"We make theatre with the idea to change ourselves. Not the world, but ourselves. And perhaps some other people from our close neighborhood. Theatre is not capable to change the world. Many people would like it to be possible, but we know it isn't. That's why we make theatre."
These few sentences were formulated in the phase of foundation of Plavo pozorište, and they stand for some kind of manifesto of our work. Like each manifesto, this one was supposed to represent a certain proceeding in our work, but also the way it ought to be carried out in practice. Today, after 10 years, the right moment to realize where we are has come, what is achieved and what is yet to be done in accordance to the principles of our manifesto.
You should understand that it is not easy at all to summarize in few words something that has been going on for 10 years. The more so if it’s something yours and when sentimental bent and responsibility are at their most, when the best you can think of to describe it sounds rather insufficient and, at the same time, rather pretentious. It is the old rule that when something is happening to someone else, whether good or bad, we tend to register it and experience it in a superficial way, becoming aware of it only when something similar occurs to us. That’s why on this occasion neither some model nor experience of ten years of life and work of someone isn’t of much help. After all, it wouldn't be fair to ourselves either, because it is about something unique, which is our jubilee. So, what else to do but to get along somehow, with the precious help that has been following us through all these 10 years, which is the sensation that we are still not alone, and that in the end we will survive somehow.
Plavo pozorište was born very much like many other contemporary theatres. It is a reflection of certain euphoric mood which even today provokes in us the thought of the philosopher of western civilization theatre reform, Antonin Artaud. It shouldn't, therefore, come as a surprise that the very beginning of process of our research and creation was strongly inspired by his works. And in the years that followed whenever we met obstacles in the way of the progress of our work, or went astray in our preoccupations in theatre, like some lighthouse, Artaud was always there, illuminating the path that we walked, but for a moment lost from our sight. It is really a question, considering all dangers of his multifold thought, is it possible at all to make theatre in a reasonable way without establishing intensive connection with Antonin Artaud? Unfortunately, there are plenty of those who maintain this relationship in its purely formal aspect, because everybody considers it important, but elusive and irrational, and exactly on the account of its elusive and irrational character we cherished it as a kind of temptation in the first years of our work. It helped us to understand that there was something missing in our idea of making theatre. Something without what we would not be able to fulfill the oath of our manifesto. The oath of transformation. Back than it was one word in our life and our work that was making its big appearance, the word "sense". Our main cooperator in this was our friend Massimo Giannetti, director of theatre Specchi e Memorie from Milan. The word "sense" was to become first great test of our manifesto. We understood that it is not enough to answer the question – "Why do we make theatre?" once and for all. This is the question that we must confront every day. We also understood that decisions and reasons for working in theatre have to be discussed again and again, often resulting in undermining of our enthusiasm. But then the transformation started. The basic ideas of our manifesto entered into the reality. We started to change ourselves. What was once mere euphoria matured into a concept, the need that dreams become true was replaced by a work on a personal processes of building of integrities. The emancipation started. A road to what Plavo pozorište in a great extent already is was open - a theatre laboratory devoted to research theatre and infinite scale of phenomena of human living, a theatre that creates its performances from that source and people who are trying without pride to endure sufferings brought about by latent senselessness of theatre art in general. Although at the beginning we weren’t yet fully aware of it, thinking that our love for theatre would be enough for everything, now it is clear to us that the beginning of the process of changing was a precondition for endurance, a ticket to future. Now we can freely return to our love to theatre, because there is the sense in this love. We began the journey through the darkness towards light, and now everything depends on us. This position brings a new responsibility, but also a relief in the fact that Plavo pozorište doesn't stand in one place. It changes, it crosses stages on the way of its spiritual development and intellectual improvement. Our great help in this was also researching of life and work of a great man, russian writer F. M. Dostoevsky, the last in the series of artists and thinkers to whom we dedicated substantial time in our work.
Our learning has always been based on principles of autodidactics. This is also the direction pointed by Artaud. But form the beginning we had a cautious attitude towards freedom offered by autodidactics. The most important was to recognize the necessity of articulation and systematization of learning inside of this direction pointed by Artaud. Both the system and the method of work were to be conquered. It was necessary to look backwards and forwards, to see what was happening before and after Artaud. And then we understood who were our ideological models, what our tradition is. It begins with all those who are glad that theatre didn't die out and didn't stop existing as art, it begins with the founder of contemporary theatre history, with Stanislavsky. The system of acting, the system of working, the system of thinking and, it appeared obvious that generally category of "system" is something that theatre hadn't known of before Stanislavsky, and without which we also couldn't imagine our work and our research not for a single day. And this tradition has endured, fortunately it hasn't finished till today thanks to the work of the greatest reformer of contemporary theatre Jerzy Grotowsky, founder of theatre "13 Rows" and his actors, some of whom work even today and keep his ideas still alive. In a great series of his followers, the special place for us belongs to Odin teatret and Eugenio Barba, greatest devotees of anthropological theatre, who have been working together for 40 years, and this way they have helped us generously, and of course not only to us, so that we also endure as long as possible in the battle with time. This tradition helped us discover a new methodology of working in theatre, methodology which puts into the background an overly sweet talent and artistic exhibitionism not only of actor but anyone who works in theatre and instead it puts forth inner, organic life of an individual which becomes a field of research and improvement. It is our free decision to learn and to make progress inside of these coordinates of the history of theatre, the same as it would be our free decision to step out of those coordinates if we would come to conclusion that this would be better for us. But we hope that we will never, or at least not for a long time, be proud in such proportions to cause our abandoning of this discourse. We are not sure that would be a serious and a constructive challenge for the sense of our work. Because the endurance in the sphere of anthropological theatre for us presents a possibility of endless search for the elusive and the irrational, for what often seems beyond the grasp, hidden from man, for that what invites religion to theatre, but not in a form of approved believers, but in a form of a holly actor, a holly madness, God's fool and many other phenomena of this world for which rational human eye and mind remain blind and insensitive.
Plavo pozorište sees itself as a theatre of new generation, a group of people who are prepared to put their work in service of defense and affirmation of an idea that many would send to the past, not adopting it before. Those who adopted it formally, privileging in that way themselves with the right to rule the essence of theatre history are, perhaps, even more dangerous. However, it is only an idea, and Plavo pozorište is only a follower of this idea, a follower eager to make unreserved effort in order to push this idea to its farthest reaches. We found the sense of our manifesto and we will continue to make theatre with the aim to change ourselves. Not the world, but ourselves. And perhaps some other people from our close neighborhood. Theatre is not capable to change the world. Many a people would like it to be possible, but we know it isn't so. That is why we will continue to make theatre. Today, after 10 years, being changed to some extent, we can add something Artaud said for his theatre Alfred Jarrie:
Plavo pozorište was made to serve theatre and not to be its servant.
Nenad Čolić
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