Branko Dimitrijević
AS IF
THE “ORIENT EXPRESS" PROJECT
(The Novi Sad Railway Station / Chamber Stage)
premiere - 14th May 2009

Directed by PREDRAG ŠTRBAC

Actors: TIJANA MAKSIMOVIĆ, MARIJA MEDENICA, NEBOJŠA SAVIĆ, MILAN KOVAČEVIĆ

VIDEO CLIPS AND PHOTOS

Under the patronage of the European Theatre Convention (ETC) an international project named Orient Express will be organized in the period April - June 2009. It will include participation of seven theatres from Turkey, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Italy, Switzerland and Germany. A special train leaves from Turkey on a long journey across Europe, with a specially remodeled car-stage. It makes stops at the railway stations in each of the host towns (Ankara, Krajova, Novi Sad, Zagreb, Nova Gorica, Parma, Stuttgart) to hold performances of the Turkish
theatre, then introduce theatres from the country the train comes from, as well as the performances of the hosts. At its final destination in Stuttgart, hosted by Staatstheater Stuttgart-Schauspielhaus, all the project participants will have a chance to present their performances in the period between 5th and 19th July 2009.
Until 14th May 2009, the Serbian National Theatre is to prepare a theatrical production after a contemporary Serbian drama adopted to the said train car stage; it is to be performed in Novi Sad, from 14th to 22nd May at the Novi Sad Railway Station platform (and then in Zagreb and Stuttgart). After the project related performances, the production will be included in the regular Serbian National Theatre Chamber Stage repertoire. Together with the actors from the Serbian National Theatre, playwright Branko Dimitrijevic and director Predrag Strbac will lead a special "workshop" to show what kinds of associations and theatrical relationships are established when the train travels from East to West.

Branko Dimitrijevic, a writer and dramatist, was born in Belgrade on 7111 December 1950. He has graduated from the Academy for Theatre, Film, Radio and TV at the Department of Dramaturgy. His radio work includes children's programme and the Index radio theatre, while several of his comedies have been awarded at the Radio Belgrade competitions. He has worked as a scriptwriter for children's, entertainment and educational programmes. He is the founder of the cult "Event" Theatre (Dogadaj), which produced its plays at the Belgrade Students Cultural Centre during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Branko Dimitrijevic worked as a dramaturge of the National Theatre Nepsinhaz in Subotica from 1978 to
1980. He has written the novels: Would You Like Something to Drink?, awarded at the "NON" competition as the best novel on young generation published in 1983; Oktoberfest, which served for the film of the same
name; and Let's Not Talk About Politics (Necemo o politici). He left for America in 1985, for the International
Writers' Conference in Iowa, where he stayed at the postgraduate course taking his Master's Degree in
Playwriting in 1989. He spent a year at PhD studies at the University of Oregon, but gave up for financial
reasons. He founded and led the "Theatre of the New World Order" (Teatar Novog svetskog poretka) in San
Francisco. He has recently become a dramaturge for the Serbian National Theatre.

Predrag Strbac, a director, was born on 23'd December 1970 in Negotin. He has graduated Theatre and Radio Directing from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade with the graduation play What We Talk About When We Talk About Love inspired by dramatic opus and correspondence between A.P. Chekhov and Olga
Knipper.
He studied Direction with Professors Ljubomir Muci Draskic, Dejan Mijac, Egon Savin, and Nikola Jevtic,
He is a permanent director of the SNT Drama Department.