Matjaž Pograjc
Encyclopedia
Matjaž Pograjc. Born 1967, Ljubljana
, is a theatre director and one of Slovenia
's most prominent theatre artists.
and radio direction (AGRFT, Ljubljana
). In 1990, he founded the Betontanc group, with which he develops and researches choreographical and physical forms of stage expression, employing ideologically oriented themes – especially from the world of urban adolescence. Another important part of his research is dedicated to verbal theatrical structure; with the aid of the Mladinsko Theatre
ensemble, Pograjc explores a directional concept based on original interpretations of contemporary dramatic texts or the contributions of the acting team. His method of interpretation involves different genres of pop culture, under which he discovers modern archetypal models of a lost civilization, chaos, violence and cruelty.
(Source: Jana Pavlič, Castration Machines, Maska 2001)
:
Bernard-Marie Koltès
: Roberto Zucco, 1996
Butterendfly (based on M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang
, 1995.
A Place I've Never Been, 1996.
D. Z. Frey: Tirza, 1997.
Who's Afraid of Tennessee Williams
?, 1999.
The House of Bernarda Alba (based on Federico Garcia Lorca
, 2000.
J. M. Barrie – M. Pograjc: Peter Pan, 2001.
Peter Weiss
: The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat, 2002.
Play it Again, Caligula (based on Albert Camus
: Caligula), 2003.
Daša Doberšek, Branko Jordan, Nataša Matjašec: Luluby, 2004.
Tena Štivičić
: Fragile!, 2005.
Fabio Rubiano O.: The Whale’s Belly, 2006.
Love to Death (A concert for a chef, six apprentices and three dishwashers), 2007.
Betontanc:
Poets without Pockets, Ljubljana, 1990.
Romeo and Juliet, Ljubljana, 1991.
Every Word a Gold Coin Worth, Ljubljana, 1992.
Wet Hanky Thieves, Ljubljana, Angers, 1993.
Know Your Enemy!, Ljubljana, 1995.
On Three Sides of Heaven, Ljubljana, 1997.
The Secret Sunshine Schedule, Bunker Productions, Ljubljana, 1999.
Midnight Meat Flight, 2000.
Maison des rendez-vous, Ljubljana, Rennes, 2002.
Wrestling Dostoievsky, Vienna, 2004.
Everybody for Berlusconi, Junghollandia and Betontanc, 2004.
Show Your Face!, Betontanc and Umka.LV, 2006.
Borštnik Award for special achievements, Maribor, Slovenia, 1992
Prešeren Fund Award for directions in Mladinsko Theatre and Betontanc, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 1997
Best breakthrough choreographer-director in the »Top Five in New York 2000« section of the New York Times (after the tour in La MaMa with The Secret Sunshine Schedule), New York, USA, 2000
The Villanueva Award to the performance Who's Afraid of Tennessee Williams? as one of the best foreign productions in Cuba, 2003
Marul Award for best direction for Fragile!, Days of Marulić Festival, Split, Croatia, 2006
Grand Prix of the Borštnik Drama Meeting for Fragile!, Maribor, Slovenia, 2006
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, is a theatre director and one of Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
's most prominent theatre artists.
Life and work
Studies in theatreTheatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and radio direction (AGRFT, Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
). In 1990, he founded the Betontanc group, with which he develops and researches choreographical and physical forms of stage expression, employing ideologically oriented themes – especially from the world of urban adolescence. Another important part of his research is dedicated to verbal theatrical structure; with the aid of the Mladinsko Theatre
Mladinsko Theatre
Mladinsko Theatre , founded in Ljubljana in 1955 as the first professional theater for children and youth in Slovenia...
ensemble, Pograjc explores a directional concept based on original interpretations of contemporary dramatic texts or the contributions of the acting team. His method of interpretation involves different genres of pop culture, under which he discovers modern archetypal models of a lost civilization, chaos, violence and cruelty.
(Source: Jana Pavlič, Castration Machines, Maska 2001)
Major works
Mladinsko TheatreMladinsko Theatre
Mladinsko Theatre , founded in Ljubljana in 1955 as the first professional theater for children and youth in Slovenia...
:
Bernard-Marie Koltès
Bernard-Marie Koltès
Bernard-Marie Koltès was a French playwright and director.-Life:Born in 1948 to a middle-class family in Metz, his life was violent and anchored in revolt. He tried his hand at writing at a very young age but later renounced it, and didn't take to the stage until the age of twenty...
: Roberto Zucco, 1996
Butterendfly (based on M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang
David Henry Hwang
David Henry Hwang is an American playwright who has risen to prominence as the preeminent Asian American dramatist in the U.S.He was born in Los Angeles, California and was educated at the Yale School of Drama and Stanford University...
, 1995.
A Place I've Never Been, 1996.
D. Z. Frey: Tirza, 1997.
Who's Afraid of Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
?, 1999.
The House of Bernarda Alba (based on Federico Garcia Lorca
Federico García Lorca
Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
, 2000.
J. M. Barrie – M. Pograjc: Peter Pan, 2001.
Peter Weiss
Peter Weiss
Peter Ulrich Weiss was a German writer, painter, and artist of adopted Swedish nationality. He is particularly known for his plays Marat/Sade and The Investigation and his novel The Aesthetics of Resistance....
: The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat, 2002.
Play it Again, Caligula (based on Albert Camus
Albert Camus
Albert Camus was a French author, journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.Camus was awarded the 1957...
: Caligula), 2003.
Daša Doberšek, Branko Jordan, Nataša Matjašec: Luluby, 2004.
Tena Štivičić
Tena Štivicic
Tena Štivičić is a Croatian playwright. She was born in Zagreb and studied in the Academy of Drama Art there. She completed an MA in Writing for Performance at Goldsmiths College, University of London. She has taken part in theatre events such as Future Perfect, the Paines Plough Young Writers...
: Fragile!, 2005.
Fabio Rubiano O.: The Whale’s Belly, 2006.
Love to Death (A concert for a chef, six apprentices and three dishwashers), 2007.
Betontanc:
Poets without Pockets, Ljubljana, 1990.
Romeo and Juliet, Ljubljana, 1991.
Every Word a Gold Coin Worth, Ljubljana, 1992.
Wet Hanky Thieves, Ljubljana, Angers, 1993.
Know Your Enemy!, Ljubljana, 1995.
On Three Sides of Heaven, Ljubljana, 1997.
The Secret Sunshine Schedule, Bunker Productions, Ljubljana, 1999.
Midnight Meat Flight, 2000.
Maison des rendez-vous, Ljubljana, Rennes, 2002.
Wrestling Dostoievsky, Vienna, 2004.
Everybody for Berlusconi, Junghollandia and Betontanc, 2004.
Show Your Face!, Betontanc and Umka.LV, 2006.
Honours, awards and recognitions
Grand prix Bagnolet '92, Paris, 1992Borštnik Award for special achievements, Maribor, Slovenia, 1992
Prešeren Fund Award for directions in Mladinsko Theatre and Betontanc, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 1997
Best breakthrough choreographer-director in the »Top Five in New York 2000« section of the New York Times (after the tour in La MaMa with The Secret Sunshine Schedule), New York, USA, 2000
The Villanueva Award to the performance Who's Afraid of Tennessee Williams? as one of the best foreign productions in Cuba, 2003
Marul Award for best direction for Fragile!, Days of Marulić Festival, Split, Croatia, 2006
Grand Prix of the Borštnik Drama Meeting for Fragile!, Maribor, Slovenia, 2006