The Faculty of Dramatic Arts (FDU) is a leading academic institution of higher education in theater, film, radio and television in Serbia. With its long tradition of productive creativity, quality study programs, eminent professors and exceptional study conditions. The Faculty of Dramatic Arts is financed by the government of Serbia. Faculty of Dramatic Arts is part of The University of Arts in Belgrade which was founded in 1957. University of Arts in Belgrade is an association of four art faculties: the Faculty of Music, the Faculty of Fine Arts, the Faculty of Applied Arts and the Faculty of Dramatic Arts.
The Faculty of dramatic arts has nine graduate studies and ten master studies. The Faculty also organizes PhD studies. During seven decades, FDU became recognizable, authentic, credible educational institution and achieved reputation of the most distinguished art school in the region. Since it’s first days until the present times, FDU’s departments, successfully participated in the competitive and complex arts, cultural and media landscape, innovated and improved it’s courses, keeping it in line with the most progressive, theoretical and practical, developments in the field. FDU’s results, if measured by prizes, theatre productions, students’ movies, published books, organized conferences and relevant science projects, would be another proof of our ambitions successfully transformed into real life.
p
p
Leonce and Lena
Prince Leonce from the kingdom of Popo and princess Lena from the kingdom of Pipi are devoted to each other by a decision of their houses. They are trying unsuccessfully to escape and find their own luck. The Council, however, is a closed circle. When arriving back at the point from which they started they find the information from which they believed to have fled – Prince Leonce finds the right words for their disappointment: “Ah, Lena, it seems to me that this was an escape to paradise.” Paradise is in this case interpreted in quotes – precisely when it hits them how unfortunate they actually are.
Freedom and escape to freedom are the ones who are the main driving element of this work. Leonce inspired by Valerio who is free both in its ideas and real life, finds a much-needed spark that encourages him to run away from home. Büchner, who grew up on the ideas of the French Revolution, committed to the basic idea of revolution Fratelli, Egalite, Liberte, and therefore it is not surprising his premise to write about a free man. Leonce and Lena fell in love with mask their identities, in their false “me.” The peak of absurdity lies in the paradox that Leonce and Lena at the same time get what they want and they did not want – they were married to the one they wanted, but they could not get married to the own they did not want. The question is whether they are free or not? The main driving action torque was the desire from Leonce and Lena to escape the fate imposed upon them. They question the terms of love and freedom, marital fulfillment or self-realization of identity. In this case, the free young people who seem to choose their own path. In contrast to the mature Hamlet finally realizing that his destiny imposed by birth, Leonce and Lena are completely trapped in existential role that is imposed – other people’s projections of their identity.
The cast of this performance worked very hard on this project and together we are really pleased with the final result. The interesting thing about this play is that we have actors and associates of different ages, but nevertheless we managed to understand each other and convey our ideas without any problems. The director carefully chose the actors according to their nature and affinities and got exactly what he wanted from this.
Author: Georg Bücher
Director: Marko Čelebíč
Dramaturge, script: Djordje Kosić
Set: Katarina Šijačić
Costumes: Lena Matković
Light design: Gordana Pantelić
Music: Antonio Andrić
Production: Arsenije Milenković
Photo: Filip Tasić
Cast:
Lena – Mina Obradović
Leons – Dragan Sekulić
Valerio – Miloš Lazarov
The Governess – Maja Nikolić
King – Vahid Džanković
Servant – Marko Pavlović
Rosseta – Milena Božić
