Curators’ Statement
Just like the title Gardien Party, neither of the two parts of the double title of the performance Dr Ausländer (Made for Germany) can, or should, be translated. Both titles refer to the main, very topical theme of the project by the director Bojan Đorđev: mass emigration of Serbian doctors and other medical workers to Germany, in search of a better life and more favourable working conditions. The difference between this performance and the Gardien Party lies in the fact that, although this production is based on documentary statements given by Serbian medical workers, it is not performed by “real-life experts”, as Rimini Protokoll names this type of performers, but professional actors, based on dramaturgy interpretation of the documents, written by Tanja Šljivar and Mina Milošević. The poignant nature of this performance, already imminent in its topic, will be additionally enhanced by the venue: the anatomy lecture hall at the Faculty of Medicine, the place where doctors (Ausländers) are made.
About the Production
The performance Dr. Ausländer (Made for Germany) employs the topic of the experience of economic migrations while trying to establish a narrative of their continuity. The main participants are medical workers of various level of education and age, who are learning German and moving to Germany. These migrations are rooted in the present moment, they represent the point of view from which other economic migrations can be observed. One part of the material used in the performance is based on the interviews conducted with 13 medical workers of various specialties and levels of expertise from post-Yugoslav countries, most of whom are already in Germany, while others are presently in the process of leaving. Besides the documentary accounts, the dramaturgy of the performance is also based on a historical event from the end of the 20th century and stories of guest workers and overseas migrations.
The Authors
THE AUTHORS of the performance have cooperated since 1998 in various art projects, especially in theatre. Bojan Đorđev, Siniša Ilić and Maja Mirković have, in various artistic constellations, participated at four Bitef festivals so far: with TkH platform and online performance Psychosis and Author’s Death 2004, No Name: Snow White by Little Theatre “Duško Radović” 2005, The Discrete Charm of Marxism 2015, and with the collective Neue Dringlichkeit and the performance SAID TO CONTAIN: at Bitef Polyphony 2017. They are the curators of the Scene Work Ahead - Serbian presentation, 14th Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space 2019. The authors cooperate with Dragana Jovović as a producer within United Artists Labour and TkH platform on regular basis, while Biljana Tegeltija often joins them and cooperates with Maja Mirković. Bojan Đorđev and Tanja Šljivar cooperate on several auteur projects and stage events, one of which is an opera with Marija Balubdžić. Mina Milošević, as a dramaturg, Luka Jovanov as an assistant director, and Katarina Vojnović as an organizer, have joined them in the past two years. Aleksandar Đinđič and Željko Maksimović have already played in some of their projects, while this is the first cooperation with the actresses Dragana Varagić and Olivera Guconić.
