Written by: Marina Kuleš, Head of Digital, not ChatGPT
Book clubs have become an increasingly popular way to socialize, exchange ideas, opinions, and of course encourage reading. What if we did the same with theater? Marina Bolanča Radunović, CEO of Abeceda komunikacije, came to an internal meeting with this idea. How much the entire team liked it is confirmed by the fact that five minutes later something was created that we will eventually call “Theatre Stories” .
What are Theater Stories?
Theater Stories are designed as gatherings that bring together business associates and team members for informal socializing, networking, and sharing experiences in a slightly different way. We meet before the selected play, talk and prepare expectations for the play we are going to see, watch the play together, and after the play we talk to actors, directors, critics, and anyone else who can give us that special “behind the scenes” experience. Just like a book club, only instead of reading, we watch the play.
Why theater?
The real question is why not? Theater has always been a place of encounter, an experience that offers something new every time. Art that motivates, shocks, triggers a whole spectrum of emotions and makes us think. And that’s exactly what we all need. We’re aware of the work we do. Us, our clients and our associates. We’re aware of how quickly the amount of obligations and the accelerated pace can make it difficult to take the time to stop, experience something fully, think in a new way and sometimes question your opinions and even beliefs. This is necessary for everyone, and especially necessary for those involved in any form of creative industry.
And that’s exactly why those two, three hours that we’re going to “spend” on something like this should be the time we need and have to find. Regardless of the development of technology, the new media we witness day after day, and modern tools that speed up our results, make our work easier, and define the way we communicate, the experience of theater, sharing the experience with an entire hall of people we know and don’t know, watching a play that has struck a precise chord, AI will not easily replace. And that’s exactly why we chose theater.
Why PRÈÇE?
Very simple. Because we are in the PR industry . And because we wanted to create a new networking experience . Because we believe that the best ideas are born from such experiences. Because we don’t want our relationship with clients to be an exchange of emails. Because we love what we do and because we are sure that this is an industry that needs something like this to raise quality to a new level.
How did the first Theatre Stories go?
The first play chosen for the Theatre Stories was “ The Witches of Salem ”, directed by Oliver Frljić at the ZKM , and the best way to tell what happened there is to let our Tena Razumović Žmara, the moderator of that gathering, tell us.
“Taking business clients, partners and associates to a play like “The Salem Witches” is always an intriguing move, because Oliver Frljić does not offer a comfort zone. I am extremely glad that after that difficult and challenging play, we had the opportunity to socialize with the actors from the ensemble and initiate an open, honest dialogue about fear, manipulation and society. This exchange of thoughts was an important and most emotional part of the evening for me because it connected us on a deeper level. This is exactly what theater is for. To shake us up, encourage us to listen and constantly question. Theater takes us out of our comfort zone. That is its primary role. It is a reminder to all of us that neither in art nor in life, we should ever be satisfied with just what is served to us.
We had the great privilege of sitting with the ensemble of the play, with people who had just spent two hours bleeding on stage; it was a moment of complete nakedness. Linda Begonja, Hrvojka Begović, Petra Svrtan, Ugo Korani, Dado Ćosić, Adrian Pezdirc and Nikolina Prkačin spoke to us without their stage masks, and yet, bringing to the conversation the same uncompromising honesty that they had left on the stage a second earlier.”
Shall we continue?
Absolutely. The next gathering is already planned, and we invite you all to visit the theater if you haven’t been in a while, because as Oscar Wilde said: “The theater is the most direct way in which a human being can share with another the feeling of what it means to be a human being.”
