“They Wanted Something Else”

By: Miodrag Stosic
Belgrade, Nov.7, 2009 (Serbia Today) – "In Stage Organization", the Center for Interactive Art’s theater production company, is presenting “They wanted something else”, a play about violence in school. The play will premiered on November 9th, at the Belgrade’s Cultural Center in Capt. Misa’s building and afterward will be followed by the plays in Belgrade’s secondary schools. This show is the final product of a theater project organized by high school students from Belgrade. Performance will be held with the support of the City Secretariat for Culture and the Center for Culture (Stari Grad).
In recent years, violence in schools has become a major problem without any quick solutions. “They wanted to play something else” is the first attempt for students to explore the issues surrounding violence in school through the theater without avoiding sensitive issues. The play will show how high school students perceive the position of their peers, teachers, schools and parents.
Another element to the production which will only add to the realism of the productions is the fact that among the participants of the plays will be real victims of violence at from the schools. The script of this performance was inspired by actual events.
Writer of the play “They wanted something else”, Milena Depolo, left the possibility for the actors to improvise the ending of the performance. Every following performance will have different ending depending on the inspiration of the actors during the play. According to the author, the postmodern concept of the play has the task to express the transformation of the character of the young people during the act of violence.
Ana Tomovic, director of the play, decided that the public also has the right to become part of the stage action. Unlike most plays, where the audience has the role of the “fourth wall”, “They wanted something else” at the end of performance - to invite the audience to join in a debate after the conclusion of the play.