage of the National Theatre. The plot follows a boy who lives on top of a skyscraper, who dreams of reaching the stars, but everyday life, always busy parents, boring teachers and naughty peers constantly discourage him. The play asks the question - will he ever succeed in making his dream come true?

Andrei Urbakh, the director and actor in the play, said about his attitude towards this work: "This play is very personal for me, perhaps the most personal that we have in our theater. It talks about the relationship between the child and the world, his desires and the way the world sees that child. It is often very different. The play is partly a story about my childhood, and now that I am a parent I have children and it is important to me to remember that period of my life".

The play "Paper Stories" was performed at the Children's Theater in Subotica. This speechless performance, by combining various types of paper, creates new worlds and their characters. The story consists of several units that follow human history from the beginning to a certain end, starting with the biblical Genesis and ending with a modern fairy tale about a small man in a big world.

Director Dimitar Stefanov said about the creation of the play: "In the beginning, we had no idea what the play would be like at the end. We wanted it to be non-verbal, to use paper in different ways. It is based on five different stories, starting with the beginning of the world. We wanted the audience to ask themselves at the end what kind of world they would like to live in. As artists, we believe that if there is a higher power, its name is love". Stefanov has been at the Festival in Subotica several times, and he has only good impressions: "I am coming with this theater and play for the first time, but as an actor I have come with different plays. This is a great festival and I love coming here, I love Serbia".

The play "Princess Rose and the Enchanted Eagle" was performed in the National Theater on the "Jadran" Stage. Princess Rose lives in an isolated tower where she is kept by the Queen, her evil sister. Every third day the eagle passes by her window. Princess Rose's relationship with the eagle grows day by day, until they fall in love, and then the princess learns that he is the enchanted prince.

Director Panagiotis Adam said about the selection of this play for the Festival: "We love fairy tales and fables. We decided to take story from the Greek tradition, which talks about nature, animals and respect for them. It is a topic that is close to everyone from our theater". Panagiotis Adam also referred to the significance of the event in Subotica: "I think the very idea of ​​the festival is great. Nowadays, people don't care so much about theater anymore, so this festival is very important, especially for children".

The publication "90 years of Youth Theatre" and the book "Stevan Pešić - Selected Dramatic Works" were presented at Hotel Patria. During the last two days of the Festival, Branka Rudman, a puppeteer from Zagreb, holds workshops on puppet theater and the use of different types of puppets in teaching in order informally educate teachers. As part of the film program, the animated film "Dragon Rider" was shown at the Eurocinema, and members of the "Larisa" dance studio presented themselves on City Square, while at 7 p.m. the Dutch troupe Moon Cabaret - Snowapple performed the cabaret "Mr. Moon", which gathers musicians, clowns, divas and puppeteers.

On the last day of the Festival, on Friday, September 23 at 10 a.m. on the "Jadran" Stage of the National Theater, will be performed the last play in the Competition Program of the Festival "A Little Match Girl" in the co-production of Novi Sad Youth Theater, the Festival of Ecological Theater for Children and Youth and the Association Freedom Has No Price.

The screening of the award-winning children's feature film "How I Learned to Fly" by our famous director Radivoj Raša Andrić, with Klara Hrvanović, Olga Odanović, Snježana Sinovčić and Žarko Laušević in the main roles, is scheduled for Friday at 11 a.m.

The closing ceremony of the Festival will take place at 19:00 at the Subotica Children's Theatre, with awards for the best achievements and performers of the 29 th edition of the Festival.

All programs at the International Children's Theater Festival are open to visitors and free of charge.