Photo credits: Petra Veber
Artist statement
I am a 31-year old Slovenian artist-cum-linguist, currently splitting my time between living in Ljubljana and visiting my girlfriend in Seattle, US.
I grew up with theatre, attending Dramska šola Barice Blenkuš as a teenager and doing improvisational theatre at high school and later dabbling with the Stanislavski Method at university. In the last five years, I have returned to performing arts with a renewed and deepened passion, doing contemporary dance and devised theatre, as well as playwriting. I am part of a contemporary dance troupe (Ursus Dancers) where I have worked as a dancer, co-creator and a dramaturg for five years, and I have co-created three award-winning devised theatre pieces produced by Gledališče Glej. I have also been part of other projects (a performance WIP with Leja Jurišić; a dance intervention at the 32nd Graphic Biennale in Ljubljana choreographed by Carlos Monroy) and I debuted as a playwright at SNG Drama with a staged reading of my one-act play, Silence Please.
My interest in theatre is holistic: I am drawn both to the performative aspect, i.e. lending my body to expressing what needs to be expressed, as well as to the off-stage content seeking and creating, i.e. writing, directing, researching, compiling, finding the perfect dramaturgy. I trained as a linguist, so language is of extreme importance to me, but I also recognize the value of its absence. I tend to combine spoken word with very physical theatre, but I am always open to new things and to change.
To me, theatre is a quintessential tool for change, both social and personal. Ideally, I want my audiences to come out of my performances and feel closer to themselves and others, feeling empowered to connect to the world more (meaning)fully. I believe in change as an uplifting experience–that is not to say that I shy away from heavy subjects. But ultimately, I want my art to make people feel good, so that they can have the comfort to confront a challenge, grow and change. I am very interested in utilizing humour as a vehicle to express and communicate with the audience.