Today, a press conference was held in the Sarajevo War Theater (SARTR) on the occasion of the start of the New Theatre Market project, the crown of which is the newly established Sarajevo Theatre Showcase, which will be held in the second week of September in Sarajevo. The leader of the project is the SARTR theater with partners: Heartefact from Serbia, Ulysses Theater from Croatia, Binario Vivo from Italy and Para Film & Theatre from Norway.
The director of the SARTR theatre, Maja Salkić Burazerović, introduced us to the details of the project in her introductory speech. The two-year development project has the common goal of hosting 5-8 regional performances created in the previous two years in one place. In addition to the main line of programs, industrial programs, talks, workshops, labs will be organized, providing a platform for the professional development of theater makers from Southeast Europe.
The director of Heartefact, Andrej Nosov, announced the publication of the first call for young playwrights. They are invited to submit ideas for their drama texts in development, and up to 20 authors will be selected who will develop their texts with mentors Biljana Srbljanović, Ivor Martinić, Marija Milisavljević and Bernhard Studlar in the next six months. The call opens tomorrow, lasts 30 days, and we expect applications from authors from the entire region. The best texts will be presented at the Sarajevo Theater Showcase from September 12 to 15.
The press conference was also addressed by: Ishak Jalimam, producer of SARTR, Lenka Udovički and Duško Ljuština from Ulysses Theater and Martin T.B. Thomas from Para Film & Theater.
Lenka Udovički pointed out that she hopes that this networking platform will quickly give results for young authors to establish contact with various funding sources and connect with Europe, while Martin T.B. Thomas stated that as a young artist, he imagined that there was a project like this that would provide an opportunity for the professional development of young artists.
Duško Ljuština from the Ulysses Theater concluded by quoting Duško Radović: “Those who kiss, those who love, should not do anything else because they are truly geniuses. These people love theater and that’s why they should be supported.”
The main goal of the project is to connect regional talent with international authors and professionals in order to promote sustainable practices in theater production, creating opportunities for professional development, with targeted support for women in theater, young professionals and underrepresented makers. By encouraging international cooperation and strengthening the regional theater sector, the showcase serves as a network center and catalyst for innovative and environmentally responsible theater creation.
The official website of the project is also active: www.sts.ba.
*Part of The New Theatre Market initiative is co-financed by the European Union through the Creative Europe program. The views and opinions in this text do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union or other donors.




