Extending Boundaries

At the 63^rd Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland, Novi Sad actress Jasna Djuričić won the Golden Leopard award for Best Actress in Oleg Novković’s latest Serbian film titled White, White World.

By Ivana Kladarin Panić
Photo by Serbian National Theater & West End Production

Jasna Djuričić acted in virtually all provocative theatre productions shown here over the past ten years. Her rich opus includes Ljubomir Simović’s Miracle at Šargan and The Traveling Šopalović Theatre, Aleksandar Popović’s The Spawning of Carp, Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Dušan Jovanović’s Liberation of Skoplje, Jovan Sterija Popović’s Pompous Fool, William Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, Miroslav Krleža’s The Glembajevs, Branislav Nušić’s The Suspicious Face...

You have appeared mostly in the theatre, less so in movies and on TV. In what way does acting differ in these two areas?

- I have been working in theatre for almost twenty years, but this is my third movie and my first title role, so I have just begun to get acquainted with movies. Still, deep inside I feel that it is one and the same thing. Everything I worked on in theatre in the recent years entails some sort of a movie expression, meaning that the measure of candor was the highest possible. If you can convey candor, then this is as good in theatre as it is in a movie. One must be fulfilled to be able to extend boundaries.

You have appeared in some highly demanding roles, both classical and modern theater characters. Does the complexity of the role in itself present a greater challenge?

- Actors perceive demanding roles as being more provocative. One develops and grows through demanding roles. What one has already mastered poses no real challenge. A complex role is especially challenging when one falls short of mastering it, when one suffers for it, when one feels one may not be up to it whether professionally or in the technical sense. When I say technical sense, I refer to my sensibility on the whole.

Is there a role that you could single out?

- I played many roles and I can hardly remember them – this was some time ago. Naturally, I find my recent roles of the greatest importance to me. There were many major roles I played in my younger days that were as important to me at the time. Everyone I have worked with so far is also important. All one’s life one learns from both good actors and from those who are not so. I have worked at the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad for many years and, as a young actress, accepted almost every role. Maybe those were better days or I was simply more fortunate or both, but I worked with great directors in good plays.

How did you prepare yourself for the very complex character in Milena Marković’s The Doll Ship?

- This is a character that evolves in the course of the performance. The story is about the life of a woman artist, from her childhood through her death. Milena named every life phase after a fairytale character. If one rewinds one’s life one will realise that one has actually been playing different roles; people change, things and circumstances around one change too…

Where does the performance end and real life begins?

- For the most part, I succeeded in separating real life from fiction. Still, the influence of roles is enormous, although this occurs primarily on the subconscious level. An actor grows within, enriches oneself in the process to become better… An actor must understand the destinies of the characters he/she plays and when this happens he/she cannot but embrace them, and if one embraces something then one feels one must stand in their defence….They are all just human beings with virtues and faults.

Playing the main characters in Milena Markovic’s plays seems to have become a leitmotif in your artistic life in the recent years (Simeon the Foundling, The Doll Ship, The Happy Forest). Your brilliant acting in Oleg Novković’s movie White, White World is also based on her scenario... Do her texts bring out the best in you in terms of acting?

- It turned out that I am cut out for such roles and that they bring out the best in me. It so happens that people meet and fall for each other. A strange circle formed around Milena and me that attracted director Tomi Janežić - who produced Simeon the Foundling and The Happy Forest, and internationally acclaimed composer Boris Kovač - who wrote the music for Simeon the Foundling, and then also Darko Rundek - who wrote the music for The Doll Ship... As for the performances, all this is a kind of a spontaneous blend of people and circumstances. When the film was being shot, both Milena and Oleg chose me to play the main female character.

You are the first Serbian actress ever awarded at the prestigious Locarno International Film Festival for the movie White, White World. Can you tell us something about the character of Ružica in this Neoromantic love drama that renowned world critics have also named Balkan Opera?

- This is an excellent role, as are all other characters in Milena’s plays. All her characters are very complex, highly charged with emotion and passion for life. I am still not fully aware of what has happened to me. The audience and the jury both received us with standing ovations. They said that what we’ve done was outstanding. They complimented us highly on our acting, saying we highly resembled nonprofessional actors – the greatest compliment an actor can get.

You have received the highest theatre awards. What significance do they have for you?

- I would be lying if I were to say that awards don’t make me happy. They are a confirmation of my work. The situation nowadays is such that an actor has neither status nor money, therefore, occasional awards remind us that there is some meaning in what we do. What’s even more important is the interaction between actor and audience. This something that happens somewhere in the air and what I see in their eyes as we take the bow is my spiritual and mental food.

Although you live in Novi Sad, we often see you in Belgrade, and you are frequently on tours?

- In Belgrade I did two productions at BITEF Teatar, but I most often appear at Atelje 212 theatre, and at the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad. We were on tour around Europe and overseas, for instance, at a festival in Caracas. At the start of my career with KPGT theatre and Ljubiša Ristić, we took part in a big festival in Mexico City.

Apart from acting, you also teach at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad. How do you organize your time to catch up with all these commitments?

- My commitments sometimes partly overlap, and I don’t know which to address first. It’s been a while since I reduced my workload in theatre. While I was younger, I had over twenty appearances per month and I believed this was necessary. Today, I learnt how not to squander my time - I work one or two productions per year. Fortunately, I am offered good roles, those that inspire me to do my utmost, and people notice me. This creates an illusion that I work much. My students understand that I am not only a teacher but an actress as well so our classes are sometimes held at unusual times. We work whenever we can, when everybody is free; rehearsals are sometimes held late at night. Art cannot be measured by working hours – one works until one is sure one got it right.

Jasna Djuričić was born in 1966. She graduated from the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad in the class of Prof. Branko Pleša. She is permanent ensemble member and leading actress of the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad. She is the recipient of the most important theatre awards, among them the Zoran Radmilović Award and the Miloš Žutić Award and several Sterija awards. Last year, she received the Sterija Award for two roles - for her performances in the productions of The Happy Forest and The Doll Ship.