Kaća Čelan (born August 5, 1956 in

Ratkovo Ratkovo ( sr-cyr, Ратково) is a village located in the Odžaci municipality, West Bačka District, Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2011, the population of the village is 3,411 inhabitants. Name The former name of the town was Parabuć ( sr, Па ...

, SR Serbia,

FPR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yugo ...

) is a writer,

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

, theatre and acting expert,

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

and

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

. She is internationally known for being awarded the first prize for the best German-language play from the Bund der Theatergemeinden (Alliance of the German Theatre Community) for her play ' among other awards.Theater TAS Official, Kaca Celan Biography
/ref>

Biography

Early life

Kaća Čelan ( sr-cyrl, Каћа Челан) was born and grew up in Ratkovo (Odžaci), SR Serbia,

; an area in the multicultural and multifaceted region of Vojvodina, dominated by five cultures and languages: Serbian, Hungarian, German, Ukrainian (Rusyn) and Czech, which influenced and shaped her early childhood. She graduated from the scientific high school in Odžaci and its rigorous classical curriculum with straight A's as best student of her generation.

Move to Sarajevo

After finishing her high school education, she chose the city of

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

as her "home of choice". Her studies in the Olympic metropolis included comparative literature, theatre studies, and acting at the University of Sarajevo. Following her studies, she founded Teatar Amfiteatar Sarajevo (TAS) theatre, which she ran for seven years. Čelan has also worked as a directing professor at the Academy for Scenic Arts, Sarajevo. Her awards have included Best Young Actress in

Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Bosna i Hercegovina, Социјалистичка Pепублика Босна и Херцеговина), commonly referred to as Socia ...

, the Yugoslavian award for

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

Arts, and Best Director award at the Avant-garde Theatre Festival in Socialist Republic of Montenegro. She has been the production director of the International Theatre Festival in Kotor, Montenegro. As a theatre academic she held

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

ships in Moscow and Vienna.Theater TAS Official, Mission & History
/ref>

Slovenia and Germany

Prior to the siege of Sarajevo, Čelan moved to

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

, where she worked as a writer and director for a year. With a fellowship from the German cultural department and the Heinrich Böll Foundation in hand, she moved to Germany in 1993. In the Böll-House, she founded the TAS theatre in exile, and during its first project, ''Project 3'', she toured well-known German theatres such as the

Munich Kammerspiele The Munich Kammerspiele (German: Münchner Kammerspiele) is a state-funded German-language theater company based at the ''Schauspielhaus'' on Maximilianstrasse in the Bavarian capital. The company currently has three venues: the main stage of ...

and Hamburg's Thalia Theater. In 1999 she founded her acting school, the Čelan Theatre School at Burgau Castle, where her theatre was based as well. In 1995, Čelan won the first prize for the best German-language play from the Bund der Theatergemeinden (Alliance of the German Theatre Community) for her play '. That was followed by the International Award, Kristal Vilenice, for poetry in 1996. The next year the Cultural Minister of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

awarded her the prize in theatre literature.

New York and Los Angeles

In 2008, Čelan re-established Theater TAS in New York City with the performance and installation ''Yard Sale: New Footfalls...'' as its first production, presented by the arts organization

chashama ChaShaMa is a non-profit arts organization based in New York City. ChaShaMa nurtures artists by transforming unused property into affordable work and presentation space. __NOTOC__ Description Since being founded in 1995 by Anita Durst, daughter ...

. She is a member of PEN American Center. The Theater TAS production of

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema movement. Fassbinder's main ...

's play "Blood on the Cat's Neck" directed by Čelan was presented in March 2014 by the

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...

LA as a multimedia theater and film performance. On June 28, 2014, the

Max Kade Dr. h.c. Max Kade (13 October 1882, Steinbach near Schwäbisch Hall, Württemberg, Germany – 15 July 1967, Davos, Switzerland) was an emigrant from Germany to New York City who became successful in the pharmaceutical industry. Kade was committed ...

Institute at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

hosted the multimedia reading of Čelan's play "Woyzeck von Sarajevo" under her direction.Theater TAS Official, Current
/ref>

Works

Čelan's plays have been performed on the German radio and in theatres. In addition to her own plays, such as ''The Last Story'', ''Woyzeck from Sarajevo'' (both translated into English) and ''Struwwelpit & Co.'', she has directed twenty plays by classical authors, including

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Edward Albee Edward Franklin Albee III ( ; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as ''The Zoo Story'' (1958), '' The Sandbox'' (1959), ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1962), '' A Delicate Balance'' (1966) ...

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or co ...

, and

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...

, in her theatre. Her works have been published in English, German and Serbo-Croatian. Čelan has translated texts written by Sylvia Plath, Leonid Andreyev and Isak Samokovlija among others.

Drama

* ''The Death of Omer & Merima'' * ''The Royal Marine'' * ''The King’s Murderers'' * ''Heimatbuch'' (Homeland Book) * ''Commedia Goldoniana'' * ''The Last Story'' (translated into English) * ''Chekhov'' * ''Woyzeck from Sarajevo'' (translated into English) * ''Felix'' * ''Cabaret International'' * ''The Struwwelpit & Co.'' (in collaboration with Maria Fuß) * ''Picollo Fratello Francesco''

Other

* ''Woyzeck from Sarajevo'' (radio play) * ''Clean Hands'' (book)

Awards

* Best Young Actress in SR Bosnia and Herzegovina * Yugoslavian Award for

Avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

Arts * Best Director Award at the Avant-garde Theatre Festival in

SR Montenegro The Socialist Republic of Montenegro ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Crna Gora, Социјалистичка Република Црна Гора), commonly referred to as Socialist Montenegro or simply Montenegro, was ...

* Dramatist Award of the Bund der Theatergemeinden (Alliance of the German Theatre Community) for the best German-language play for her play ''Heimatbuch'' (Homeland Book), 1995 * Kristal Vilenice, International Literature Award for Poetry, for her book ''Me and You – Book of Love Poetry'', 1996 * Artist Award of the Cultural Minister of the State of

(NRW) in the field of Theatre Literature, 1997

References

External links

Theater TAS Official Website
*
Rhizome Artist Profile

Theater TAS on Vimeo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Celan, Kaca 1956 births Living people People from Odžaci Bosnia and Herzegovina actresses Women dramatists and playwrights Bosnia and Herzegovina people of Serbian descent Bosnia and Herzegovina emigrants to Germany German people of Serbian descent German emigrants to the United States American people of Serbian descent American people of Bosnia and Herzegovina descent