Somewhere in the World There is a Kingdom
Branko Milićević, better known as Branko Kockica (Branko the Little Cube), reached fame through his shows and plays for children. Branko is, however, also a playwright, singer, and composer of children’s songs and recently published a book for adults called "Grounded Happiness" in which he tells his now adult buddies about things they could not understand when they were little.
By Vanja Savić
Photo by Courtesy of Branko Kockica
Milićević’s best known engagement was in the children’s series "Kocka, kocka, kockica", filmed and shown by Belgrade Television. In the series Branko and a group of preschool children studied man’s environment and everyday life and he gave them advice on manners and on being a good friend. Reruns of some of the episodes are still shown today. The serial was known for the specific jargon and expressions used, because Branko always addressed his audience as "buddies" and their collective call was "tata-ta-tira". The song from the introductory jingle became very famous and is familiar even to present day "buddies".
The children’s theatre "Pozorištance Puž" was founded in 1977 and began as a traveling actors company. Their show "Brankov urnebes" (Branko’s Hilarious Theatrics) is still on the repertoire. In 1987, "Puž" was given a theatre of their own by Belgrade’s City Hall in Božidara Adžije street No. 21 (now Radoslava Grujića street).
"Kockica" was shown from 1974 to 1995 without interruption. Over 250 episodes were recorded. Was that a lot of effort and is there anything that you particularly remember?
– Most of the episodes were recorded in Belgrade kindergartens. That was the easy part. But two episodes filmed on my catamaran "Noćna frajla" were extremely difficult. The catamaran first "sailed" on a trailer towed along the Belgrade-Zagreb highway, through Plitvice and on to the coast. Then it actually sailed the waters around Biograd. That sea adventure is what gave me my first gray hairs.
Why did you choose to be in television shows involving children?
– A young actor will accept any kind of engagement, especially if it means working on television. Unfortunately, it’s not the actors who choose their engagements but the editors. They noticed me in the film "Užička republika" and they thought children might like me. It turned out they were right.
Were the children from the start of your career in the 70- ties different from the kids you work with today?
– Children of "my age", that means three to seven, used to be more obedient. Here’s an example, once we were sitting in a kindergarten in front of the camera, waiting for the film tape to be changed. I asked a kid sitting next to me to bring me a glass of water and five children jumped to their feet. Today not a single one would get up. Children today seem no longer receptive to the vocal frequency of adults. If you don’t yell, they won’t hear you.
Do you ever meet those who took part in your shows as children and are now adults? What are these meetings like and what do you notice about these adults whom you knew when they were children?
– I often meet my "tata-ta-tirians" and they always "report" to me that they took part in some recording of "Kockica". I recently did a guest performance in Washington and the priest’s wife there told me that she took part in the episode "From Noise to Music". I don’t know which one of us was happier when we met, she or I. She has four little children. In June they came to Belgrade to visit family and since the children are all of "Puž" age, they all came to the theatre to see a play.
The "Puž" theatre is something you have been doing along with your other activities since 1977. How would you briefly describe your work and the success of this theatre, which has now been operating for 34 years?
– Briefly put: exhausting and wonderful. While we were a small private theatre the greatest problem was finding the funds for staging new plays. Since 1997 we have been the town’s theatre and we are on the city’s budget. Now it is no longer exhausting, it’s just wonderful.
Are there any plays or interesting events that you would set apart from the rest?
– Tsatsa’s adaptation and directing of Shakespeare’s Hamlet was performed at ten world festivals, from Iran to Mexico. It’s a theatrical record. It gave me the idea of creating a play with as little dialogue as possible, so it could be performed in various countries. The first time we succeeded in doing that was in 1999, in "Puž". We made a play that has so far been performed in five foreign languages. Hungarian was the most difficult language to learn.
Who helps you the most in working with children on television and in the theatre?
– The team in "Kockica" was fantastic. Small, but really good. There were about ten of us. But there are a lot more people helping "Puž". A lot of playwrights and over a hundred actors have taken part in the work of this theatre. We have had countless other helpers, from the seal engraver who made our first official seal for free to many generous sponsors. The city secretariat for culture has also been extremely helpful. Every city mayor has made an effort to aid the progress of "Puž". We are deeply grateful to all these people.
How did the song "Somewhere in the World There is a Kingdom" come about and why do you think it has remained popular so long?
– The first introductory jingle for "Kockica" was an instrumental version. When the serial "gathered momentum" the editor, Beba Pejović decided to make a "real" jingle. She chose the verse from a collection of children’s poetry written by children and the melody was composed by Mihailo Živanović. Later I insisted we should make a jingle with "Kocka do kocke kockica" as the main text. And that’s what we did. But I was wrong. The new jingle couldn’t beat the old one. That’s the way these things go. Whenever you make a song you hope it’s going to be a hit. The song is made by a group of authors but it’s the audience that makes it a hit.
You have received many awards. Which of them would you set apart?
– One of the audience awards and one awarded by a professional jury. It’s good when you receive a grand prix from both the audience and that kind of jury. I received the audience’s recognition in a survey made by the journal "Pressmagazin". The voting took three months. On 10 January 2010, according to over a million readers, I became "the dearest living Serb". However, the dearest Serb holds another award dearest, one awarded by a professional jury. I share it with my wife Tsatsa. We were given this award for "years of work and a lasting contribution to the progress of the city of Belgrade". We received this award in April this year for our work on establishing and nurturing the little theatre "Puž".
What would you like to say to future "tata-ta-tirians" and what to Serbia’s adult population?
Dream. Believe in your dreams and they will come true.
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Branko Milićević was born on 3 April 1946 in Zemun. Today, with his wife, theatre director Slobodanka Tsatsa Aleksić, he lives in Belgrade, in the district of Vračar. He began his career in the Belgrade theatre Atelje 212, where he played lead roles in the plays "Hamlet in the Cellar", "Prometheus Bound", and in the rock musical "Hair". He played in many television dramas and one of the main roles in the famous war movie "Užička republike". He played Hamlet in the famous New York theatre La Mama and then he made a complete turn and devoted himself solely to children. |
