Night sun

I am Miljan and I am visually impaired.

I started to show interest in acting when I was around eight years old. I imitated the voice of an old man and very successfully I cheated everyone mostly by prank calls. When I was in elementary school my talent was recognized by my language teacher. She enrolled me in the drama department of the school. The next year I took part in various events and I would put emphasis in participating in many school events like the program for the day of the school. Then my sister, my friend and I performed a mini radio drama "The issue of the countryside and agriculture" that I created. In the play, I played the grandfather; one of the oldest residents of Montenegro, my sister played the host of the show, and a friend a radio listener that calls in live and talks to the grandfather. With this drama, we performed in several places, and the public reaction to it was very positive.

A few years ago I was a guest of Kotor Festival. At the roundtable, which was held before the end of the festival I asked the director of Montenegrin national theatre would I be able to play in it. He did not give me a specific answer, but a theater director from Kotor promised that he would open an amateur theater in Podgorica and that he would call me. So it was.

Last year was established amateur theater for the blind "Homer". People from the organization chose the director from Kotor to cooperate with us. He was a great expert and special in many ways. He invited all interested parties to come and show their acting skills and knowledge. The idea was to conduct an audition where participants will be selected, but since very small number of participants applied, all were accepted to take part. I congratulated to the director, saying, "Well done! You are one of the few people who publicly promise and fulfill it! "

He directed the first play in which I participated. It was a documentary type composed entirely of our life stories, events and experiences. In it except us, people who are visually impaired, performed one professional actor and two amateurs from acting school that was opened a couple of years ago by that director. The name of the show was the "Night Sun" and was premiered at the Theatre Festival in Zagreb BIT. Given the fact that this show was the first in which I participated a few days before performing I was already very excited. As the day of the premiere approached excitement grew. However, when the show started it was all gone. I focused on the show and gave my best so that everything can go as planned. It was for me in many ways was a thrilling experience, and the public reaction to the show exceeded the expectations of the entire group. This show was supposed to be presented in Podgorica, but for many reasons it could not be done. Since then, we haven’t done any new projects with the director, because a couple of our members left, and many things that have happened prevented us from continuing our work on projects that could make our theater survive.

In mid-May, four members of the group Homer which stayed to participate in the work of amateur theater were called to take participation on a project. It is an alternative theater. The play was done based on a book called "Blind" by a Belgian Nobel prize winning author Maurice Maeterlinck. Otherwise, it is about a writer whose works have not yet been adapted and performed in theaters in Montenegro. Except for us the show was played by professional actors. All the characters in the play are blind. Before the premiere of this show I felt even more excited, especially I   felt liable because professional actors had to be in a role of a person with visual impairment  based on things that they have learned from me, and mostly how a person with visual impairment deals with certain situations. The credibility of the show mostly depended on how accurately I depicted it so that they can believably play persons with visual impairments.

I am very pleased that the first play performed based on the novel by Nobel Prize winner, in which I had the opportunity to participate was played in my home country of Montenegro. That was one more reason to give my best and do not disappoint relatives and friends, and beside them the rest of the Montenegrin public. I believe that the local public offers sincere support and it means a lot to me because it is a first serious play in which I participated that was played in my country. Working with professional actors to me was a great experience. This project was successfully implemented. For me, the participation in the same is a real treasure, not only for acting, but because the cooperation was on a high level and with some of the participants and organizers I kept in touch. I hope that there will be similar projects in the future, and my big dream is, no matter what college I graduate, to open an amateur theater. 

Picture taken from http://www.pc-junky.com/PB/

Writter:

Miljan Otašević joker, positivist and eternal optymist.