The Association of Theaters of Serbia ready to renew its work

The Association of Professional Theaters of Serbia, which gathers sixteen institutional theaters outside Belgrade and Vojvodina, announced that the member theaters are ready to continue working immediately after receiving recommendations from the competent ministry regarding the conditions under which rehearsals and performances can be organized.

In a letter to the Ministry of Culture and Information, the Association stated that at the meeting in Krusevac on May 20, the theaters unanimously decided to renew work on the preparation of new projects, as well as performances from the current repertoire on domestic stages, and as an alternative, in open spaces.

“That is why we addressed a letter to the Ministry of Culture of Serbia with a request that, as soon as the conditions are created, it issue recommendations for the possible continuation of work of the theater, in the new conditions, based on the recommendation it has already issued for ballet dancers and folklore ensembles.” says the Association.

This document, as they explain, would clearly prescribe the measures and rules that theaters must adhere to during the normalization of their work, in order to contribute to preventing the spread of infectious diseases and ensure the safety of their employees and audiences.

All institutions members of the Association of Professional Theaters of Serbia share the same problem related to permanent, part-time associates, whose work, as they point out, they consider extremely important for the activities of institutions, and who – during the state of emergency caused by the pandemic, were left without any income.

“Intending to solve this problem, we also addressed a letter to the Ministry of Culture with a request to local governments and the founders of our theaters to send a binding recommendation on the payment of financial aid to part-time associates who have not achieved freelance status, and reflecting a model by which Belgrade theaters have resolved the issue of their part-time associates “, it is stated in the announcement, reports Tanjug.

In that way, the local governments are creating a legal basis for helping their colleagues, which at this moment, they say, is the most important form of helping the functioning of the theater, now as well as in the future.

“We hope that the competent Ministry will respond to our requests as soon as possible, so that we can return to our work and our audience soon,” concludes President Miodrag Dinulovic on behalf of the Association.

The Association of Professional Theaters of Serbia brings together sixteen professional theaters from fourteen cities in Serbia outside Belgrade and Vojvodina, making it one of the largest and most important professional associations in the country.

The theaters gathered in the Association are: Knjazevsko-serbian theatar Kragujevac, National Theater in Nis, National Theater of Timocka Region “Zoran Radmilović” in Zajecar, National Theater in Uzice, National Theater in Pirot, National Theater in Leskovac, National Theater Pristina with a temporary base in Gracanica, Sabac Theater – Sabac, Krusevac Theater – Krusevac, Bora Stankovic Theater in Vranje, Kraljevo Theater – Kraljevo, First Suburban Theater “Pulse Theater” in Lazarevac, Regional Theater Novi Pazar, Puppet Theater in Nis, Children’s Theater Kragujevac and City Theater – Cacak.

The community is the organizer of the Festival of Professional Theaters of Serbia “Joakim Vujic” as well as the festival of plays for children of professional theaters of Serbia “Little Joakim”.

 

(Politika, May 25/2020)

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