“I think the Genesis Project team is doing a great thing, because with their educational performances, they make field visits to the children who do not have the opportunity to go to the theatre and in this way they not only educate children on the topics they are presenting, but they also bring the theatre art closer to them. With their plays, they sow the seeds of love for the theatre and maybe one of these children, thanks to the Genesis Project, will someday become an actor, a dramaturge, a director … “, says Mario Ćulum, a dramaturge and assistant professor at the Academy of Arts at the University of Banja Luka.
Ćulum has been cooperating with our team for several years, and the results of this collaboration are several successful educational performances of the Genesis Project. Some of them came out of the framework of the projects, which they were created for, and reached the Children’s Theatre of Republic of Srpska. Thus, the story of the penguin George, which was originally written by Mario Ćulum, together with his colleague Milan Gajić, for the project “Bridges of Confidence and Cooperation” continued its journey from Genesis to the scene of the Children’s Theatre of RS.
The play “Not all of us are flyers”, performed by the Genesis Project in the schools of the Central Bosnia Canton, is enriched with new characters, adventures and details for the purposes of the Children’s Theatre and has recently become part of its repertoire. Its premiere and interesting George’s path were the reason for our interview with Mario.
How did cooperation with the Genesis Project come about and how long have you been working together?
The cooperation with the Genesis Project came at the initiative of Mario Lukajić, the actor from the “Jazavac” City Theatre in 2012. The first project we worked on was an educational play for the pupils of the ninth grade regarding HIV and sexually transmitted diseases. Thanks to the people from the Genesis Project Milan Gajic and I further educated ourselves and wrote the text for the play “Misconceptions”. After that, my colleague Milan Gajić added the dramaturgical elements in the original Genesis texts “Welcome Hygia” and “The strange trial” in 2014. Cooperation continued in 2015, when Milan and I wrote two drama texts for children: “Not all of us are flyers” and “Who owns the well” for the educational project “Bridges of Trust and Cooperation”.
How many topics that are in the focus of the Genesis Project activities, such as promotion of diversity, tolerance, coexistence and intercultural understanding, are close to you as a scriptwriter, and how has work on these topics affected you through the cooperation with the Genesis Project?
It is important that we bring these topics closer to the youngest ones, to educate children, and through them the parents too. For each author, it is a challenge to express diversity and tolerance in a creative way, using the child’s vocabulary and through situations that are close to them. Of course, writing for children and promoting positive values in society ennobles me both as an author and as a human being.
You wrote the scenario for the play “Not all of us are fliers” in 2015 for the needs of the educational project “Bridges of Trust and Cooperation” implemented by the Genesis Project. The play is about the penguin George. How did you come to this idea and how important is to bring the importance of respecting the other and the different ones closer to children in this way?
The idea came spontaneously, when designing a synopsis for the dramatic text on the topic of the diversity for the contest that the Genesis Project opened for the project. The dramatic text “Not all of us are fliers”, written by Milan Gajic and I, deals with the theme of difference and acceptance of the one who is different. That diversity can be racial, national, sexual, or the consequence of some physical or psychological disadvantage, but it should not be an obstacle to communication and acceptance of that person as equal, because every child, regardless of all possible differences, has its qualities that can be offered to friends or society as a whole. The story was transposed from a human into a bird’s world in which the penguin George, who accidentally comes from Antarctic to Africa, is trying to gain the trust of his mates, the African birds. Penguin George, although a bird, is different from other birds. He can’t chirp or fly, but he can swim and he knows math. And these qualities that Georges has will help his friend Kala at the time she needs help. This shows that diversity completes us and that it should not be a trigger for separation, but something that will enrich and improve us. My colleague Milan gave George his name. The character of the penguin Georges was designed in 2015 for the text of the play “Not all of us are fliers”.
The play “Not all of us flyers” conducted by the Genesis Project is played in the schools of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. What stimulated you to expand the scenario and stage a play in the Children’s Theatre of the Republic of Srpska?
First of all, the excellent performances of the puppet show of the Genesis Project team and the need to tell the children in the Republic of Srpska about the importance of respecting the others and the different ones. And George would not leave us alone. Some characters continue to “hassle” the authors even after the drama text is completed. It was necessary to explain how George came to Africa, who found him and how they got the information at all that he was a penguin. That’s why we inserted new characters: George as an egg, Sailor and Captain, Mama Bird and Daddy Bird, and Doctor Owl. The message, although universal, conveyed by the Genesis Project team with their puppet show, is limited geographically to children in schools in the Federation, so I wanted this message to reach the children in the Republic of Srpska. In Banja Luka, there was only one performance of the play before being staged on the scene of the Children’s Theatre of the Republic of Srpska. The play at the Children’s Theatre scene has the same title, but it is a new text, with a larger number of characters and six new songs. What is important is the message of the play, and it is universal and can be understood not only by children in Bosnia and Herzegovina, regardless of the entity in which they live, but also by children around the world. In every society there is a problem of difference and acceptance. If I could, I would translate this text into all world languages and send a message to all children of the world. It is essential that children learn to accept the differences and that the diversity is what enriches us, you do not need to copy the other, what George tries in one part of the play, but to be themselves. Only in this way will our life be more beautiful and fulfilling.